Berlin to London

Prosciutto and Figs 

Amaroni Risotto

Sea Bass with Porcini Mushrooms

Veal Stinco

We flew to London from Berlin today. When you think of Germany you think of German efficiency and precision. For years Berlin the Capital of Germany has been trying to build a new airport. It is way over budget and years behind.

So we had to fly out of Tegel Airport (TXL). I can only say it is old and decrepit and I hope the new airport finally gets completed. Because the EU countries use a value added tax when you purchase goods, if you request a tax back form at the time of purchase you can get a Tax refund at the airport. We stood in line at the Tax Back counter, only to be told we first had to go to a customs counter. We stood in line at the customs counter only to be told to fill out a form. We filled out the form and returned to the customs counter only to be told since we weren’t leaving the EU but traveling to the UK we need to process the Tax Back in the UK. What a monumental waste of time!

In retrospect it makes sense, since we had travelled to several EU countries and had Tax Back Forms from each, it would be nice to only go through the process one. It would have been helpful if someone had explained that to us first. Oh well, hopefully here in London before we leave we will get a few dollars (or Pounds or Euros back).

The Passport Control process at Heathrow is beyond a nightmare. We waited in a long line for over an hour. We did find out how ever they have a fast entry process that Americans can apply for in you come to the UK repeatedly. If that is you, here is a link to apply: UK Registered Traveller.

We decided to stay overnight at Heathrow at the Sofitel Hotel, and tomorrow we will depart back to Los Angeles. Every time we go to through London, on our last night we have dinner at The River Café. We use their cookbooks and love their food. We figured out tonight that we first had dinner there at least 25 years ago. It is still a vibrant, delicious restaurant. It is hard for a restaurant to hold on to the magic, but they have. They did something that I thought was very nice. We couldn't decide between two desserts and the waitress said "I will give you half of each". Class act! I did notice all of the wait staff seemed so young. 

The key point is that if you have a night in London and want a fabulous restaurant experience in a relax environment, try The River Café in Hammersmith.

Tomorrow we head back to the States after a wonderful vacation and birthday celebration. 

Many Facets of Berlin

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The Adlon Hotel

Flea market at the Tiergarten 

Forest of the Tiergarten

Book burning memorial at Bebelplatz

Pergamon Museum

Market Gate of Miletus at the Pergamon Museum

Ishtar Gate to Babylon 

Circa Peepshow

The day started by visiting The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial. It is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman. It consists of a site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field.

There are no markings on the slabs. No explanation of what the stelaes stand for or what their meaning is. Each person experiences it in their own fashion. The earth is not level, and as you walk randomly through the exquisitely laid out grid (it is not a maze) it is up to each individual to interpret the Memorial for themselves. We found it haunting. Sometimes we experienced it as grave stones, sometimes as coffins, sometimes as lines of people being marched. Sometimes as the monoliths from the movie 2001. We liked it very much. Like all museums in Germany, if it concerns World War 2, it is free to public. The Germans recognize their historical responsibility and are also very aware of the rise again of the right wing.

I had promised myself I would visit the Adlon Hotel. This is the hotel where President Erdoğan of Turkey was staying earlier in the week. I wanted to visit the Adlon because I have read the series of detective novels by Philip Kerr, featuring the Berlin Police Detective Bernie Gunther. He retires from the Police in the 1930’s in the series and becomes the house detective at the Adlon. The Adlon of the stories was destroyed in World War 2, and this new Adlon was built to replace it. The hotel appears to appeal to Eurotrash, and I am glad we are not staying there. I did get to visit it however and pay my respects to Bernie. If you want to immerse yourself in German History from the 1930 onward, this series of books is amazing way to do it!

The flea market at the Tiergarten was recommended by Guillermo. It is quite large, located in what used to be West Berlin, the richer part of the city. Lots of knickknacks, silver, etc. for sale. We even found a gift for a friend to take home. The Tiergarten by the way is an urban forest in the middle of Berlin. It used to be the Kaiser’s hunting preserve.

After returning to our hotel, Cathy rested, while I went to the Pergamon Museum located nearby on Museum Island. This museum serves a dual purpose it is dedicated to antiquity, with both original finds and reconstructions from damage has been cause by earthquakes and wars. The upstairs contains the newly installed Islamic collection.

