Ben Howard in Berlin - The 10 Year "I Forget Where We Were" Anniversary Tour - 12th-14th of November

An early start.

The alarm went off at 2am this morning, and we were showered, dressed and ready to go just before 3am. The journey to Heathrow's Terminal 5 was easy and straightforward, and we saw two foxes and a badger on the way to the A43!

I'd booked the car into Maple Parking at Terminal 5, and we boarded a waiting shuttle bus. We didn't need to go to Bag Drop today, as we were only taking our brand new cabin cases, so it was straight through to security. Even though there was only a handful of us heading to the security area, we were made to go through the stupid "up and down" lines that I loathe... 

Once through the dreaded security, we headed for Pret A Manger for a bite to eat and coffee. As we sat and waited, the area gradually filled up with people, and I marvelled at a family sitting opposite who were engrossed in their phones! Our gate number appeared, and we set off on the long trek to our plane. On the way, the gate number changed and we had to board the transit shuttle, something I've never done before! 

Once settled on the plane, we had a good flight and it was lovely to see the sun and banks of clouds disappearing into the distance. We were given a much-needed bottle of water and a packet of biscuits and I briefly napped. The flight seemed to be over very quickly, and soon we were landing at Berlin Brandenburg airport.

Welcome to Berlin!

As soon as the seatbelt signs were switched off, people leapt to their feet and retrieved their luggage from the overhead lockers. We sat and waited, as there was no point even trying to get up and retrieve ours. Consequently, we were among the last to leave the plane, and we were a little dismayed to see long lines waiting to be processed through passport control. 

It took us about an hour to get through, and we listened to several people holding very important conversations on their phones, and one man even balancing a laptop and writing as he queued! Our passport man was a real bundle of fun, but didn't fire questions at us as he did the other travellers! It would have been great to see his face break out into a smile, but no... welcome to Berlin!

We had decided, unanimously, to take the train to the hotel this time. As Brandenburg is a brand new airport, we weren't sure of how to get to the train station. Before, you had to exit the airport and follow a long covered walkway to the station. Today, we followed signs and discovered the trains were part of the airport itself. 

Sophie had worked out which line we needed and how we could avoid the dreaded Alexanderplatz station, but all we could see was the S9 line to Spandau. One train was waiting, but we were reluctant to board it in case it was the wrong one. We even tried to see if we could get to the opposite platform but in the end, we had to wait for another train heading to Spandau, with a change to the U2 line at Alexanderplatz, something we didn't want to do. We felt like we'd never been to Berlin before!

When the train arrived, we sat down, and apart from us, there was only one other passenger. The train was lovely and clean and it was great to be back in our beloved city!

Keith looking, I think, very German!

Sophie was annoyed that her information had been out of date!

The train set off and gradually became busier as we made our way into the city. A young mother got on with a toddler and a pram and sat behind Keith. She looked exhausted and pale and sniffed continually. We were then treated to the appearance of a homeless man who, thankfully, sat further along the carriage behind another young mother with two children. He was quiet, apart from the sniffing! It was that kind of weather today - cold and grey with heavy cloud cover. I have no idea what happened to the promised sunny forecast of a few days ago!

Where are we going?

At Alexanderplatz, we changed to the U2 line and travelled the short distance to Markisches Museum. To save Keith's legs we took the lift to the surface and walked to the hotel. We noticed that the usual entrance to the station was barricaded shut. 

A small disappointment...

At reception, we were told that our room was ready. We had booked a suite with a living room and sofa bed, and a double bedroom. As the receptionist was processing our booking, Keith wandered over to the bar and came back to say that because of "operational issues" it was closed for a week. We had been looking forward to sitting in the bar and having a drink or two, and Keith was going to sit there on Wednesday night while Sophie and I went to see Ben. We were bitterly disappointed, but not surprised, as this has happened before, and now we no longer have any confidence in the bar being open when we visit. We just wished we had been told beforehand!

The bar, closed for our visit.

We were on floor 4, with views over Wallstrasse. We unpacked quickly and then made our way over to the Nikolaiviertal where we planned to have lunch. The itinerary that Sophie had devised weeks ago was slowly starting to unravel; we'd planned on having breakfast at the Literaturhaus on Thursday but that was closed for renovations, and we wondered what other surprises Berlin had in store for us!

