We woke up to a sunny morning in Berlin, musing about the fact that we’d been so lucky with the weather – summer in October!
For breakfast, my friend Päivi had reserved a table for us from Tomasa‘s Kreuzberg restaurant. The breakfast came highly recommended by a local friend. Ooh and how right he was!
They have a beautiful selection of breakfast plates to choose from. I chose the “small breakfast” which turned out to be anything but small!
Päivi’s breakfast was just as delicious. What can I say – I highly recommend Tomasa!
If it had been just a tad warmer, we could’ve sat outside in the courtyard. I think I could have done it, as the morning resembled Finnish summer but Päivi, coming from the US where t-shirt weather was still ongoing, felt it was too cold. 😛
After eating so much that we were about to burst, we navigated to the metro and made our way to the Stasi Museum. This was on my wish list of places to see, as even though I have visited Berlin several times, I’d never been there. Do note, that you have to pay your entrance fee by cash, as apparently they do not have Internet and cannot thus take your payment by card. Hmph. Anyway, the people before us were painstakingly counting out coins in order to get in, so it’s best to be prepared.
The area where the museum is located is quite peculiar, as the former Stasi headquarters now stand mostly abandoned. But then, then whole period of the Socialist Unity Party was horrific and bizarre. Inside, you will find an exhibition called “State Security in the SED Dictatorship” which outlines the life of the German people in the area at the time. You never could know who was a Stasi informer. And if you made one wrong move, you might end up being one yourself. Also, you will see the offices of the last Minister Erich Mielke which have been preserved to this day.
The visit was interesting but also quite exhausting, as there is so much (the audioguide is useful!) harrowing information to take in. We were craving coffee at this point, so we made our way to Prenzlauer Berg.
There, we walked around a bit getting to know the area. We then settled for a hipster café – Nothaft. I tried a new kind of cake to me, a green spinach cake which turned out to be surprisingly good. It was lovely to sit down for a minute and drink our coffees in peace. Funny thing, one of the girls working at the café excitedly exclaimed “Are you guys from Finland?” when we were waiting our turn. We were like erm, yeeeees. It turned out she was too and apparently she had spotted us because of “our style”. We failed to ask if this was a good or bad thing but I can’t say we were that pleased to be identified as Finns in this manner, LOL! You see, Finns aren’t usually known to be stylish, like the Danish for example. 😛 Nevertheless, it was fun to be greeted by someone who was so excited to see other Finns. ❤
I had flagged a famous beer garden in the area – Prater – and as the weather was quite agreeable, we decided to go for a drink. This beer garden is from 1837, so it has seen all kinds of history through it’s existence! I tried to order a small beer but they claimed that was impossible, so had to do with a huge one, haha! It’s on a winter break, so I guess this was one of the last Fall weekends it was open. It would be fun to experience it on a warm summer night, as now it had quite a sleepy feel to it.
We then found ourselves hungry (again) and decided to walk down the Brunnenstrasse to a restaurant Päivi had previously visited. The street was quite lively and filled with restaurants, so it turned out to be quite a nice walk.
Transit serves Asian-style tapas plates. We ordered quite a few, of which some were delicious whilst others not so much. I loved the satay and the summer rolls. It was a cute place!
After dinner, we headed back to our apartment for a quick rest as later in the evening, we had a date with Päivi’s local friend. He took us on a walk to see more of the Festival of Lights installations. There were so many people about but thankfully none of us got lost and we managed to see quite a few new ones. Here’s two of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral).
What’s your favourite thing to do in Berlin?
xx
The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi 
The photos took a long time to load on this post, (could be my internet), but I am glad I waited for them.
I thought about that beer garden and even looked it up. It is a bit fun to think that my great great grandfather might have frequented that place for a beer back in the 1850’s, on his way to Denmark.
I think you underrate your Finnish style. Think Marimekko! Finns have great style!
As for the Stasi museum, I would find that so interesting. If I even go back to Berlin I would definitely go there. I found the Checkpoint Charlie Museum fascinating but the Pergamon was amazing!
If you read books in English I recommend to you a book I read by an Australian author who lived in Germany. It is called Stasiland, by Anna Funder. She is a great writer and it gives you a good background to some of the lives of people living in that time. https://www.annafunder.com/stasiland/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh no about the photos, I switched to a cheaper WordPress plan, so maybe that’s what’s doing it. 😦
I haven’t been to the Pergamon. It would’ve been possible to buy a ticket including Pergamon + Neues but I decided against it because I would’ve had to wait for my time slot to enter and had limited time. For next time! I also found the Checkpoint Charlie Museum very interesting.
Thank you for the book recommendation, I actually usually only read in English! I have to see if the have it on Amazon!!
LikeLike
I am not sure if it was the wordpress plan, the size of the photos, or even my internet! Australia does have really crappy internet, Suvi! Re the Pergamon- next time you are in Berlin- arrive first thing in the morning. I got there just as it opened, bought my ticket after waiting for only about 12 people in line and it wasn’t that busy – I had as long as I wanted. Do you think you anticipate you will be visiting again?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I’m quite sure I will go to Berlin again as it has become one of my favourite cities! How about you?
LikeLike
I would love to go back there again. I was surprised how much I liked it. So much history, so much to see. It is also a great stop to transit to Poland and Eastern Europe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Berlin looks so beautiful, I would love to visit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, I must say it’s beautiful but in a rugged way. So much to see! And great restaurants. I’ve also heard from many that it’s an easy city to travel with kids too.
LikeLike
Now I’m curious. How do Finn’s look different from Berliners? Do you think its a style of dress or physicality? Once I hosted a group of Norwegians on a business trip to Canada. After all day meetings, spread out in large conference rooms, we crowded into an small elevator. Suddenly, up close & personal, I felt like I was in a forest of trees – they were so tall! I’m quite short at 155cm 🙂 Maybe Finns are very tall too?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heheh, I really would like to know the difference too! But it’s true, I usually spot Finns when travelling overseas but I can’t pinpoint how. I am actually a short Finn, only 158 cm, LOL!! So it’s not that either. I used to be able to spot Malaysians too but I think that talent has diminished over time. 🙂
LikeLike
Another lovely day spent wandering through Berlin. Both those breakfast dishes looked wonderful. I can never understand why so often one has to pay with cash in Germany. I never use it at all in the UK or Finland and lots of other countries too and sometimes get frustrated at home on buses and at supermarket tills when people are slowly counting out their coins to pay. I was of the impression that Germany was the ‘powerhouse of Europe’ so it’s about time they scrapped these cash only policies !
LikeLiked by 1 person
Breakfast is my favorite meal! One German guy said that one reason they don’t like to use cards is that they don’t want to be monitored in any way. Because of their history. Interesting theory.
LikeLike
I just entered the lottery for the berlin marathon. This is helpful! If I get in, I’ll have to tap your brain for ideas and places to go and stay. Is transportation good around the city ie easy to get around? How many days fo you recomend?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay how awesome! I hope you are lucky in the lottery. I saw it’s in September, so that will be a great time to visit. Transport is really good, the metro takes you anywhere. And there’s Free NOW and Uber as well. If it’s your first time and you’re coming from so far, why not stay a week? There’s so much to see and…. eat!! When will you know?
LikeLike
Next month. Thats good to know that it is easy to get around. I’ll get details from you if I do! Fingers crossed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Much enjoying your tour of Berlin. It’s reminding me that another trip there is long overdue.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh I hope you get to go soon! I would love to visit every year ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person