A painful start to the day...
Keith and I had enjoyed a good night's sleep, but another gripe rose its head this morning, when I discovered that I only had a small amount of whitener to add to my coffee. Yuk! We had a fridge, so why couldn't the hotel give us fresh milk?
I took my coffee cup into the bathroom to empty the dregs and somehow managed to knock the hairdryer off its holder, which then landed on my foot, and particularly, the little toe on my left foot... Ouch! It also sent the cup skittering into the sink. I was surprised it didn't break!
My little toe looked swollen and red, but I didn't think it was broken. It just meant it was painful putting on my boots. We were ready to go by 9am and walked across the empty (normally busy) road to a café that Sophie had seen on Google Maps, hoping we could have breakfast there. They were firmly closed. We were surprised at how quiet the city seemed, as we thought that yesterday would have been quieter.
There was nowhere open, so we decided to take the U2 line to the station nearest the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market. This was Hausvogteiplatz, and it was only a short distance away. We bought 24-hour tickets and were soon emerging into the cold air. We learned that the market didn't open until 12pm, so we went off in search of breakfast again. This time, we were lucky and stumbled upon Einstein Kaffee, which was very quiet.
Betty (or maybe Berty?), the begging dog...
Sophie and I ordered Flat Whites (large ones), a sandwich apiece made from a dense rye bread with cheese and chutney, and an almond croissant. As you can appreciate, we were hungry! Keith settled for tea with a croissant. We took high seats again, and almost immediately, the café filled up with people all desperate for breakfast and a good coffee.
There was a wonderful, friendly atmosphere, and the man serving was lovely. A woman with a large dog had followed us in from the underground, and then a man arrived with a small French bulldog. She/he had a coat on and wandered about, snuffling up crumbs that had dropped on the floor, and then went and stationed herself (I'm sure she was Betty) at the end of the counter, as if waiting for her order to be delivered.
She was hilarious, bless her! Her owner disappeared into another part of the café, and Betty cuddled up to the owner, who gave her some bread, which she hoovered up. He then shooed her away, but every time she went back to her position at the end of the counter!
We finished our breakfast, paid the bill and took a leisurely stroll down Unter den Linden, aiming to see the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. Keith was feeling a bit weary already, so I suggested making the most of Berlin's excellent public transport system where we could. We had paid 10 euros each for our tickets, so why not?
I don't get it...
Before jumping on a bus, I bought myself a new pair of gloves as the ones I'd brought with me were well past their best. We then took a bus to the Reichstag, which saved us about half an hour of walking. People were milling about, waiting to get into the building, but we had already done this, so we slowly walked towards the Brandenburg Gate through a small part of Tiergarten.
The sun was shining through the trees, and it would have been wonderful if there had been snow on the ground (I think there is some forecast for next week). We stumbled upon a memorial to the Roma and Sinti peoples persecuted and killed in the Second World War.
There were photographs of individual people and their stories displayed on boards, and I was disturbed to see one with what looked like spit on it... It was an interesting memorial, and something we'd never seen before.
We carried on our ambling, passing the Brandenburg Gate and moving on to the Jewish Memorial a little further on. In all our visits to Berlin, we had never looked at this properly, so today was the day. However, I still don't "get" it, and I'm sure that another, more moving memorial could have been erected to honour the Jewish people who suffered at the hands of Hitler. A lot of the slabs had cracks, there was litter everywhere, and dead leaves had blown up against the memorial stones. Keith rested against one of them while Sophie and I walked among them, but I still didn't really understand what they were trying to achieve.
By now, we were all feeling the cold, so we stopped at a café near Potsdamer Platz for a hot chocolate. It was wonderful to get warm, rest our weary feet and sip a hot drink!
Three down to two...
We briefly visited the Christmas Market at Potsdamer Platz and then took the U2 line back to Spittelmarkt as Keith wanted to return to the hotel. He was feeling very weary and cold, so we trooped back and took advantage of the facilities, buying Keith some beer from the small shop in the hotel so he could have a relaxing afternoon with his book and Sky News. I think Sophie and I forget he's going to be 80 next year!
Once he was settled in our room with his book and a glass of beer, Sophie and I set out for the underground again. We spotted a heron patiently waiting on a small pier by the river. He was an enormous bird with a long, sharp beak, and didn't mind us getting close for a photo.
We retraced our steps to Hausvogteiplatz, and this time, the market was in full swing and bustling with visitors. It cost us 2 euros each to get in, and we had a good look at the different stands selling jewellery, Christmas decorations, food, clothing, artwork, and ornaments. There were several upmarket eateries dotted about, and it seemed much more cosmopolitan than the other Christmas markets we'd visited.