Roadworks were going on along the broad road that we cross to get to the Nikolaiviertal, and trenches had been dug all the way to the traffic lights with new pipework being installed. Once across the road, we gazed at one of our favourite views over to the other bank of the river and Ephraim's, but we couldn't see the very top of the Television Tower, which was shrouded in mist.

A lovely lunch.

Preparations were underway in the Nikolaiviertal for Christmas and the outdoor cinema was being set up, along with the cabin selling gluhwein. Decorations were being put up by a crane and we just wished that Ben had timed his tour to coincide with the Christmas markets like ten years ago!

 

We had planned on having lunch at Spreeblick, a sweet and homely restaurant on the banks of the river, opposite the large St George statue. We were greeted by a friendly waiter who invited us to take any table we wanted. We chose one by the window and opposite a large group of mostly women, who were waiting for their lunch.

Our waiter bore a strong resemblance to Gary Numan and was lovely. We were given menus and Sophie and I both chose the currywurst served with French fries. Keith opted for an omelette with salad. We all chose beers, dark ones for Sophie and me, and a traditional lager for Keith.

I enjoyed the currywurst but there was too much sauce covering the French fries. The sausage itself was meaty and succulent, but I didn't finish my meal because of the overpowering sauce. Sophie and I shared a chocolate cake served with ice cream for dessert and it was great to relax and people-watch. The group of women in front of us were having a wonderful time and we tried to work out how they all knew each other? To me, they looked like members of the Women's Institute, but two men were present... a large extended family? Their ages ranged from late 20s to 80s. We would never know!

We paid the bill, and left a tip for our friendly waiter who asked us if we were American! Er, no! We told him where we came from and he launched into a speech about the Eurotunnel and how fantastic it was. Had we driven? Again, no!

Early Christmas shopping.

One of the places we wanted to visit was the delightful Christmas shop. Keith stood outside while Sophie and I went in and had a good look around. 

I was mesmerised by the ornate Cuckoo clocks that were selling for hundreds of euros. They were beautiful and so much work must have gone into them. One chimed while I watched, and the cuckoo noise was lovely!

I bought an Advent candle and some smaller ones to go into our candlesticks, and Sophie bought a decoration for one of the trees and a lace hanging for her room. The shop had exquisite wooden carvings and I could have spent thousands of euros!

The woman serving today wasn't the same as the one we chatted to a couple of years ago about our new King. She was a bit stressed as other customers had been in when we arrived and wanted gifts they'd bought to be wrapped. We paid and left and wandered around the Nikolaiviertal spotting several cosy cafés serving gluhwein. 

Keith decided to head back to the hotel while Sophie and I continued to wander around. We went into a shop selling incense, scarves and jewellery and Sophie picked out a beautiful new ring that matched her other rings perfectly. The owner tried to sell me a gorgeous silk scarf for about 65 euros. I was sorely tempted!

On the way back to the hotel we popped into a supermarket and bought three bottles of beer for Keith, as well as bottles of shampoo and conditioner because we hadn't been able to put any in our cabin luggage.

Back at the hotel, we all had naps as we were so tired. I've said in the past that it's horrible getting up so early and then doing a full day in Berlin and I'm not sure I'll do this again! I think it's better to arrive mid-afternoon and feel more energetic!

Cocktails and a wonderful dinner.

As our bar was closed, we decided to cross the road and visit the Wall Street Park Plaza Hotel instead, a place we'd stayed at before in 2016. The bar is lovely and dimly lit, with a mirrored wall of bottles to choose from, and an extensive cocktail menu.

We sat on bar stools and I chose an Aperol Spritz, Keith a large lager and Sophie a Negroni. I had been thirsty all day, probably from the breakfast bap I'd had at the airport! We sat and relaxed and chatted about the day and how annoyed we were that Chrizz wasn't available to make us cocktails. Sophie had been looking forward to sampling more of his White Russians!

