Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Berlin





Berlin is as amazing as everyone ever told me it would be. The people were wonderfully nice, and the city itself is a general buffet of everything you could ever want. Your personal hobby, fetish, want or need will be represented there, I'm sure of it.

The trip was a surprise for my Mother's birthday and I must say that the gift went over better than I could have expected :)

In this blog I'll give you a few ideas of places to go, how to get there, what to eat (and to avoid in my humble opinion) and of course some images to go along with all of that :)

Hope you enjoy!

Preflight beer - a must when one is going to travel to EU!



One lucky girl - I got bumped up to first class :) Thank goodness too because it is the only way to sleep on a plane in my experience.

Termal 5 at Heathrow Airport. Connection to my flight to Berlin.

BA Baby!

My little puddle jumper to Berlin :)

One tired girl - this is my pre coffee look :)

Made it safe and sound...
Raining - just the way I like it :)

A very happy and a very surprised Mommy :)

Perfect! One of the first things we see when we get to Berlin - guys unloading beer for the day's shipment at Tegel! Love it!


Our new base of ops for our tour of Berlin. I found this great hostel called Eastern Comfort Hostelboat. It turned out to be a perfect little find right in front of the Berlin Wall. The people were super nice and the food was great and cheap. They even had a language party while we were there so we got to talk to lots of people from different countries and backgrounds. Couldn't have asked for more! Although I will caution the person who wants to book the same hotel - get one of the nice suites. If you are like me, staying on the bottom of the boat under the water line is just a little creepy. This was the Double Private suite. I would recommend it - and you have your own bathroom! A must for us girls :)
I think she likes it! :)

Ask for it by number - room 29 :) The best!
View from our room - and of course the west side of the wall.
Ok not my best photo - but had to include it cause we look so happy and it was the first "us" pic of the trip :)

Before you see the next pic you need to know that the last time I went to Germany I wasn't really in the "explore and try everything" mood. This trip was different! I was determined to get my hands - and mouth - on the freakiest food I could find. The first day Mom and I went out, explored and found a big market where I found this...

This is head cheese. The one I picked is made from Pig's tongue. I know it sounds horrid but it was wonderful!
See I liked it...
Ok back to the trip at large :)

View from the front of Eastern Comfort Hostelboat.

Lounge upstairs.

Breakfast bar at Eastern Comfort Hostelboat.


Our new friend Sebastian :)


Mom's Birthday breakfast - courtesy of Sebastian :)

Some more details from Eastern Comfort Hostel...


View from the boat.

Inside Eastern Comfort Hostel


Detail from the boat


Some very freaky artwork across the river. Mom here you go the photo I took for you of the guy eating his own eye ball :)

The Wall



Beautiful picture of Mom if I do say so myself :)

So a small break from the pics to give you what I hope will be some useful information if you are traveling to Berlin.
First of all some must do's:
A caviate here - I didn't actually get around to this, but it took me a long time to find online and I thought it would be worth mentioning again here.
There are lots of artist squats and or communities in Germany. True to German form they are clean and some I have heard actually have long waiting lists to join them. They do these great dinners and are super affordable as a place to eat and drink and have some local entertainment. Here are a few that I found online:
Supamolly - 41 Jessner Strasse
Sama Cafe - Cinema on Mondays and Wednesdays 10:30pm, Veg Voku (their word for people's dinner) Monday thru Friday 10pm. 32 Samariter Strasse.
Tacheles - Films, art events etc. 54-56 Oranienburger Strasse
Zielona Gora - brunch on Sundays midday Vegan Voku dinner on Sundays at 7pm. 73 Grunberger Strassee.
Rote Insel - Stone baked pizza on Fridays 9pm. 10 Manstain Strasse.

You can also check out this link for more info on squats and Voku.

Second on this list - and we did try this - Liquidrom.

It is simply a must if you are going to Berlin. Frankly I think it is a must if you are going anywhere near Germany :)
The place is magical and it is exactly what it says - an urban spa. The experience defies words you just have to go. The website has amazing pictures but the reality is better (if you can believe that).
Prepare to be naked in front of people - but bring a suit because they require it in all the tubs and pool (although some people seem to conveniently forget this rule).





3 comments:

  1. Great Post great trip. I can't thank you enough Alex! What a memorable birthday.

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  2. It is amazing how much Lynneah looks like her mother~ Beautiful!!
    What a wonderful present!!

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