Another sunny but cold day in Berlin.

Scott needed to remove some rubbish from hls storage area so a trip to the garbage tip was planned. Germany takes recycling very seriously and you need to sort everything carefully, and then unload it into clearly marked containers at the BSR (Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe), the city’s official waste management and street-cleaning company. Scott collected a car, we packed it as best we could and then unloaded the rubbish as directed at the BSR. 

KaDeWe is an upmarket department store, an icon of Berlin’s luxury shopping and culinary culture. It has a wide range of departments, including fashion, cosmetics, home goods, electronics, and gourmet food. We wandered around, taking in the luxury goods and Scott purchased some new items of clothing.

The food court, up on the gourmet floors, has lots of different food options from classic German dishes to seafood, sweets, and drinks like champagne and wine. We found a table in the corner overlooking the west end of Berlin. I chose a goulash soup and a lobster tail for my dinner and Scott chose a roulade with red cabbage and potatoes plus a lobster tail.

We admired the view as the sun set. We then wandered some more through the gourmet food section.

The U-barn train was the chosen method of transport to get back to the apartment in Neukölln. 

It is getting colder each day so we are hoping it may snow again before I leave Berlin.

Guten Nacht

Sleep in a warm comfy bed refreshed the soul ready to enjoy my first day in Berlin. 

The day promised to be cold and clear and it was lovely to see snow covered streets.

We rugged up with our gloves, coats and headwear and headed out for the day. Scott planned to take me to a rooftop restaurant on the East side.

We walked there so we could see the Spree River iced over as well as the canals we followed to get there.  We walked past the Eastside gallery with its ever changing artworks. Once we reached the intended venue, we were informed that the restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays. A frustrating and puzzling concept in Berlin and Germany is that all shopping stores are shut on Sundays. 

So we carried on, avoided the cold gusts of wind and caught the U-Bahn from Warschauer Strasse to Alexanderplatz as we knew the Hofbräu restaurant would be open for some Bavarian fare.

We chose a Beef Goulash each with beers and then an Apple Strudel for a sweet treat.

Scott reserved a Free2move share car and after walking the 800 metres to get the car we sat back and enjoyed the warmth on the drive back to Bouchestrasse. 

We have seen a lot of people with little wooden sleds for their children. 

The Kramer Restaurant was booked for dinner which had good reviews and was not far from the apartment. We braved the cold and walked to the trendy and warm restaurant.

The wait staff were attentive and friendly, a young French woman, a Kiwi woman and an Aussie young man.

It was very cold on the walk back to the apartment. The warmth of the apartment was very well appreciated.

Guten Nacht

Singapore Airlines made the trip fairly comfortable, my seat was in Premium Economy and I was given a pouch containing an eye mask, slippers, lip balm and wet wipe.  The Sydney to Singapore flight takes around 8 hours and I did manage to snooze for a bit. 

My layover of 11 hours was too long for staying in the transit area of Changj Airport. About 6-8 hours would be sufficient if you wanted a sleep, refresh and rest. I had my hair washed and blow dried and then had a nice sleep and shower in the transit hotel. I paid $217AUD for a 6 hour respite … worth it for the privacy, shower and the bed. I enjoyed my meals and beverages in the KrisFlyer Gold lounges for free.

After wandering around the enormous airport, I purchased some items in duty free when I was told that I had to get to terminal 3…. I didn’t realise that I was in terminal 2 … so I had to catch the skytrain to terminal 3, all still within the transit area. The train was very easy to find and was clean and efficient. This took me to the KrisFlyer Gold lounge that I have been to many times before so I spent the last hours having a bite and a wine.

The next leg of the flight took about 10 hours to Johannesburg. Many passengers alighted there but those going on to Cape Town were told to remain on the plane. Cleaners and security personnel came through and did their jobs before a replacement crew started the next leg of the journey. It was a good opportunity to stretch our legs before the one and a half flight to Cape Town. Since they were vacated by a couple at Johannesburg, I asked if I could move to their window seats and permission was granted. There were about 30 per cent of the initial passengers continuing onto Cape Town so the plane looked quite empty. 

At Cape Town airport we had to disembark using the wobbly stairs and walk across the tarmac. Luckily there was not a cloud in the sky so the sunshine was a nice change from the aeroplane cabin.

