Feeling annoyed...

I had suspected that today it was just me (and sometimes Sara) answering the phones, and this was confirmed when I got into the office. I was annoyed about this as I needed to get a few things done before Friday, namely the Moan Report and the playscheme places, which I struggled with for the first couple of hours, as the prices were wrong.

Luckily, the phones weren't too busy, and in the end, I had to contact someone at our software company to help with the holiday club prices. Nicola spent most of the day moaning about the smell in the corridor outside our office, and then amused herself by emptying the bins because she thought they were smelling too!

We had Tilly in first thing, and she bounded about like a young dog, bless her! She loves coming into our office and having a snooze while her owner swims.

It was bliss to go home with Keith and know that Monday was over! At home, I pootled about doing the usual jobs and Sophie and I had the paté and toast for dinner that we were supposed to have had on Saturday. We then watched an episode of a new war documentary presented by Tom Hanks. I learnt some surprising things about the war that I hadn't known before!

An afternoon of sport

We've had a busy morning, preparing tonight's Bolognese sauce for dinner, cleaning the house and packing for France next week. We also made a list of things we needed Keith to get when he goes shopping tomorrow. Sophie and I had last night's leftovers for lunch, and at 2pm we settled down to watch the start of the Grand Prix in Monaco and the tennis in Paris. I hadn't a clue who the two tennis players were, but Sophie wanted the Italian Cobolli to beat the German Zverev. 

At first, I thought Cobolli would be thrashed, but it turned out to be a five-set match, with Zverev the eventual victor, much to Sophie's disappointment. It was a longer match than we'd anticipated, and we all wished that Sinner and maybe Djokovic had been in the final. What a treat that would have been!

I put the finishing touches to the Bolognese sauce and cooked the pasta while Sophie made garlic bread. It was delicious, and Sophie was able to put two portions aside for her lunches over the next couple of days.

After dinner, we indulged in another episode of Panda. We're trying not to watch them too much as there are only a few episodes left!

An unexpected visit

We awoke to grey skies and rain this morning, and the whole of next week is supposed to be cooler and wetter. Did we have our summer in May?

Sophie set off for Towcester in heavy rain to complete a 5k run with her work buddy, Becky. I pootled about and did the usual chores, such as loading the washing machine, unloading the dishwasher and tidying up. There's always something to be done! I did manage to catch the news, though, and saw footage of the 82nd commemorations in Normandy for the D-Day Landings. It was very emotional.

Sophie did her run in thirty seconds less than last time, so she was very happy! I was writing the blog when she arrived, and as I wrote about buying gifts for Mike and Keith in Berlin, our son messaged me! Spooky! He said he was going to pop in and see us this afternoon as he was going to a party in Northampton.

Sophie asked me to drive her to a beauty appointment at 2:00pm, and I was more than happy to help. She was in and out before her appointment time! We returned home and indulged in a slice of cake that Sophie had bought in Towcester with a cup of tea.

Mike arrived at about 4:00pm and laughed when I gave him the lighter I'd bought for him. Children can be so ungrateful, the little monkey! We had a very pleasant afternoon with him, and Sophie suggested a game of cards, which he readily agreed to!

A lovely, smiley Mike!

Outside, it was still pouring with rain, and it's been a total washout today. I felt sorry for anyone getting married, organising a barbecue or just trying to enjoy a day out.

Mike left at about 7:00pm, and Sophie and I ordered a Chinese takeaway. We were supposed to have been eating paté with toast and salad, but we both fancied something a little more tasty. Keith refused to have anything with us, so we halved the bill. Amazingly, we were able to order it online and pay by card!

After dinner, we watched a Netflix documentary about Rafael Nadal, which was very interesting. We are planning on watching the French Open final tomorrow, although I have no idea who the two players are!

MasterChef - the results!

Thankfully, today was better, and I was glad that Sara had taken the day off, so I had the office to myself until Kathy and Nicola came in. The shift passed very pleasantly, and I managed to clear all the emails in between answering the phone. 

Back at home, it was great to relax and look forward to the weekend. Keith wasn't off to the pub, as John is still in France, but he stayed in the kitchen while Sophie and I watched MasterChef, the penultimate programme, before we had dinner. The final was due to be shown at 8:00pm, and we couldn't access it on iPlayer.

