Sibs in Berlin: From Macarons to Mauerpark

More Sibs!!!  Becca and Chris arrived 3 days after Jarrod!  We collected them and brought them for a tasty Greek dinner after their rather long flight and 6-hour layover in Iceland. 

We were all refreshed by the next morning and went over to Makrönchen Manufaktur in Charlottenburg.  If you'd like to know, this little cafe belongs to our friend Laura and happens to be the home of the BEST macarons in all of Berlin.  I'm not kidding.  Laura is a baking legend!  She is even in books about the sweet spots of Berlin!  She also happens to hang out in my favorite cafe a lot so I've gotten to know her quite well.  She actually lent us extra towels so all of our visitors can use more than a dishtowel to dry off after they shower.  She's so nice!  And her macarons are sooooo yummy!  Thanks for a beautiful brunch Laura!  

From there we headed over to Mauerpark.  Fritz and I had heard about it, but this was our first time visiting so it was a new experience to the whole gang.  "Mauerpark" means Wall Park because the it is located on the border of East and West Berlin which was divided by the Berlin Wall.  We learned that on Sundays, Mauerpark becomes a destination unlike any other.  

There is a giant market that would have taken hours to walk through.  In addition to antique and "junk" vendors, there were tons of artists and crafts people with booths displaying all kinds of unique goods.  

It was packed in the market and we weaved and bobbed our way through from booth to booth. 

Fritz carried my new hula hoop that Jarrod and I got together the day before.  He bought juggling balls when I got the hoop so we could put on our own little sibling show. 

There was a separate section of the market that had a mega assortment of delicious food!  The boys each got their very own fish, which they had to de-bone before eating.  Becca and I got ice cream.  Everyone was happy. 

Outside the market there was a large stretch of lawn where people just set up whatever it was they wanted to set up, from barbecues to banjo bands.  The guy in the picture above had a microphone and some background beats and just started rapping his heart out while a crowd gathered around him.  I'm not usually that interested in rap music, but this guy had some very thoughtful lyrics.  

Beyond the lawn is a slope leading up to the old Berlin Wall which you can see in the background. 

The slope made for a perfect amphitheater.  A huge crowd packed themselves in to surround a circular stage where a man sets up karaoke every Sunday.  

This was completely unbelievable.  

I have never seen so many people just loving karaoke performances.  Brave singers from all over the world got up to share their "talents."  Some were good, most were bad, but the people loved them all the same.  My personal favorite was a shy-looking Korean girl who belted out Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."

A man wearing a curly wig did a great job rapping in German.  He was quite animated and had the entire thing memorized!  

Sometime after him, two guys from Spain sang the Macarena.  They encouraged people to join them on the stage to dance.  As quickly as I could, I hopped up on the stage and hoop danced in front of the biggest crowd I've ever stood before in my life.  I don't know what got into me!  But it was fun!