Visiting Berlin - 12-14 October 2012

After a fairly good night's sleep - Keith forced two Drambuies on me last night when we got back to the hotel and with all the alcohol I did wake up at one point during the night - it was down to the hotel's buffet breakfast to fill up for the day. We paid 32 euros for our breakfasts so we were determined to get our money's worth and the choice was excellent. I started with muesli and fruit, followed by boiled eggs, cold meats and some delicious bread all washed down with copious amounts of coffee. There was also little cakes (I refrained) and even some sparkling wine to accompany the fruit juices. Breakfast was very busy and we were lucky to get a table so there were numerous people hanging about, glaring at us as we ate, who were obviously not so lucky!

Our plan for today (if the weather was good, and it was!) was to go to Potsdam, a town outside Berlin so a fair ride on the train. I'd been wanting to go for ages but we never seemed to visit at the right time.

We set off for Alexanderplatz and tried to work out when the trains to Potsdam left, but there was no mention of the town on the timetables. I suggested we go to the main train station in Berlin and try and get a train from there, but when we went up to the platform the sign said there was a train going to Potsdam arriving in five minutes!

It was a very pleasant journey to Potsdam (I love the motion of the train as it sends me to sleep) but we had to change at a station called Wannsee. Everyone got off but I said to Keith that it wasn't our stop yet even though we were the only ones left! It transpired that we had to change to another train for one stop and the really funny thing was that all the people we were sitting with on the old train kept together so we were sitting with them on the new train...weird!

At Potsdam we managed to work out which bus we needed to get to the "Neues Palais" which is right at one end of the enormous Park Sansoucci. The Neues Palais is literally "New Palace" and was built by Frederick the Great as a summer residence as his old castle, Schloss Sansoucci, just didn't have enough room for all his guests. It's an imposing Baroque building and certainly dominates the surrounding park.

I dread to think how much it all cost as there is so much detail on the outside of the building with numerous statues (most of them nude or topless) and I believe the inside is just gorgeous. Even the servants' quarters are magnificent!

One half of the servants' quarters - now part of the campus of the Potsdam University

We followed the main drive down towards the old residence, Schloss Sansoucci, admiring the beautiful parkland with the trees in all their Autumnal glory.

The Orangerie built to house guests

 

We found a lovely bench in the full sun and I called home to make sure everyone was OK. We also swapped socks as Keith said his feet were being squeezed by the socks he was wearing! I have to say I was wearing the most comfortable walking boots I have ever owned and they performed brilliantly throughout our visit to Berlin. The last time we went to the city the soles on my feet really hurt forcing me to buy some pads to alleviate the pain but not once did my feet hurt this time. It was like wearing big comfortable slippers and I didn't care that they looked a bit big and clumsy. I took some lovely black suede boots for the evening but my footwear during the day really made all the walking we did very bearable!

After I'd called home we carried on through the park and reached the Schloss Sansoucci which sits quite high up with terraces of vines in front of the building. We really didn't do justice to the park as we didn't go inside any of the buildings as looking at fine furniture and paintings is not really Keith's thing. Maybe I can persuade him to go in next time we visit!

Schloss Sansoucci

Once we reached the end of the park we decided to get the bus back to the station and then head into the centre of Potsdam which was heavily bombed during the war but at the station we changed our minds and caught the next train back to Berlin. I almost fell asleep on the way back as it was warm and the rocking motion of the train was very soothing! The train passed Wannsee (has a beach) and the Grunewald (acres of forest with some good walks) so they will be on our list of things to do if ever we manage to stay in Berlin for longer than a few days.

By now I quite fancied a drink and something small to eat so we got off the train at Hackescher Markt and went to the famous Hackescher Hof, a series of interconnecting courtyards full of bars, restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone else had the same idea as the place was heaving and it was impossible to wander at leisure without constantly bumping into people.

One of the courtyards at the Hackescher Hof.

I just wanted to sit in the sun with a beer and maybe a small sandwich but every bar we passed was full of people doing exactly that! In the end we found a restaurant advertising "Currywurst" and went in...well it would have been rude not to! Most bars and restaurants are waiter service so we found a table and sat down and waited but nobody came...it turned out it was a self-service cafe (huh?) so we had to go and order our food and beers from the counter! The cheek of it! 

I had a currywurst, a frankfurter sausage covered with curry powder, and a glass of the lovely Kostritzer beer which Keith and I enjoy whenever we visit Berlin.

After our break we strolled slowly back to the hotel and had a quick look at the spa there. The idea was to pop down and have a dip in the jacuzzi but after taking a look I changed my mind as the pool was tiny and the spa itself was small and stuffy. I'm spoilt by Virgin!

Our very own private bar...

In the evening, Keith and I decided to eat at Reinhard's again. I was a bit worried about going back as we'd had such a lovely time the night before but both of us liked the menu and the food was certainly very good. We strolled over to the Nikolaiviertal after a quick drink in the hotel bar and went back to "Otello" even though it was deserted. We couldn't understand why this was as there were more restaurants than bars in the Nikolai Quarter and it really was a lovely cosy little place to enjoy a drink before dinner. Keith managed to attract the attention of one of the waiters and then our man from the night before arrived as well and took our order. I enjoyed another glass of German Riesling while Keith had a large beer and this time we had the place to ourselves completely. Our waiter kept popping in to make sure we were OK and made sure the music was playing softly in the background. Perfect!

Reinhard's was just as busy as the previous evening and we were seated at the same table! As it was Saturday night we pushed the boat out and both had mushrooms stuffed with gorgonzola and spinach to start. I chose a glass of Trollinger red wine to accompany my meal which was certainly different! Very light with a slight fizz on the tongue, I liked it but didn't love it!

Keith went for the lamb chops again while I had a steak with a sauce that was supposedly invented for the painter Max Liebermann. It was delicious! We had quite a long wait after our main course, so long in fact, that we decied to indulge in a dessert - Tiramisu for me and Apple Strudel for Keith, both of which were very good and filled us to the brim!

Tales from Finland...

After our meal we were glad of the walk back to our hotel and before going to bed paid a visit to the bar which was busy with other guests enjoying a nightcap. I fancied a White Russian (a drink!!!) while Keith opted for a bottle of Kostritzer. We chatted to two couples next to us who were from Epping (I thought their accents were Kentish) and then got chatting to a man from Finland who was on his own in the bar and who had corrected me when I thought that Absolut Vodka was from Russia! (It's from Sweden). 

We had a really great chat about Berlin, his country, travelling and fishing and when we all eventually staggered up to our rooms, discovered he was our next door neighbour...how weird is that!