Snow!

Sophie woke me at 6am this morning and said it was snowing! I hadn't expected it in our part of the country, thinking it would only be farther north and Scotland, so it was a shock to look out and see the whirling flakes. Sophie's car looked like a little igloo, and I urged her to be careful on the way to the gym. When Keith and I set out an hour later, it had lessened a little but the roads up to the A43 were slushy. It was strange to see some of the trees in full leaf still, and snow!

I had another frustrating day at work with the emails. The slowness was affecting everyone and it took me twice as long to do anything, which was an utter pain. Sara wasn't in again and I doubt she'll be back tomorrow as she feels very poorly.

I did as much as I could but I still left far too many emails unanswered. I had been hoping to finish the moan report today, but that was out of the question!

Keith picked me up at 4pm and we drove home through the gloom. It's dark now at about 4.15pm and I feel sorry for schoolchildren walking home in the murky conditions. I lit the candles at home to make the house feel a little cosier, and Keith had made sure the heating was on before he left to pick me up.

Dinner tonight was Keith's north-east speciality - a stew of corned beef, bacon and potatoes served with crusty bread. Both cats had come home earlier in the evening and we're hoping this will be the pattern from now on as it's so cold outside!

Back to work

I walked into work with Sheila this morning and learnt that Sara had called in sick. She sounded quite ill, so I hope she makes a full recovery. I had a quick look at the emails, and did the box office returns, before I went into a training course at 10am this morning, with three of my colleagues. The course was about customer retention and included quite a bit of waffle and annoying catchphrases... as I've worked in customer service since I was 22 years old, I do think I know a little bit about keeping customers happy!

The course finished at 1.30pm, and I tried to clear as many emails as I could. Outlook was slow, though, and at times it felt like I was wading through glue! As quickly as I cleared a few emails, more would appear!

It was great to escape at 4pm and head home. On the way, I called Keith to ask him to put the heating on as the weather was awful. It was raining, it was dark and it was cold. Winter is here, there is no doubt! I realised today, though, that in five weeks we will be in Mallorca. I do hope it'll be warmer! I've had no luck booking a Christmas lunch for us, so I think we'll be cooking something in the house we're renting!

A sad afternoon...

Sophie spent the morning preparing today's Sunday lunch, a chicken casserole with dumplings. We decided to eat at midday again as it meant we could relax for the rest of the day and enjoy a leisurely afternoon and evening.

Lunch was a real collaborative effort today as Keith prepared the vegetables and cut up the chicken, Sophie put it all together, and I took care of the roast potatoes and dumplings! We ate at 2pm and the meal was delicious. As there was a lot left over, we decided to have it for dinner again tomorrow night, with bubble and squeak and another helping of my crunchy roast potatoes.

We settled in the living room in the afternoon, and I watched the horse racing from Cheltenham with Keith. In one of the races, I was struck by a beautiful horse called Abuffalosoldier. He was gorgeous with a plaited tail and a lovely shiny coat. He wasn't the favourite, but he maintained a lead all the way around the course and jumped like he was enjoying himself immensely. He kept the lead and won and Sophie asked if I'd put a bet on him. I hadn't but it was great to see him win.

Imagine the horror then, as his jockey was being interviewed, Abuffalosoldier collapsed live on television. As the programme carried on we learned that, despite the best efforts of the vets, he had died. It was heartbreaking for everyone involved and it affected the whole of my day. I didn't watch any more, and it's one of the reasons I've stopped watching The Grand National. I know the horses are looked after like the athletes they are, and receive the very best of care and attention, but when something like this happens it affects everyone. I've been horse racing with Keith and everyone goes quiet when a horse falls on the course, even the burly hardened bookies.

Later in the afternoon, we had another slice of Sophie's cake, which meant we didn't need to eat anything else for the rest of the day. Sophie is reading a Douglas Kennedy book about Berlin before the wall came down and was asking questions about the period, so we watched a BBC documentary about the fall of the wall in 1989. It was great to see all the familiar sights on television!

A day of pootling.

