Two and a half years ago, when Ana and I were really just beginning our relationship I booked a ticket to come to Berlin to visit for close to three weeks.  We wanted a few weeks to hang out in Berlin to continue to figure out what we were, where we wanted to be and how we would do together when we weren’t walking along the Camino.  Ana surprised me with tickets to go up in the Bundestag Dome.  It is free to go up into the Dome but you have to make a special appointment and you still go through security and input your passports ahead of time, etc.  We had a great time (see pic on the left). It was perfect weather, we both had a bit of a tan left from the summer and coming into the fall.  The view was incredible and we both remember that day so fondly.

Fast forward two and a half years later and Ana’s mom is in town for a visit for a week and a half.  Vesna has been here many times and for weeks at a time. She could give the free walking tour as well as I could at this point, in Serbian of course. We joke about starting up our own Berlin touring company.  So when we talked about what we wanted to do while she is here, we of course talked about which foods to eat but also what she hasn’t done. Ana and she tried to go up into the Dome in 2014 but circumstances happened and they couldn’t do it.  So I booked us a time slot weeks ago and yesterday we went up.

It was a different visit for many reasons:

1. the weather is rainy, cloudy and much colder than in 2017

2.  I have been sick all week so it was really great to be able to go anyway but I have lost the tan and glow of more color in my cheeks many months ago

3.  the three of us had a blast rather than just the two but we were bundled as we searched out the views and tried to shield ourselves from the increasing rain

4. the views were still pretty awesome but not as clear but also pretty darn cool in a different way

All of that plus I realized that Ana and I have so grown in our relationship since 2017.  We are still bubbly and having a blast but with much more depth that a good long term relationship starts to carry.  We are not so glassy and googly eyed in the same ways but now comes much more appreciation, learning how to communicate in between two very different people, in two very different cultures living in a third culture and through very different lived experiences that we continue to join as our lived experience.  It is a good place to be and to recognize.  We had fun yesterday!  I highly recommend this next level Berlin touristy thing over a few times at least.

What three years together will bring out in us. 🙂