We were also a little bored by the first half when they cooked for seven chefs, so we skipped until the second half when they were cooking for the final. We had both written down our predictions:

Sophie - Jhané or Kristen

Jane - Matt or Antos

Unfortunately, Antos made an Upside Down Pineapple cake, which let him down slightly, so he was out. We had a delicious dinner of chilli con carne, and then settled down for the final.

It was great to see the contestants cook so well and produce fabulous dishes. I was rooting for Matt, of course, but we both knew that Jhané was going to win... and she did! Well done to her!

MasterChef: The Results

• Cookery - far less than last year: 11
• A crumb: 15
• A tuile: 9
• Miso: 7
• A gel: 10
• Influenced by close family: 17
• Pomme pureé: 2
• Contestants crying: 21 (and also judges crying, Anna!)
• Home-made pasta: 12
• A foam: 3
• A bonbon: 4
• Showing off about travel (Frankie especially!): 10
• A chocolate fondant: Nooooooooooo! Only 1!
• Gochujang: 2 (we thought this was going to be big this year)
• A shard: 3
• "Too much on the plate": 3
• Deconstructed: 4
• Any kind of other fondant, i.e. potato: 8
• A crisp: 1
• Velouté: 4
• A soufflé: 2
• Cooked "three ways": 2
• A soil: 1
• Ras el Hanout: 3
• A soy-cured egg: 2
• False caviar or pearls: 2
• Underdone meat: 3
• A dust: 3
• An emulsion: 1

We loved Anna and Grace and thought they were worthy successors to Greg and John, but we must mention Anna's "orf it", said 16 times, and also a new one on us, "flavour profile", said 6 times. We do sometimes wonder if a repeated word, i.e. cookery, is said so the crew have a shot of something strong! We also noticed "very delicious" and "nicely cooked" were used a lot!

The funniest thing was a segmented orange, or a slice to most people.

We loved Anna's headbands and Grace always being so elegant and channelling Fanny Craddock. Roll on next year!

A somewhat challenging day!

Today has been a little challenging and not at all enjoyable! I went into work at 8:00am, but Sara had been expecting me at 10:00am. However, Nicola had said to me that it was fine for me to do my normal hours, which I was pleased about, otherwise I would have lost my Thursday afternoon off, traditionally when I go to see Mum.

She didn't seem at all happy that I was in at 8:00am, although I'm not sure how it made any difference? The phones are hardly busy at the moment, and she muttered something about having to answer the phone during the week when Jo and Kathy had been training and when they had visited our new gym. She barely managed to ask about Berlin, and then never said another word to me. It was very awkward.

I saw our MD, who had returned from his holidays, and asked about his trip to Vietnam, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it, so I wondered why on earth I'd bothered! 

I worked with Macy today, and when Nicola came in, she could sense there was something wrong with Sara, so they both went off for a chat. As I predicted, the phones weren't busy at all, so I was able to catch up with the emails, and also have a meeting with a woman from our software company who helped me with the playscheme places. By 2pm, the whole of the summer holidays were on the system, waiting to go live on Monday!

Just before I left, one of our finance women came into the office to see Nicola and said, in a scathing tone, that she'd been sent an invoice from customer service which related to one of the sites we no longer run. It had been me who'd sent it, and the work was from January, when we definitely did run the site! I was furious as they made me look like an idiot, and I turned around and told her the work was completed in January. She then made a remark about still receiving cinema invoices, and I said to Nicola that I wasn't in the habit of sending our finance department random invoices! I checked them first!

It was a good job it was 2:00pm as I was seething and would probably have been rude if I'd stayed. I met Keith and ranted at him all the way home, poor thing! It had not been a good shift!

Thankfully, Mum seemed bright and cheerful when I saw her, and I stayed for a good while, and we had a chat. We watched a little of a programme about the border force in Australia, and I was astounded at the things some people tried to bring into the country!

We've had more sunshine and showers today, and it's been more like April than June! When Sophie arrived home, we sat in the kitchen and chatted, and I told her about my day. I was just hoping that tomorrow would be better, and very glad indeed that it was Friday!

Back to the routine!

We took the VW in for a service this morning, and then dropped Sophie off at work. It was definitely back to reality!

Back at home, I started on the first of the laundry piles and wrote as much of the blog as I could. I felt a little bit miserable this morning, although I have no idea why! The weather didn't help as it was grey and overcast with frequent showers.

