berlinlostnfound

[berlinlostnfound]

We went camping last week. On the playgrounds Phillip quickly made new friends. Once I overheard the conversation between him and a girl. 'How old are you?' 'Five. And you?' 'Six,' while she raised all ten fingers. 'But that's not six.' 'I'm actually ten. Mom forgot a few birthdays.'

Later they started talking about Mom being 'nervig', which translates into 'pain in the neck'. Isn't this conversation ten years too early for you guys!?

[berlinlostnfound]

Gift exchange

'Diego once gave Julian a chewing gum.'

'I thought you guys were not supposed to bring food to the Kita.'

'Diego hid it in his mouth.'

[berlinlostnfound]

Anything for the Kita

Germany is loosening up the lockdown. The list of system- relavent jobs is massively expanded. Kids can go to the Kita with only one parent working in these departments. Single parents are also qualified.

Upon reading the news Jerry suggested a divorce to Stefan. (Both home officing, two kids.) I told her it would actually be sufficient if he moved out. Back to his mom's, for example.

[berlinlostnfound]

Inconsistency in lockdown

Philipp doesn't understand why the playgrounds are not accessible anymore. 'It's because of the corona virus. Different kids touch the same slides and can pass diseases on to each other.'

'Why are the benches not fenced off then? People also touch the benches.' 'That's a very good point.'

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Anna's coffee

We took a walk with the kids. I noticed a bookstore that seemed new and pointed it out. 'That's a cafe. We walked here from the kindergarten once,' said Phillip. 'Did you drink something there?' 'No. Only Anna got a coffee.' Anna was their teacher. 'Did you all go in there with her?' 'No. She took only two kids with her. The rest of us just waited outside.' 'And who were the two kids?' 'Amon and Sophie. Anna told us we could read books in there later. But that didn't happen.'

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Playground episode 2

About the time when every household in Berlin was throwing away their Christmas trees, Phillip told me that he found a Christmas tree on the playground together with Amon. ‘It takes only two kids to carry a Christmas tree, one at the front and one at the back’ he said. Last week during our meeting with the teachers I learned that it was not the whole story.

The two boys did find a Christmas tree on the playground. Phillip came up with the idea of sliding it down. The top of the slide was constructed like a tube. He wanted to push the tree through it ‘just like when they sell the trees.’ They managed to drag the tree on to the platform, which involved some flipping, rolling and falling. And then the tree was stuck in the tube. Being an alpha boy, Amon quickly summoned Frank, Sam and Dave. The five kids pushed together and guess what, the tree made it! It slid down and landed on the sand.

I would never have allowed that to happen but I’m glad that it did.

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The dinosaur-shirt

Kids take things very seriously. I bought some fabric from a local sewing store with the impulse of making it into a shirt for Phillip. It had lovely colorful prints of dinosaurs. He was immediately a big fan of it. So much so that he started cutting the fabric himself. Afterwards my initial plan of an easy one-piece cut didn’t work anymore, and I simply put off the project. Whenever he asked about it I would tell him that we needed the sewing machine at grandparents’.

Last Sunday we were going to visit grandparents. When hearing about it on Saturday Phillip asked if we could finally make his dino-shirt. I told him, well, maybe. ‘I’ll see if I can finish the cutting tonight.’ After sending him to bed I found the fabric laid out for me on the couch. There was really no excuse this time. I cut out a back piece, a front piece and two sleeves. The next day grandpa quickly sewed the pieces together. Phillip has been wearing the dinosaur-shirt ever since. It’s not the best cut in the world but he doesn’t mind.

By the way the store is called ‘Smilla’ in Eisenacher Str., Schöneberg, accessible by U7. They also have sewing machines that you can use

[berlinlostnfound]

Lola’s shoe

Lola successfully got rid of one of her shoes.

It’s getting cold in Berlin and as a loving parent I judge it’s not warm enough for her to wander about without shoes. Sophie’s mom gave us these warm, waterproof ankle boots that are perfect for the purpose. Sophie and her sister had so many shoes that mom didn’t even know these existed. The only problem is that Lola, like all the babies, somehow managed to kick them off.

The first time this happened when we were outside, I turned around, crossed the big intersection and walked for a block, eventually found it in the Asian supermarket we just visited. The lady at the cashier was kind enough to pick it up from the floor and put it away for us. The second time I noticed that her sock was sticking out, I had to trace back for three blocks. Again, some nice passerby had picked it up and placed it on a mailbox.

