Out of the blue, David suggests we go to his mom's summer house in winter (or rather a bit close to summer). It's in the not-so-outskirts of Berlin, in a vast expanse of "forest" called Grunewald. I use the double quotes to describe forest as it's not exactly the unruly home of trees and shrubs and animals, nor is it one of those places for which you need sturdy shoes to venture into. The paths are paved & tall trees are strewn along the sides. Throughout the walk, you can hear the birds chirping & smell pine in the air. To steel away from the hustle-bustle of the city, Berliners have small gardens in this forest with a small house, generally with a kitchen, a small living room & bedroom. David's mom has a cute little place like this with a fireplace!! (I loved that. Could imagine myself snuggled in a blanket, reading a book by the fire). With the onset of summer, she has planted peach, tomatoes, potatoes, tulips and more. Can't wait to go back in summer & check out the garden. Thankfully, the days are now really long in Berlin, it's light outside till 7.30 pm! So, my day in Grunewald, even though it started fairly late, was still well-spent.
I had lunch with them in the courtyard. I and David were incharge of the food, so we had hastily cooked Indian style chicken & rice in the morning (which fortunately, she liked!). After eating, we went to their neighbour's place. They have a cute black shiny pug named Daffy. We played with her for hours and later they (both Daffy & her owners) joined us for evening coffee. I tried futilely to ride an old bike, but alas it was too tall for my tiny self. Even though I could ride it (not in a straight line), I was deemed unfit to go on the street with it. Well, atleast I gave it a try! Then I rode one of those tri-wheeled scooters for kids and tumbled sideways about 4 times. Then we climbed up on the roof of the house, the slant ones with no fence & peeped into other people's courtyard. No juicy details! With the evening coffee, we rampaged the whole house & abducted all the sweets we could find. So, the coffee time was more eating than drinking. Sitting in the courtyard & arguing if Germany is bigger than the biggest state of India, discussing recent news & events around the world, made me realize that tea/coffee break conversations are essentially the same everywhere in the world. We kept chatting till the sun decided to go to bed & the wind got chilly & Daffy was put in her fancy jacket as she was cold. That is one hell of a pampered dog! Anyway, after the sunny, yet nippy day in the forest, it was time to get home. To stretch the peaceful day a bit longer & delay the monotonous homework that awaited us, we decide to take the long bus ride home through the picturesque neighbourhood with stone houses & typical German bakeries followed by the city lights & streets decorated with supermarkets, Chanel & Armani. Our familiar grocery shop at a distance marked the nearing of home & I happily jumped back into my daily life with lingering memory of an uneventful, calm day.
I had lunch with them in the courtyard. I and David were incharge of the food, so we had hastily cooked Indian style chicken & rice in the morning (which fortunately, she liked!). After eating, we went to their neighbour's place. They have a cute black shiny pug named Daffy. We played with her for hours and later they (both Daffy & her owners) joined us for evening coffee. I tried futilely to ride an old bike, but alas it was too tall for my tiny self. Even though I could ride it (not in a straight line), I was deemed unfit to go on the street with it. Well, atleast I gave it a try! Then I rode one of those tri-wheeled scooters for kids and tumbled sideways about 4 times. Then we climbed up on the roof of the house, the slant ones with no fence & peeped into other people's courtyard. No juicy details! With the evening coffee, we rampaged the whole house & abducted all the sweets we could find. So, the coffee time was more eating than drinking. Sitting in the courtyard & arguing if Germany is bigger than the biggest state of India, discussing recent news & events around the world, made me realize that tea/coffee break conversations are essentially the same everywhere in the world. We kept chatting till the sun decided to go to bed & the wind got chilly & Daffy was put in her fancy jacket as she was cold. That is one hell of a pampered dog! Anyway, after the sunny, yet nippy day in the forest, it was time to get home. To stretch the peaceful day a bit longer & delay the monotonous homework that awaited us, we decide to take the long bus ride home through the picturesque neighbourhood with stone houses & typical German bakeries followed by the city lights & streets decorated with supermarkets, Chanel & Armani. Our familiar grocery shop at a distance marked the nearing of home & I happily jumped back into my daily life with lingering memory of an uneventful, calm day.
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