Sophie's Negroni

We'd booked a table at Ephraim's for 7.30pm, so had time for another drink. Sophie had another Negroni, Keith had a smaller beer and I chose a glass of Prosecco after discovering the bar had run out of its house white. I wasn't prepared to choose a small glass of wine for 10 euros!

As it neared 7.30pm we walked back over to the Nikolaiviertal and gazed at the foggy views:

Ephraim's, far right

Ephraim's is a lovely, very cosy and comfortable restaurant right on the River Spree. Our table was in a "living room" with squashy sofas, lace curtains, dressers and ornaments. 

A young couple were sitting opposite and it looked like they'd had an argument as he was doing his best to appease her, and she was shrinking away from him... They were seated on a sofa and I wished him luck in trying to win her over again!

Our waiter was lovely, and I asked Sophie if she could bring a man just like him home as a son-in-law! He was very attentive and we ordered carafes of Riesling for Sophie and me, and a beer for Keith. I was delighted to see calves' liver on the menu, served with mashed potatoes, gravy and apple rings! Keith chose lamb shank and Sophie opted for chicken in a curry sauce and pineapple served with rice.

Cheers!

The food was delicious and my liver was tender and flavoursome. It's such a treat to see it on a restaurant menu!

Sophie and I chose desserts of honey and walnut cake and pancakes filled with blueberries, while Keith enjoyed an Irish coffee.

I ordered another carafe of wine and we relaxed after the meal, enjoying the beautiful surroundings. I could have stayed for hours! It's such a lovely restaurant and always feels, for me, like having dinner in a private house.

Reluctantly, we paid the bill and strolled back to the hotel, crossing the still-busy Muhlendammbrucke. The road was ablaze with lights from the works going on and there was a man fishing from the bridge.

As we neared the hotel, Sophie took pictures of the hotel and the Spreekanal next to it.

The Italian restaurant opposite our hotel was called Verona and was on the ground floor of a huge block of flats. When Keith and I first visited Berlin in 2006, this was a German pub and we ate here on our only night in the city. Maybe next time we'll visit for spaghetti!

Back in the room, even though it was only 9pm, we were ready for bed. It had been a long day!

Getting ready

I took myself off to work this morning and did a very short shift, finishing at 12pm. I had to make a detour on the way home due to the road being closed between Holcot and Walgrave but decided to pop to Brixworth to return Mum's dressing gown to a drop-off point at the library. I soon gave up on that idea, though, when the car park opposite was full, with people waiting! I had obviously picked the wrong time!

Sophie arrived home shortly after me and we had cheese on toast for lunch before making a start on some housework and last-minute packing. The weather has been beautiful today, with blue skies and sunshine. The sun brought out the gorgeous colour of the turning leaves on the trees; it was so wonderful to see it again after so long!

Mooney wandered in and out and gave us a series of miaows. I'm sure he knows we're off again tomorrow! We arranged everything for Isla and I locked the cat flap and cleared all the ornaments off the kitchen window in case the cats decided to try and see if they could escape this way! When we had been in France they'd knocked everything off and smashed a little trinket bowl. I wasn't going to make the same mistake again!

By 4pm, we were all done and able to relax a little! After leftovers from yesterday, we watched Mastermind, and then it was time for bed. The alarm is set for 2am tomorrow!

Feeling a little frustrated!

(I know I have already written this post, but somehow, it disappeared! Anyway, here it is again!)

Sophie and I caught up with yesterday's Saturday Morning Kitchen with a coffee and pastry and enjoyed watching the great interaction between  Idris Elba and the other guests. It looked like they were having a fabulous time!

Keith and I went to the care home after breakfast because Mum had said the dressing gown I'd bought her for her birthday was too large. I left Keith in the car and made my way up to the room, to be told by my Dad that the CD player I'd bought for him and given to him yesterday wasn't working... I felt like screaming, to be honest. I had a look at it, and it was working perfectly! 

My Mum and I then spent around fifteen minutes trying to find the dressing gown. I'd told her to keep it safe, but she couldn't remember what she'd done with it. I eventually found it in the gift bag next to the sofa, so I kissed them both goodbye and left, feeling almost tearful with frustration. It seems that whatever I do, it's never good enough!

