Thursday, November 24, 2005

Berlin


In Berlin… by the wall… It was my birthday present to L. A weekend in Berlin, by far my favourite city in Europe (like I know them all… yeah right! Anyway I really like Berlin a lot). She had been there once before but her stay then hadn’t been what she had hoped for. Wrong companion. So I had to take her, didn't I?
We got there by train on a friday. L. had packed a full bag of delicious food for on the way. And bottle of champagne for later on that night...
We stayed in a lovely apartment in Mitte, near Prenzlauer Berg – in the Schönholzerstrasse. Indeed just a few yards from where once the Wall stood.
Three days is short. But we had a great time. We walked the Friedrichstrasse, strolled through Prenzlauerberg, saw what was left of the Wall at the East Side Gallery, climbed the Dom (where L’s hat was stolen!!!) and gazed upon an illuminated Fernsehturm on a foggy night - like something inexplicable from outerspace.

We went to the former Stasi headquarters which is a museum now, we saw a nice exhibit of Katharina Sieverding’s work at the KW gallery in the Auguststrasse and L. fell in love with a second-hand shoe shop at the Rosenthalerstrasse.
And we had breakfast! Having breakfast in Berlin is a reason alone to go there. In Berlin you can have breakfast all day long. Just order a Berliner Frühstück, ask for a boiled egg on the side, have a coffee and an orange juice with it, and enjoy!

We stopped at some pubs to rest our feet (unfortunately L. had hurt both her foot and knee climbing the stairs of the Dom - twice). At a place called 'Eschschloraque Rümschrümp' near the Hackeschen Höfen we had a close encounter with a metal monster bird! See the photo ­I took while risking my life.

We had some lovely dinners as well. I have to mention the special visitor at our first dinner - a charming comedian homeless guy: Kaiser Kasimir. He hands out hand picked daisies and invites you to squeeze his horn. And when you spare him some coins he will give you change: a 50,90 euro bank-note with his own portrait. Cool hey?
I love Berlin. And this time I had the one I love with me. Heehee!

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