So funny story...

So if you know me, then you know that I can't live without my cell phone. I need it so much that I pay the extra fees to be able to have it over here in Europe. Again, if you know me, then you would know I am a huge clutz and drop everything. (By now you should have figured the story out.) Yes, when tossing the phone to Alyssa, I hit the ground. When I went to take a picture, I realized that the screen no longer works!!!! I can still get calls and see when I have a message but I can't read or type anything! Hopefully, I'll be able to get it fixed somehow. OOOPS!!!! So pretty much; FYI: my phone's not working right now for those of you who need to get a hold of me or the gang!

Tina's last night was last night. I can't believe it's already been three weeks!!! We've decided that she is officially the spirit of this trip, always having something to say and making us laugh. This morning I walked her to the bus stop to cathc the bus to the airport for the plane home. Of course everyone else is still sleeping from last night! In fact I have to get them up in about ten minutes because check out is at 10am! That and we have to load up on this amazing breakfast they give us here! So worth the 9 euro alone!!!!!!!!

To celebrate Tina's last night here, we decided to do it the old fashion German way, hit a beer garden. Looking fabulous we went to a very local spot, the six of us now. Ahh yes, Alyssa has joined our group!!!! The garden was filled with picnic tables and families eating while the children play off to the side. Alyssa and Christina tried this green and raspberry beer that Berlin is famous for, so can't remember the name!!!! In my opinion, it was ok. It just tastes like raspberry flavored beer. The night was pretty low key, keeping the conversations to the group. We also talked a bit with two German born men who now live in California. They gave us some good tips and tricks to get around. They also gave us some stories of German and Europe in general twenty years ago. By now you've heard us tell our stories on how nice everyone is, and how it is not what we expected. Especially with all of the horror stories we've heard. But apparently, in Germany years ago there was some kind of world soccor tournament in the country creating lots of tourists. This is when Germany realized that their attitudes and customer service skills needed an adjustment to better represent themselves. This meant that people working in any customer service field, i.e. a grocery store, bank, post office, are specifically trained on niceness, greetings, and working with tourists. If they aren't nice they can't get into trouble! Kinda of funny, but I guess some places are making a conscious effort to be more hospitable for tourists. These and other stories kept us engaged in conversation with these men for the majority of the night. I think I learned more about the culture last night, then I have in the past three days combined.

Alright, I just looked at the time. They are soo not going to like me waking them up! The days we travel are always the most challenging!!!