Keith wanted to put some petrol in the car, so we made our way over to Tesco at Kettering and filled up the VW before heading home to prepare lunch. We'd decided to have roast beef at midday rather than in the evening, to avoid the dreaded Sunday syndrome! I coloured my hair, ready for Berlin, and then sat in the kitchen with Sophie and Keith to read the papers.

Lunch was delicious, and because we hadn't eaten roast beef and all the trimmings for a while, we appreciated it all the more! We opened a bottle of Gigondas to go with the meal, a wine that Sophie had bought in the village itself. It was gorgeous, like liquid spicy silk!

Sophie and I cleared away and spent the afternoon relaxing, which was heaven! We sat with Keith in the living room and read our books until the evening, and then watched the second of the Bourne franchise, The Bourne Supremacy. This film was set in a gritty-looking Berlin, a city we will be visiting next week!

A milestone birthday!

Sophie had two appointments this morning and I offered to go with her and drive, which she appreciated. Her first was at the beauty salon in Northampton and I managed to get the last space in the tiny car park. As I was sitting waiting for her, a car came into the car park and minutes later, a woman knocked on my window asking if I was going. I said no and then she asked how long was I going to be? Sophie had already texted me to say her appointment was running late, so I told the woman about twenty minutes. Obviously, the two women in the car didn't want to park out on the street so they dumped their car on the double yellow lines behind me, making it difficult for other cars to reverse out! How selfish!

Sophie eventually came back and had to guide me out as I reversed all the way. I was fuming! What's the point of having double yellow lines in your car park if you don't enforce the rules! I am certainly becoming a grumpy woman!

We sped over to Wollaston where Sophie had her fourth acupuncture session. I sat in the car and read, which was lovely and relaxing! The journey home, though, was not relaxing and the roads were hectic! It was a relief to get home and out of the car!

At 1pm, we went to Tesco and I bought my Mum a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates. We then headed to the Care Home to celebrate my Mum's 80th birthday! We set everything up in the lovely lounge next to their rooms and managed to get a record player going with Elvis Presley's love songs. Mum loved her flowers and chocolates, and we enjoyed another bottle of Champagne, toasting her milestone birthday!

I don't know why my parents don't sit in this room more often as it was so pleasant and peaceful. Building work is still going on outside and I would have loved to sit there and watch all the comings and goings if I was them!

We stayed for over an hour, chatting and reminiscing about other birthdays and sipping the very good Champagne. I'd bought Mum a new silky dressing gown and I just hoped she liked it.

As dusk fell outside, we cleared everything away and returned home via the scenic route, seeing only a pheasant and a family with their two young children on the narrow road leading to the village. 

Back home, it was definitely time for a treat:

It's that time of the year!

It's been noticeably colder today so worthy of a hot chocolate! We spent the early evening sitting in the living room, candles lit, and reading while Keith watched the football. He had prepared a chicken and mushroom pie for dinner and it was delicious, as always.

After we's eaten we decided - in unison for once! - to watch The Bourne Identity. It was great!

Scary movie!

Today was my last full day before Berlin next week, so I didn't mind getting up at 6am this morning. Sophie went to the gym and we had to wonder whether this acupuncture is doing its job as she has only had one small headache this week and no irritability yet! It seems to be worth it!

My shift at work was very pleasant and we had various people in and out all day, but there was a good atmosphere, which was lovely. I managed to get a lot of the moan report done and was pleased I'd made such good progress. I may even get it finished on Monday, but it will still be waiting for me if not when I return on the 18th!

I drove home in the darkening evening and thought back to a news report yesterday that said most areas of the country had only had eighteen minutes of sunshine in the last eleven days... can you believe that? We have had a thick layer of cloud over us for ages and I can't remember the last time we saw the sun! We have been promised a change on Sunday, though, so we'll see!

This evening, Sophie and I  watched a film about a serial killer operating in California in the 1970s. It was scary, and there were several moments in the film when we could identify with the female character's fear!