We shared a drink on the rooftop of our hotel. The rooftop deck overlooks the Bebelplatz. The Bebelplatz is known as the site of one of the infamous Nazi book burning ceremonies held in the evening of 10 May 1933. In the center of Bebelplatz is a round porthole like window embedded in ground. Looking through it you see the empty shelves of a library.

We returned to the old Jewish neighborhood to attend a fantastic performance. It was called Peepshow. It is performed at the Chamaleon Theater through next February. If you are in Berlin you MUST go to it. Circa are a group of acrobats that perform in Peepshow. They are from Australia. They take traditional acrobatics, set it too music and sexualize it. They are all amazingly strong and agile. They climb ropes, create human pyramids, dance and do all the things that you and I could never do. The audience ate it up. It was an absolutely great show! We felt like the show in someway took us back to the wild days of Weimar Berlin. The club like setting, the music it was quite an environment.

We returned once again for Austrian food at Aigner Gendarmenmarkt, we liked it on our first night, so we repeated it on our last night. Cathy had Pumpkin Soup again and Mealballs, I had Beef Tartar and Pork Chop. Viennese Kaiserschmarrn. All the food was delicious and hearty!

It took some time for us to start to scratch the surface of Berlin. We want to return. The city offers culture and history, museums, music, food and a vibrancy that palpable . We look forward to our next trip back to Berlin. There is so much we haven't see.. It is a fabulous city.

We will definitely stay at the Hotel de Rome again. Its location can't be better.

Tomorrow we pack and leave for London. 

Jewish Museum and Reichstag

The Jeweler, Gisela Seibert 

Exterior Jewish Museum

Interior Courtyard at Jewish Museum

10,000 nameless metal faces 

Reichstag

Dome over the Reichstag

Interior of Dome

Looking down from ramps into the Parliament

Brandenburg Gate

After Breakfast we went for a hair appointment around the corner. Cathy needed to get her hair washed and I wanted a beard trim.

We returned to our hotel to await the arrival of a jewelry maker - Gisela Seibert. 10 years ago, Cathy had bought a ring that I especially loved while we were in Santa Fe that was created by Gisela. I wanted to wear it, but it didn’t fit me. We knew she lived in Berlin, and I tracked her down, telling her we were planning on visiting Berlin. I asked if we could meet her.

She agreed and came to our hotel today. She had about 15 rings she wanted to show us. None of the rings were what I wanted, but there was one ring that Cathy loved that also fit me. It was meant to be. Gisela, now is in her late 70’s, retired but she sort of promised to make me the ring that I wanted, but warned us it would take a year! We will see if its creation ever comes to fruition. She was a wonderful spirit and fun to talk to, I am glad we were able to spend time with her.

We then went to the Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind. It was not at all what I expected. I have seen pictures of it, with its very modern design, with slashes in the exterior walls. As we were in a taxi approaching the museum, I said to Cathy, "I don’t want to see a museum full of old Menorahs". This museum is anything but that. It is a totally disorienting experience. You walk randomly down narrow pathways that explore the history of the Jews in Berlin. Within the museum you come across vast open spaces filled with nothing - called Voids, symbolizing all that was lost in the Holocaust. It is a very moving and interesting experience, not at all like a traditional museum. It really is worth visiting.

We returned to the hotel, and Guillermo joined us for our next Berlin experience. We had planned a visit to the Reichstag, the German home of its parliament. Surprisingly this building although quite massive and old looking is not that old. It was opened in 1894 as the seat of Government. So much of World and German history is steeped in this massive building. After World War 1, with the abdication of the Kaiser, Germany became a democracy, but a very violent one, as various groups vied for power, fighting on the streets, killing each other. This was the famous Weimer Republic. Governments didn’t last very long, inflation was out of control, and Berlin was a wild, decadent city.

In 1933, there was a major fire destroying much of the Reichstag, and using the fire as a pretext, Hitler was able to consolidate his control of the government.

The building was heavily damaged during World War 2 and was finally magnificently restored  by the British Architect Norman Foster. I have seen many pictures of the Foster designed Glass dome over the Reichstag but had no idea what it really was about. You need to acquire tickets in advance to visit the dome, and then go through heavy security to visit the dome.

