I arrived in Berlin at about 8am- far to early to check it. So I headed to a downtown station and put my luggage in a locker and tried killing as much time as I could by walking around the neighborhood. I was pleased with this part of town when within the first hour I saw three very cheap crepe stands. I brought a sugar and lemon crepe for 1.70 Euros. Eventually I made it to my hostel, www.aurora-hostel.de, which is in a very nice neighborhood. I had been told that this neighborhood was a lot like Park Slope- and it really is. A good mix of residential and commercial, cute little restaurants and shops, and lots of young families with tons of strollers. I just wish I had the room to bring back one of their supper cute German strollers for Mia.



The hostel is nice. I have my own room, but am sharing a bathroom. I took it as a good sign that they were playing The Postal Service in the lobby when I checked in.








I went ahead and got settled in and took a walk around the neighborhood. Lunch was eaten at a restaurant named Frida Khalo- it worked well for me because the menu was half in Spanish and half in German. I had also read about it in the NYTimes travel section. So I ordered chips and queso and a frozen mango margarita. And sat on their outdoor patio enjoying the nice weather.