Flat Stanley

I have recently received a letter in the mail from a school class near Bloomington, IL about Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is the main character in a children's book, who is squished down to be as "flat as a pancake" when a bulletin board falls over on him. However, he begins to enjoy some of the advantages of being flat, such as being thin enough to fit in an envelope so that he can be mailed around the U.S. and around the world.

http://www.flatstanleybooks.com/

Flat Stanley even visited former president George W. Bush at one point.

http://petri.house.gov/press/flatstanley.htm

And the latest person Flat Stanley came to visit was me. What follows below is a chronicle of his visit for the students back in Illinois.


It was just before Christmas that I received an unexpected visitor to my apartment in Berlin, Germany. Flat Stanley was his name and he was able to slip in through the mail slot in my door while I was at work.


Berlin is a large city of 3.4 million inhabitants located in the northeast portion of the country of Germany. Germany, of course, is located on the European continent, across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States. Berlin is so far away (it is 4415 miles from Chicago to Berlin) that the time in Berlin is seven hours ahead of the time in Illinois. For instance, if you are eating lunch at noon in Illinois, it is already 7pm and time for dinner in Berlin. The official language in Germany is German, although many people here know more than one language, and can also speak English. At this time of year, around Christmas, the weather is below freezing, and there is a lot of snow around. One of the things that Berlin is best known for is the Berlin Wall, which divided the city in half, until it was torn down 21 years ago.


Stanley had arrived at an interesting time, because I was just about to fly back home to Kansas City, Missouri to visit my family for Christmas. However, because the snow and the weather conditions were so severe, my flight to go back home was delayed for three days. Of course this was at first a little disappointing, but then, it gave me some extra time to hang out with Stanley in Berlin and show him a few of the sites. The first thing I needed to do with my unexpected free time was to fix my computer, and Stanley was nice enough to help out.

Then, we went outside to get some fresh air and see something of the city. Since I didn't yet have any proper winter clothes for him, I tucked him into my jacket so that he would stay warm.


Once outside, despite the cold, Stanley wanted to play in the snow, just a little. Here is Stanley in his snow fort that he had built.


After playing in the snow, we went to look for some of the important tourist sites in Berlin. To get there, we took the train. Many people take the train to get from place to place in Berlin, rather than driving cars. This particular train is called the "u-bahn", where the "u" stands for underground, because most of the tracks for this train are located below the ground level.



After a time, we arrived at the Brandenburg Gate. This used to be the city gate of Berlin, in former times, and it sits very closely to where the Berlin wall used to run to separate East and West Berlin. It has a lot of historical significance and is today one of the most important symbols of Berlin.


Then, we saw the television tower. On top of the tower, it has a large antenna for transmitting radio and television signals through the air. As you can see, during this time of year the weather can be very foggy... During the summer, the view of the tower is much clearer. This particular television tower in Berlin (there are others throughout Germany) is quite large, and it is actually the tallest man-made structure in Europe.


After the television tower, Stanley and I went to a Christmas Market. This type of outdoor market is very traditional in Germany during the Christmas season. There, you can eat Christmas foods, go to shops, and sometimes hear live Christmas music being played.


After three days of waiting, it was finally time to get on the plane and fly to Kansas City to visit my family for Christmas. This particular flight was routed through a different city than originally planned, in order to avoid the bad weather. Thankfully, this one was not canceled, and I was able to board the plane and begin the journey. Here, Stanley and I are buckled in as the first plane took off from Berlin.


Approximately 17 hours and three flights later, Stanley and I arrived safely at my parents' house in Kansas City. There, I was able to finally get Stanley some proper clothes, in order to get into the Christmas spirit. Here is Stanley with the Christmas tree.



With the nativity scene.


And with Santa and Mrs. Claus...



I got one last picture of Stanley and I together as well, with his seasonal Christmas clothes.


Then, at last, the rest of my family and I traveled to Bloomington, Illinois to visit my sister, Ms. Anna. I dropped Stanley off with her, since he was already so near to home, and she promised to accompany him on a safe return trip back to the classroom. Thanks for letting me borrow him and I hope you enjoy hearing of his adventures in Berlin. I hope all of you have had a Merry Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year!