Awakening after a good night's sleep, Charlotte & I made our way to the communal shower room & attempted not to die of embarrassment, as we stripped off in our frosted glass showers. Having made it through the experience, we got dressed & ready for the day & headed to the cafe for some breakfast.
The cafe is mostly vegetarian, with the menu being very European. Lots of bread, egg & yoghurt. I ended up opting for a lunchtime offering of homemade quiche, with an egg custard tart for afterwards & a Fritz-Kola (German Coca Cola, actually very nice) to wash it all down.
Over breakfast, Charlotte & I planned our day's itinerary. Initially, we booked our mini adventure, because we had scored some heavily sought after HAIM gig tickets. The girls were set to perform at the Lido that evening, however, those Californian cool kids, went & cancelled on us, but we decided to go anyway & make the most of Berlin.
So to fill what would have been our awesome gig day, we decided to head back to Kreuzberg & go see The Berlin Wall. I'd brought with me my Diana camera, which Sir Fleming had given me for my birthday last year. I'd not yet used it, as I didn't know how & didn't want to waste the film. But, Berlin seemed like as good a place as any to start using it. A YouTube video later, we were up & running & on our way to Kreuzberg.
So to fill what would have been our awesome gig day, we decided to head back to Kreuzberg & go see The Berlin Wall. I'd brought with me my Diana camera, which Sir Fleming had given me for my birthday last year. I'd not yet used it, as I didn't know how & didn't want to waste the film. But, Berlin seemed like as good a place as any to start using it. A YouTube video later, we were up & running & on our way to Kreuzberg.
The Berlin Wall is incredibly long, with an eclectic mix of art all the way along it. It was mesmerizing, seeing the images I'd seen in books & online, finally in front of me.
After spending several hours snapping up every inch of the wall, we headed in the direction of Burgermeister, to finally see if the burgers were worth the effort we'd gone to, to find them.
Burgermeister is so subtle in its surroundings, it is easy to see why it can be so hard to find. Tucked away under the U-Bahn tracks, in a converted public toilet, it doesn't really shout eatery. However, it is never without customers, to such a degree, that once you've ordered, you are given a ticket with a number on it & told to go wait, until your number flashes up on the sign above the counter.
Seating options are small plastic crates, converted into tiny childlike chairs or old metal bike rails, set aside wooden bar tops to rest your food upon. Charlotte & I opted for the bike rails. Ten numbers later, our burgers were finally ready. I opted for a BBQ version & I have to say, it was definitely worth the wait. Plus, with a burger & fries coming in at just €5, it was exceptionally
good value for money.
With our bellies full, we decided to go for a stroll around the Botanischer Garten Und Botanisches Museum. As it was too far to walk, we hopped on the nearest U-Bahn. At one stop, a very good looking guy got on & sat opposite us. Tussled blonde hair, lightly tanned skin, generally pretty dreamy. We caught each others eye & smiled at each other. It was looking promising.
As I glanced away, I spotted another guy further down the carriage. He was dressed in a suit & scribbling into an A4 sized diary. I thought this was quite funny & whispered to Charlotte to have a look. We giggled to ourselves & then had to look away embarrassed, when the guy caught us staring at him.
Not two minutes later, the train stopped at a station & a brash message boomed out of the train's speakers & everyone proceeded to leave the train. Oblivious, as the message was in German, which neither of us know a word of, we got off with everyone else.
Before I knew it, the A4 diary guy appeared in front of us, asking if we wanted to share a cab! We declined his invitation & he then proceeded to tell me he had just graduated from Harvard, was setting up his own business & wanted my phone number. I couldn't help but nervously chuckle.
Unfortunately, whilst this exchange was occurring, the ever so good looking blonde guy walked off, out of the station, never to be seen again. Lesson learnt, don't mock people on trains!
Having finally shaken my admirer, Charlotte & I left the U-Bahn station & walked the long stretch to the Botanischer Garten. Once there, we were automatically given reduced price tickets. Clearly our childlike faces speak for themselves! Adult tickets are normally €6 & reduced tickets are €3.
We headed straight for the giant conservatory, which was incredible & just brimming with colourful & fragrant blooms.
I think in order to fully get the most of your time at the Botanischer Garten, you really need to devote an entire day to it. The conservatory took a couple of hours & by the time we were done, it was already quite late & our energy level had dropped below the power of sugar. We therefore didn't go around the outside gardens, which are huge, but I would definitely go again to see them.
