Mave came out in the morning to snuggle Nat. She’d gently lift her blanket up and climb in. She burrowed down and stayed for like an hour. I was so jealous. Cause who wouldn’t want to snuggle with this bedhead?After many fun days of sight seeing, we were all ready for a little R&R.  We needed to get off our feet and out of the heat!  To Flughafensee we went.  We rode the train for about 45 minutes, then walked the rest of the way to the Lake.  It was so fun! The kids played and played in the water, we napped, we ate Gouda and turkey sandwiches, cherries, strawberries and pretzels.  There were fish in the lake and Halle and Gwen loved chasing them around.  Mave made us all delicious sand cupcakes and ice cream cones.  It was Rusty’s birthday, so we called him from the beach and watched him open his presents.  He got some Apple AirPods. We missed being with him on his birthday, but Josh took really good care of him.  He set up the birthday banner, got out the presents and cooked breakfast.  He is the best!

Halle got her first taste of nudity in Europe, as there were many topless ladies lounging in the sun.  European attitude toward bodies and nudity is so refreshing.  A bit shocking at first, but kinda cool once the shock wears off.

Our experience with nudity didn’t end there!  We left the girls with Dan and headed out for a spa night in the city.  We tried to go to a restaurant called, “It’s a Small World” but due to some electrical difficulty, it was closed for the evening.  We ended up eating the most fantastic Lebanese food.  Shawarma and hummus, pita, falafel, lamb, roasted veggies.  It was a feast!

Then we were off to the Liquidrom.  I read somewhere that you can’t be a prude in Berlin for very long.  How true this is.  Saunas in Germany are nude.  They think that swimsuits or towels block the release of the toxins and can make you overheat.  So, clothes are verboten!  We did a salt peeling in a sauna that was 90 Celsius. That’s 194 Fahrenheit.  It was INTENSE.  The salt master would pour different salts over the hot rocks and it was sweltering.  It took all my energy and focus to stay.  There were 4 rounds, with a break between the first two rounds to go out of the heat and do a salt scrub.  Then back for the last two rounds.  I made in 1/2 way through the 4th round and I had to call it quits.  My heart didn’t stop pounding for like 15 min.

One of the coolest things here was the salt water floating pool.  Swimsuits were, thankfully, allowed in the pool.  There is a DJ mixing electronic music that is piped under the water.  We grabbed some pool noodles and blissed out.  It was certainly a very German experience!  I bet there aren’t many people who can say they’ve done a naked sauna with their sisters 🙂