I was expecting vistas over the City of Berlin, but it is so much more than that. At the terrace level where the dome is built there is a history of the building that you read as you circumnavigate the dome. There is a walkway spiraling up to the top of the dome. You are given free headsets that explain the views as look out towards the city. The narration explains how you can look down through a glass ceiling in the center of the dome into the now functioning Legislature operating in the rebuilt chambers beneath the dome. They explain all of the energy saving design features. This is so much more than just a dome. I was thrilled that we visited it. It is a must see, if you ever visit Berlin, but get your tickets ahead of time. PS to get into the building you need a ticket and proper identification. 

A must see on every visit to Berlin is the Brandenburg Gate. This is the site of President Reagan's famous speech which included the lines "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!". We were walking towards the Adlon Hotel, to catch a taxi, and serendipitously came across the iconic gate, one of the great symbols of Berlin.

We then went out for what we consider a very disappointing dinner. Pauli Saal, is a 1-star Michelin rated restaurant, but after the exceptional dinner we last night at Nobelhart & Schmutzig, we felt it paled by comparison. It is a good example of how you can’t always rely on reviews. Tom, Scott and Guillermo joined us for out last dinner in together in Berlin, they are all leaving tomorrow for home. I won't recap the dinner, but rather remember fondly our dinner at Nobelhart & Schmutzig. After dinner it was back to our hotel.

Cathy's Birthday

Trippen Shoe Store 

East Berlin Artist Lofts

Museum Otto Weidt

Cafe

Screen made from Eyeglasses

Antiquities Museum

Inside Neues Museum

Billy, the majordomo of the restaurant

All the wines and beer that we drank at Birthday Dinner

Today was Cathy’s 70^thbirthday. When we were young, 70 seemed so old. Now that she has arrived at 70, we realize we aren’t old. We are just two people living life, enjoying all the happiness we can, trying to not do bad things, and trying to make the world a little better. Somedays we feel much younger, occasionally we feel our age.

Cathy had always wanted to go to Berlin, and we knew that Tom would be in Berlin for a medical conference on her Birthday, so we decided to have her birthday in Berlin. Scott, Shumon joined us and Guillermo flew in from New York.

The day started as we went to a German shoe store strangely named Trippen. Cathy really likes how Trippen  shoes fit her and their look. After shopping at the store we asked the salesman if he would recommend any other stores in the neighborhood. He directed us to a clothing store. He said to reach it you enter through a decrepit small entryway and it was at the back, and up a few flights of stairs.

We found the entrance and every inch of wall, floor and banister from that point on was covered in grafitti and posters. It was what we expected to see in East Germany. The rooms were lofts and studios of artists. In the clothing store, Scott found several items that he liked. The manager of the store said we should visit the Otto Weidt Museum in the courtyard to understand why this complex has not been redeveloped.

We walked through the Otto Weidt Museum and once again we were confronted with Germany’s past. During World War 2, Otto had a broom factory for the near blind in the building. He only hired Jews and hid them at great personal risk. It was similar to Anne Frank. They even had a secret room in the back of the building. The museum records his heroic efforts. Because of the sensitivity of preserving the past, the complex will never be redeveloped, allowing the artists a low-cost refuge from the soaring costs brought about by redevelopment. It is amazing to think that an act of bravery in World War 2, reverberates to present day Berlin. After the visit to the Otto Weidt Museum we stopped at the small Cafe next door. It was like returning to the 60's to the beatnik era.

After visiting the museum, we went to an amazing eyeglass store: Kuboraum. We have seen their glasses in Los Angeles and wanted to visit their Flagship Store. It is a very strange store, dark inside, with curtains made of thousands of glasses. Both Cathy and Scott found frames they liked.

We then went to the Neues Museum. It is located on Museum Island and specializes in antiquity. They have an amazing collection of Egyptian artifacts highlighted by a small, perfect head of Queen Nefertiti. How these artifacts survived the war is amazing. We were told many objects were buried underground to escape destruction from the sky, others were stolen by the Russians when they invaded Berlin at the end of the war, others simply are lost. None the less the Neues Museum (and all of the museums of Berlin) are jammed with art. The most impressive part of the Neues Museum to us, was the architecture itself. It has been remodeled in a monumental yet spacious way. Open courtyards for example have been converted in the most elegant galleries. It is a truly beautiful museum.