Glen called us at lunchtime to say the car was ready, which was a bonus. We drove to Moulton to collect it, and then dropped it back off with Sophie. On the way home, we popped to Aldi to get something for dinner this evening, and I chose a pizza with salad. Keith had had an upset tummy all morning, so he just wanted to eat something light. 

I barely had time at home before my third appointment at the Back and Body Clinic at 3:30pm, and managed to eat a flapjack and drink a cup of tea. It had rained heavily again, and on my way to Moulton, the roads were flooded, especially at Holcot, where a car had to wait for me to pass as the water was right across the road.

I was glad I was back to seeing Gabriel, as he was lovely and did four lots of shockwave treatment as well as a deep tissue massage on my left calf. He reminds me so much of Mike, and he kept talking about Sophie and asking where she was!

Back home, I did more writing, and when Sophie got back from work, we sat in the kitchen and discussed our days. Our viewing pleasure this evening was MasterChef, but we became a little bored with it and didn't finish the programme. The contestants were in Antigua and looked very hot cooking the dishes, but we much prefer it when they're in the MasterChef studio!

Mooney posing

Ben in Berlin - 30th of May - 2nd of June, 2026

The hunt for breakfast! 

We were up, showered, dressed and packed by 10:00am (we'd had a knock on the door just after 8:00am from the maid asking if we were going yet!). We left our luggage at the hotel and set out for breakfast. We'd noticed a new café opposite, so we decided to eat there, and pay one last visit to the Nikolai Quarter afterwards.

However, when we arrived at the café, we noticed they only accepted cash... as we only had 90c on us, I didn't think that would be enough! We had no choice but to cross the road and visit the Nikolai Quarter, and made for a restaurant that Keith and I had eaten at years ago. Tables were set up outside with breakfast menus, so we sat and had a good look, choosing what we were going to have. Another couple were sitting at a table, and we could hear someone moving around inside, along with the clinking of plates and pans.

So, we waited and waited, and nobody came out. I tried to see if the German couple had ordered yet, but it looked like they hadn't, and they were getting annoyed as well. In the end, we gave up and wandered off in search of somewhere else, but the cafés were very thin on the ground, and most places appeared to be closed!

In the end, we reached the very edge of the area and stumbled upon Wild Mathilde. This restaurant was always known to us as the "Boob restaurant" because of the bulbous architectural add-ons on the wall of the building. We had eaten here once when it was a different restaurant, and the service was appalling. Now, it had been taken over by someone else and had morphed into some kind of cocktail bar. I looked at the menu and couldn't believe how many cocktails were listed!

It was all very pink!

I don't think Sophie was impressed, and her top clashed with the colour scheme!

We took our seats at a table, and we were given menus which had been pasted onto pages within old books; we both found this a bit pretentious! We chose an omelette with ham and potatoes and coffee. It was great to sit and watch the comings and goings all around us. The sun was shining, we were looking forward to breakfast... what more could we want? Well, a few more days in Berlin, obviously!

Our breakfast arrived, and the omelettes were huge! They had been cooked and served in a cast-iron dish and were accompanied by a few bits of salad and pickles. My coffee was strong and bitter, so that was disappointing. We were also being assailed by little fluffy things floating in the air. They must have come from some kind of tree, as they were like little dandelion fluff. At one point, it looked like it was snowing; there were so many of them, and one group of four moved inside as they were getting stuck to our clothes and into our food and drinks!

Sophie wasn't at all impressed with the breakfast, and I doubt we'll ever come back to this restaurant! I wonder how long it will last? Will it still be here when we visit again?

After struggling through the meal, I ordered a glass of peach juice (I wanted a smoothie) and a small bottle of water, while Sophie had another coffee. We lingered in our seats, reluctant to leave and start the journey back to the airport. 

But time was marching on, and we paid the bill and left. On the way back to the hotel, we had a slight bicker about the best way to get to the airport. I insisted on taking the U-Bahn from Märkisches Museum to Alexanderplatz and then taking the S-Bahn, but Sophie thought it would be better to get an Uber to Jannowitzbrücke and then take the train.

In the end, I won, saying that although I've never been keen on Alexanderplatz, we couldn't visit Berlin without going there, despite it being edgy and a hangout for weirdos! We collected our luggage, walked across to the station, and our journey home began.

Homeward Bound

As is usual, we lost our way at Alexanderplatz, but eventually took a lift up to ground level, and then walked across the large square to the station. It was then up to the platform and the train to the airport. It didn't take long to arrive, and we were lucky to grab two seats. I spent the whole journey staring out of the window, and I wished we were taking a train home. Maybe next time!