Sophie had another acupuncture session this morning and feels the treatment has helped her with her migraines. She has another two treatments after the one this morning, and then her practitioner will be away for two months. It has cost her a fair amount of money, but it's been worth it!

We've spent the day pootling about and catching up with jobs after our trip last week, which now seems a distant memory! The weather has been grey and chilly again, and we're due a cold snap next week. It's not even proper winter yet!

Sophie made her Guinness cake today, and as it baked in the oven, it smelt divine! We enjoyed a slice in the afternoon with a sneaky glass of Marsala wine, and the cake was moist and delicious.

I went upstairs to watch an old black and white film from 1945 called I Know Where I'm Going! but couldn't resist the lure of Four Weddings and a Funeral, which I'd recorded last night. It was filmed in 1994, and some of the wedding dresses were remarkably similar to mine - big and bouffant! 

Back downstairs, Sophie and I read our books in the living room while Keith watched football. This seems to be the favourite thing to do on a Saturday evening now, especially when it's chilly outside, but we're definitely going to put the Scrabble box in one of the suitcases to play while we're in Mallorca!

We ordered a Chinese takeaway tonight and afterwards watched the third instalment of the Bourne films, The Bourne Ultimatum. It made for great viewing!

Back home

I had a wonderful night's sleep and awoke at 8am feeling much refreshed. Sophie went to work and I started on the first of our laundry loads. Keith had written a shopping list and disappeared to Tesco before 9am.

The weather today has been grey and overcast again. I've almost forgotten what it's like to see the sun and blue skies! My day was taken up with being a slave to the washing machine and tumble dryer, writing my blog and unpacking the cases. 

Before Sophie returned from work, I hoovered downstairs and lit the candles, making the house cosy and warm. We opened a bottle of Rioja tonight and watched a four-part documentary about Ted Bundy, one of America's worst serial killers who was active in the 1970s. It was chilling to watch, especially as I thought he looked like a cross between Roger Federer and  Robert Downey Jnr!

Keith wasn't at the pub this evening and made a delicious chilli con carne. It was spicy and warming on a cold Autumn night and just what we fancied!

Ben Howard in Berlin - The 10 Year "I Forget Where We Were" Anniversary Tour - 12th-14th of November

An attack of the dismals...

I had another patchy night's sleep and woke a bit bleary this morning, but at least I didn't have a sore throat! After a coffee with lovely fresh milk (for a room that could sleep three, we were given two miserly cartons of UHT milk) I felt a lot better and joined Keith in some people-watching again! 

We showered and packed and were ready for the off at about 10am. The hotel stored our suitcases for us and we still had about three hours on our 24-hour train tickets from yesterday. There was a small bicker-fest about the best way to get to Hackescher Markt, and I suggested the bus which we could catch just up the road from the hotel.

Outside, it was drizzling and grey again and people were scurrying past holding umbrellas. We walked to the bus stop to find it wasn't in use with all the roadworks going on, so we had to walk back to the U-Bahn station and take the U2 to Alexanderplatz again! No matter how hard we try and avoid this station, we're lured back time and time again!

The train was packed and when we alighted at Alexanderplatz, we took a lift up to the surface. This brought us out by a tram station and I suggested taking one rather than walking, which takes about twenty minutes. We caught the next one, which dropped us off in the heart of the bustling area and only minutes from the restaurant where we'd wanted to have breakfast.

We took a table by the window and perused the menu, only wanting something light because of our plan to have lunch at Zum Nussbaum later. We were feeling a bit dismal this morning, and the weather certainly wasn't helping! As we sat and waited for our breakfast, the rain started to become heavy and we looked at each other in dismay!

Sophie chose a croissant with a hot chocolate for breakfast, while Keith and I opted for the "French" breakfast - a croissant and a stodgy, warm raisin cake. I ordered a large coffee, and of course, it came without milk so I nicked most of Keith's that came with his tea! I should have known to have asked for it "mit milch"!

We didn't fancy wandering around Hackescher Markt, and it was way too early to visit our weird little bar, so we made the decision to return to the Nikolaiviertal and have a look in the shops again before an early lunch. 

