It was much colder today so it was a good time to leave Berlin.

I had checked us into our flights online and we packed and prepared to leave by 10am for our 12:10 flight.

The share car today was an Audi and it was about a 30 minute trip to Brandenburg Airport. It was very busy and we realised that we had to make our way to Terminal 2 – the low budget area of the airport. Of course we chose the security queue that took the longest and we both had items diverted for a closer inspection. The whole process took about 30 minutes! 

We had picked up some sandwiches and a beverage for the flight and went to the gate. Ryanair is a budget airline so the whole experience is low budget. 

They made us wait for a long time inside and then we had to queue outside to get on the plane for another 15 minutes in freezing temperatures. 

I had booked seats when I bought the tickets and noticed that seat 2A did not have a seat in front of it so I put Scott in that one and he appreciated the ability to stretch his legs during the flight. 

During this flight I observed an interesting series of events. Apparently the seat belt sign has to come on when the captain is outside the cockpit. So he’s chatting to the attendant for a good 10 minutes. While the seatbelt sign is on, no one can go to the toilet… so he keeps chatting with the attendant while they are turning people away who want to use the facilities. So then the captain goes to the toilet …. with the seat belt sign on!!! There was no turbulence and  then he comes out and keeps chatting. Another person goes to go to the toilet but is turned back because the captain is still outside the cockpit.  A female attendant emerges from the cockpit where the co-pilot was and the captain goes back in. The seatbelt sign is then turned off! A total of 20 minutes denial of service!

The landing was smooth and we were piled onto a bus to take us to the main terminal where Scott organised an Uber which ferried us through the narrow winding streets to our Airbnb accommodation.

I wanted to take Scott to the restaurant Michele and I loved, across from our accommodation last January called A Merendinha do Arco Bandeira only to be disappointed that they are closed until January 6th, the day we leave Lisbon. 

There were so many people milling around as this is a holiday week for Europeans. We made our way through the crowded footpaths and found the Carmo Restaurant & Bar, hoping to enjoy some good food. This did not happen, the service was poor, the food was bland so we didn’t even take any pictures.

The next day was Monday and the weather promised to be quite mild so we made our way to the Praça do Comércio, the main square in Lisbon. A huge stage was set up in preparation for New Year’s Eve celebrations. 

We then strolled to the Timeout Market and enjoyed some local delicacies and Spicy Margaritas.

It was such a lovely day so we decided to walk around through lanes and staircases to the attractions above. 

We stopped for a beverage at an outdoor cafe and took in the lovely views of Lisbon.

On our way back we chose to have some hot soup at the Mr Cod restaurant. We ordered a Sopa de Caldo Verde each and Garlic Prawns to share, washed down by White Sangria. The food was delicious and the service an improvement from last night’s choice.

I was confident that I could find the ‘hole in the wall’ cherry shot bar called A Ginjinha where you can only pay cash for the famous cherry liqueur shots. 

The streets were so crowded and we made our way back home, picking up some supplies from the supermarket next to our Accommodation and settled in for the night.

boa noite

The weather was a predicted 7C which was quite mild for a winter’s day. We decided to take ourselves into Alexanderplatz and have some lunch at Hofbrau Munchen. Scott drove a sharecar Peugot SUV into the city centre.

We ordered the Venison Ragout each and it was delicious.

While we were eating a couple arrived with their white Shitzu, Millie from Denmark. She took a shine to us and we enjoyed patting her and giving her scratches.

The Galleria shopping precinct is next to the restaurant so we entered the department store and made some purchases at the Sephora counter. 

Back home we took it easy and Scott ordered chicken wings and bites for dinner through the Wolt food app. It was an early night.

The next morning I was still feeling sick and wanted to have a day of convalescence. I also craved chicken soup so Scott went down to the supermarket for supplies and made an awesome Creamy Dill Pickle Soup which was better than any restaurant fare.   Amazing!!

After watching episodes of the Crown and YouTube clips about Portugal we retired for the night before our journey to Lisbon with Ryanair.

Guten Nacht!

Travel on Christmas Day is always a good choice as there are less crowds at the airports. The Singapore lounge in Sydney had a reasonable selection of food and the MUMM Champagne and self made Bloody Mary’s helped celebrate Christmas.

My premium economy window seat was comfortable on the large A380 Airbus plane. I had a good view from the window with no obstruction. The chicken and rice meal was quite nice with a beverage of bubbles.

At Singapore airport, it was easy to find the Singapore Gold KrisFlyer lounge and I settled in for a couple of hours. The food at this lounge was much better than in Sydney. The highlight was the 

Laksa station which tasted amazing and I will definitely choose this on my return. So far, my Gold Velocity status has meant that I did not have to spend a cent on food or beverages until the Frankfurt stopover.

For the Singapore to Frankfurt leg of my journey, the plane was a smaller Boeing 777-300ER. On this plane, my premium economy seat was over the large wing which meant I had no view. I did mention this to the attendant and he came back with an offer to get a window row to myself in economy where I could lie across and have a view but then I would have lost the premium extras such as real cutlery and glasses of complimentary champagne so I stayed put. This made me reflect on whether premium economy is worth the extra cost. You cannot lift the divider rests between the seats if you are the only one in your row. 

United airlines last year had a better set up with their Economy Plus! 

The chicken noodle meal was not to my taste but maybe because I was that person with the cough on the plane! I had managed to pick up a sore throat before I left Australia…. but then what do you bring to Germany but ‘germs’? Boom boom!

When entering Frankfurt border patrol it was lovely to be at the end of a long queue, only to be asked who had a Euro passport and being led straight past the people to enter the country on the right side of the booths! 

I chose roaming with Optus for my phone data which costs $5 a day and is completely worth it for peace of mind and time adjustments.

My flight to Berlin was with Lufthansa and I was told that my luggage would go straight through to Berlin from Sydney. So it was a nice surprise that my bag  was already on the carousel because of priority handling so I was through the Berlin Brandenburg airport in no time. 

Scott arranged a share car (these are vehicles you book online and drive to your location in the city). 

Once home we enjoyed some champagne and a light lunch before deciding to go for a walk. I needed to stay awake all day until dark as a way of avoiding jet lag…. I find this really works. 

We walked to the Soviet memorial in Treptower Park which is a massive reminder of the war and many Russian soldiers are buried here where Germany is obliged to maintain this important icon. Even Putin has been here! It is a very large park and is utilised by many dog walkers. 

We then found another sharecar and drove to the Charlottenburg Schloss (castle) for a tour and were pleased to see that the Christmas markets were in full swing here. 

We paid €24 for the two of us to do the tour of the castle and its very wealthy opulence. 

Then it was time for the Gluwein! Christmas markets are magical because the sun sets at 4pm and you really get to enjoy the market atmosphere. After a few samples of beverages and some food we made our way to the U-Bahn train station and caught a train home. 

I had walked over 13000 steps from airport to the end of the day and sleep was easy!

Guten Nacht!