Berlin is a Win (2021)
After a comfortable train journey from Warsaw, I felt immediately at home stepping out onto Berlin Central station. Berlin is a city we return to at regular intervals. It was touch and go whether we’d be able to stick to the plan after leaving Warsaw as pandemic restrictions were rapidly changing. I was grateful just to have four days in Poland, Germany would be a huge bonus. And so it was.
After the time it took to check-in, we rushed out and headed towards Brandenburg Gate which we caught in a fantastic end of daylight. It was a good start and walking past Dunkin Donuts, I decided this was the trip I will definitely buy some mugs to take back. This chain has a sugary place in my heart that’s even mentioned in my memoirs book.
I managed to grab a couple, on the very last day as we were getting ready for the airport. We didn’t even have any doughnuts!
Our walk took us past no open coffee shops so we headed to the shopping area and into the fantastic Dussman bookstore which allowed dogs and sold Happy Socks plus has the surprisingly spacious Ursprung cafe space in the basement. For dinner, it was back to Indian Village from the last visit. This up and coming neighbourhood has sure developed since last time, although still quiet.
Not having free public toilets is the only aspect of Germany that doesn’t work. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before the number of times I’ve seen even loos in coffee shops and cafes are paid for. Yes, they are exceptionally clean but it feels so very wrong. For some reason, when people need to wash their hands more than at any point in their lives, so many coffee shops are locked their toilets. This is why, after a Saturday morning spent shopping, we tried to have coffee in three with no loos, we settled on Germany’s coffee chain Einstein which had no problem keeping its facilities open and free.
We also popped back the branch of The Barn to have a coffee in what always reminds me of a circus top. And back to the Ampelmann shop where I could have easily spent £100. Instead, we spent that in the Happy Socks shop which had a huge sale. We are good for socks for the next 5-6 years. I loved my first visit to Berlinische Galerie and could have spent longer there.
It was handy to have Burger Meister close to our hotel and on the last evening, we shared a flight of beers like we first had in New Zealand. We sat in a packed Brlo Brewhouse enjoying them looking out to a few unvaccinated people who are only welcome outside. Seeing this all over Berlin gave me huge comfort that everyone inside a shop, museum or cafe was safe.
I was so thrilled we managed to get to the beloved’s favourite city as part of his birthday trip,
November 2021
