Introduction

I decided to start this blog as a way to share with my friends and family back in the States all of the new things that we are doing as we move from NYC to Berlin.  I am hoping it will motivate me to get out and explore my new city so I have something to write about.  It will include observations about the changes with living in a different country, as well my experiences with being a new mom.  Hopefully as I learn more about living in Germany and being a mom I will have some interesting, or at least entertaining, things to share. 

Why Berlin?       

Many people have asked Valentin and I why we have decided to move to Germany.  The most important reason is Alani.  As we are growing our little family it has become apparent that continuing in NYC was just not the best thing for us.  We also have talked for many years about moving to Germany, and we just kept putting it off for one reason or another.  It feels like now is the time to do it.  However, this was a very hard decision to make; we have wonderful friends in NYC that we are already missing very much. 

OK, so we decided to move to Germany, but why Berlin?  We chose Berlin because of its reputation as a very international city.  After living in a huge colorful city like NYC we thought the transition to a small German city might be a culture shock for all of us.   Hopefully, as we get moved in to our new apartment and start getting to know the city this will prove to be true.  I am looking forward to exploring the former communist city and all of the historical sites and museums it has to offer.