Where to start…

In April, we moved from New York to Berlin. Woohoo!!!!

The move had been brewing for awhile and a confluence of events led to it happening this year - primarily me getting a solid job opportunity here in Berlin. We were thinking it may not be until 2010, but 2009 it is!

In short, that explains the blogging absence since March.

Aside from the change of cities/countries/contents/languages/cultures/time zones etc. the other big change is that my wife and I have now swapped roles.  She’s at home for a bit, watching the little one and I am back to the office.

With a mixed heart.

I love being with my son…when he is not bringing us up the wall like a 2 year old can tend to do.

Until he was about 18 months old, tantrums, fits and general terror-making were not in the cards. It was not always easy. T-shirts were my everyday wardrobe as spitup, smeared food and spilled drinks were a regular occurrence. Sitting down for more than 15 minutes at a time at a cafe or such was not possible. But those things could be worked around.

Taking the train at rush hour with the little guy? Could be challenging giving him a bottle while standing up and holding on to the pole. But manageable and without attitude.

Since the 18 month point, which was about September of last year, however, things changed. Attitude entered into the equation. As well as physical development that somehow makes the 3 foot tall man incredibly strong! Changing a diaper with the little guy kicking or him straightening himself from head-to-toe like a board is not easy or fun.

For every couple minutes that would melt my heart and make the world around me disappear in a moment of inexplicable bliss and harmony, there would be a 5 to 20 minute spurt that would somehow wipeout the last 2 years of holidays.

Yeah, so is life.

And at the same time, my wife was feeling as though she was missing out a bit, having spent almost the first two years of his life working. My SMSs may have prodded as well…

Monday afternoon - “Just at the park, walking around the Reservoir, looking at the skyline on Central Park South”

Tuesday afternoon - “Just walking through Chelsea, checking out the galleries.”

Wednesday afternoon -  “Just playing at Madison. Need my sunglasses. Sunny today:)”

Thursday afternoon - “Enjoying an espresso and cookies with Big Man.”

Friday afternoon - “Off to MoMA…or maybe the Met”

At home with the kids does have a sweet schedule.

Well, the time had come, so we decided to switch roles.

While an office life does not have the best schedule and I definitely now miss some of those beautiful moments with my son, sanity and mental stimulation are a bit easier to grasp on a daily basis.

Finding the balance. We’re working on it.

For the time being, we’re just trying to get settled into our new home. Here are some random thoughts from the past few months.

Leaving friends is rough. Just plain sucks and is painful.

Somehow though, everyone has their own life path to lead. Since we left just 4 months ago, one friend has already left the city. And two other friends are damn close to moving far enough outside the city to make it not so practical to have see them on  a regular basis anyways.

While friends and family are what makes life in any city beautiful. It somehow seems challenging to stay in a place just because of friends. At some point the city will become too expensive for them, if it did not get us first. Someone will get a job somewhere else, etc.

When we arrived in Berlin, it seems that our stroller somehow never made it on the connecting flight in Duesseldorf. Not a great start to life in Germany, dealing with a 2 year old, no stroller and about 4 or 5 pieces of luggage. But hey, so is life.

Still trying to figure out how a city that offers so many options - museums, exhibits, concerts, markets, film, there are always seemingly endless announcements of events - can be so incredibly chilled and laid back.

Some statements about Berlin that I think about on a regular basis and that so far in our young experience here, seem so relevant.

“Berlin is where ambition goes to die” Some blogger or forum post. Living in Prenzlauer Berg and working in Friedrichshain, I constantly say to myself - “Cool neighborhood…what do these people do all day to earn their living?”

“Arm, aber sexy” - “Poor, but sexy” from the current Mayor Wowereit.

“Berlin has always been a city of the future.” Roughly quoted form philosopher or historian around 1906.

So winter 2007/08 was rough. Many days inside. And we were still exploring the city alone. Even though we were available all afternoon, every day. We had not managed to make friends - well, more accurately, I had not made any friends, how could I blame a 10 month old for that? Being a stay-at-home-dad was actually pretty lonely. This loneliness was just emphasized by the wintry weather.

My son and I were fortunate to meet another father/son pair last winter. Cafes, playgrounds, talking. Talking, cafes, playgrounds. We found a good match.

Since then we’ve met up 2 to 3 times per week. Matching up a playground with a cafe. We mix it up a bunch depending on the day and the weather.

But we often find ourselves doing the Madison Park/Tarallucci combo. My buddy introduced me to Tarallucci e Vino in the Flatiron.What a find! Great espresso. And great ambience. The place is actually a restaurant with 1-and-a-half levels, with the dining room up a short flight of stairs. And the entry way opens up to a wide bar and seating area, where you can enjoy a coffee at the bar, a touch Italian-style. And plenty of room for the strollers.

Tarallucci e Vino - 15 East 18th Street at Broadway. LNQRW, 456 Trains at Union Square.

The same great coffee at their East Village location (163 First Avenue at 10th Street). But it is not as stroller friendly.And, as I just found out a couple of weeks ago, they are now operating the cafe at the Alessi store down in SoHo. My wife, son and I took a break there for a macchiatto, expecting to have the ‘Joe’ experience, and were surprised to see a barista from the 18th Street Tarallucci behind the bar!

I lived there for 4 years and still enjoy going back. But to say that it is the hot spot for food in Manhattan would be an understatement.However, I was quite pleased to find out that Fika (the midtown cafe, we wrote about back in the Fall 2007) opened up a Murray Hill spot on Park Ave at 28th. Even more so, because over the past many months one of our favorite playgrounds is Madison Park.Fika in Murray Hill serves the same high-quality espresso and offers the same baked goods that it prepares on site at its 58th Street location. This cafe is smaller than the uptown version and a worthy of a stop when in the neighborhood.

Fika - 409 Park Avenue South between East 28th & 29th Streets. 6 train at 28th Street.

Previous visit to Fika on 58th Street. 

IMG_2686Originally uploaded by SohoKind

Zorro in SoHoOriginally uploaded by SohoKind

Gecko in SoHoOriginally uploaded by SohoKind

Grafitti Girl - East VillageOriginally uploaded by SohoKind

SoHo - Sweater or NunOriginally uploaded by SohoKind

SoHo - Space MouseOriginally uploaded by SohoKind