Last Sunday we got out the old scrabble pieces to try to come up with a cute Valentine's Day Card (read VERY late Christmas card) and things didn't really turn out quite as I had envisioned them. So, there will be no Valentine Cards. However, Matthew got creative in English and French to convey our Valentine wishes to you. So, Happy Valentine's Day!
Picture thousands of bundled up, firework weilding, stone drunk, loud speaking Germans lining the street for at least a kilometer, shooting fireworks in every possible direction for 12 straight hours. 
Apparently there are no restrictions on fireworks in the city and these folks went crazy. We saw several people pushing shopping carts full of either a) empty champagne bottles or b)unbelieveable amounts of explosives.
Fortunately we made it back to the apartment unscathed, and by morning, Unter de Linden was returned to it's orderly, stoic self. Wow.
We ventured an hour (again) out of Berlin to the largest indoor tropical paradise in the world--Tropical Island. 
This place is amazing. It is roughly the size of 8 football fields and is comprised of a full sand beach, a lagoon with waterslides, grottoes, whirlpools, and waterfalls, 5 resturants, a tent village for overnight stays, a kids play section and an extensive spa. 
We were pretty excited about the spa. Sarah, Benj, and Anna and I eagerly ventured over to the spa side only to find out that participation required nudity. Yikes. Now, the Europeans do not have a problem with this--but my kids and I definitely do. We ended up searching in vain for a sauna that allowed swimsuits while periodically muttering emphatically "Avert! avert! Look left. Old naked man on the right." Talk about bonding experiences. We are only slightly scarred. The human body looks so much better clothed.
The building was originally built between 1884 and 1895. It's burning in 1933 sparked the transfer of power that allowed Hitler to build his empire. The building was later rebuilt with a glass dome to symbolize the transparency of government and it's accountability to the people. 
There are generally monumental lines to get in, so we decided to beat the rush. The view was fabulous and the city looked amazing under the blanket of snow.
Overall we would rate Berlin pretty high on the family fun scale.