We arrived at the airport, checked in our bags and made our way through security easily (I was frisked). In the Duty Free shop, we bought a small bottle of Berliner Luft and then walked to the gate, going through passport control again. It was a lot of faff, if I'm honest!

We had a wait at our gate and then boarded the plane, which was full again. This time, Sophie had someone next to her, and I had a window seat so I could stare out at the clouds. We snoozed or read the short journey away, and all too soon we were approaching Heathrow. I could see towering thunder clouds from the window, and when we were plunged into one, the seatbelt signs came on earlier than normal. Even the cabin crew had to sit down because the turbulence was quite bad. It was quite a rough twenty minutes!

We landed ahead of time, but had to wait for a spot to park. Once parked, we made our way through passport control (very easy) and then baggage reclaim. This was where it all went wrong, and we waited for almost an hour for our suitcases to arrive. This meant we would be hitting the M25 at the height of the rush hour. I was not happy!

Eventually, our bags appeared, and we made our way out to the bus stop, gazing in awe at packets upon packets of cigarettes that had been confiscated in the customs area! Our bus was waiting, but outside, there was torrential rain falling, from the clouds we'd flown through earlier!

The car park was flooded, but thankfully, the rain abated a bit as we made our way onto the congested M25. We had a slow stop-start journey home and arrived at about 7:30pm. Keith was glad to see us, and we ordered an Indian from India 2 Mawsley as all the Chinese takeaways were closed!

It was great to eat our meal and chat to Keith about our travels over the last four days! Back to reality now, though, for a week or so, at least!

Ben in Berlin - 30th of May - 2nd of June, 2026

Einstein a go go 

We had a slower start this morning, and I realised I had developed a blood blister on the little toe of my right foot. I cure one thing, and another pops up!

We set out this morning for the Stadtmitte U-Bahn station, as Sophie had an inkling (I had no idea why) to go to Checkpoint Charlie. Our breakfast café was a branch of Einstein Kaffee, not far from the famous landmark. We joined commuters and office workers in the café and ordered our drinks and breakfast. I'd spotted a lovely-looking cake, but ended up with a muffin with a smear of lemon icing on the top!

We sat outside and watched the comings and goings of people on their way to work or just passing by. As we got up to leave, a camera crew arrived, and I swear I was in the background of one of the shots! We walked to Checkpoint Charlie, and Sophie was distinctly underwhelmed, as I guessed she'd be. Keith and I had visited it on our first ever visit to Berlin and had paid to go into the museum, but we didn't fancy doing this today, so we browsed in the shop and took photos along with the other tourists.

In the shop, we resisted buying chunks of the Berlin Wall, and I treated Keith to a new bottle opener and Mike to a lighter with a picture of the TV Tower on it, as he collects lighters and has hundreds!

A chunk of the Berlin Wall

Weird art!

We then walked to a nearby bus stop to catch a bus to the Berlinische Galerie, a gallery for modern art between 1880 and 1980. The gallery was situated in a quiet residential area, and we were able to stow my bag in a locker and start looking around.

The first gallery was displaying the art of Monira Al Qadiri, and consisted of a huge mural on one wall of a tanker. Models of tankers were suspended from the ceiling, all with different names.

Bulbous bow

At the far end of the large gallery was a small room with a video playing. We sat down, and we were both mesmerised by the images on screen of a drone flying over a coastal region littered with decommissioned oil tankers, in various stages of decay. The music was eerie, and a man was reciting a poem which droned on over the images.

Tiny figures of men were employed in the breaking up of the tankers, and it was a completely engrossing video. We later found out that the area of coastline was in Bangladesh.

"Hero" by Monira Al Qadiri - this can explain the reasons behind the exhibition much better than I can!

Next up was Marc Brandenburg - "20th Century Debris" - and there was a warning as we went in that some images were not suitable for children. They were, frankly, pornographic! After wandering around the first gallery, we entered a darkened gallery with ultraviolet light. This was the weirdest experience as our nail varnish appeared white and the light picked up anything which was white, including my bra!

My (blue) top, and you can see my bra underneath!

There was a disturbing video of a clown running through the streets on an endless loop, and it was a very unsettling experience! Before the next gallery was a huge picture of a man reclining in just his underpants and covered in tattoos...

