What a weird time to be experiencing in our world right now!  I have had a lot of questions about what it is like in Berlin right now….

As of Saturday night all clubs, bars, gyms, swimming pools, museums, theaters, cinemas, gatherings of 50 or over (including church) have been closed.   The public transit has been pared down a bit, restaurants and cafes can be open but they have to take away enough of their seating to have at least 1.3 meters between tables.  Some restaurants have gone ahead and closed.

All of a sudden, too, its sunny but still chilly but this means that so many people are outside as well. There is a weird mix of adhering to rules but also a German sensibility that is playing itself out in kind of weird ways.

Ana and I have been reading about the responsibility of staying away from people as much as possible so we have gone out to walk our dogs but that is about it.  Obviously, the pups don’t seem to get social distancing. 🙂  Ana will continue to work from home but nannying for me is on hold until we see what happens and know more.

We had to cancel our little weekend trip to Krakow for this upcoming weekend. Poland has closed its borders and we were thinking more and more that we shouldn’t travel right away.  We are still waiting to hear about Serbia in April and I am praying that I can still travel home to Portland at the end of May…we shall see.  The travel ban from Europe may make things really hard to get home but we just have to take it day by day.

Last night I tuned into some online worship opportunities and this I see as an upside from afar.  Normally, I wouldn’t get to worship with my friends on the West Coast but last night I was in the same boat as they were and could tune in easily and feel part of those communities again.  I have been thinking more and more about the ways that this world wide pandemic connects more than we had before.  We have to be creative about how we hold the connection but it is definitely there.  People seem to be a little bit kinder to one another and a little more open to trying something else while staying inside, if they are paying attention and staying inside.  It is part of our duty to care for one another which means helping to flatten the curve for sure.

How is your corner of the world?