All the airport staff were happy and willing to assist. We were reminded to make sure that we declare any restricted items…so the wine and small vodkas I bought in Singapore (to help me sleep but I didn’t open them) were going to put me over the limit … I didn’t check before I left home and I had popped a bottle of vodka and a Graham’s Port in with my checked luggage. The limit you can bring to South Africa is 2 bottles of wine and 1 litre of spirits. I was so sure that some would be confiscated but the lovely young customs man opened my bag, asked me why I came to SA and then handed me all my grog and sent me on my way.

So Scott was there to greet me and we had a coffee at the airport before catching an Uber to the accommodation in Sea Point.

The traffic was terrible and our driver skilfully worked his way past shanty shacks, schools, government buildings and shopping centres until we reached the seaside suburb. 

The apartment block is behind metal gates which are topped with electrical security wires. I looked around and noticed that this was common for all the dwellings around us.

It was just a two block walk to the beach and the swimming pool. Scott walked me down to the sand so I could dip my feet in the sea water and help avoid jet lag issues.

We then strolled along the esplanade and spotted an inviting restaurant across the road called the Grand Pavilion. Our waiter was the friendly Zimbabwen young man called Lesley. We ordered a bottle of local sparkling wine, oysters natural and Japanese style, tempura prawns, crispy calamari and a large garden salad. The food was superb and the view of the ocean was only interrupted by the traffic on Beach Street which included the topless red tourist buses, the occasional Maserati along with everyday cars like Range Rovers and Toyotas.

We finished with spicy margarita cocktails which were some of the best we have had anywhere in the world.

The shopping strip was busy and I noticed that there were security officers on general duty scattered across the city. Many shops are also behind iron gates which are activated by the staff inside.

There was even a guy selling cigarettes from his little stall on the footpath. The locals shop for their groceries at the Checkers Supermarket and people are so helpful. We gathered some supplies for the evening and walked back to the unit for a bit of a rest.

Dinner was just some corn crackers with eggplant dip and hummus. It was still daylight so we went down to the opposite direction of the shopping strip and stopped at a bar for some Dirty Martini’s and traditional margaritas while watching the locals go about their daily business.

It was a long day so an early night beckoned.

Goeie nag!

Saturday started out with another caviar and salmon omelette. Delicious! 

Scott wanted to visit the local flea market at the end of his street so we braved the cold and walked and walked.

Sadly, the flea markets were not happening so then we walked and walked some more to find a restaurant for lunch. This proved to be a difficult task as only hip students cafes and touristy take aways were here on Warschauer Strasse. So we decided to catch the S-Bahn to find another part of the city that might have better food offerings, only ending up catching the U-Bahn back to Neukoln. There we found a lovely Vietnamese restaurant called Kottidang. The food was amazing and warmed us up before another excursion to some markets.

As we were walking the wind was icy and the real feel temperature was -9C. We decided to Uber home and as it turned out, the other markets were not open either. 

We watched and really loved Clarkson’s Farm on  Amazon Prime when we were having some down time. It is hilarious and informative and we were thoroughly entertained by the show.

Time for dinner meant that we had to brave the cold again but the wind had died down and we just walked through some light sleet. We stopped at a Sudanese restaurant for a traditional soup.

Then went to a favourite Turkish restaurant where we consumed beef and eggplant dishes with Raki, wine and beer. 

Sunday was another cold day but no snow. In Germany, no shops are open on Sundays including supermarkets or Department Stores. The only highlight was dinner at Knödelwirtschaft SÜD where we ordered Goulash and Knödels – meatballs with various flavours. They were delicious!

On Monday I packed my bags for the long trip home and Scott fussed with housework. He sent the robot vacuum to do a thorough clean while we drove to the airport in a Bolt sharecar Audi.

The car park had more cars this time than on Monday night when returned from Lisbon. Snow was still built up around the perimeters.

Scott had to return to work and had a few meetings to conduct so we said our sad goodbyes and I went through security. I’m going to miss my personal chef, cocktail waiter, chauffeur and tour guide! I settled into the food court and ordered some shrimp and white wine. I wiled the time away by watching Reacher on Amazon Prime.

The Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt was delayed and we arrived at about an hour after expected. I thought this would eat into my ‘lounge time’ but as it turned out, it was a bit of a blessing.