Marc Brandenburg "20th Century Debris"

The next gallery was a series of wooden panels with paint slashed on them by Emilio Vedova, entitled "Absurd Berlin Diary '64". We didn't think much of this at all!

What's this all about?

Lastly, on the ground floor, were sculptures by Brigitte Meier-Denninghoff. One sculpture reminded us of Dali and his elephants:

Other sculptures were quite beautiful:

The artist designed a huge sculpture called "Broken Chain", and you can see it near the Kaiser-Wilhelm Church.

We took the lift up to the first floor and enjoyed wandering around the older art exhibits. I loved this picture of the old Berliner Schloss, now the Humboldt Forum, and formerly the old East German Government building that was being taken down when Keith and I first visited:

From the upper level, we had a clear view of the oil tanker:

By now, my feet were very sore, so we decided to have a drink on the outside terrace in the sun. It was a beautiful day, and we ordered an Aperol Spritz each. It was bliss to sit and soak up the rays, and I applied some sun tan lotion (Ha! The security stewards at the concert didn't find this yesterday buried at the bottom of my bag!).

A lovely lunch and a lovely waiter!

We sat for quite a while and then ordered an Uber to take us to Potsdamer Platz for lunch. We had yet another mad Uber driver who Sophie said was texting while he drove... not good! He dropped us off at Potsdamer Platz, and it was a short walk to an area of restaurants that we had seen on a YouTube video of a walking tour.

We chose Lindenbräu for lunch, and it was great to sit outside and relax. Sophie chose currywurst for lunch, served with chips, while I opted for a salad and turkey strips. Sophie asked for a recommendation of a dark beer, and we were given the brewery's own version. Our waiter was great and very friendly. He complimented me on my German accent!

The food was delicious, and my salad was huge! There was a lovely ambience in the restaurant and the wider area, which had fountains and other bars and places to eat.

We lingered over lunch and did a fair amount of people watching, but there was nobody as interesting as yesterday, with mainly tourists like us eating and drinking. 

We paid the bill and made our way to the U-Bahn station, getting confused in a lift on the way, and ending up in an underground car park. Sophie said we could have used a taxi to get back to the hotel, but I was adamant I wanted to use the U2 line. 

We eventually found the U-Bahn station and waited for the next train to take us to Spittelmarkt. We wanted to see what was happening to the Wall Street Plaza Hotel on the way back to our room.

It didn't take us long to get to Spittelmarkt, and Sophie spotted a small shop where we treated ourselves to an ice cream each. We ate these as we wandered the short distance to our hotel, noticing that there seemed to be work going on at the Wall Street Plaza. It was a beautiful afternoon and warm in the sunshine.

Asian Fusion

Back in the room, we had a nap before getting ready to go out in the evening. We had decided to have a drink at Zille-Destille first before our booking at Moon Exquisite. It was a gorgeous evening, and lovely to stroll along to the bar opposite the river. We took a seat under an umbrella and ordered a Persico Spritz each. 

As we were sitting with our drinks, a group of Brits arrived, and one of the men was clearly uncomfortable about sitting in the full glare of the sun. He kept moving about to find some shade, and in the end, I offered him the use of our small bottle of sun cream. He gratefully accepted and applied a good dollop to his bald head! Good deed of the day done!

Sophie and I finished our Persico Spritzes and ordered a glass of wine each. The time was getting on, though, so we couldn't linger! As we asked to pay the bill, our waiter said his card machine wasn't working, so we were forced to pay cash again, completely wiping us out! We had 90c left!

Moon Exquisite was a short walk away, and we opted to sit inside, the only diners who had chosen to do so! We sat by the window so that at least we could look out at the river and people passing by. We had been salivating about the chicken schnitzel ever since seeing it on the menu, but we discovered that it was "off". Hmmm! In the end, we chose starters to share of edamame beans and a delicate concoction of salmon and avocado balanced on a crispy cracker. For our main course, we both picked duck leg served with mashed potatoes, pak choi and red cabbage. We drank a glass of Pinot Noir rosé apiece.

The food was, as the name of the restaurant suggests, exquisite and had a beautiful balance of spices. We had a short rest before ordering dessert - the chocolate fondant for me (of course!) and tiramisu for Sophie. I had seen a Banyuls sweet wine on the menu, so we both had a glass of that to round off the meal.  

