The last time we visited Oma in Berlin was almost three years ago. It was the winter of 2009. It was cold and dark. It was very cold. Snow covered the streets and the girls enjoyed being pulled on the sled by Oma as we walked to a nearby park to go sledding. I remember that Sagey was 6 months old and that he fit into the bassinet of the plane on the flight back. Cinnamon was still a year old, although her birthday was less than two weeks away by the time we returned home, and Saffron had turned three during the summer.
We discussed for months about going to Europe this summer to visit family. Initially, the plan was to spend half of the time in Croatia visiting my family and the other half in Germany visiting my husband's family. I had also planned on doing some research on Croatian cooking for my cookbook which included interviewing the family and photographing the area.
Having spent a few summers on the beautiful island of Brač, I remember when most of the family would come together during the summer months to gather around the large marble table and indulge in briki-brewed Franck Jubilarna coffee and fresh bread for breakfast (along with napolitanke cookies), to swim in the Adriatic Sea, and to gather back at the table in the evening and indulge in fire grilled fish caught fresh that same day. Red wine had it's place at the table in abundance and you couldn't beat the view of the Adriatic Sea from my aunt's house.
That was the plan. However, plans change and many of the family members were not going to be there this year. This also meant that we were not going. Perhaps next year.
Nevertheless, we will enjoy spending time in Berlin this summer. More than anything, I look forward to walking around the city and spending some "children free" moments with my husband - as we did almost three years ago when we would drop off the children with Oma. I also plan on documenting our trip on this blog - if for nobody else but our family to remember our summer in Berlin.