Today we didn’t take the stroller. I cuddled up with her with a wrap. As I entered a building the guard reminded me that her shoe was getting loose. On our way out I tightened it again. After two S-Bahn stops I noticed that her left shoe was gone. It makes no sense to get off the S-Bahn now. So I accepted the loss like a mom of the world.

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[berlinlostnfound]

Oh my pirate

If you have a 3 to 5 year old boy in your household, pirates will most definitely be part of your life. Almost all the birthday parties will be pirate-themed, even the ones that are initially not designed to be so, like ours. After the kids were gathered they all found Phillip’s new loft bed extremely exciting. They called it a pirate ship and the pirate game began.

Other parents are more dedicated and creative. The invitation from Amon came in a bottle half filled with sand and shells. Inside there was a rolled up, sealed letter, hand written on a piece of parchment paper with authentic burnt marks. At the party both Amon’s mom and dad dressed up as pirates. Daddy even had black makeup around his eyes. We were very impressed and realized that our parenting skills needed to be polished.

Phillip came home with a bag of small presents. There was this booklet dubbed ‘magic block’. I asked what it was and Ral said, ‘You are supposed to draw pirate pictures on it but the paper is difficult to draw on.’ ‘Really? Why is it magic then?’ It turned out that when you scratched the surface with a pencil a small picture of pirates would appear. There was also a stamp, featuring yet another pirate in black ink. ‘Please don’t play with it on our bed.’ I told him. ‘You can play with it on the couch table.’

After a while I heard, ‘Mama, the pirate is gone!’ I carried Lola and walked into the living room. Somehow my slipper felt a bit funny as I walked. ‘What do you mean?’ He showed me the stamp. The inked pattern had indeed fallen out. Something occurred to me. I lifted my right foot and found the ink plate stuck to the sole. I turned around and saw a whole chain of smiling little pirates on the wooden floor.

[berlinlostnfound]

Playground episode 1

Phillip, Amon and Samu were building sand castles on the playground. They were building on the landing of a slide. It was a rainy day so the slide was not actively used. There weren't many kids hanging out on the playground anyway.

After a while the sun came out. Now older kids were appearing around the slide. After Amon slid down once and essentially wiped the surface dry, more kids wanted to slide down. War was on the verge. The boys were blocking the slide with sand. From their perspective, the older kids threatened to destroy their castles.

I told Phillip that he shouldn't block the slide and of course he was not convinced. While we were discussing an older boy slid down and the castles were destroyed. Amon and Samu furiously piled sand back on the slide. Two girls were poising on top of the slide. One of them started crying and called out her mom. 'What's going on?' The mom walked over and asked. 'They won't let me slide down!'

I quickly realized that even if I could talk Phillip out of occupying the slide with sand, there was no way I could possibly mediate between 6 kids. So I turned around, leaving Phillip alone. Let kids figure things out themselves, I told myself. Before I could sit down I saw Phillip holding a stick in front of the landing, in an effort to stop a girl from sliding. The girl slid down anyway. Before I could scream Felix flipped up the stick. Just in time to let her pass.

[berlinlostnfound]

Demonstration right of way

Yesterday we got out of the U8 in Schönlein Str. and saw a demonstration on the Kottbusser bridge. The whole bridge was blocked and there were a few policewomen and policemen standing around. It was a demonstration against climate change. It was not yet Friday so they were apparently not Friday for Future. Someone handed me a flyer: this one is called Extinction Rebellion. Two hours later on the way back people were still gathering on the bridge, yelling their slogan, but only on the sidewalk. The car lanes were instead cleared and guarded by the police.

Just as I thought they were wrapping up we heard something louder while walking towards the subway station. Two rows of armored policewomen and policemen walked by us. On Kottbusserdam we saw armored police vehicles slowly approaching the bridge, followed by a big marching crowd. At first I thought they were joining their fellows demonstrating on the bridge, until we saw the flags of middle eastern countries being waved. ‘Looks like it’s a completely different group! Probably about the situation in Middle East.’ However as we were entering the subway station we heard them shouting ‘internationale Solidarität!’ Now it sounded more like a communist demonstration. We were not quite sure what exactly it was about.

Anyway it turned out that the climate crowd on the bridge were yielding to the marching crowd. If you want to demonstrate in Berlin you’ve got to learn to share. You are not guaranteed to have your own turf.