My dessert was sublime, and I had two tuiles and a crumb! There was a delightful ooze, and the wine went very well with the pudding. A lovely end to a great meal!

Just as we were finishing our meal, we saw a rat run amongst the tables outside! We weren't surprised as we were right by the river, but it was a bit disconcerting, nonetheless! We're just glad it didn't come in through the open door!

We paid the bill (132 euros, the highest of the four-day break) and strolled slowly back to the hotel. It was a beautiful night and still light. Back in the room, we shared the last small bottle of fizz, and I played Sophie the song "War Baby" on my phone. We both agreed that this was the song that would remind us of this particular visit!

Ben in Berlin - 30th of May - 2nd of June, 2026

The second half of our busy Sunday! The gig at Waldbühne, wearing ponchos, and a relaxed dinner at Yo Soy!

Wet, wet, wet!

We had reluctantly left the Literatur Café and walked back to the bus stop near Theodor-Heuss-Platz. The sky had darkened, and big clouds were massing above us. We took shelter in the bus stop, and realised that a lot of our fellow travellers were wearing cowboy attire... Two women wore bandanas, short skirts and cowboy boots. They were obviously only interested in Zach Bryan, whereas we were only interested in Ben Howard...

A bus arrived, and we all piled on. It was already rammed with people, and we all steamed gently as we made our way to an S-Bahn station. When we disembarked, the rain was coming down heavily, and we had to run across a busy road, trying to avoid a few deep puddles!

Heerstrasse station was very quiet, but as the time for the train's arrival drew near, more people gathered on the platform. Sophie was understandably annoyed with me for leaving our small umbrella in the hotel room, but I doubt it would have been much good anyway!

We boarded the S9 train to Pichelsburg, and when we arrived, everyone streamed off. It was still raining, and those of us who weren't prepared for the downpour had no choice but to buy a poncho from a very enterprising woman who was selling them for 5 euros each. She was making an absolute killing, and fair play to her! We hesitated about buying them at first to see if the rain would stop, but it was clear it was set in for the foreseeable future! We bought a clear one each, which covered all of us, including our bags. 

We set off with hundreds of others, up a flight of steps, along a bridge, up more steps, and then through a wooded area with tennis courts off to our left. As we emerged from the woods, we saw a constant procession of people heading for the arena. Trolleys, with a sign saying "Pfand", or deposit, were standing along the road, ready to collect bottles that people couldn't take in with them, so that the deposit could be claimed back. There is a thriving little business here in Berlin, and we often saw people going through bins to find the "Pfand" bottles. 

We asked a friendly steward the way to get in, but she said that if we wanted merchandise, to go there first. Sophie looked in vain for a Ben Howard T-shirt but couldn't see any, only Zach Bryan ones, which were selling for about 50 euros!

We made our way to the gate and joined a throng of people, most of whom were wearing ponchos! There were security searches here, and annoyingly, my can of freeze spray was taken off me and thrown away... Grrr! When we entered the amphitheatre, it was amazing to see so many people gathered together on the steep sides of the arena. Waldbühne was built in 1936 for the Olympic Games and is based on an ancient Greek theatre. It can seat just over 22,000 people.

Sophie queued to go to the loo, and then we descended the steep stone steps to our "seats", places on a wet bench quite close to the stage.

"Has the world gone mad, or is it me?"

Looking around, it was like we'd joined a weird cult for people with a fetish for ponchos! A singer called Keenan O'Meara was warbling away on stage, but most people hadn't taken their seats yet.

We tried to keep dry as it was raining hard now. I couldn't quite believe we were sitting on hard, wet benches in the downpour, waiting for Ben Howard to come on, and he would only be singing for about an hour! We weren't going to even stay for the main show!

Keenan O'Meara finished his act, and there was a flurry of activity on the stage as the roadies set up for Ben. I asked Sophie if there was another way out, and we both deduced there wasn't. It was going to be a hard slog back up the steps after our long day of walking!

Ben came on, and we whooped and cheered! A lot of people were still milling about at the top of the amphitheatre and obviously weren't interested in our hero from England! He did the following songs:

Sister

Cadence

Small Things

Towing the Line

Conrad

Days of Lantana

What the Moon Does

I Forget Where We Were

Sophie was ecstatic that he did Small Things, Days of Lantana (or Brantano, as I called it), and I Forget Where We Were. He was on for about forty-five minutes, but it was worth it to see him again, and really quite close! By now, the rain had stopped, and the sun was trying to peek through the clouds.

