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.