Tuesday, September 9
Layover -Amsterdam
(PS. This is not what Berlin looks like)
As some of you know, after years of complaining, the Tehrani family finally threw in the towel on NYC. Sold the only sensible investment they ever owned, cashed out, and are off on a jaunt.
I made the flight solo with the girls after A decided to take a 1 day shoot with Salman Rushdie in Cabo, which actually turned out to be a 2 hour shoot. Turns out he's a bit of a sweaty perv (Salman, not husband). Apparently he gets a free vacay in exchange for making a "literary appearance", whatever that means.
Anyway, that's beside the point. 1st stop - Amsterdam. We used miles to purchase our tickets, which meant making some compromises - ie; a 2 day layover in NL) It's not advisable to fly 8 hours with 4 suitcases and 2 small children to a country where the staircases are 12 inches wide and extremely steep, FYI - in case you were tempted! At the risk of sounding like a spoiled American, the B&B (inappropriately named La Vie en Rose) was a dump. I am usually quite adept at finding inexpensive yet stylish accommodations. T and I slept in a room that smelled like fried Gouda. The baby was set up in a cot directly above a youth hostel where the waft of hashish through the open window (we needed to air out the gouda stink) induced a full night of rest.
In a rare stroke of luck, our dear friends (and T's godfathers) Ben & Richard* happened to be in Amsterdam as well. Ben came to rescue us from our perilous B&B situation. Dickie is researching his next novel and Ben revising his dissertation (something about the Book of Job and the art of the Weimar Republic or ummmm.....I forgot) and seeing a personal trainer to control his spare tire (by his own admission). However I suspect he has more than a few rendez-vous with Sensa Milla!
2 days later, A joined us at the Amsterdam train station here we boarded a 6 hr train for Berlin and last night we finally arrived. Our place here is fabulous and I never want to leave! It's a penthouse apt. in this great area called Prenzlauer Berg. We have tons of light and it's very sparsely furnished and I love it! We have a terrace with a view of the TV tower in Alexanderplatz. There is a little park across the street where you can order a cocktail or a smoothie and let your kids run around (mind the disenchanted drunks - this was East Berlin after all!)
So we'll be here for about 7 weeks and then the plan is to continue on to Istanbul, unless we fall in love with Berlin in which case we might change the plan a bit.
T got accepted to the little Waldorf school in San Marcos, Guatemala in Jan. It's an odd place with a slightly questionable philosophy, but I think it will be good for her to socialize and learn Spanish. They are not "allowed" to learn to read or write until they get their 2nd set of teeth (apparently that's when the energy can be directed to the head) - and parents are discouraged from reading to them at home too (okay - whateveeeeeeeeeerr!!!). They wanted to know if I took drugs during labor and whether I had a c-section (warning hippy stazi alert!) Anyway, it's only for 6 months so I'm sure she won't turn into a sisters-of-ishtar child in that length of time! The upside is that they learn how to grow food. Nothing like a bit of child labour to send the Berkeley PC folk into orbit.
The plan for us in the year to come is to regain the piece of us (both as individuals and as a couple) that got tarnished in NYC. Not blaming NY per se - but it's a hectic place to be - let alone to raise children - and expensive and stressful. We became the people we used to disdain who spoke only of real estate and pre-school, and frankly I was starting to sound like a cranky hollow brittle biAtch!
Enough -now we own nothing - the children go to school nowhere and we are free to seek... Yes I know it sounds corny and a bit idealistic. It's a fine line between brilliance and insanity - particularly when you are travelling "tourist class" with kids - so which side of that line we fall on remains to be seen - but at least we're putting ourselves out there and that is a little bit of victory for us.
As for the days and how to fill them - home schooling to some degree plus I have several writing projects that have taken a back burner for years to get back to. So we have a schedule laid out involving all these things. Alex will undoubtedly be called away as often as not for work so I'll have to be flexible. But the screenplay and one of my 2 book ideas must come to fruition during the next few months. We are also taking lots of pics (a la Cookie magazine) for resale through a stock photo agency. I will be the pseudo-photog so his reputation as a so-called "legit" photographer will not be compromised.
I am also on a mission to take up mediation - otherwise will resort to botox to fake the appearance of tranquility!
*Richard Mason, precocious novelist working on his 4th book. It's a name-drop, yes, but a little PR never hurt. My blog is obviously the go-to source for literary recommendations!
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