Right after my short vacation at the Baltic Sea I had another day of fun blocked. The Monday after the Berlin Marathon Melissa and I had a date to meet in real life. This coffee date turned into a three-day exploring Berlin outing. I know you are dying to see what we did so grab a coffee (tea works too) and come along.
Day One – Berlin Court Yards around the Scheunenviertel (Barn Quarters)
Melissa and I met in the hotel lobby the morning after the marathon. At first I wondered if I could recognize her but luckily she was in marathon closing and so my eyes immediately spotted her (later I would realize a ton of pople for their race shirts so I guess I did recognizer no matter the clothing). We had decided previously to meet for a coffee nearby because who knew how the race would go and how much walking was possible. And also what if we didn’t get along? Well, this was not really an argument since I was sure we’d get along just fine.
We stopped at a little espresso bar (very bad coffee) and got talking. I wanted to know all about the race – I had questions. We also filled in some gaps the online personas of us don’t share but that you would with friends. Like names of children and husband and a few other things. And we discussed what else to do. Since Melissa had no issue walking at all (say what?!) we decided to stroll around the neighborhood. And since she had done the Berlin Wall history stuff the previous time she’d been in Berlin I decided to focus a bit on the so-called Scheunenviertel aka the jewish quarters of Berlin before the nazi regime.
It happens to be that the hotel was literally right across the street I grew up in so we basically walked around my neighborhood. I was able to point out where I went to school where I played, the way I walked to pick up my sister and all those things.
The area is very fun when you dare to peek into all the courtyards that are hidden behind the doors. I always find new ones because the doors need to be open and they are not always open, obviously. I even managed to add two new ones to my list. Unfortunately I didn’t do a very good job in photographing them. Here are the three I did.
left: an industrial courtyard | middle: green courtyard new to me | right: courtyard of my former work place (the one I met the husband in)
We had lunch in a favorite place of mine and it was good. Another courtyard with lots of greenery. No photo – sorry.
After that we strolled through Alexander Platz and obviously had to do the touristy thing and take a photo at the world clock.
We then stopped by the only (tiny) piece of city wall Berlin has left and hopped over to the old monastery. It was bombarded during the war and later secured. It functions as an outdoor concert and movie location these days.
Also a great backdrop for some medal photos.
We wanted to have a look at Berlin’s oldest church but unfortunately it was closed. So we strolled by the river lock and followed the Spree back towards Museum Island, coming by the newly rebuild city castle (Humboldforum). We then decided to go up the Coppola at the Berlin Cathedral but we came 15 minutes after last admittance. Sad. So we walked along “Unter den Linden” towards the hotel.
After around 20,000 steps and a bit we had dinner at my favorite Sushi place that happened to be at the trains station close to the hotel and that would bring me back home.
Day Two – Roaming all Museums on Museum Island
Yesterday, we had decided to make the second day all about museums. And boy did we do that. We both got a ticket for Museum Island and I was surprised how cheap they were. And Melissa came prepared. She had a list of museums and three things she wanted to see in each.
We started with the Neues Museum because the Nofretete (no photos allowed) was of course on the list. We spent some time in the Egyptian part and were amazed by the hieroglyphs and sculptures. And then I heard about the Berlin Hat. Only one of three ever found and they show a sort of measuring/tracking of the sun and moon. Rather interesting but I didn’t get it really.
Next up was the Alte Nationalgalerie. Here we mainly strolled through the exhibition and spent a bit more time on German Artist Caspar David Friedrich. I rather like his moody paintings. The French impressionists’ collection was closed unfortunately.
By then we were already a bit overwhelmed and needed a break. Luckily the museum was just on the other side of the river from where the husband works and so we met up for lunch. And I decided today it was all about Berlin Food so of course we had Currywurst. If you need a good place in the middle of Berlin where the locals go to – Curry 61 (the have a vegan option). We then took our meal to sit at the river Spree in the sunshine across from Bodemuseuem which would be our next stop.
After some relaxing and chatting we headed into Bodemuseum. It had been redone in previous years and I had not been in so it was fun to see. It is nice architecture however a very confusing floor plan. We looked at some wooden altar pieces and more sculptures. And it happened to be that the Merkel Portrait was being shown. So we had to stop by there. Every Chancellor upon leaving office has a portrait painted that will end up in the Bundespräsidialamt (seat of Chancellor). It is only shown to the public shortly after it’s done. The back story here is quiete fun since usually very established painters and artists get the job. However this young guy (early 20s) wrote to Merkel and pitched himself. No one knew him. But she met up with him and ended up vibing and so he got the commission.
