Berlin 2008

On Thursday, Feb 27, Ale and I met up in Berlin for a long weekend. I had to attend a conference during the day, but in the evenings we had a chance to be tourists. Unfortunately the conference hotel was about 1 hour from the centre, but we still managed to do a few things. On Friday evening we met up with Michael, Marta and Cord, and dined together in a fantastic Japanese restaurant. Udon with tofu for me, and chirashi-zushi (mixed sushi over rice) for Ale.

On Saturday afternoon we visited C/O Berlin
(http://www.co-berlin.info/co-neu/web/CO_Berlin/start.php) to see an exhibition entitled 'Assorted Cocktail' (http://cgi.kunde.inter.net/co-berlin/user-cgi-bin/news/inhalt_en_neu.php)
by well-known British photographer, Martin Parr (http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html). His social commentary through images is extraordinary! After the exhibition, we did a spot of shopping, and then indulged in some hearty German fare - wurst, brot, sauerkraut und salat. The waiter was shocked that we ordered water rather than beer, and I was worried that we may be asked to leave! Sunday was spent on trains, in airport lounges, and on planes... not much fun. However, all in all, it was a wonderful weekend!

Berlin 2007

In September, Marta and Michael held a special party to celebrate their recent wedding. Ale and I flew up to join in the festive occassion. We stayed with them and their gorgeous little boy, Cord, in their lovely apartment in East Berlin, and helped them to prepare the food for the lunch party. Gnocchi from Italy, tender meat, vegetables in aspic, and profiteroles and coffee were on the menu - everything was delicious! We spent the next day with them exploring Berlin, and were very sad to leave the day after. I enjoyed apple strudel - apfelstrudel, and of course we both indulged in a bratwurst sausage in a bun with mustard - bratwurst und brot mit sempf - too hard to resist!