Entries tagged as ‘berlin’
FYI, as you’re reading this I am actually on a plane on my way back from Amsterdam (we went back for one day before heading back to the US). But this post is about one of my last days in Berlin. Also, this photo is not of Alexander Platz. Alexander Platz has been one of the major points in this trip, it’s kind of the center of everything and it’s also the first place my German friend Alex took us when we saw him on Sunday. Alex in Alexander Platz. There you go.
Here we are at Alexander Platz:
The first picture in this post is the Charlottenburg Palace, which according to Alex, I should be moving into soon. I was nice enough to let my mom pick out her very own room to live in it too, even though he suggested most of the rooms should be filled with my household staff. Sure, that sounds nice.
This palace was quite a surprise though. When we got there it was closed for tours of the interior but we walked around the side and were able to explore the giant garden and park behind it. It was the kind of palace and garden you see in the movies, the ones where there’s drama and women running away in their long, fancy dresses. But this garden was open to the public and there were people running around it and dogs and tourists and people just sitting there reading a book. It was lovely.
My mom and Alex are best friends now. It was so cute when he introduced himself to my mom. He was like, “Hello, Mrs. S., I am Alexander Lehmann.” Oh, if you’re wondering how I know this Alexander Lehmann, I met him when he was on holiday this summer in New York. And now we hang out in Germany. The world is not so big!
After exploring the palace grounds we went to another area in Berlin, one we wouldn’t have even known existed had it not been for Alex driving us there in his fancy car. How nice it is to ride around in a car in the city. Berlin, New York… it makes no difference, anytime being in a car is a treat. We got some German food, drank some German beers. This time my mom got some raspberry beer and I got my beer with Fanta. Yum!
So it was a very good day. Thanks, Alex, for being our tour guide.
And now, I am on my way back to New York! YAY! See you soon!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: alexander platz, all germans are named alex, berlin, charlottenburg palace, deutschland, europe, gardens, germany, palaces, travel, traveling, where i should live
I have never been to a place like this in the States. It’s basically a gelato restaurant. And it’s delicious. The menu is pages upon pages of beautiful gelato creations made with all kinds of ingredients and toppings. And the presentation is phenomenal.
Every time someone would walk by with a tray of gelato we would say, “Look at that one!” Some of them were GInormous and some of them came with cake or a giant piece of chocolate. You could also order cones and such at the window but we wanted to go for the gold and get some gelato creations.
Ingo gave us the tip on this place in Potsdamer Platz and when we found it our jaws almost dropped. It takes up an entire end of the second floor of a mall. We snatched a table in the center as soon as some kids got up and went over the menu. My mom ended picking something with vanilla and banana gelato and all kinds of fruits. Mine was chocolate-based (duh) with stracciatella gelato and hot chocolate! Part of it was like pudding. Mmm!
This place is so good we went back a second time. Hey, we were in Berlin for five days and we wanted something good for dinner our last night in town. Yes, I said dinner.
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Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: banana, berlin, caffe e gelato, chocolate, dinner, fruit, gelato, potsdam platz, yummies
The other day we ventured over to KaDeWe, a really huge and really nice department store in Berlin. We checked out their gourmet floor which had all kinds of fish and meats and desserts and everything else to either purchase to take home or have them prepare it for you right there. People were drinking wine and beer and watching as their food was being made fresh in front of them. It was crazy though. We couldn’t read any signs, everyone was moving really fast and we couldn’t make sense of the whole process. We were clueless.
We sat at the fish bar for awhile trying to figure out what was going on before my mom decided to ask the youngest chef guy there, “Do you speak English?” “Yes…” So he was really nice and he gave us an English menu and we were able to order successfully.
There is the nice young man we ordered from and here is the grill where all the action was.
Yum, yum, yum. Also, I got a glass of wine. White German wine and my mom says she’s going to start feeding me wine more often.
Here’s our food. Our meals also came with small salads and bread.
Delicious! And I love love wine with dinner. Except this was lunch, so…
Anyway. I was feeling a bit buzzing after that glass of wine. You know I had my smiley face going on and we wandered our way over to the childrens toy section on one of the floors and I found me a new Steiff friend to take home with me from Germany.
Yep, yep. There’s me and my bear. Ok, not the big bear, the little bear. He’s my new friend. I picked him up and carried him around KaDeWe with me before finally purchasing him and now he is sitting on the bed, waiting for me back at the hotel. He is such a dear. I’m going to name him something German… perhaps after one of the areas in the city? But for now I’ve just been calling him “Bear.”
Bear!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: bears, berlin, europe, fish, food, germany, kadewe, steiff, stuffed animals, travel, wine
September 5, 2009 · 1 Comment
Oh you know, I’m just lying on the grass in front of the Reichstag Building. That’s one thing that I like to do that my mother does not. I just like to chill and take it all in, get a feel for everything and she doesn’t like to sit still for more than two minutes. But after our little bike tour I definitely needed a break.
After sitting there for less than I would have liked, we got in line to go up the Reichstag Building which has this really cool dome on the top that you can sort of see in that picture.
In line to go into the building, these giant butterfly people on stilts appeared and held up a sign over the line. If I knew German, I would know what it said but I don’t. The authorities didn’t like them being there so they kicked them off the steps and they had to go down to the grass, which I’m guessing is public space and the stairs were private.
It was really funny to watch this conversation between the officers and the butterfly men. I can only guess what was being said.
The security to get into the Reichstag Building was insane, my mom kept saying there was more security there than at the airport. They let groups of people into a room, shut the door and made them all go through security before letting any of them go into the elevator that takes you upstairs. Then, on your way out, they do the same thing, and put you through a room that only opens one door at a time. Crazy.
Anyway, those are walkways inside that dome and people walking on them. The top of the dome ceiling is completely open. We were there during the sunset which was pretty cool.
And on our way to the underground station to get back to our hotel, we had to pass by the Brandenburg Gate.
Pretty nice.
And no, I will not stop wearing the same thing. I’m pretty much out of things to wear, I’m wondering what the German equivalent to Old Navy is. Ha.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: berlin, brandenburg gate, butterflies, germany, i need new clothes, ich bein ein berliner, reichstag building, security, travel
Heyo! Today is MUCH better. Yesterday I had a bit of a ‘tude, if you could not tell.
Today we went on a bike tour with this lovely fella, a part of Fat Tire Bike Tours. Four and a half hours of easy riding through the city, seeing all the sites and learning stuff and seeing naked men in the gay nude area in the park (seriously). And our little tour guide was a handsome one, always was a plus. This picture doesn’t do him justice, he’s half German, half American and all rugged. Haha. So that was fun.
We went alll over town.
One of our stops was a beer garden! I hope I get to go to another while I’m here (hopefully with my German friend Alex who we are meeting up with on Sunday) but it was wayy cool. I got a radler which is half beer, half Sprite, cause let’s be honest, I’m not a huge beer drinker. I like Blue Moon and I used to think I liked Yuengling but that’s pretty much it. So this half beer/half Sprite thing was amazing. It would have been even better if the bees weren’t swarming me but I’d still say it’s pretty good. I wonder if I ordered that in a bar in NY what they would think of me.
We also got some food.
My mother got Nuremberg Sausage that came with fries and that whitish stuff which I thought was cole slaw and maybe it was but it was served warm so who knows. I went for the potato goulash with sausage which was A-mazing and also had lots of veggies.
I’m thinking German food is pretty good so far. I’m also thinking I’m a huge fan of beer gardens.
Cheers!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: beer, beer gardens, berlin, bike tours, cute guides, cycling, europe, fat tire bike tours, food, germany, goulash, nuremburg, sausage, travel
