Berlin's Homboldt-Box

I know it has now been ages since we visited Berlin, but I never got to share one of my favourite moments from the city.  Visiting the 'Humboldt-Box'.

I remember seeing it for the first time and thinking WTF?  I mean look at.

To begin with, it is big, it is blue, it is not square, it stands out like a sore thumb.

The day we visited the East Side Gallery, we kept walking alongside the river and we *finally* found ourselves back in the Museum Island area of Berlin.  We had built up a mean thirst, Lily was napping in her stroller and the three of us walkers were after a seat.  We were walking past the 'Box' and thought, hey, we'll visit the level up the top as there was a sign outside reading "Top Level cafe" (or something like that.)  We paid a Euro each, found the lift (we avoided the stairs with the stroller and sleeping toddler) and were pleasantly surprised to see what greeted us.  The photo below really doesn't do it justice.  It was beautiful...

We took a seat out on the terrace, ordered our drinks (I remember the delicious Pilsner) and sat and enjoyed our view.  Most spectacular.  Below, is the Berliner Dome.  A building MrL and I called the '2D' building as it never really looked three dimensional to us.

It wasn't long till Lily woke and the girls walked around and amused themselves under my close eye.

It was one of those days and places which I know I won't forget...I don't know why.  I, along with the husband, were probably totally relaxed and that doesn't happen too often. =)

So, what exactly is the Humboldt-Box?  Good question.  Basically it is a temporary exhibition space of future projects for Berlin in the Museum Island area.  It has an area of 3,000 square metres, so it is quite large. But the building itself is also temporary, when it is replaced by a new 'Berlin Palace-Humboldtforum' which aims to be completed in 2019.

Could be an excuse to revisit the city in 2019 then? Huh? How 'bout that MrL? *wink wink*

Not Sharing, But I'll Share Berlin With You.

I reckon if MrL was offered a job tomorrow in Berlin, we'd take it with both hands. Hopefully you can tell over the past couple of weeks posts, how much we enjoyed the city, and yeah I know it is different to live in a foreign city rather than visiting but still!

I quite like the fact that it is acceptable that drinking places are child accepting.  Drinking beer seems to be a part of German life, with what we saw.  Berlin is very different from Munich, which we visited with Monet three years previously, which is all Beer Halls and Breweries.  Berlin is more than that.  They're not into the big Beer Halls and values itself in being a city of modern history, with modern eateries and cafe culture.  Mind you, I think we sniffed out the (small) Beer Halls, more 'pubish', but still quite pleasing for us.

Monet was rather pleased to having picked out the below Ice-Cream Sundae in one we had sniffed out, whilst her baby sister napped in her stroller.


"Bewdy - no sharing required!"

I think that's what MrL and I both thought of our beers too; though they were always big enough to share, it's not the done thing!

Menus are always quite a read, no matter where you are in the world.

In this particular place we decided on a couple of share dishes which were quite delicious and enjoyed by us all...  Since being home, I have tried to recreate these two platters, but they will never be as tasty as they were on that cool, rainy Thursday.

It may seem that all MrL and I did during our 'foodie' time was drink.  Well, maybe we did - only the one or two mind you - but we were on holiday and justification isn't needed! Lol.  Living in an Arab country where drinking is severely frowned upon, you can probably understand the next photo a little better.   Where's the big black plastic bag to hide what you're holding MrL?

Berlin was awesome and I hope you enjoyed reading about our six days spent there.  Part of us did not want to leave but we knew we had another country destination to head to.  We did return back to Berlin for a night in a different part of the city, before heading back to Abu Dhabi the following week, but we still had Barcelona, Spain to explore and for me to blog about.

We traveled to Barcelona via the fabulous Air Berlin.  It is a 'cheap' airline but it is German so we knew it was trustworthy and would run smoothly.  We were right.  Kids were treated like Royalty - always brownie points with me.  If you travel with an infant, you don't have to pay extra for seat reservation and we got to board the plane both times before everyone else.  Such a bonus when traveling with kids.  Monet loved the little loot bag she got on both trips, both girls got Air Berlin beach balls and caps (*so cute*) and it was the first flight I had ever been on which the infant of the family got a special goodie bag consisting of a special rattle, a nappy, wipes, baby bottle, pacifier.  So keep Air Berlin in mind if you're ever trying to get from A to B in Europe. =) - This is NOT a sponsored post!! Lol

Better Than Harrods.

We discovered quite a few 'cool' shopping areas of Berlin. The guy, who we met to pick up our keys at our apartment, suggested an area just north of the Spree River which was full of little indie shops in small little streets.  When we found the area, it was getting on in time, we were all a little tired from all the walking, and I think we were a little over whelmed by our discovery of finding an array of stores we had been keen to look in.

MrL, Monet and myself all walked out of the area with a new pair of Birkenstocks each - paying less than half if we had bought them in Abu Dhabi.  Monet had earned hers very much so and they never left her feet from that day (and still haven't, two weeks on).