Walking back to the tram, I noticed that Berlin on this trip looked a lot scruffier than it had on previous visits. Maybe it was the time of year and the weather, but leaves and litter were lining the roads, the people looked hunched and unhappy, and everything looked grey and dirty. I know Berlin can be a very "gritty" city,  but on this trip, I seemed to notice it a lot more. Has our love affair with Berlin ended? Dare I say it, but if this had been our first visit to the city, I doubt I'd return. Maybe it's time for a visit in the Spring or late summer when the weather is better and things look more cheerful!

More sausage!

We caught the tram back to Alexanderplatz and then rode the U5 line to Rotes Rathaus, a brand-new station. Emerging into the daylight, we could see the construction of the large Christmas market taking place, which is usually one of our favourites, with a Ferris wheel and skating rink. 

We made our way to the Nikolai Quarter and Zum Nussbaum:

It looks authentically old, but this whole area was flattened in the Second World War and has been rebuilt faithfully. Inside is dimly lit and cosy and full of dark wooden furniture. We took a seat by the window (not shrouded in scaffolding like last time) and ordered dark beers and a light lunch.

Sophie's smoked sausage with sauerkraut and potato salad

Sitting and chatting, we agreed that we didn't have a lot of time left as our flight was scheduled to leave at 5.30pm, and we had to be at the airport a couple of hours before that. Plans to take the train back to the airport were abandoned and we decided to use an Uber instead.

We had a lovely lunch in the old pub and the staff were friendly and hospitable. In fact, everyone we met on this trip has been lovely, from chatty Uber drivers to warm and welcoming waiters. We paid the bill, left our last few euros as a tip and made our way back to the hotel. 

Homeward bound

Sophie ordered an Uber and we had a great driver take us back to the airport. His driving was smooth and efficient and I'm sure I nodded off at one point! British Airways had sent Sophie an email asking if we could volunteer our cabin cases to go in the hold, so we dropped them off and went through security, which was quick and efficient.

We didn't have enough time to justify going into the lounge so we sat by Duty Free and whiled away a couple of hours reading or people-watching. When our gate was called, we made our way over and discovered that we were going to be delayed by about half an hour. 

Our flight was only half full so as soon as the seatbelt signs went off, Keith moved to a row all by himself. I treated us all to a drink and a snack and we had a very enjoyable, smooth flight.

After another huge trek, we made it to passport control and we went through smoothly and without any hassle. We had a long walk to our bus stop and after a short wait, we were boarding the shuttle back to the car park.

It was about 7.30pm, but the M25 was manic, and the M1 wasn't much better! We made it home at 9pm, after stopping to buy some sandwiches at the Waitrose garage in Moulton. Isla had sent us a message this morning to say that the cats had somehow worked out how to use the locked catflap and had disappeared when she went around to feed them this morning. Mooney was waiting for us in the garden and gave us many kisses, and Gomez appeared before we went to bed a little later. The house was freezing cold, as usual!

Sophie is back to work tomorrow but I'm off, thank goodness! I think I will be busy!

Ben Howard in Berlin - The 10 Year "I Forget Where We Were" Anniversary Tour - 12th-14th of November

A sobering visit.

I never sleep well in hotels (it's one of the reasons we always rent an Airbnb house) and last night was no exception. I awoke after a patchy night's sleep with a sore throat and a stuffed-up nose, and didn't dare look in the mirror at my reflection! I don't think the constant dry heat in the room helped. We never have the heating on all night at home and in the end, we had to resort to using a fan and opening both windows to cool down the room a little!

I made myself a coffee and joined Keith at the window to watch the comings and goings of Berliners as they went about their business. We were intrigued by one woman who was washing her car down with a little cloth while holding a shopping bag! She was very thorough and went all over the car, cleaning the windows and even the wheels with the little cloth! When she finally finished, she crossed the road and disappeared into an apartment block!

After showers, we took the train on the U2 line to Potsdamer Platz. The 24-hour tickets we bought yesterday were still valid and it was a short trip to the busy station. We emerged into Potsdamer Platz, and, as always, it took us a few minutes to get our bearings. Work was going on constructing the Christmas market here, and we saw a large winter slide that Mike went down once, years ago. We wanted somewhere for breakfast and coffee and soon spotted a sign that looked promising.