I had to collect my checked bag which took over half an hour to appear and then I went in search of the Singapore Airlines check in counters. German efficiency dictates that the gates don’t open until exactly 3 hours before the flight. So it is not evident which counter to wait near! I asked a few people but they didn’t really make it clear. So I waited patiently and finally checked my bag in and asked about the lounge… she said I could go to the Lufthansa lounge…. Well that didn’t happen…. And the someone said maybe I could access the Air Canada Lounge… which sounded promising except for the fact that it was closed. So Singapore Airlines you disappoint me again!!!

I found a lovely restaurant near my gate and settled in with some food and wine. 

At least I knew that I could go to the lounge in Singapore and enjoy the Laksa I discovered on the way here! 

Once in Sydney I went to the old Uber pickup only to find that the Uber is now right at the exit and there is no need to cross the road….which I discovered after about 15 minutes of confusion. Now to get over the lag! 

Good night!

Wednesday was a cold day and we decided to walk to Aldi so I could get the tissues that are no longer sold in Australia. We browsed the aisles but we were not tempted to purchase any other items.  

I was surprised to see tobacco cigarette packets at the counter. 

Chicken soup and Bloody Mary’s were consumed for the evening meal. 

Thursday morning brought snow to Berlin! What lovely sight although it was only short lived and not very heavy.

Firstly Scott ordered some supplies for salmon and caviar omelettes and another version of a chicken soup since the weather was really cold. 

After the soup was made we went out into the inclement weather. It was a bit drizzly and after a few blocks we stopped in a little bar for some refreshments.

For some reason this year, Optus roaming has been unreliable. Luckily I have been with Scott who can access data in Europe. 

I contacted Optus a few times and they tried to explain to turn the phone off, put it in aeroplane  mode and then out so the phone finds the best source. This only worked intermittently and frustratingly I complained to Optus. Scott found a Reddit thread of other people complaining about the same issues.

To Optus’ credit they did reimburse me $75  ($5 a day) for the trouble I have had since I have been a loyal customer for over 8 years.

We then braved the weather and walked to the shopping precinct. Scott took me to his gym which looked like a nice place. Then we went to the hardware store to collect supplies to try to fix the wall in Scott’s bathroom.

We caught a taxi home because now the sleet was falling fast. When we got home it turned into snow!

It was time to enjoy a Graham’s Port, a taste acquired in Portugal.

Sixt car hire now do car share as well. It costs a little more to cross borders as we planned to drive to Leipzig to see Scott’s unit and then onto Zary in Poland, a town where I spent the most time in 1970. The Peugeot e-208 was new, clean and ready for us to do the planned trip.

Once on the autobahns the speed suggestions are 120kph but Scott was hurtling along when he could at speeds up to over 170kph. There was rain and snow which made Teresa anxious. 

We stopped at a McDonalds in Linthe. This was obviously a truck stop with the food outlets, sex-shop and Spielhalle (gambling hall). There was lots of snow around us. The lovely lady who served us in McDonalds commented that I spoke very good English! Ha ha!

Once in Leipzig, we met with the builder and viewed the progress of refurbishing the unit. Germany offers financial incentives for people to invest in and renovate old buildings that were damaged during the war. The builder explained that there is a medical university nearby and many young doctors are interested in living in the new units. He told Scott that the building should be finished in April.

We got onto the road again, this time aiming for Zary, Poland – a two and a half hour journey from Leipzig. We stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant in Grimma, Germany. The sun came out for a while as we continued on our way. As we were driving, I realised that we wouldn’t get to Zary until after 3:30pm. It gets dark around 4pm and I thought about the fact that Scott would have another 2 hour drive to get to Berlin after we explored Zary. So we decided to just drive back to Berlin which was still a two hour trip from our location. The weather became inclement and we were driving through sleet and snow storms so we were happy with the decision to shorten the trip. At one point near Dresden we saw what looked like a traffic accident in the opposite direction. Traffic was banking up and it looked like a slow journey for those people. What surprised us was the number of Police vans we saw travelling to that location which made us wonder what was really going on …. I counted over 80 police vans!

Back in Neuköln Berlin, there was a welcome parking spot right outside Scott’s place. Once home, we settled in for the night.

Guten Nacht!

Ryan air departs from Terminal 2 at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon. It was very busy as so many people were travelling through this airport. 

The flight was delayed but we found ourselves a cosy spot in a cafe and settled in. While waiting, Scott ran into the young man that sat next to me on our earlier flight from Berlin to Lisbon. Coincidentally he had booked exactly the same seat on the way back. We were like old friends, chatting freely.

