We were a bit of a subdued little band this morning, as Mike still felt ill and came down to breakfast very late, complaining of "almost passing out." However, the misty, grey skies had disappeared overnight to be replaced by blue sky and sunshine, just as promised!
After having another lovely breakfast we departed for Alexanderplatz to see how much it cost to go up the Television Tower as we were thinking of having dinner there this evening. The new U5 building works are still going on in this area and I for one will be really glad when it's all finished! We strolled through the Nikolai quarter first and took some photos of a very old inn, Zum Nussbaum which had been rebuilt after the war.
There was already a long queue for the TV Tower and we were dismayed to see that the prices for booking a table by the window (no food included) was 23 euros per person! So, that was 92 euros before we even ordered any food! We couldn't remember them having two different prices for the tables before so we thought it a bit of a rip-off!
As we had no real plans for today we ambled down towards the Berliner Weinachtszeit Christmas market and decided to have a warming hot chocolate opposite before it opened. There were lots of people about and we called into a couple of shops to have a look for hats. Despite Keith having several hats at home, he had forgotten to bring one with him and his head was cold! He found a comfy black one and we headed to a coffee shop where Sophie treated us to a hot chocolate.
After our little break I bought myself a wall plaque in a touristy shop nearby - it's a Berliner Kindl one and will look lovely next to our Beergarten sign in the conservatory. By now the Christmas market was open and I did feel a bit uncomfortable at first. There was no security presence at all, even though the entrance to the market was directly onto a very busy main road.
Sophie was in search of another ring and found the man that she bought from last year (the Omar Sharif lookalike). She had a good peruse of the rings available and bought the first one she tried on, which looked lovely and went really well with her other rings. The stall-holder was very pleased she had come back to buy from him and gave the ring a good clean for her.
I also found a beautiful leather purse that Sophie and Mike bought me for Christmas and of course we had to have a glass of Gluhwein in the 2016 mug! Even Sophie enjoyed it very much! We had a good look at all the stalls and we bought a lovely white and silver decoration for the Christmas tree in the living room. There were so many food stalls about you would never go hungry visiting one of these markets and the choice of drinks was fabulous as well!
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| The old and the new |
After the market we walked down Unter Den Linden and past the Berliner Dom. Work is still going on on the new Humboldt Forum and as the new U5 lines passes along this way as well, there is a lot of disruption. The Humboldt Forum has an exhibition (the Humboldt Box) going on so we decided to take a look and learnt about the history of the original building and what it was going to look like when it was finished.
We carried on down Unter Den Linden as I wanted to go to the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market, but on the way we stumbled across another small fair, which was more of a traditional market and very pretty as it was situated in front of St Hedwig's Cathedral. The children found a flat cap for Keith as he had always wanted one, so I had to take him away and distract him while they bought it!
Just a few minutes walk away was the utterly gorgeous Gendarmenmarkt Christmas fair which I loved. We had to pay 4 euros to get in, which seemed OK to me, and our bags were checked by security which was reassuring. There was also a van of police right outside the entrance. This is a large market with an indoor area selling everything you could conceivably want, including a vast range of hot food and drinks. There was a lovely festive atmosphere and with the blue sky behind, the beautiful old buildings and the white roofs of the stalls, it was perfect.
We spent a very enjoyable hour wandering around and treated ourselves to a Bratwurst in a crusty roll. Delicious!
I was really sad to leave but we decided to push on to Potsdamer Platz and have a look at the market there. We took a bit of a roundabout route to get there and came across a shopping mall we'd never visited before. It looked lovely so that will be a plan for our next visit!
The area around Potsdamer Platz was busy with people and traffic and we had a look around the Christmas market where Mike bought a beautiful leather-bound notebook. We were feeling a bit weary by now so we decided to call into the House of 100 beers for a much-needed rest and a couple of drinks.
Outside it grew darker but it was very cosy and warm inside the restaurant. Next to us was a television screen showing a roaring log fire, but it was so realistic I could almost feel the heat coming off it! After our drinks we walked down to the U-Bahn and bought short trip tickets back to Markisches Museum. The train was very crowded, but we were back at the hotel within half an hour and looking forward to our evening meal.
Tonight we had decided to eat at Solino, the Italian restaurant in the Nikolai quarter where we'd had dessert last year. It always looks a lovely, cosy place to eat and we have visited for drinks and breakfast in the past as well. Before we went Sophie wanted to buy a tee-shirt she'd seen so we called into the shop and we also visited a wine and delicatessen where my lovely daughter bought me a bottle of Riesling for a Christmas present.
We strolled back to Solino and were shown to a table opposite the bar. I ordered a bottle of Montepulciano for Sophie and I to share while the boys had beers. We started with Bruschetta (two kinds) and soup for Mike, followed by lamb chops (Keith), lasagne (kids) and a beautifully cooked steak for me. This came with a mound of salad and vegetables and was delicious.
We managed to find room for dessert - tiramisu for me, panna cotta for Sophie and an Irish coffee for Keith. It was a very relaxing evening and we had plenty of people watching to do as the restaurant filled up with diners. The two women next to us were a particular source of fascination and Sophie and I made up stories about them! There was also a man at the bar sitting alone with a beer and I speculated that he was lonely and didn't want to go back to an empty flat. I was very pleasantly surprised to see him joined by a woman later in the evening who gave him a lovely kiss on the lips!
Our bill came to 158 euros and we walked back to the hotel feeling full and relaxed. Back at the hotel we finished our packing. Homeward bound tomorrow and an early start!
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