We’ve been back in Berlin for a little over a month now and are settling back into our routines. Adrian started work September 1st and is really enjoying her job as a kindergarten teacher at a bilingual school in South Berlin. Dave has finally found an internship working at a non-profit called Global2015 and will be finishing his thesis in the spring. Meanwhile some of our more faithful readers have been a little disappointed with the volume of blog entries lately… sorry about that! We promise to try and pick it up from here, but those who know us well know that we don’t exactly always stick to everything.

This past weekend we enjoyed some of the last warm weather we will get here in Berlin by taking a boat ride with friends around the Spree river. Our friends Matieu and Sakia  bought a coupon from a company called Grill Boat and invited us to come along so we jumped at the chance. The boat was more of a ‘float’ though with a small 10 hp motor and a huge firewood grill in the middle so we weren’t exactly speeding around the city. The trip also came with a case of beer though so the speed of the journey didn’t really matter that much.

The trip started from a part of Berlin that we hadn’t had much of an opportunity to check out: the Treptower Park area in the southeastern part of the city. Adrian got off of work at her usual time (3pm) but the boat didn’t leave til 5:30 so we took the extra time to explore some of the walking paths along the river and enjoy the nice weather. Berlin is turning cold very fast but it was actually a quite pleasant and warm at about 72 degrees.

We arrived pretty early to the launch pier but used the time to catch up some of the other people who had also arrived. All told there were eight of us along for the ride but there was plenty of room on the boat for more. We took off a few minutes late but the guy in charge was pretty easy going. He showed us how to use the boat and sent us off with a warning about the aggressive swans.

As soon as the grill got hot enough, we started feasting on a great spread of burgers, veggies, sausage, bacon and chips. Not the most healthy meal, but definetly delicious!

Sure enough, soon after we had the grill going the swans started coming after us in full force. They were pretty aggressive, but luckily not wily enough to make it on to the boat!

Anna with the swan!

The Spree was actually pretty nice for a urban river. All along the shores are different clubs and biergartens some of which we made a note to check out later. One thing you can say about Berlins: they love enjoying the outdoors while it’s still warm enough to do so.

Unfortunately, about an hour and a half into our trip it started to rain fairly hard. We didn’t let it dampen our spirits though as we continued on with the eating and drinking… but we did head straight back to the dock as fast as our little 10 hp motor would take us. We had a great time though and already can’t wait for next summer and our next boat (float) ride!