We left the Botanischer Garten in search of food. Walking the long walk back to the U-Bahn, we headed back to Kreuzberg to try out Markthalle. A large indoor food market, open daily until midnight.
Markthalle was probably my favourite place in Berlin. It was enthralling. There was a plethora of food options available, from pork belly rolls, to Jamaican rice & peas, to cheese & wine. I gazed around attempting to take everything in & then, the indecisiveness set in. Suddenly, I couldn't commit to anything, I wanted everything!
Charlotte & I wandered round & round, taking in the sights & smells. There were two different live bands playing & people laughing, eating & drinking everywhere. I also have to say, that the one thing Berlin does very well is, exceptionally good looking men. All bearded, brown eyed, often bespectacled, although, always with terribly bad shoes. These specimens were everywhere I looked! I was in heaven, good food & gorgeous guys.
As it was getting late & Charlotte & I had spent so much time trying to decide what to have, that a few stalls were actually packing up, we ended up with an Italian rice ball each. It wasn't the best thing I'd ever eaten & it was incredibly messy! Another lesson learnt, don't hesitate!
To console ourselves we had a cocktail & a waffle, which went down better than the rice ball.
Full & tired, we left the Markthalle & headed back to Hüttenpalast, back to our cabins & passed out.
x
As I glanced away, I spotted another guy further down the carriage. He was dressed in a suit & scribbling into an A4 sized diary. I thought this was quite funny & whispered to Charlotte to have a look. We giggled to ourselves & then had to look away embarrassed, when the guy caught us staring at him.
Not two minutes later, the train stopped at a station & a brash message boomed out of the train's speakers & everyone proceeded to leave the train. Oblivious, as the message was in German, which neither of us know a word of, we got off with everyone else.
Before I knew it, the A4 diary guy appeared in front of us, asking if we wanted to share a cab! We declined his invitation & he then proceeded to tell me he had just graduated from Harvard, was setting up his own business & wanted my phone number. I couldn't help but nervously chuckle.
Unfortunately, whilst this exchange was occurring, the ever so good looking blonde guy walked off, out of the station, never to be seen again. Lesson learnt, don't mock people on trains!
Having finally shaken my admirer, Charlotte & I left the U-Bahn station & walked the long stretch to the Botanischer Garten. Once there, we were automatically given reduced price tickets. Clearly our childlike faces speak for themselves! Adult tickets are normally €6 & reduced tickets are €3.
We headed straight for the giant conservatory, which was incredible & just brimming with colourful & fragrant blooms.
I think in order to fully get the most of your time at the Botanischer Garten, you really need to devote an entire day to it. The conservatory took a couple of hours & by the time we were done, it was already quite late & our energy level had dropped below the power of sugar. We therefore didn't go around the outside gardens, which are huge, but I would definitely go again to see them.
We left the Botanischer Garten in search of food. Walking the long walk back to the U-Bahn, we headed back to Kreuzberg to try out Markthalle. A large indoor food market, open daily until midnight.
Markthalle was probably my favourite place in Berlin. It was enthralling. There was a plethora of food options available, from pork belly rolls, to Jamaican rice & peas, to cheese & wine. I gazed around attempting to take everything in & then, the indecisiveness set in. Suddenly, I couldn't commit to anything, I wanted everything!
Charlotte & I wandered round & round, taking in the sights & smells. There were two different live bands playing & people laughing, eating & drinking everywhere. I also have to say, that the one thing Berlin does very well is, exceptionally good looking men. All bearded, brown eyed, often bespectacled, although, always with terribly bad shoes. These specimens were everywhere I looked! I was in heaven, good food & gorgeous guys.
As it was getting late & Charlotte & I had spent so much time trying to decide what to have, that a few stalls were actually packing up, we ended up with an Italian rice ball each. It wasn't the best thing I'd ever eaten & it was incredibly messy! Another lesson learnt, don't hesitate!
To console ourselves we had a cocktail & a waffle, which went down better than the rice ball.
Full & tired, we left the Markthalle & headed back to Hüttenpalast, back to our cabins & passed out.
x
Awesome!
ReplyDeleteFeels so far away now. Kinda sad.
Hahaha I loved reading about the Matrix guy ordeal.
xxx
Doesn't it! Time is certainly flying!
DeleteWe need to go back for sausage & hipsters!
xxx