We watched the end of the film after dinner and then Have I Got News For You, which had a lot to say about the recent US elections. I won a bet with Sophie as to who was going to win, and I had predicted Trump. On Tuesday night, before the results were declared they were supposed to have been neck and neck, but that was obviously very wrong! Sophie was horrified that Trump is back in power and was utterly disgusted at Keir Starmer's announcement congratulating him!

Because I'd won the bet we drank Champagne tonight! What a great end to a busy week!

Traffic mayhem!

My shorter shift passed quickly today and Keith collected me at 2pm. Mum had an appointment for her nails at 3pm, so I dropped Keith off at home and drove over to Kettering to pick her up.

We set off on the A43 and as we neared the turn-off for Mawsley, a police car came screaming past, its sirens blaring. A bit further on, near Walgrave, we came to a halt and nothing was moving. I decided to turn off and drive through Walgrave and Holcot to get back onto the A43.

As we neared the roundabout on the A43 I could see that the traffic was held up going towards Kettering and idiot drivers were blocking our way back onto the road! There was nowhere for them to go so why didn't they leave a gap for us on the roundabout? Utter thoughtlessness!

We made it to Natalia's house a few minutes after 3pm which was a lot better than I'd expected! I kept looking at Google Maps and dreading the journey back to Kettering! Things hadn't improved at all!

I had to go home to pick up a birthday card from Dad to my Mum, so I called Keith and asked him if he'd come with us to Kettering as company for me when I returned Mum. He readily agreed and we set out in the gloom for the journey back.

Amazingly, there was no traffic on the A43 to the Holcot roundabout, which was a huge bonus as I thought we'd be held up there. As we approached Holcot, I could see a line of stationary cars... this was where the hold-up was! It took us ages to get into the village and the constant stream of traffic coming the other way was extremely annoying! I managed to eventually turn into "cut-throat alley" and met several cars coming the other way. It was obvious that the problems on the A43 hadn't been resolved while Mum was having her nails done!

But the worst was yet to come... as we neared Walgrave we ground to a halt again. I couldn't believe it! As we slowly crawled into the village I could see a bus well and truly stuck at the narrow crossroads. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! I just wanted to drop Mum back and go home!

It took us a fair while to get through Walgrave as the traffic sorted itself out. We picked up Keith and headed back to Kettering where the traffic on the A43 was still heavy. I later found out that there'd been an accident at the Walgrave turn involving three cars shortly after we'd passed through this afternoon.

We dropped Mum off and returned home where Keith made me a stiff drink! I made the porridge for tomorrow morning and then sat and relaxed in the living room with my drink. Phew! What a day!

Coffee with a friend

I saw Sophie off this morning and then went to bed for a lie-in, waking up at almost 9am! I didn't mean to be asleep for that long!

Keith and I were busy in the morning, preparing dinner and doing the shopping list for the rest of the week. I lunched on leftover cottage pie before getting a shower as I was meeting my friend Lynda for a coffee in the afternoon.

We had arranged to meet at the Weston Favell Centre and I needed to get cards and gifts for my Mum and pop into Boots Opticians to speak to someone about my contact lenses. I last wore them a few months ago and have frozen the payments until January, but I needed some advice.

I met Lynda at Costa Coffee and we chatted for over an hour over coffee. It was great to see her again, and we really should do it more often, especially as I can walk over from work on a Thursday. Before we said goodbye we had a look at an exhibition celebrating 50 years of the Weston Favell Centre. I didn't see the photo of my Nan and David Jacobs, but it was great to look back on the shopping mall when it was first built and see the shops that have since vanished!

I bought cards and a bottle of Chanel No.5 for my Mum as a gift from my Dad, popped into Tesco to buy some milk, and went to Boots, where I saw a friendly woman who replaced the multi-focal lenses with my previous ones, so job done! They will resume again in January when my payment freeze ends.

It was now 4pm, so it was no different to if I was driving home from work, and the traffic was busy on the A43, as it always is. Back home, I put the hoover around and pootled about until Sophie arrived.

Dinner tonight was a new recipe: a leek, ham and gnocchi traybake sprinkled with Emmental cheese. It was delicious but the tub of creme fraiche we'd bought for it wasn't enough (I'd doubled up on the other ingredients) and we should have used a pot of single cream we had as well!