From the screen next to us

As soon as he was finished, and it was obvious he wasn't going to do an encore, we made our way back up the slippery stone steps. Frankly, I thought they were dangerous. It would only take one big, burly guy, dressed in his camo T-shirt and cowboy hat, to lose his footing after a bellyful of beer, and take out a load of people as he went down! I was hugely relieved when we reached the top!

We made our way out and asked if we could leave. The female steward (who I wouldn't mess with) barked that we were unable to come back in, and "had to go home!" Fine with us! Sophie cast another long, lingering look at a merch stand, but decided to keep her money!

We walked back the way we'd come from the station, but both of us were reluctant to go through the now deserted woodland part, especially as a lone man was meandering about... we took the longer route and walked through a beautiful residential area of lovely houses and what we think were exclusive apartments. The complex of apartments was bristling with CCTV cameras... diplomatic quarters, perhaps?

We soon came back to the bridge we'd crossed and saw several security guards wandering about. The station was very quiet, and we boarded the next train, which arrived in minutes. Inside the train, it was also quiet with people engrossed with their phones or reading.

We had decided to take the train to Hackescher Markt and try to have dinner at Yo Soy, a Spanish tapas restaurant we'd eaten at a few years ago. It was an exceedingly pleasant journey to the station, and the sun streamed through the windows. I loved just gazing out at the Berlin cityscape.

Tapas treats

Once we'd alighted at Hackescher Markt station, we made our way to the restaurant. Even though it was a Sunday evening, the bars and restaurants were busy with people eating and drinking. Yo Soy also looked very busy, but the waiter who had served us before kindly led us to a quiet area at the back of the restaurant and said we could sit there.

We had a good look at the menu and chose a Spanish omelette, Padron peppers, meatballs, chicken croquettes, and bread, accompanied by olives and aioli. Two glasses of rosé completed our dinner order.

A dried-out Sophie!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner, away from the main hustle and bustle of the restaurant. Our waiter was impressed that Sophie ordered our dishes in Spanish! It had been a long day, and it was bliss to sit and relax and eat delicious food.

After we'd eaten and paid the bill, we called an Uber to take us back to the hotel. We couldn't face walking or getting the train to Alexanderplatz and then Märkisches Museum. I think we had done enough for today!

Back in our room, we poured a glass of fizz each and relaxed before bed! 

Our steps from Sunday

Ben in Berlin - 30th of May - 2nd of June, 2026

I have split today into two, as we managed to pack so much in! The first half will be the flea market and lunch at the Literatur Café, while the second half will be the concert at Waldbühne and dinner in Hackescher Markt.

Flea market Sunday

We both slept well, and it was great to make a lovely coffee in our room. We were showered and dressed by 9:30am, and walked the short distance to the bakery that we had eaten breakfast in when we visited in December. This time, though, we didn't have the enormous breakfasts we had before! A coffee and an almond croissant were enough!

We sat and enjoyed our breakfast inside, but the folding doors were open. It was a gorgeous day, and we were keeping our fingers crossed about the concert this evening as the venue was outdoors! From the bakery, we took the U2 line to Eberswalder Strasse and then walked to the Mauer Park, situated in  Prenzlauer Berg. The walk took us through a pleasant residential district with apartment blocks, cafés, and restaurants. It was now quite warm, and at first we couldn't find the entrance to the park. It seemed to be fenced off! We noticed a huge arena advertising lots of well-known bands, and finally, after walking around the perimeter of the arena, we saw the flea market in the distance.

The first thing we needed was a sit-down and some water. Sophie spotted a stand selling drinks and said, "Ooh! Aperol Spritz!" But I said we needed to drink water to keep hydrated. She listened to me for once, and we both drank half a litre of still water while sitting in the shade of a tree. After this, she felt a lot better as her cold had been troubling her while we had been walking.

We both now felt ready to do justice to the enormous variety of goods for sale in the flea market. The park used to be a no-man's land when the Berlin Wall was standing, and it was inaccessible between 1961 and 1989. Now, it's an enormously popular Sunday market selling everything from new clothes, secondhand clothes, jewellery, art and food, to small-batch gins and vodkas, posters and antiques.

Sophie found a beautiful ring that fitted her thumb perfectly, so that's all of her fingers taken care of. She's moving onto toes next!

