The sun rose at 8:15am and we had organised to speak to Michele in Australia. We were pleased to video chat with her and Basil, her Cavoodle puppy (he mainly ignored us and chewed things and caused havoc). He is growing up so fast.

Scott left me in peace and went to the gym so I could finish the blog for yesterday’s adventures. Scott finally has data!!! Since his return from his trip to Cape Town he has not had access to data and could not use his phone. He’s only been trying to rectify the situation since last Wednesday. Telekom were not as efficient as you would expect of a German company.

Lunch was at home consisting of pickled herrings and soft cheeses with crackers plus my personal cocktail waiter was spoiling me with a variety of French Martinis 🍸

The weather was still mild with 15C being expected today with some wind. I decided to wear the 140 denier stockings with a high neck t-shirt, a light dress and cardigan with my red boots. I took the Europe coat with me because of the expected winds.

Scott having his phone data back meant that he could access cars again. He uses an app called Sharenow. You just look up a nearby car and use the app to hire it for as long as you need it for driving in the city. Our first car was around the corner from his place and it was a Peugeot.

Our destination today was West Berlin. I was amazed at how little traffic there was compared to driving in the heart of Sydney. At one point there were emergency vehicles sirens approaching from behind. When this happens, cars have to move out of the way.

We drove past areas that we had walked through yesterday and then we were on the other side of the Brandenburg Gate. Bundesstrasse is a very wide road which is bordered by Central Park and runs from the gate to Siegessäule – the Victory Column. You can go to the top of this monument to a deck that allows you to enjoy city views.

This place was pure capitalism! Every high end brand that you can think of is here. It is also the area where they have the Christmas markets that someone drove a truck through in 2016, killing and injuring many people.

We continued to drive past the Berlin Tiergarten and into the heart of West Berlin. We found a parking space outside the Zoologischer Garten (Berlin zoo) and that’s where we left that car for someone else to hire.

The area was also adorned beautifully with Christmas decorations and lights. I noticed a sign to the Bikini Hotel and was curious about the name. Scott mentioned that there was a bar around here that you could look over the monkey enclosure of the zoo. And there it was…. The Bikini Hotel housed the Monkey Bar! We arrived at a good time, about 4pm because this place can be very popular and there are queues. We only had to wait for a couple of minutes before being shown to the elevator which took us to the tenth floor and the bar. The Monkey bar not only looks over the monkey enclosure of Berlin zoo but also the city skyline of Berlin. They have tables and chairs as well as a sort of step system (bleachers) with cushions and small tables to make the most of the view.

Scott ordered two Mad Monkey Mai Tais which were garnished with mint leaves, pineapple slices and a very tasty and rich maraschino cherry. The food here was amazing too. It was made by the restaurant next to this bar, called Neni. The sweet potato fries were crispy and perfect, as were the Korean Fried Chicken Bites consumed with pita bread and the Babaganoush. We agreed that the food was amazing.

I noticed that the Victory Column was not lit up as would be expected of such a Major monument but this is a current strategy by the German government to conserve energy during these unstable times with Russia and the Ukraine.

Returning to the street, there were many people walking around and enjoying the atmosphere. There were pretty lights and lots of stores to entice the consumer.

KaDeWe is an enormous department store of 8 levels with Food Courts on the top levels. We wandered around observing the products, some quite quirky and very expensive.

It was time for oysters as Scott had heard that there was a very good Oyster bar in this building. The first bar we went to had staff doing their best to ignore you at the ‘Wait to be seated’ sign and there was a queue forming behind us. We could see many spare tables. After about 5 minutes, Scott got the attention of a waiter who had been ignoring the growing queue and told him how impolite it was to make eye contact and then look away and ignore people. We then found another place on the top floor with much more attentive staff. It is like an open food court with all types of food and drinks on offer, including alcohol.

The oysters were shucked as you ordered and they came from France. They were large and they were salty as oysters should be, washed down with Prosecco.

After this, Scott took me to the ‘adult lolly shop’ which stocked Gins of all types and Colours.

A glittery dress caught my eye and I thought maybe I could buy that for a party I am attending when I return home. It was quite an amazing garment but more suitable for a cooler climate and wealthier client.

Enough shopping, it was time to make our way home. The Sharenow car that was closest for us to hire was a lovely BMW. The drive back to the east was uneventful except for when Scott did not see the lights change to red at one intersection and luckily traffic had not started to move yet. Travelling speeds around these areas are only 30kmph.

It was another great day exploring Berlin.

Guten Nacht.