I think the idea of Valentine's Day is lovely. Historically a day to celebrate St. Valentine and secret band marriages. Another day to express love, romance, friendship, and all that mushy stuff. I know it's super commercialized and it's really just a big chocolate and flower day! But I'm a romantic... so WHATEVER, I like it! As kids, my sisters and I used to wake up to flowers and a small gift or cards from our parents or particularly our dad. It was always sweet and thoughtful. And that's what I like, a moment to be sweet and thoughtful to those around you... it can be to a significant other, but it can also be to a friend, your kiddos or even to yourself. As a single woman I loved going out with my friends or taking my self on a date.
Last year was the first Valentine's Day I had a serious relationship so that felt exciting and new. Then there's this year... Married Valentine's Day.
In general we are an activity kind of couple in comparison to gifts.... gifts are good and we do them sometimes, but an activity we can do and enjoy together is a way for us to build memories together. So we booked tickets for the Monet Garden at the Alte Münze.
Our day started kinda late but a good chill morning...our time slots were for 1pm so it worked nicely for a chill Saturday. We are practical and celebrated on Saturday instead of Monday after work. We live on the edge of the city so it's about 50 minutes to get into the city center. Because of the 2G+ rules around the city we had to stop and get a rapid antigen test. The test centers are all over so a quick stop is pretty easy for where ever you are going. The Alte Münze is easily accessible and a quick walk from Alexanderplatz and Museum Island, so very convenient. There is however a LOT of construction on the street in front of the building so be aware, we had to walk around all of it to get in.
The exhibit was very nice. A chill space, Monet's pieces are displayed digitally, the first room had some of his works on large digital frames. But the main event was a digital room with a panorama of Monet's works that felt alive. It went through highlights of Monet's life and art career. It was completely in German, so we tried our hardest to keep up, but we are both still working on our German. We caught as much as we could... but it definitely made us want to study German more. We will continue to work on that! The show was 44 minutes in length and looped every hour. They have some chairs on the sides and pillows all over the room so everyone can sit on the floor or lounge to watch the show. We found a spot on the floor to enjoy and try to keep up with the German.
After the show we walked around the neighborhood along the river and over near Nikolaikirchplatz. We found a little cafe called Bonne Vie Berlin and we stopped in for coffee( for me... Samuel doesn't drink coffee! He had apple juice. I KNOW!) and some nice yummy pastries! Nothing like sitting in a lovely cafe with good coffee, good streusel, and the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE! I know I'm a complete sap!!!!
After that we did the ever sexy.... grocery shopping! I KNOW, we are awesome...but truly... a big part of romance is the daily little things. We were out on the town so we ran over to Punjab Food Traders... cause it's one of the best places in town to get all the African groceries. The night was polished off with a candlelight dinner at home! I made baked salmon, with spinach tortellini and roast veggies. Red wine chocolate cupcakes with fresh raspberries! Jazz, candles, good conversation, yummy food and my best friend! It was a lovely day!!
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