On our final full day in Berlin, before we headed off to Barcelona, we caught one of those hop on/hop off buses.  For us, those buses are more like, hop on/stay on till you do the full loop.  It didn't help that it was wet and rainy on that final day, but we did manage to get off and visit a store I had previously read about, KaDeWe.  It is known as the capitals equivalent to London's Harrods.  I thought it was better than Harrods...

Our first floor stop was the top floor, which housed the Gourmet Section.  Oh we ohhed and ahhed over the displays and the little eateries housed in there.

Monet's eyes just about popped out of her head when she noticed the 'sweetie section' and promptly chose a lolly pop for both her and her sister.  Truth be told, neither of my girls have indulged in their 'pop' due to them forgetting.  (I have them tucked away!)

Of course MrL and I quite enjoyed the beer section.  If given half a chance, we probably would have liked to purchase one of each...

We gave our legs a break by stopping into the little bar in the Gourmet section and sipped a cool pilsner whilst the two girls munched away happily on cheese topped rolls.  No one looks at you twice when you have a beer in Germany, at any time of the day - it is just the done thing.  Love that.

Down on the lower floors, Monet couldn't believe this section dedicated to Dogs.  Spoilt pooches more like it... (yes, this was all poochie stuff!)

The toy section was pretty cool.  I love me a cute cuddly toy...

I recommend visiting there if you do happen to visit Berlin.  I'm glad we did.

German Food? Yes please!

Have you ever seen such an amazing shop sign like this one for Berlin's Galeries Lafayette below?

The French Department in Berlin

I thought it was stunning as it was up about two stories high, on the shop facade.  Inside was lovely too.  The 'Food Hall', which the Galeries is famous for (there is one in Dubai Mall), was amazing too.   It's centerpiece was an inverted glass dome that looked back up into the upper levels...

The Food in the Hall was worth taking photos off....  These Macaroons really caught my eye.  In hindsight, I wish I had of bought one of each and did a taste test!  (But at 1 Euro each, perhaps not.)

And I am a sucker for bread.

One of the things we like a lot about Germany (it being our second visit), is the food.  And because we currently live in a country where pork products are not widely available, we ate a lot of pork!  I love a good German Wiener Escalope, and this one was no exception.   Served on a bed of pan fried potatoes, a few fresh herbs and tiny cubes of bacon, washed down with some delicious Berliner Pilsner, what else can I say?...

Another day, another pork German meal - this time I ordered roast pork, served with sauerkraut, and a potato dumpling.  No doubt I washed this down with a beer too.

Our final meal in Berlin, before we flew home to Abu Dhabi, (and after we spent a week in Barcelona), we were after something typically German.  So of course, I had to order a German sausage on a bed of sauerkraut and those delicious potatoes with herbs and bacon again.

We were gone for two week on our holiday and tried a lot of different foods.  Both girls were quite good in trying new stuff and in that fact, so were Lyndon and I.  I'm pretty sure we'll return to Germany down the track sometime, if not for the food,  definitely for the beer! ;)

A Lego Built Berlin

When In the German capital, if you feel the need to feel 'ripped off' *ahem*, I suggest you head to the Legoland Discovery Center located just off Potsdamer Platz in the Sony Center.

The Sony Centre - the architecture was amazing

After passing over an arm and a leg, we entered the display via lift, due to having the stroller. It was a 'basement' exhibition, full of a couple of ordinary children rides, big Lego blocks for the kiddies to use, a handful of construction tables, a small cafeteria, a 4D theatre showing something-a-rather, a hundred German children, but the best part was the 'Mini Berlin' they had on display. We felt that the arm and leg we had passed over at the paying counter were partly paid off.

It was pretty awesome...

A Rock Concert on the grounds in front of the Reichstag. (parliament)

The Brandenburg Gate, complete with the Berlin Wall - which electronically opened...

Checkpoint Charlie - I personally loved this.

Checkpoint Charlie

We enjoyed the 'Mini Berlin' but the rest of the Centre was pretty ordinary.  Monet thought it was 'good' and Lily was asleep the whole time....

However, it did get Monet to show interest in Lego and she was fortunate enough to have a father who is a sucker for the blocks himself, so she gained a box of 'girly' Lego a day or two later as a reward for the kilometres and kilometres she walked (without much complaint) over the days spent pounding the pavement in Berlin.

Twenty Eight Thousand.

Something very significant happened here in 1933. 

It was here, under Hitler's rule, that he ordered over 28000 books be burnt and it happened right there at that stark square called Bebelplatz.  It was the first (of many) book burnings that happened across the country.  Any books that were deemed 'un-German' and especially ones that were written by Jews, Communists and Pacifists, were taken from libraries, people's homes, and burnt.  It was part of the 'cleansing' of Hitler's rule.

Now in the place where this happened stands a lone window pane,  down in the square, of a white room, each side having multiple book shelves - all of them empty.  Designed by Michael Ullmann, it is called 'Empty Library' to commemorate the event.

