Berlin.... 2015 weekend trips have already started

If you read my blog, you know me.  I'm restless and need to travel.  And I can only tolerate hanging around my apartment in Russia SO MUCH!  Especially on the weekends. 

We went to Berlin during our 1st weekend back to Russia after the New Year holidays.  In our defense, Pat was traveling & wasn't going to make it back home, so a trip somewhere in Europe ("in the middle") was the only way to spend time together. 

I didn't take many pictures while in Berlin.  I've started the year off slow, in a funk about winter and returning to Russia for our 5th Winter (hard to believe!).

To get started, we stayed at the Hotel am Steinplatz, in the Charlottenburg neighborhood on the west side of Berlin.  This hotel was amazing!  It's an older historic hotel, that was purchased by Marriot and rebranded under their Autograph Collection.  Great design, cool bar & restaurant, nice spa, and perfect location near the University and lots of restaurants/bars.

When we met up, the 1st order of business was a cocktail.....  I loved the vintage glasses

 

And then we were off to dinner.... one of our favorites, which just happened to be a 5 minute walk from our hotel.  Dicke Wirtin's.  If you want some classic German specialties in a fun lively place, you've got to try it out.  

 

Beer time!

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that both Pat & I cleaned our plates.  Here's mine, which was a Berliner's Special.  Currywurst, meatballs, pork roast, beats, red cabbage, potatoes........

 

And Pat's - Blood and liver sausage, pork belly, sauerkraut, potatoes......

I'm full just looking at those pictures.......  Next day, we took a walk.  It was cold, but sunny. 

Brandenburg Gate

Ronny!

 

The Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarden.  It was built by the Soviet Union in 1945, to honor the 80,000 Soviet forces who died in the Battle of Berlin in April & May of that year  (after the war, Berlin was section into 4 quarters and administered by the US, UK, France, and Soviet Union).

The Berlin Victory Column or Siegessause.  Built in 1873 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War.  It was moved to it's current location at the roundabout in Tiergarden in 1938 by the Nazis.  It survived the war without much damage, and was considered for destruction by the French and Soviets.  Luckily, the British & US vetoed the idea, and it still stands today

The statue of Victoria on top (Roman goddess of war) is called Goldese by the Germans, or "Golden Lizzy"

Lunch time! 

Flammkuchen, which is a Alsatian flatbread  Crème fraiche, bacon, green onions.  Really tasty. 

A Sunday walk through Tiergarden.  Very peaceful and it's was nice getting some fresh air

It was a few weeks after the Paris/Charlie Hebdo attacks. 

A piece of the Berlin Wall

Sunday lunch!  This, my friends, is a Berlin Sausage Salad with pickles & onions.  And fried potatoes on the side.  I'm pretty sure Poppa Reiser would have loved it

And Pat has pea soup with sausage.  Not what he expected, but he said it was good.

Auf wiedersehen!

Munich at Christmas

Pat & I met in Munich this past weekend.  It was supposed to be a three day weekend trip, but turned into a 2 day trip due to "Xavier", the wind/snow/ice storm in Europe this past week.  So Pat didn't get in until Friday afternoon and we left Sunday morning.  Although I'm not complaining, because I know so many people were impacted by the storms in both Europe and the US. 

(Storm Xavier - why do feel the need to name every weather occurrence these days?)

But we were able to do a little touring around Munich, especially around the Old Town and the Christmas markets.  Europe, especially Eastern Europe, and MOST especially Germany & Austria have the best Christmas Markets.  Love them!  And it really helped get me in the mood for Christmas.  St. Petersburg is just starting to set up a few lights and trees, but it doesn't really feel like Christmas, if you know what I mean?

Here are the gate to the Old City.

The Old Town Hall was built between 1470-1480.  The tower is a little older, built in the 12th Century as part of the fortifications for the city.  The building and tower were damaged during WWII, but not destroyed, so repairs were made restoring them as close as possible to the original design.

Most of the market is centered around Marienplatz, which is the central square in the center of Munich.  The old and the new Town Hall of Munich is located in the square.  Here is a picture of it's tower, which holds "Glockenspiel", a 100 year old carillon (a bell/keyboard instrument found in many bell towers) that is over 100 years old. At 11 a.m., the square was packed as the Glockenspiel played and the figures in the middle of the picture moved (apparently reenacting historical Bavarian events).

