Birthdays in Berlin

Way back in November of 2005 we were invited to a birthday celebration by our friend Wolfgang.  He had decided to have a big party because he was turning 55, but since his birthday is in January and the weather isn't usually very nice then, he chose to schedule the party in May.  When we got the invitation it was something of a shock at first because it was so close to my birthday.  In fact my party was the Thursday after his, but only eight people (including us) were at both parties, so it wasn't a problem.

Frank arranged to have business in Berlin that week, so on Friday I hopped on a train and met him there.  We spent Friday night at Jenny and Ulf's and since we are planning to be in Turkey this summer I chose to go to a Turkish restaurant just around the corner from their apartment for supper.  The food was very nice, but don't ask me what I had.  I find it almost impossible to remember the Turkish names. 

The next morning Frank and I paid a visit to the market that we had liked so much the last time we were visiting Jenny and Ulf.  This time I was looking for presents for two couples who just recently had babies and I was delighted to find a stand with hand crafted toys from a women's workshop in (I think) Malaysia. 

After a lot of looking we decided on a really cute book about the elephant Elmar with a stuffed animal that looks just like him.

There were a lot of nice things to look at, especially things to eat, but we really didn't need anything more to eat after our big meal the night before and the feast waiting for us that evening.  The fresh pasta did look tempting though.

Ulf had to work even though it was Saturday but Jenny had arranged something really interesting for the three of us to do.  There was open house in a lot of the embassies in Berlin and Jenny had bought tickets for us.  There were shuttle buses to the embassies and we hopped on one and just happened to get off at the Indonesian Embassy so that's where we decided to go first.

Actually we spent quite a while there because there was so much to see and also to eat.  We had a light lunch of Indonesian food and a look at all the things on display.

Of course, Jenny and I had to have our picture taken.  Don't we blend in well?

After the Indonesian experience we wanted to go to the Georgian Embassy to prepare ourselves for our trip in August. The Georgian Embassy is a looooong way from any of the others.  It took quite a while to get there and we were very disappointed.  Other than a soccer goal in the garden and some meat on the grill there was really nothing going on.  I hope this is not an omen for our trip!  When we got back downtown Frank abandoned us because he wanted to do some shopping and Jenny and I waited for a long time for a shuttle bus. After a while we gave up and decided to go home and rest a little for the big party that night.  But not before having a scoop of what Jenny claims is the best ice cream in Berlin.  It was really good.

That evening the four of us drove to Potsdam to the Insel Hotel where the celebration took place.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't very good so that we weren't able to enjoy the island atmosphere as much as we would have liked, but there were a lot of friends at the dinner and we had a really nice time.  Of course there were lots of good things to eat and drink, too.  Frank and I spent the night at the hotel - Jenny and Ulf drove home - and the next day we all met again at Christine and Wolfgang's for a short house concert followed by another delicious meal at a swank Italian restaurant right next to the Brandenburg Gate. (I don't remember the name.)

The next day was my 60th birthday and before we went to bed Jenny and Ulf gave me my birthday present, a ticket to the Robbie Williams concert in Berlin in July!  My first pop concert!  When you turn 60 it's time to do all the things you never got around to doing before. 

The day of my birthday Jenny and Ulf had to work but Frank had arranged to have the day off so we went to the exhibit of "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" in the Gropius Bau.  This is an unbelievable collection of objects found in the bay near Alexandria.  A whole city sank into the water around 800 AD and about 500 of the objects that have just been discovered in the past ten years were on display here.  There were a lot of videos documenting the discovery and recovery of the objects, some of which are huge, and all of which date from 700 BC to 800 AD.  One interesting thing is that the Frenchman who went looking for this sunken city was not an archeologist at all. It's a fascinating exhibit that is going on a world tour when it ends in Berlin in September.

Later we went for a walk to explore Berlin Mitte a little more. We had only gone a short way when we noticed the street sign: Rosenstrasse.  It's just a tiny side street but we saw a movie not too long ago about this street during the Nazi period.  The Nazis rounded up a lot of Jewish men who were married to German women and kept them in a building in this street.  The women organized a protest and in the end were successful in freeing their husbands.  It's a true story and a very good film.

There were a lot of other things to see too though.  As you can see from this picture there is quite a lot of building going on in this area.  This was one of the centers of East Berlin and looks pretty desolate now.  In a few years it will be transformed.

The TV tower is the middle of this area, Alexander Platz, and at the moment it is decorated to look like a soccer ball because the World Cup is taking place this summer in Gemany.

There are still a lot of Berlin bears around but I heard they are being collected soon and will go on a tour somewhere.

That afternoon Frank and I walked to the post office to pick up a package for Jenny and on our way home just as we came to Jenny's street, who should we meet but Christine, Gabi and Fridgard who were having a look around Berlin Mitte and were headed to the candy factory nearby.  We decided to have a birthday party instead and all went to the café on the corner and had coffee and cake and a fun hour together.  What a nice coincidence!

That evening Jenny, Frank and I went to a gourmet restaurant for dinner.  Jenny and Ulf had been there once for lunch and Jenny liked it so we decided to try it.  Frank wasn't too happy with the atmosphere or the food and thought it was terribly overpriced, but it was my birthday so I just decided to enjoy it.

I just wish I had been hungrier.  We had had so much to eat that weekend that I wasn't very hungry, but there were so many things to eat.  The bread alone was nice enough for a whole meal, fresh from the oven and with several different spreads. 

This was the kind of restaurant where I have to pick my food by the process of elimination.  I was still a little wary of the first course but the waitress claimed I wouldn't regret ordering an octopus salad and she was right.  It was delicious.

The main course didn't quite live up to the starter but it was still nice.  I had lamb but it was on the bone and I prefer fillet.  They brought us a number of things we didn't order to try and that was fun.  There was one dish with the tiniest little egg on top that I have ever seen.

In spite of the fact that I was pretty full I decided to get dessert because Jenny said Ulf had eaten the chocolate soufflé and it had been wonderful. The waitress warned us that we had to wait half an hour for it to be made but we were in no hurry. Yes, Ulf was right, it was fantastic.

But that still wasn't the end of it all.  As a final touch they brought us a selection of pralines but although they looked very nice we couldn't eat anything else. 

All in all it was an interesting experience that we won't repeat any time soon.  Frank turned a little pale when he got the bill.  But then you only turn sixty once - and only if you're lucky enough to live that long!