Berlin Road Trip

Day 3 - Monday 29 July

We awoke (after a bad night's sleep) to grey skies and wet streets but none of us heard thunder in the night so we must have just had a shower. Mikey called me and sent me a text last night and I think he's missing us a lot. It made me feel horrible knowing he was missing us, but it might do him some good and make him appreciate life with us!

We were awake very early as our windows were open and the building work opposite started at just after 7am. Keith and I moved my car from the street opposite the hotel to an underground car park a short distance up the road. I have no intention of driving around Berlin any more so it felt great to leave her all cosy and warm, especially if we have hailstorms like the ones we've seen on German TV!

After breakfast of cereals in our room we went to the nearby train station to buy our rail tickets for the day and headed off to Alexanderplatz. We wanted to take Sophie to see the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park and as usual, we'd forgotten how to get there! We made exactly the same mistake as last time, heading off to the Ostbahnhof rather than taking the U5 line from Alexanderplatz. However, we found our way eventually despite the heat and humidity and walked the short distance to the park along the river where lots of tour boats were moored.

It started to rain when we walked towards the memorial so we didn't stay for long. Keith and I had seen it all before and Sophie took lots of photos but didn't seem interested in reading any of the information signs. We strolled back to the river and treated our daughter to a crepe filled with bananas and nutella. It was raining quite heavily now and was definitely cooler!

Back at the station we decided to ride the S-Bahn all the way to Pankow and then get our local U2 line to Potsdamer Platz where we would have some lunch and then do a bit of shopping. We went to the House of 100 beers and chose the half chicken which was delicious and very filling. Keith tried a new beer that he loved...

Only 7.9%!!!

By now the drizzle had turned to torrential rain so we were very glad we'd decided to stop and have lunch! We ran into the shopping centre where Sophie made a beeline for H&M. I chatted to Mum on the phone and then we headed up to an electrical store on the top floor to see if they had any fans for sale. However, like the UK, there were none to be had, only some very expensive air-conditioning units for about 400 euros!

Feeling a bit weary now we took the train back to our local underground and while Sophie returned to the room, Keith and I strolled along the canal to a small bar for a drink. The sun had come out and we sat with a couple of beers soaking up the much drier warmth and listening to two British men on the next table chatting about their lives as international DJs...Hmmm!

Back in the room we discovered that our beds hadn't been made and the small pile of damp towels we'd left on the floor to be changed were still there... Keith and I marched down to Reception to find out why the room hadn't been serviced to be told the apartment was only cleaned every other day! This was perhaps our seventh or eighth visit to this hotel and we'd never experienced this before, and we'd had several types of rooms over the years.

I also asked if they had any fans but we were told there were none available. A member of the housekeeping staff did come and change our towels but we were not very happy at all. I think this may be our last visit to this hotel, to be honest, as the service levels seem to be dropping every time we visit. It used to be fabulous with loads of toiletries in the bathroom but everything seems to be cut back now, which is a shame.

We sweated it out in the room until 6pm and then went for a quick drink in the bar. Even Chrizz, the barman, seemed very lacklustre, leaving another girl to mix my cocktail (Campari, Elderflower syrup and Prosecco). Outside it didn't seem quite so hot but the sky was looking very ominous! We had a drink in Otello bar and then decided to walk over to Alexanderplatz to have dinner in the TV Tower.

There is so much building work going on in Berlin at the moment and the area around the Nikolai Quarter and Alexanderplatz was full of cranes and lorries. They are extending part of the U5 underground line which won't be finished until 2019 so this whole area is a real eyesore. There were crowds of people waiting to buy tickets at the TV Tower so we decided to head back to the Nikolai Quarter and have dinner at one of the many restaurants there.

We found a busy little place which specialised in German cooking and had a lovely meal (well, Soph and I did, Keith wasn't too happy with his!). We started with a shared salad for Keith and I while Sophie went for potato and sausage soup. Sophie then had pork schnitzel, I had strips of turkey served on rice with a Bearnaise sauce and Keith went for roast pork which he did not enjoy at all. His came with a potato dumpling - one was more than enough!

 

Keith's roast pork and potato dumpling

During the dinner the rain started to come down very heavily, sending some people who were eating without any cover fleeing for the inside of the restaurant. We waited a little while to leave but there were no signs of it letting up so we had to make a dash for it. Luckily, a nearby shop was selling umbrellas, so we bought two and sloshed our way back to the hotel in relative dryness!

We had one last drink before bed and I really hoped for a much better night's sleep!

It's been a long day!