Berlin Wandering

We did lots of silly and fun stuff too as we were walking around Berlin, looking at all the sights.

At the KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens), the largest department store in Europe that is also ridiculously posh and over-priced, we went around and took silly pictures.


[Comment on a tennis match at the Lacoste display]


[They had an entire fake tennis court... we wanted to play]


[Maribeth mannequin]


[A whole marshmallow piece of cake... talk about a stomachache in the making... it was out of our price range, so we didn't eat it]


[These headphones were a little too big... they didn't have any smaller sizes though...]

We also had more serious-minded (but by no means actually serious) adventures in the city. One was testing the rumor that I had heard about skipping the line at the Reischtag to get to the dome at the top. The line is usually always and hour to two hour wait, but I had heard if you made reservations at the restaurant that is on the roof terrace, you don't have to stand in line. But, no one is forcing you to go to the reservation...


[Look! No line! It worked!]


[We skipped a pretty big line and got to go strait to the top, and no one hunted us down and made us pay big bucks to eat at the restaurant. We felt pretty cool.]

From there, we went on a Spree River tour. We didn't really know which boat to take or what the deal was. But, we chose a little mom-and-pop operation, with a small boat where we could sit outside. Although it was really nice, the tour was completely in German. Although I could translate and had already told Maribeth most of the information, if you don't know German another tour would probably have been better. But, it still provided excellent views of the city.


[On the boat]

On other adventures, we found out that I really do live in the Eastern Bloc. Just as I told Maribeth how I felt we were in Moscow "or something" about two blocks from my apartment, we saw this:



I also explained to Maribeth the history of the cross-walk signals, called "Ampelmannchen" (or little stop-light men). Although the link gives more an explanation, the Ampelmann was the cross-walk signal in East Germany, and caused a lot of debate after reunification, since the Easterners wanted to keep their beloved Ampelmaennchen. Now its a cult thing.


[The "STOP" Ampelmann]


[Our own Ampelfrau]

I also had to introduce MB to "Berliner Currywurst" or real Berlin curried-sausage. Since it is a Berlin specialty, she at least had to try it. Since she doesn't really like meat, it wasn't her favorite, but it was still good.


[Currywurst and Pommes, bitte/ Curried sausage and fries, please.]

Falafel, the vegetarian response to the also famous Doner Kebab (originally a Turkish specialty that has been adopted to it's popularity here in Berlin and all over Germany), got a much better reception. Although not "typical German," I would say that both Doner and Falafel are "typical Berlin" and a must when you visit Berlin; they give you the multi-cultural element that is so important to Berlin.


[Maribeth enjoying her first Falafel, from DaDa Falafel, which is supposed to have the best in the city, but I'm still searching]

Those were some of the things that we did, and we had a blast. Since I only have a little bit of time left in Berlin, I'm going to be sharing my favorite things to do in the city and my favorite things about the city in coming posts, although this was a little preview!