After that we hit another museum. The Pergamon is still under construction (I saw that bookings are open for Summer 2027). They set up a Panorama Exhibition and a few pieces from the museum. It was rather impressive but we were also tried. So we didn’t climb the tower for the best view and the whole experience. It was also a bit dizzying.
I had mentioned earlier a special Berlin drink so we headed for a little “nightcap” at around 5pm or so and a snack. The drink is a beer mixed with either woodruff or raspberry sirup. It sounds weird but I promise it doesn’t taste as weird. It is not a drink for every day though.
We parted ways and I headed to my parents to stay over night (just up the street from Melissas hotel because we had big plans for tomorrow.
Day Three – Tranquility in Spreewald (Spree Forest)
Melissa had mentioned that one day she was thinking about going to a place outside Berlin. We discussed Potsdam but then I suggested going to Spreewald which would be the secret non-touristy thing. She was game. Of course it was a bit of logistical juggle because the train was under construction and had replacement service (3 hours instead of 60 min. one way). And our car was in the workshop. Luckily my dad kindly let us use their car even though he had an appointment outside Berlin that day. Hence the overnight stay at my parent’s. That is where Melissa and I met at 9am. And off to Spreewald we went.
Spreewald is the inland delta of the River Spree, former marshy landscape that was cultivated by forming canals. Life happened on the water here and still does. Since 1991 it is a registered UNESCO biosphere reserve. It is most known for exploring in punts (think Venice vaporetto) aka traditional barges, pickles and horseradish.
Our plan was to take a boat ride and after that do a small walk to one of the villages to explore the open-air museum. Right when we came up at the parking spot they approached us about the boat ride and we jumped right into a three (?!) hour ride. And gotten the best spots right at the front.
It was a tranquil ride through nature and a total contrast to the previous two days and it felt glorious. We chatted. we listened to the boater explain, we looked around and enjoyed ourselves. I had a bit of an awkward situation because behind us were Dutch people. I do not speak dutch but it is so similar to German that you kind of pick up the meaning so I was juggling three languages trying not to get confused.
It wasn’t too packed with people as we went a bit after the season and it was a Wednesday. Up front you can see one of the punts.
Many of the houses do not have road access and everything happens on the water. The mail gets delivered with the post boat I think once a week. If you look closely the houses have the cute little mini houses as a post box that are all on lawn level. The red one is the fire house with the fire boat.
Also the trash is being collected with boats. Even the cattle is moved on the boats and they bind two boats together to move tractors. A boat can hold over ton of weight. It is the main means of transport. During summer time you can also go kayaking. And if you are lucky enough and have a cold winter ice skating in Spreewald is magical.
We looped around the village Lehde and then stopped for lunch. I suggested the traditional Potatoes with Quark and Linseed Oil also my favorite dish which I eat about once a week.
Then we headed back with the boat to the parking ot. Once we were there we headed back to the Village to go to the open-air museum.
The Spreewald is a region in which the Sorbs/Wends, a Slavic minority with its own language and cultural traditions, have settled. Approximately 60,000 people belong to the minority and only a few speak the language with has been recently introduced back into schools. Their traditions, folklores and costumes are very unique and colorful. The museum showed a bit of that tradition.
After the museum we stopped to have the traditional “Plinse” – a crepe-like pancake made with yeast. I am not too fond of the German pancakes but when they are made with yeast I do enjoy them. We shared one because I wanted to get another traditional treat “Quarkkeulchen” at another place. Unfortunately by 5pm everything was closed and we were kinda alone. So we strolled around a bit more.
But by around 6pm we were heading home to Berlin. I had to drop off the car and then take a ride home (another 60+ minutes) and I had a photo shooting at the surgery ward the next morning at 7.30am.
I had such a blast showing Melissa around, spending so much time together. I still feel like I have a ton of things we could talk about and I happily roam the next four museums with her.
Have you ever met a blog friend in Real Life? Who was the first person you met? And who’s the last? Do you feel weird meeting a blog friend for the first time? Have you been to Berlin? Will you come to Berlin? Do you want me to show you around?
