Berlin in May

My first trip to Germany..... We´ve been talking about this trip for a few years now, and finally we were able to sneak in a quick weekend trip to Berlin. Not because it´s very close to Charlotte, but because I was spending the following days in England for work. Perfect timing to brush up on my history. (or basically learn it from scratch!) I was lucky enough to have Mr. Wikipedia with me on the trip, which made it 100% more interesting. What you would have thought to be just an ordinary parking lot.... actually the knocked down site of Hitler´s bunker; an ordinary plaza.... actually the site of the staged Nazi book burning. Unfortunately you won´t see pictures of many historical locations, because they were destroyed post-war. But so much history in one spot. A wonderful 3-day weekend with great sites, food, sunshine, and company!

Brandenburg Gate

Reichstag-Parliament house, one site of Berlin´s final WWII battles

the top of the dome was destroyed in the war, later re-built by Norman Foster

and a little artsy attempt by the Riches

Checkpoint Charlie- the original gate crossing between East and West Berlin before the fall of the wall. This was the entrance to the American sector.
and one of the few standing pieces of the Berlin Wall
after walking... and walking... and walking... a rest in front of the Cathedral

quick trip

So nice to be back home- but there is just never enough time. I think I was there 48 hours exactly. I can´t believe how much Addie has grown in just 5 months!! The below picture sums up the weekend. Running around!!! We also managed to squeeze in a visit with Baby Brock and Darby. What a sweet sweet baby! I´ll have to get the picture from Darby to post. and I missed the family picture at Bradley´s graduation party. Hopefully they can photoshop me in! Great to see everyone again!

how funny is this!

See you soon!

Landed

i´m here. arrived to Charlotte last thursday and just getting settled. it´s reverse culture shock to the fullest. i completely forgot how much people in the grocery stores talk to you. it´s great. and haven´t heard one car horn yet. the new yorkers and europeans wouldn´t know how to act! it´s nice to be home. but i still feel like half my heart is in Madrid- so bare with me as i try to get make myself at home. the next few months are a whirwind. i´m off to Tennessee for the weekend. then a bit of adventure trying to learn the new job- Berlin, England, Houston, Madrid, Copenhagen, New York, Panama and repeat (there is a bit of vacation thrown in there!). i hope to see you all and your families along the way. lots of babies to meet! =)

The Motherland

Writing from my last "official" day in Madrid, just back from 2 weeks transition with my new team in Denmark. Day 1 ran into 3 americans, 5 spainards, 2 italians, 2 south africans, a lovely egyptian =), and many danes from my various locations in Maersk. Let me just say what a small small world this really is. The weather was spectacular, but I didn´t manage to do very much photography. Below is an image from outside the office. Back again in June, so I´ll try to capture a bit more of the city. It´s really lovely when the sun is shining.

and thanks Shereen for taking care of me all week!