I was disappointed when we boarded the plane, the extra legroom seat that I had paid for Scott to stretch out had been replaced with a seat. 

Not impressed!!! If I had known, I would have booked seat 1A instead 🤬. 

I will reconsider booking with Ryanair in the future but then it is a budget airline and you get what you pay for! 

After just over 3 hours, we were back in Berlin Brandenburg airport at around midnight and to our dismay there were no ride share cars in the large car park designated for these vehicles. 

So the local train was the next option. After about a 30 minute journey to Ostbahnhof we alighted and found a ride share car to complete the trip home. Being so late at night we had to settle on a parking space about 2 blocks away from Scott’s unit and walk the rest of the way after midnight.

Once home, we were exhausted and welcomed sleep. 

Tuesday was an easy day. We walked down to the Edeka supermarket and bought supplies for Scott to make a Chicken Noodle Soup.

He was busy cooking while I relaxed with a Bloody Mary. Everything was delicious!

I needed to book  my travel from Berlin to Frankfurt for my flight home. Since my flight wasn’t until Monday night, I decided to fly to Frankfurt on the Monday afternoon. Lufthansa had the most direct flights so I booked the 1 hour flight. The cost of the flight was very expensive but I realised that Germany discouraged short flights due to its commitment to environmental sustainability. A train would’ve been much cheaper but navigating with luggage from station to station was undesirable. 

I finally got to make a hairdressing appointment for Wednesday at a salon around the corner from Scott’s place. Dry Shampoo is a must when travelling to manage one’s style between hair stylings! 

We were enjoying some down time over the next couple of days and planned to drive to Leipzig on Friday.

Guten Nacht

Saturday was a relaxing day with no rush to be anywhere. We took it easy and took in the peace and quiet and country air. 

My personal chef made the most amazing smoked salmon and caviar omelettes for lunch. Restaurant quality!

We decided to make use of the car and explore the region. After putting Ponte Da Barca into Google maps we were directed down some very dodgy narrow alleyways with stone walls just wide enough for the car! It was an adventure to see where we would end up! 

By sheer coincidence, we finally found the bridge we were looking for.  There was a small mixed goods store that we explored for trinkets but ended up only buying some nice Ports to imbibe with dinner. 

Sunday morning brought rain and the soft sounds of water falling from the skies.

Scott was finding and rescuing wayward frogs who were hopping into the pool but there was no way out for them.

After packing up and leaving very positive reviews about this Airbnb, 

we started the 4 hour journey to Sintra through some fierce downpours and high winds.

A couple of hours into the drive, we decided to just keep going to Lisbon and settle.

Our apartment, booked through Booking.com was in an old building with an old elevator which took us to our 6th floor accommodation. 

This apartment was in another area of Lisbon in the Praça do Comércio. We had some river views, the long bridge and the Jesus statue from our front windows. 

For dinner we found a little restaurant in the street below and consumed Seafood soup, grilled octopus and creamy cod. We then found a liquor store and bought a nice bottle of Port to drink on our last night in Portugal. 

Monday morning was checkout by 11am but our flight with Ryan air was not scheduled until 5pm. Timeout Market was the place to while away some time. The market was refreshingly uncrowded as the holiday period for Europeans had finished. 

We were really lucky to have found the parking spot for our car on R. de Mouzinho da Silverado in Porto, despite the heavy traffic at the time that we arrived on Thursday night. It turned out to be a rare spot that was free without a time limit so the car remained there for 2 nights. 

Scott had found our Stone Cottage accommodation in the Northern Mountains of Portugal for the next adventure. 

We decided to first head to Braga, the 4th largest city in Portugal. It was about 40 minutes drive north of Porto and in the direction of the mountains. The freeways were easy to navigate and Scott set a cracking pace in our little Fiat 500 convertible. 

Braga is very old (a bit tired) and centres around the oldest cathedral  with shops selling religious icons and other souvenirs. We found a parking station and walked to the old town where we had coffee and admired the delicious cakes in the counters.  

It was too early for lunch so while we were wandering through the old town, a commotion happened with people yelling in Portuguese and pointing towards a running young man. Apparently he had stolen an expensive perfume and the young shop assistant gave chase! I think he was stopped by someone and the perfume was confiscated from him. Peace was restored! 

