Speak Easy

I just started my third month of language school, so today's photo is of the outside of the building! While I like many things about my classes, one of its main perks of the school is that is around the corner from us. Super convenient. 

Typical

I forgot to post this last night, and today I kept forgetting that I forgot. Last night I got off the train to chorus at the opposite end of the platform than I meant to, and immediately saw a weihnschtsmarkt. I was pretty unsurprised. They are all over.

Weihnachten season

David took this video of the Weihnachstmarkt near Alexanderplatz:

And my group from work celebrated this season with an Advent breakfast at a historic mill and restaurant. Three weeks more work until vacation! 

Double Bears

I've mentioned that these bears are all over Berlin, and here are two examples. First, a bear advertising the "surf and turf" restaurant behind it..

And then, a bear holding up a hotel sign:

There are a few that I keep meaning to photograph... hopefully soon!

For the spare room

We ended up renting a really big apartment, and our first load of furniture actually left us with a spare room. It housed our boxes for a while, and then it turned into my sewing room. We finally got to IKEA today and here is the furniture for it:

Among other odds and ends, there's a couch and a dining room set in there. We also tried an independent delivery service instead of IKEA delivery, and it worked super well. 

Assembly progress so far: 9/23, mostly the easiest stuff.

Ferris wheel

When they talk about Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas markets), they aren't kidding around. This one, viewed from my train home, is a full carnival including a Ferris wheel.

I wish these were artistically blurry, but they are instead just sort of unfortunate taken from the train blurry. I will try a video next time I have the opportunity. 

Pumpkin pie!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Thanksgiving is so not a thing here that David and I kept forgetting about it. I spent half my afternoon writing emails to collaborators in the US, then deciding I should just not send them until tomorrow.

We're going to a Thanksgiving potluck tomorrow though, so tonight I made a pumpkin pie:

I really appreciated how well the pumpkin pie matched our stand mixer. 

I am proud to say this pumpkin pie did not drip!

It looks certainly looks homemade (imperfect)! In the background, you can see onion gravy (our collaborative project) and David will make some mashed potatoes tomorrow. Yum.