We returned to the hotel for drinks before heading off to Cathy’s Birthday Dinner at Nobelhart & Schmutzig. They have a strict policy of no photographs although the relented at the very end. The menu has a great quote at the bottom: "Please take memories, not pictures". All of the food is locally sourced from the Berlin Region. It is a Michelin stared restaurant. It resembles a Japanese Sushi restaurant in design, with a long wide wood counter.  The service people in Berlin can be notoriously rude and unhelpful. At Nobelhart & Schmutzig it is just the opposite they were extremely warm, knowledgable and interactive. 

They all spoke perfect English and as they served each course they explained exactly what it was they were serving. 

They paired the food with either wine or beer. I have never had a dinner where they alternated between, wine, champagne and beers, all perfectly chosen to compliment the food. At the risk of being hyperbolic, I can confidently say this was among the best dinners we have ever eaten. It was amazing.

There were so many highlights it would be hard to pick just a few. We would never eat venison, but here it was served perfectly grilled, with absolutely no gamey taste. As they served it, they talked about how the state sanctions a limited amount of hunting to control the deer population in the forests. Even the bread and butter were fabulous. The butter was home made in a crock and aged! Each small course was exceptional. The dinner went on and on for 12 courses! We started about 8:30 and ended at midnight. They even surprised Cathy with a delicious tart and cream to end her birthday celebration dinner. Because the individual portions were small, and the timing was extended one didn’t feel uncomfortably full. This is a destination restaurant. If you like exceptional food, served in an informal relaxed manor in an beautiful room, this is your place! 

Cathy had a magical Birthday!

The Berlin Smell

Plaques recognizing Nazi victims  

Our Guide Beth at Checkpoint Charlie 

Berlin Wall

Parking Lot over Hitler's Bunker

Fredrick's Palace being rebuilt (in the background)

Memorial to the Victims of War and Tyranny

New Church only 15 years old

The Destroyed New Synagogue

Hotel de Rome

Cocktails on Deck at our Hotel

Sunset from Roof Top Bar

Cold Appetizers and Bread 

Mixed Grill

We met our guide, Beth, at the hotel and started out on a walking tour of Berlin. Our hotel is situated in what was Communist East Berlin. This part of the city is the more interesting part. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to understand a thick German accent, but it turned out our guide was from Wales. She is a graduate student in German History and very knowledgeable.

We were immediately informed about a fact I had never heard of before. Berlin is built on a swamp. As you walk the streets of Berlin every once in a while, you get an absolutely awful smell, that is like the odor from an open sewer. It is the smell of the swamp filtering up through the streets.

Much of Berlin was destroyed in the war. Amazingly they have rebuilt much of the city to look exactly like it looked before the war. When you look at a Church or a Palace you really don’t know if it is new or the original. They would rebuild structures from the rubble, so the stones  church above look old.

Imbedded in the sidewalk at various points are small plaques that commemorate where a Jewish Family lived. We walked to where Checkpoint Charlie used to exist. There is a wall with photographs of it. Checkpoint Charlie was the passage way from East to West Berlin during the Cold War. Remnants of the Wall remain, and you can see the actual size and scope of the enclosure. Beth presented very interesting perspective on how the people of West Berlin felt after re-unification. They lost a lot of government benefits and felt that it wasn’t a merger of East and West Germany, but the absorption of East Germany by the Federal Republic of Germanywhich we now call simply Germany.

It was a short walk to Hitler’s Bunker, where he lived his final days and then committed suicide. There is no marker of the destroyed bunker, it is just an unpaved parking lot. The German government wanted no plaque or other remembrance of him, where right wing fanatics might gather. It is illegal in Germany to display the swastika flag.

We then attempted to visit Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the vast monument of concrete slabs. Unfortunately, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in Berlin for a 3-day State visit and the entire area is closed for security reasons. We don’t like him anyway, so we will be happy when he leaves, and we can then visit the memorial. The Brandenburg gate area is also closed.

We walked towards our hotel, stopping to visit the very moving Memorial to the Victims of War and Tyranny. This is a very powerful statement. Inside a building built in Greek Revival style, there sits a single bronze statue of a grieving mother holding a victim of War or Terror. There is no reference to a particular war, or even period of time. It could be any person unjustly killed. The building has an oculus (opening in the roof) allowing the sun to shine through into the darkened room.

Nearby we could see another giant reconstruction project. The rebuilding from scratch a replica of the Fredrick the Great’s Palace. When this replica is completed it will be turned into a museum.