The Marienplatz square

The square at night.  Does the tree twinkle on your computer?  (it does on mine)

These are the doors to Frauenkirche, or the Catholic Cathedral of our Blessed Lady.  It's enormous, and the pictures don't due it justice.  The church can hold up to 20,000 people.

  
Michaelskirche, or St. Michaels, a Jesuit church build in the late 1500's.  The green bronze statue near the door is of St. Michael slaying Satan.

This was interesting.  The church is named Bürgersaalkirche.  It's a small, very simple Jesuit church made up of a lower & upper church, as well as a museum honoring Father Rupert Mayer.  It was all in German, so I had to piece the story together between what I could see & what I could read later on the internet.  Father Mayer was beautified by Pope John Paul II in 1987 for his work & life during WW1 and WW2, and for directly challenging the Nazi's, which resulted in his exile and detention in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1939.

We also took a walk around Munich's food market, called Viktualienmarkt.  It operates 6 days/week, and was all decked out for the holidays.

A few final shots from our hotel bar.  We stayed at the Sofitel Bayerpost near the train station.  We like Sofitel's a lot, and we'd recommend this one.

The bar and glass hurricanes are going on my Pinterest page for future reference

Cheers, or I should say, Prost!!!

 

Trip to Berlin - Part 2

We really enjoyed our short trip to Berlin, and I took so many pictures.  So here are a few more!

 

 

This was on the West side of the city, near our hotel.  You'll see a lot of modern art through Berlin.  I liked how it looked soft & foldable, and it glowed on even a cloudy, grey day.

 

 

 

 

 

You can't forget history while walking through Berlin.  It's everywhere. 

 

 

 

Terrible picture, but it kind of has an old time feel (just really blurry), don't you think?

 



 

Some art in our hotel (H10 Ku'damm), which I would recommend.  Great location, good prices.

 

 

The Brandenburg Gate.  Such an iconic image of Berlin, don't you agree?  Built in the late 18th century and originally the main city gate.  The gate was heavily damaged during WWII.  When the Berlin Wall was erected, it was located on the Eastern side of the city.

 

The 4 horses & chariot on top with Victoria (the Roman Goddess of Victory) is called a Quadrica.  It was removed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 during the French occupation of the city, and relocated to Paris.  It was returned in 1812, and it's olive wreath was replaced by the iron cross & Prussian eagle that you can see in the picture

 

And if you are over 40, how can you forget Ronald Reagan's famous speech at the Gate in 1987 ?

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! 

 

 

This is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, or the Gedächtniskirche.  Built in 1890, but severally damaged during WWII in 1943.  there is currently an effort to repair parts of the church, but the top spire will remain damaged as a reminder to everyone  

 

 

 

 

I could resist  

 

 

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust memorial.   Built in 2004, it's a little controversial and there is no obvious symbolism related to the design (although it does look a little like a cemetery).

 

 

 

The Topography of Terror.  It's an outdoor museum located on the site of various buildings which were used during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 as the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS.

 



 

 

 

 On to a lighter note :).  Did you know that currywurst is a Berlin obsession?  I've had it before in other parts of Germany, but it originated in Berlin. Steamed & then fried German sausage, cut up & served with curry-flavored ketchup & curry powder. 

 

It's everywhere

 

 

 

So of course we had some.....

 



 

Gotta love combining exercise with beer drinking! 

 

 

A very socialist mural on what is now the German Finance Ministry building.  It was originally constructed as the German Ministry of Aviation, then the House of Ministries during the Soviet occupation.

 

The mural was painted in 1950-1952.  18 meters long, it depicts the "Socialist ideal of contented East Germans facing a bright future as one big happy family".  Hmm........... 

 

 

 

And now finally, our trip to the local market (you knew I had to find a market!).  This one is called Winterfeldtmarkt, and is in the area known as Schöneberg in West Berlin

 

This area has a notable Turkish community, and had some really interesting flatbreads and salads to try (which we did)

 

 

 A few final pictures.  A very modern bell tower in Tiergarten......

 

 

And Reichstag Building, or Parliament.

I HIGHLY recommend Berlin as a place to visit & discover if you are a traveler