We had a good look at everything on offer, and then went into a bar area and ordered an Aperol Sekt each. We noticed that the brand of wine was Schlumberger, the same as we'd enjoyed in Vienna!
 |
| A character on stilts |
We lingered here for a long time, enjoying the festive atmosphere and our drinks. We ordered an Aperol Spritz after the Sekt, and it was lovely to sit and relax, chat, and people-watch. The only thing that got us up and on our feet again was hunger! We explored the rest of the tent and bought some beautiful Christmas decorations before going in search of something to eat. Our breakfast seemed a long time ago!
Sophie wanted Kartoffeln, German fried, sliced potatoes, and this is what we found in another tent. A plateful did the job nicely and gave us the energy to carry on!
A cosy retreat
Rather than take the underground back to the Nikolai Quarter, which involved several changes, we caught the 147 bus to the Berliner Schloss. This was the site of the Berlin Palace, and then the old East Berlin Government building, which was being demolished when Keith and I first visited. Over the years, we had seen it completely gone, and then rebuilt as the Humboldt Forum, in the style of the former Berlin Palace. It's now a beautiful building and far more elegant than the old Palace of the Republic!
 |
| Crossing the Spree and looking towards the Spreeblick restaurant |
While we were enjoying the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Fair, the weather had turned, and a mist had rolled in. When we got off the bus, we couldn't see the very top of the Television Tower.
We made our way to the Nikolai Quarter for a look around and took the path by the river for a change. We passed the Christmas shop and just had to go in to look at the lace and the wooden Nativity scenes, although this year we didn't buy anything. We also spotted a new bar that looked promising for a drink. Maybe it was a pop-up place for Christmas?
We peeked through the window of a cosy-looking bar opposite the church, and Sophie suggested a Glühwein. As I'd regretted not having one here before, I agreed. The café/bar was tiny, and it was like being in someone's living room! Tables and chairs were crammed in, and wooden human figures were displayed on a bookshelf. We found a table right at the back and gave our order to the waiter. He asked if we wanted a shot of Amaretto? Of course! It was a very quirky, but cosy little place, and it summed up Berlin perfectly for us!
Outside, it grew dark, and we finished our drinks to stroll back to the hotel.
Flirting with the French
We arrived back at the hotel to find Keith nicely chilled, although he had drunk only one of the beers he'd bought. We relaxed for an hour and then decided to go down to the bar area of the hotel, buy some drinks from the shop and play cards at one of the tables. Our restaurant for tonight was directly opposite the hotel, but we knew we'd have to cross at the proper crossing because of the traffic.
The trick was to have a hot shower before dressing to go out in the evening, as the cold really did get into our bones! At about 7.00pm, we trooped downstairs, bought two small bottles of Riesling and a beer and sat at one of the tables to play cards. It was a shame that the bar was closed, and we didn't want to risk walking to our usual hotel, as that bar was probably closed as well.
 |
| The hotel bar - very comfortable |
Keith and I played cards for an hour (Sophie was engrossed in her latest novel), and then we ventured out into the freezing night for dinner. On the way, we peered through the windows of the new Capri Hotel and saw that their bar was shut as well!
We had to negotiate a sinister wooden tunnel on part of the walk, and the interior walls were covered in graffiti. I certainly didn't want to come back this way later! We reached the restaurant called
Rotisserie Weingrun, where Sophie had booked a table for 8.30pm. Again, it seemed like we were the last party to arrive, and everyone was eating and drinking and having a great night.
We had a good look at the menu, and I chose a bottle of red Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) for Sophie and me to drink, while Keith stuck with beer. For starters, we chose olives and bread, and I opted for a steak for my main course, accompanied by salad. Keith chose the black-feathered chicken, and Sophie the normal chicken. She was delighted to see cheese spaetzle as a side, while Keith went for French fries. Cheap it certainly wasn't, but it was Boxing Day, and it was a treat!
The food was worth every penny - my steak was easily the best I'd ever eaten, and that includes the ones I'd had at L'Entrecote. We had a delightful meal, and the staff were fantastic, very friendly and hospitable. The loos were also slightly weird in that you had to almost go into another building to access them! Very quirky!
At the end of the meal, when the restaurant had emptied out, we chatted with a French couple, and Sophie flirted a little with the man, saying we were off to Normandy in January and would be drinking Calvados! They were from Paris, which they almost apologised for!
For dessert, I just had to have the chocolate fondant - beautifully oozy - while Keith and Sophie went for liquid desserts, a whisky for Keith and a French Negroni for Sophie. The bill came to just over 200 euros for the three of us, the highest bill ever for just us, but it was worth it.
We bid farewell to the lovely staff and emerged into the frigid night air. Rather than walk through the horrible tunnel, we walked a bit further and crossed at another crossing. We noticed that the paths were icy and we took care when walking back to the hotel. None of us wanted to fall over and break something!