We adjusted our walking to skirt the security and walked to Museum Island. The Spree River runs through Berlin. At one point it splits in two and then eventually reunites. This creates an island that is home to many museums. We walked across the island (for some reason I had assumed the island was remote from where we were staying, but it was actually very close). Sunday we will return to the island to visit some of the museums.

It is a short walk from Museum Island to the old Jewish Area. The weather was warm and perfect for walking. The restored New Synagogue with its golden dome towers over the neighborhood, however the sanctuary is no more. Just the façade and the restored dome remain. It was badly damaged prior to and during World War II and subsequently much was demolished; the present building on the site is a reconstruction of the ruined street frontage with its entrance, dome and towers, and only a few rooms behind.

We walked around the old Jewish Neighborhood looking at stores and eventually took the S-Bahn (Trolley) to return to our hotel’s area. A short shopping excursion, and then it was cocktails on the roof.

I had wanted to have Turkish Food (it is not available in Los Angeles – I assume due to the high number of Armenians living in LA). Since Erdoğanwas in town, complicating our sightseeing, we decided to go out for a Turkish Dinner. We had an excellent dinner at Hasir Restaurant. It was a warm night and we ate on the patio. Wonderful cold appetizers followed by hearty entrees.

A Taxi took us back to the hotel and the first full day in Berlin was complete. 

What to hide in a Dildo

AlexxaVice

Book in our room

Roof top bar Hotel de Rome 

Nuremberg Sausages

Viennese Schnitzel

Goulash with Chanterelle Mushrooms

Kaiserschmarrn Dessert

We had leftover steak from our dinner the night before. I had brought it back to the hotel and we put it in the room refrigerator. In the morning when we went down for breakfast, I brought the steak leftovers and asked the waitress if the chef would use them to make, steak sandwiches for our flight to Berlin. I was inspired, of course by the best steak sandwich in the world, in Japan. You can read about it here.

After breakfast they presented us with the assembled steak sandwich all boxed up and ready to eat. We finished packing, checked out of the hotel, caught a taxi to the airport and proceeded to checking. In the business lounge I opened the package and there was the beautiful steak sandwich. He chose great rolls for it, sautéed mushrooms and dressed the sandwich perfectly. Unfortunately, I had half eaten it when I decided I wanted to take a picture of it.

We were seated in Business Class, and this woman joined us that was outrageously dressed. Her boobs were almost falling out and she was very scantily dressed. I asked her why she was going to Berlin. She replied that she was going to a 3-day orgy. From there she started discussing that she is a British porn actress and showed us photos of her performing all kinds of sexual acts. She actually was quite articulate. She wanted to become twitter friends with us. Her twitter handle if you want to follow her is: @AlexxaVice. She did impart some final advice for us. She said if you ever want to smuggle drugs into a country, hide them inside a dildo, no one ever wants to touch it to inspect. Ah, the wisdom gained while traveling. We wished her well, turns out she is in Berlin attending the Porn Awards in Berlin and she is up for an award! We hope she wins.

We checked into the Hotel de Rome about 5pm, unpacked and went to the roof top bar for a drink overlooking Berlin. Only in Germany would you get the collected works of Goethe as the only book in your room, for night time reading! It gets chilly on the patio, and they provide blankets to keep you warm. It reminded us of the rooftop bars we would go to in Istanbul, where they gave you a selection of shawls to keep you warm. Our neighbor, David had suggested a list of restaurants that we should try in Berlin. On the list was Aigner Gendarmenmarkt. When I looked it up on the Internet, it looked like it had great Austrian food, so not knowing where it was located, I booked it. Turns out it was practically across the street from our hotel. A very short walk.

The food was heavy and filling and tasty. I imagine it is proper Austrian cooking, although since I have never before had Austrian food, I had nothing to compare it with. Scott, Tom, and Guillermo joined us for dinner. Cathy had an excellent Creamy soup from Hokkaido pumpkin with orange and ginger followed by creamy Goulash with Chanterelle Mushrooms and noodles. It was very rich.

I started with Nuremberg sausages served with sauerkraut, mustard and mashed potato, real German food! For a main course I had Viennese schnitzel served with potato bacon and gherkin salad.

For dessert we had the famous Viennese Kaiserschmarrn served with apple sauce, cranberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. The five of us split two bottles of wine followed by a dessert wine. We won’t be able to continue to eat like this in Berlin, or they will charge us extra on the plane we will weigh so much. Tomorrow we will eat lighter.

We will start the day with a walking tour of the city.