We were annoyed that our hotel was charging 24 euros for breakfast - in fact, this was just one of the issues we had with the hotel this time! Three breakfasts at 24 euros over the two days would work out to be 144 euros! For a buffet breakfast! It was outrageous!

We walked to the lovely Maxim's where a friendly waitress took our orders for coffee and croissants. Gentle piano music was playing in the background and the café was cosy and inviting. Just what we wanted, without the price tag! Outside, the weather was grey and overcast again with a slight drizzle in the air. We sat and enjoyed our croissants and coffee - my flat white was on par with Costa's! 

As I said yesterday, the itinerary had taken a bit of a bashing, but we decided to visit The Topography of Terrors this morning as Sophie had never been and it was a short walk away. We paid the bill (less than the price of one breakfast at the hotel) and walked towards the exhibition, housed in the old headquarters of the Berlin Secret Police.

It was free to enter, and is mostly outdoors so we hoped that it wouldn't rain! The Topography of Terrors recounts the events in Berlin from 1933 to 1945, the rise of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich, and includes lots of photographs and documents from the period.

Behind the exhibition screens is a section of the Berlin Wall, looking even uglier and more menacing in the grey weather we were experiencing!

We walked slowly along, reading the information boards and trying to imagine what it was like living at the time. Parties of schoolchildren and older students arrived but they took little interest in the boards, preferring to muck about and be typical teenagers!

New to us was an indoor centre where you could visit the library, see a film about the period, and have a look at some interior information boards. We were just interested in a hot drink from the charming little café and a sit down at one of the tables! Sophie and I enjoyed a hot chocolate each and shared a small piece of lemon cake.

The building was very new (I don't remember it being there years ago when Keith and I first visited) and very modern with marble floors and sharp lines.

Not 100 beers!

Once we'd used the facilities, we made our way back outside, intending to have lunch at The House of 100 Beers on Kurfurstendamm. There used to be a branch at Potsdamer Platz but that has since closed down, which was a shame as it was a lovely restaurant and close to the shopping mall.

We walked back to the station and saw some kind of protest taking place outside the State Parliament building opposite. We hadn't a clue what was going on, or why they were protesting, but we think it had something to do with a budget cut for the Arts? There were several police cars there, but it was very peaceful!

Back at Potsdamer Platz, we took the U2 line, and then the U7 line to the main shopping street in Berlin, Kurfurstendamm, which is just over 2 miles long. It was a short walk to the restaurant - Das Haus der 100 Biere and we took a seat in the window overlooking a Woolworth's on the other side of the street. I thought they had all gone?

I wanted a dark beer and looked in vain for Kostritzer on the beer menu but it wasn't listed. The first two beers I asked for weren't available (Ha! So there weren't one hundred available then!) and the waiter recommended Lucky Lup which was an IPA made in Berlin at 6.5%. Sophie chose the same as me, and Keith opted for a beer called Drunken Sailor at 6.4%.

The beer was great but it wasn't the dark one I was hankering for! Normally, I think IPAs smell of cats' pee but the Lucky Lup was sweet and refreshing.

We had a look at the menu and Keith and I chose the Hunter's veal escalope, while Sophie went for the normal version. Ours arrived with a chunky mushroom sauce, while Sophie had a cold potato and gherkin salad instead of our fried potatoes mixed with bacon and onions. The food was very good but we each had two big escalopes! Phew!

Next to us was a couple who enjoyed a glass of wine each (and made it last for hours) and we wondered about their relationship. We thought brother and sister, but it was fun to do a little people-watching and also to gaze out of the window and see all the comings and goings on the busy street.

The plan was to get a train back to the Nikolaiviertal and have a mulled wine in one of the cafés there, but Keith was feeling weary, so we ordered an Uber instead. It took a fair while to arrive as the surrounding roads were busy and we waited by a hectic intersection that was crammed with vehicles of all kinds. Our driver was lovely and chatted with us the whole way back, complaining lightheartedly about Berlin drivers and how bad they are! On the way we spotted the street featured in the television programme we've been watching about two houses in London and Berlin, so that was a bonus!