It was lovely to wander around and look at all the different things for sale. We both loved the antique stands, and Sophie bought two old postcards to take home with her. It was a good job we were flying home and not driving, as more items would have been purchased!

As is usual for Berlin, we found some stalls with more edgier items for sale, such as posters like these:

Nearby was a stand that had us wondering...

I couldn't see any donkeys about...

Sophie spotted a stand selling T-shirts and bought one with a cat in a plant pot on the front. She was enjoying herself immensely! We bought another bottle of water to keep us going and resumed our wanderings. Sophie used the immaculate loos and paid 50c, but thought this was a bargain as they were so clean!

The time was getting on, so we left and made our way back to the U-Bahn station via a different route. Sophie said she needed the loo, so we stopped at the first restaurant we came to, a Vietnamese eaterie called Chay35. We asked if we could have just a drink, and they were more than happy to accommodate us. Sophie ordered a glass of white wine while I had a "Han Noi" smoothie with mango and coconut milk.

It was very pleasant to sit outside and rest our weary feet! I had inserted the heel lifts into my trainers, and they had taken away the pain in my left heel, so I was very relieved! I dread to think how much pain I'd have been in by now without the inserts! We were tempted to order some food, but we had a lunch booking at the Literatur Café, and we didn't want to spoil our appetites!

Dedicated people watching!

After resting for about forty-five minutes and using the facilities again, we walked back to the U-Bahn station and rode the underground to the Märkisches Museum stop. We both needed to freshen up a little before having lunch, so we went up to our rooms and cooled down for ten minutes!

The last time we had visited the beautiful Literatur Café, it had been the depths of winter with a layer of dangerous black ice on the pavements and roads. It had grown a little cloudy while we were in the hotel, but it was still warm, and we took the U2 line to Theodor-Heuss-Platz. From the station, we crossed a small park (the last time we walked on the grass to avoid slipping over) and a couple of roads before heading down through a quiet residential area. To our left were exhibition halls and tennis courts, and we soon arrived at the entrance. It was still lovely and quiet, and we were shown to a reserved table on the terrace.

A few other tables were occupied; opposite were three men who looked dodgy to me, and were doing some kind of business deal in English, an Asian couple next to us were completely engrossed in their laptops with a pot of tea between them, and another two men were enjoying a quiet lunch. They were still there when we left, a lot later!

The terrace of the Literatur Café is the kind of place that induces a feeling of calm. We looked at the menu, and we both decided to have sandwiches. Sophie had a coronation chicken filling in hers, while I opted for a crusty baguette with serrano ham, salad and egg. We shared a bowl of crunchy French fries. For drinks, I chose a beer, while Sophie enjoyed a Campari and orange juice. It was heaven to sit and relax after our busy morning!

We both indulged in people-watching, and the terrace began to fill up with guests. An older couple arrived and were asked to move tables as the one they had chosen was reserved. They must have been in their early 80s, and the man chain-smoked cigarettes, even when his wife was eating! I said to Sophie that they were both most likely war babies, born around the early 1940s, like my Dad. This then made me think of the song "War Baby" by Tom Robinson, and it was in my head all afternoon.

However, if I thought the couple were old, the two women who came in next made them look like teenagers! I was utterly fascinated by them both... They sat opposite me, and one of the women pulled her chair around so I couldn't see her properly. They both wore hats and scruffy clothes, and when they were finally settled, one of the women took out a sheaf of papers, and I swear they were court papers, as in a court case. She then took out a newspaper cutting with a page highlighted, and I would have given my right arm to have sat with them and chatted about their lives!

They may have been too young to have been involved in the war (I hazarded a guess at late 80s), but even if they had been in their early 90s, they still wouldn't have been old enough to have had active roles in the Second World War. My guess was that they were lesbian lovers (although I would have settled for sisters) and had been active in the Stasi in the 1960s.

We ordered more drinks (wine and another beer) and an apple strudel each, accompanied by a delicious custard.

You can see the two women in the background

As the women were perusing the menu, fat drops of rain began to fall, and one of the women immediately got up and went inside, leaving her companion to struggle up by herself! Bugger! The staff set the awning in motion so it covered us, but the drops of rain didn't last, and it soon stopped.

We ordered more drinks (wine and another beer) and an apple strudel each, accompanied by a delicious custard. We could have stayed forever, but the time was marching on, and we had a bus and a train to catch to see Ben!