As you can imagine it is difficult to photograph.

As you can also imagine, it was pretty hard for a 6 year old book-lover to understand why anyone would want to burn books. =(

Berliner Mauer

One thing we had noticed around Berlin, was this double cobblestone line, on the ground, that we would randomly spot. The penny dropped when we spotted this sign, literally less than 100 metres from our apartment...

The cobblestone path follows where the Berlin wall once stood. ...

There was a section of a couple of hundred metres away from our apartment.  It was quite spine shivering to see, especially when we learnt that behind this section the Gestapo headquarters and the SS central command of Nazi Germany were housed there.  All that is left of that evidence is empty shells of the original building with an exhibition...  Scary stuff.

Very strange to remember that Berlin was once divided and run by two different governments and not that long ago; communism and capitalism.  The city now is so vibrant and has a special warmth and unity about it that we really liked.  Despite all it's horrific and 'cold' history, it is hard to believe that the past had happened on the grounds we had walked and visited.

I particularly like this section of wall below, housed on it's original standing at Potsdamer Platz.  It is dotted with...chewing gum....noice.

The wall which divided the city ran for 150 kilometres.  There were times that MrL and I got confused which section was west and which section was east as the wall zig-zagged around the streets.

We knew a visit to the East Side Gallery was a must.  It is the longest section of wall still remaining (1.3 kilometres) and is drenched in over 100 colourful murals, which make it the world's largest open-air gallery.  It was painted by a big handful of international artists who each translated their own vision of the era. The whole thing got a total makeover in 2009, 20 years after the beginning of the gallery, and after years of people signing their favourite picture, but now looks as good as it ever has apparently.

A short train ride and we were there.  And it was worth visiting...

We were glad we got there early, so we only had to share 'the wall' with a few other people and not bus loads of people...

The following mural seemed plastered all over Berlin, printed on tshirts and magnets.  A pretty famous image...

I love this section of the following section of wall I spotted...all in all, you're just another brick in the wall...

The below image was plastered over Berlin too!  It was printed on bags and magnets to everything in between.  It is a 'Trabant Car', or Trabi as they are fondly known as, there in Berlin...

And here are your three girls - one was particularly unhappy at the time, but she got over it. ;)

No visit to Berlin is complete without having a wander alongside the Gallery.

Checkpoint Charlie

One thing about planning, budgeting and then booking your own holiday, is that you're never 100% sure what they place you've booked will be like. It is daunting enough (but also exciting) visiting a foreign city, let alone choosing a hotel/apartment/bed. Being a family of four there is no way we could have all of us in. one. room (ie. like a hotel) so we usually budget for an apartment.

The next thing you have to decide when on after you choose what type of accommodation is what area you are going to stay in. In the city centre? In an inner suburb? Close to all the hot spots?

After umming and ahhing about Berlin, we settled on Checkpoint Charlie Apartments.

Checkpoint Charlie Apartments, the grey building.  Our apartment was on the right hand side, four windows up.

The Apartments weren't called Checkpoint Charlie for nothing.  It was literally around the corner from this;

Thanks for MrL for this pic he took on his camera...

That's the now-kitschy, Checkpoint Charlie, awash with tourists.  (Us included.)  For those of you unsure what exactly this is, it has to do with the Berlin Wall.  Shortly after the wall was erected, US President Kennedy ordered three border control points along the wall.  Checkpoint Charlie became the most famous as it was the only one designated for foreigners, diplomats and members of the Allied Forces.

There isn't much left of the original point.  In it's place is a small gate house (I doubt it is original), a row of sandbags and some actors posing as US Military, whom you can get a photo taken with, at a price of course!

We actually saw a guy 'planking' on those sandbags. =)

It is pretty impressive to see and to remember the Cold War. There is huge murals near the Point explaining facts about the Berlin Wall and of Checkpoint Charlie itself. Quite Educational.

MrL and I did have a giggle at one point as we were looking at a map of what we were looking at. As we were looking at the marker point which read 'You Are Here', Monet became quite confused. "How does the map know we are here?" Maybe you had to be there but that had MrL and I quite close to tears.

Time To Relax Those Feet

We walked a lot on that first day.  (And second and third and fourth....)  There are certain things one must indulge in when on holiday and after walking many, many kilometres.  And when one spots a place that looks lovely, you must enjoy the moment.

Like we did, when we spotted these inviting deck chairs, placed facing the Spree River and opposite the Berliner Dom (which was built in 1905 and serves as a house of worship, a museum and a concert hall!)...

Our feet were tired and our thirst needed to be quenched.  As Lily was napping in her stroller, Monet being satisfied with a chocolate milkshake, I chose for myself a beer with a difference...

A lovely Raspberry number.  It was still AM, after all.  And for us, that's what having a holiday is all about. ;-)

The Berliner Dom

After Miss Lily woke from her nap, she was easily amused and played happily with the packets of sugar on the tables at our feet.

Then onward on our exploring we ventured...