Saturday in Berlin

     Lizzy and I are staying with my family's friend Monika, who lives in Berlin.  she gave us pastries and tea upon arrival and had breakfast for us this morning consisting of granola with dried fruit and yoghurt plus bread with either jam, butter, some tasty german sauce kind of like a cross between cream cheese and sour cream, and an assorted plate of meats, cheese, and cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots. we had plenty to eat, with some tea to go with it. She makes the tea by mixing earl grey and another loose leaf black tea in a huge thermos that keeps it hot for a really long time. delicious.  This morning she told me all about her life before now and her travels, which are remarkable and extensive.
    we left her flat around noon and walked out into a beautiful day of sunshine and golden leaves. Her neighborhood is very close to the city, really just a part of it, and it has tons of little shops, restaurants, and cafes. there were people everywhere and we followed them towards the nearby open air saturday market. there were tons of stalls of jewelry, leather, wooden crafts, food vendors of all types, and tons of produce, cheese, and bread stands. It was amazing and bubbling with people. It was  a perfect fall day. I bought a really cool ring made of a shell, and some chocolate truffles for monika, easily the best I have ever tasted.  When we finally pulled away, we headed towards the touristy area of Berlin to get some postcards and find a birkenstock store. I got some blue open-toed birkenstocks, and I am thrilled with them. I have wanted some since 2nd. grade and for some reason just never got them. 2 years ago I knew I would be coming to berlin before too long and decided to wait til I came because they sell them for much cheaper and with many more varieties. This rumor turned out to be true, and I am very glad I waited.
   eventually we came back to our neighborhood, got some crepes of buckwheat flour, with mushrooms, leeks, cheese, and winesauce, and now we are relaxing a little at home before going out for the night.  tomorrow we are going to the zoo!