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The stick

Small kids and little dogs are uncannily similar. You need to take a daily walk with them even on rainy days. Every time they see you they are so happy, as if they were seeing you for the first time. Once in the woods Phillip had to pee. We brought him to a tree and he said, ‘I don’t want this tree. I want that tree.’ And most importantly, the stick. Both puppies and kids are compulsive stick collectors.

Not long ago Phillip was jumping, running and singing, holding a stick he just picked up in his hand. Coming towards us was an unleashed little dog, holding a stick in its mouth. It saw Phillip and suddenly dashed in his direction. Phillip was startled and cried out loud. The dog’s owner shouted at it, ‘Stop! That’s not your stick!’

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The thousand-euro buggies

When we were preparing for Phillip’s birth in the Netherlands I was shocked at how much a baby buggy could cost. The Dutch seemed to be leaders in the market of high-end buggies. There were not just one, but several brands that offered buggies in the thousand-euro range. Then we came to Berlin and found that there were even more Bugaboo’s here than in Holland, despite that both the income level and living price on average are lower here. I recognized the squiggle everywhere, in Kreuzberg, Prenzlauerberg, Wilmersdorf, you name it. I drew the conclusion that Bugaboo must have been selling their products at a discount here. But I was wrong! They are just as expensive here as in the Netherlands!

Could it be that the stylish Kinderwagen are replacing Mercedes as the new status symbol for the urban-dwelling, liberal-minded, children-loving, eco-friendly, global-warming-conscious hipster parents? You’ve got to admit it: as long as you can get away without a car, an expensive buggy suddenly seems very affordable. And apparently they are indeed of very high quality. They show that you can afford nice things for yourself and that you are willing to provide the best for your kids. Even better, as status symbols they are a lot more social than cars. Whether you are strolling along the street, hanging out on the playground, or chatting with friends in a cafe, they are always by your side, whereas a car either stands alone in a parking lot, or obscures you in busy traffic. Unfortunately the buggy doesn’t get you an express lane when lining up for the elevator in the Berliner subway, if there is an elevator at all.

Once I saw a German movie about the parenthood of three couples who are good friends. In the scene where one mother struggles with her buggy she says, ‘We should have bought a Bugaboo like everyone else.’ But that presents a dilemma: when everyone is buying Bugaboo, you don’t stand out by owning one anymore. It loses its function as a status symbol. In another words, it’s now totally OK to not have a high-end buggy. What a relieve!

Still I find it hard to believe that the young, liberal parents in Kreuzberg will embrace such late capitalist consumer behavior. How does one justify buying a buggy that would cost an average worker her whole month’s after-tax salary? I guess one can argue that if you are planning to have two kids the cost is cut by half. And if you decide to have a third one then it’s a steal. By then, only a buggy of the top quality can remain as robust.

We don’t have a thousand-euro buggy but we did buy Phillip a bike with an aluminum frame. Our reasoning? Well, Lola can use it again in a few years. As urban-dwelling, liberal-minded parents, we are very good at talking left and living right.

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Train passes by. Summer ends.

[berlinlostnfound]

A non-profit bike store

Every now and then I encounter people who are trying their best not to make money out of you. There is this small bike store around the corner. Last winter it was not particularly cold in Berlin. Ral was having occasional trouble with his brakes so he brought the bike to the store. The guy there diagnosed that water was trapped. As a result it only malfunctioned when the temperature dropped below zero. He reconditioned the bike by applying some oil. When asked how much it cost he replied, 'Just throw something into the tip box.'

The second time we visited we brought Phillip's running bike. We noticed that his back tire was flat, most likely due to the missing screw and cap on the valve. The same guy fixed it and pumped up both tires, charging us less than a euro.

Not long ago I walked into the store to look for a back lamp. 'I have this one that costs 13 euro. You can see how bright it is-- oh sorry, it’s not fully charged. The cheapest I have costs 9 euro, but the battery is specialized and costs 4 euro each, so in the long run it's not that cheap.' I pointed at the first one, 'Is it with USB?' 'No, with battery. I do have a USB charged lamp but unfortunately it's more expensive. It's 17 euro.' 'Which do you recommend?' 'This is a good lamp, and this is a good lamp.' 'I'll take the USB one.' 'OK. Let's make it 14.5 euro.'

Have you ever met anyone who haggles like that?

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