A little exploring.

Back at the hotel, we relaxed for a little while before Sophie and I decided to do a little exploring. I'd always wanted to see what was along the Spreekanal opposite so we put on our coats and boots and set off. We took a muddy path and walked along the quiet canal. To our left were apartments with small gardens and bicycles propped up outside. It was starting to get dark and I loved peering in and seeing how people lived.

Another U-Bahn Station near the hotel, Spittelmarkt

Further along the path we found ourselves on Wallstrasse and saw several restaurants that we had never discovered before! The whole area was busy with people and we saw lots of Mums and small children walking along, so maybe there was a school or nursery nearby.

We decided to head back to the hotel along the busy main road and pop into the supermarket to get Keith a sandwich for later, and a carton of milk for our morning coffee tomorrow.

Busy traffic

Ben in Berlin!

At 6pm, we walked over to the Wall Street Park Plaza for cocktails. This time I chose a "Horse's Neck", which was Bourbon, ginger beer and bitters, while Sophie carried on with the theme and enjoyed a Moscow Mule. Keith settled for beer!

My first drink was lovely, but I switched to an Old Fashioned afterwards, which really hit the spot with a kick of alcohol. Delicious! It was great to sit and chat at the bar, and nibble on salted peanuts, and at 7.30pm Sophie ordered an Uber to take us to the Uber Eats Music Hall. Keith returned to the hotel (he was going to watch Darts on the television). I don't think Sophie was that comfortable with our Uber driver, who was a bit mad, managing to get his Toyota Corolla up to 70 miles an hour at one point on the Berlin city roads. We were both glad when we arrived safe and sound!

There was another venue - the Uber Eats Arena - but I think the Music Hall was slightly smaller. We found our way to the entrance and joined the throngs of people going in. Sophie had a brief panic when she noticed that the tickets had to be printed, but they were scanned successfully on her phone so in we went!

Our seats were on the third floor and we had complimentary wardrobe tickets, which was a bonus. We dropped off our coats and went to get a drink. Sophie chose an Aperol Spritz but I stuck to water as I didn't want to mix my grains and the only mixer they had with whisky was Coke. We sat and had our drinks at tall tables and then, at about 8.45pm, we went in. We were delighted to find our seats on the front row of the gallery and we had a fantastic view of the stage!

Below us was a mass of people who had bought standing tickets and I was so glad we had comfortable seats after all the walking we'd done over the last two days!

Ben came on at just after 9pm and started the show with my favourite song, End of the Affair, my favourite. The lights and scenery were brilliant, and I wondered about the imagery which included photos of flowers, Ben on an escalator and pruning olive? bushes!

Sophie and I couldn't believe that it had been ten years since we'd seen him in Berlin! I estimated that quite a few of the people at the concert tonight probably would have been too young to have seen him last time as they were in their early 20s!

Ben performed all of our favourites, as well as some new tracks that we hadn't heard before and a couple from previous albums. At the end, he chatted away to us, and touched on current subjects which drew a roar from the crowd! The very last song was obviously "I Forgot Where We Were" and right at the end the whole band appeared on the stage with him and bowed to the audience. It was very emotional!

We don't know when we'll get a chance to see him again, but we both hoped it wouldn't be another ten years!

We joined the masses leaving and collected our coats. I took our plastic cups back and obtained a refund for the deposit, and we made our way outside. Our next aim was to get an Uber quickly and we walked to the main thoroughfare, noticing with surprise, that we were opposite The East Side Gallery, a long stretch of the Berlin Wall covered with art. I was certain the entertainment hub wasn't there the last time we visited this area.

There were several taxis lined up but Sophie ordered an Uber and he arrived within about ten minutes. The journey back was smooth and silent, and although both of us felt a bit peckish, it was almost midnight so too late to have anything substantial to eat.

Keith was asleep so we tiptoed about and got ready for bed. It had been a long day but at least we could have a little lie-in in the morning!