Braga has some really old fortress type buildings which would date back to the Moors.

Scott had found a place to have lunch which had good reviews called Antù. I ordered the chicken wings with fries and Scott chose the Octopus with black rice. 

We needed to stock up for our mountain vacay so we explored the wares of the 

Merciarado supermarket and bought supplies. It is always an experience to shop in different countries and see how they present their food and the range of culinary choices.

Back on the road it took another 40 minutes to find our Stone cottage. This Airbnb listing was so clean, had ample basic provisions and even supplied coal for the BBQ. 

The car completed the provincial scene of where we were staying. The weather was relatively mild at 15C. 

Dinner was barbecued octopus and redfish with garlic infused eggplant and capsicum.

Port and bubbles were the beverages of choice. It was nice to get away from the busy cities and relax in such a lovely environment.

boa noite

Breakfast was included with our accommodation so we went down and chatted with some other guests. Breakfast was varied, ranging from cereals, eggs and bacon, assorted treats, juices and coffee. 

Time to wander up to the Sao Bento train station. The station tiled mosaics were as beautiful as ever. Outside the station there was a lot of construction for the new underground train line connection.

Scott noticed a sign to a Timeout Market next to the station.

This was new and we stopped for a beverage (and Dutch courage) before tackling the Ponte Luis I bridge (again for me).

My vertigo was not as pronounced this time but of course Scott was there to assist if needed. After creating some content, we went back to the  Timeout Market for lunch. Scott ordered some awesome salty oysters and a Francesinha which is a Portuguese sandwich, originally from Porto, made with layers of toasted bread and assorted hot meats such as roast, steak, wet-cured ham, chipolata over which sliced cheese is melted by the ladling of a near-boiling tomato-and-beer sauce called molho de francesinha. It was delicious! An Albertinha wine was the bevvy of choice.

Next to the market is an elevator which takes people up to a decagon type building… we were curious.

Well, this is the place where you can do Port tastings while looking out at the city buildings. Our waiter was extremely proficient in memorising the spiel and we were impressed with his effort and rewarded him accordingly.

He said that we were very kind and asked where we were from – so we have left him with a positive memory about Aussies.

We wandered back down to our hotel, stopping to make a reservation at the Tapas 65 restaurant for our dinner. This restaurant promised typical Portuguese fare.

We started with the traditional Verde soup and then shared Codfish balls, garlic prawns, calamari and sardines.

After a very satisfying meal we finished the night with a glass of port each in the hotel bar. 

boa noite

We decided to explore in the other direction from our accommodation and found the touristy bougie part of Lisbon with more and more tourists. Too many people on narrow footpaths helped us to decide to go back to the Timeout Markets instead and find some nice local food.

The Timeout Marketplace was crowded so we ended up deciding to eat at one of the side restaurants which did not disappoint. Scott chose the Octopus and I had the Rabbit!

We then escaped the crowd and found a mini Xmas market to enjoy. We lingered here in the sun, enjoying the music and people watching.

Heading back home for a relax, refresh and nap before the New Year booking we found another hole in the wall selling shots of cherry liqueur.

It was still 9 hours until we hit midnight … NYE had already passed in Australia. 

We made our way to O Corrido – Casa de Fado restaurant and enjoyed the set menu and Fado songs. 

New years day

Check out was at 11 am and we had to collect the car from Sixt at 12:30 so we had time to kill. We packed up , walked down to the square and found a table at the Nicola Cafe. Coffee, eggs. salmon and a Portuguese tart were consumed. We then caught an UBER to the car hire office to pick up our convertible Fiat 500. 

First stop was Nazare, the place where some of the tallest waves can be seen. It is a surf mecca with lots of campers and holiday homes amid narrow winding streets. Lots of people here too from all parts of the world. 

We decided to find somewhere on the drive to Porto to stop and eat as it was crazy busy in Nazare.

The drive to Porto took about 2 hours and the little Fiat was perfect for the narrow streets we encountered here as we made our was to the hotel.

Once settled we made our way out to find somewhere for dinner. The wind was making the temperature much colder and we were trying to find somewhere warm. Without bookings and since this was a public holiday, there were limited choices. We found a restaurant on the riverside and could only get a table outside but they did provide some heating and Blankets.

Time to get out of the wind and stay warm for the night.

boa noite