Getting all Willy Wonka in Berlin: Ritter Sport Bunte Schokowelt

My parents were on their third visit to Berlin and though we'd had a great time checking out baby stuff and traipsing about Switzerland, I was determined to show them more to love in my adopted home. After all the war memorials and major tourist sites, I thought chocolate might be the easiest way to charm them.

But 5 minutes away from the Ritter Sport Chocolate Shop we were forced to turn back by thundering rain and hail. HAIL! Oh, April weather. Brave Northwesters that we are, we were ultimately undeterred and found our way back to the site of one of Germany's most famous chocolates.

Officially called Ritter Sport Bunte Schokowelt (Ritter Sport Colorful Chocolate World), I had heard that you can make your own chocolates there. I knew it could be gimmicky and touristy, but this was my chance to be Willy Wonka and there was no way I was passing that up.

Berlin's Asian Market: Dong Xuan Center

Sometimes called Berlin’s ‘Vietnamese mall’, the Dong Xuan Center was originally run and frequented by East Berlin's expat Vietnamese community. It is now a recommended Berlin destination complete with guided tour groups.

The internet had promised us that this compound of warehouses would fulfill all of our Asian food needs on the cheap. As Seattleites, we are used to a high level of Thai and Vietnamese food and Germany's attempts (although infinitely better than when we arrived in 2007) are generally disappointing. We hoped the (fun-to-say) Dong Xuan Center would offer us the tools, ingredients and cheap eats we were looking for.

We stepped off the bus with really no idea what we were getting into. As we approached the gates, I realized we were in for something so much weirder than a shopping trip.

Day trip to Brandenburg an der Havel

Our conflicting issues of never ending wanderlust and near poverty mean we make a lot of compromises. While we dream of trying not to break ourselves on the ski slopes of the Czech Republic, we settle for a day trip anywhere out of Berlin. And if anywhere looks like this ---------------->
we have no right to complain.

Brandenburg an der Havel is a medieval town located about an hour away from Berlin (about 60 kilometers west) by train and lies in the state of Brandenburg on the River Havel - hence the name. A quiet village with a rich history and many historical sites, the town was the ideal day trip from Berlin.

We Ate the East End: Eating London Food Tours

We were a bit of a disaster. A hectic September with multiple trips to Manchester left us comatose for as long as life would let us until suddenly I was in London on a work trip with Ian set to join me for the weekend. What should have been a fun-filled outing was stressing us as we couldn't decide on a plan of attack and were completely overwhelmed with options. We've been here before, and clearly I am in that place again as it has taken me months to talk about one of the best things we've ever done in London!

We were saved from our indecision by an answer from heaven (or more specifically from twitter). Travels of  Adam connected us with the Eating London and just like that - we had a day of eating planned. As I said, heaven.

Berlin Street Food Markets: Bite Club & Markthalle IX

Ian is in the habit of familiarity. If he's cooking dinner I can guess the meal is going to be Mexican and if we are going to eat out in Berlin he has his stable of favorites. I am different.

Offbeat Seattle Attraction: Salumi Artisan Cured Meats

I spent many hours dreaming of Salumi's before I ever stepped foot in the place. At this point, I've only been there twice but it is still somewhere I feel confident recommending.

Salumi was founded by Armandino Batali (Principal Salumist), the father of New York chef Mario Batali. Armandino actually retired from Boeing to focus on meat and it is still family-run. Like Rogacki in Berlin, this place is Anthony Bourdain reviewed & approved.

Eating Blutwurst in Berlin

Overall, I embrace German food. Sure I miss my Mexican food, but expat life has a way of making you a mad scientist in the kitchen. I am far from an expert cook, but I have learned to whip together a bunch of things I always used mixes for in the States, or only bought when I ate out. A random list of some of my proudest cooking moments:

The start of PB

• Biscuits & Gravy
• Enchilada Sauce
• Mexican Rice
• Poached Egg
• Pico de Gallo& Salsas
• Peanut Butter
• Refried Beans
• Salad Dressings galore (Honey Mustard, Ranch, Raspberry Balsamic,Caesar)
• Croque Monsieur

On the Hunt for Mexican Ingredients in Berlin

While we were excited to see our favorite German, Mr. Thomas, back in Berlin, we were a bit stumped on exactly what we should do with him. He has visited us in Berlin a few times now (& we visited him in Cologne) and while the city continues to amaze, we want each visit to be spectacular.

Luckily, Thomas came with built-in interest. After a year living with my burrito-loving family and just off another year in Mexico City, he was as crazy for Mexican food as most of us expats. It was decided. We were going to climb our mount Everest. We were going to attempt the impossible. We were going to find real Mexican ingredients in Berlin. Hopefully the hunt wouldn't kill us.

Where to take Your Texan Nephew in Berlin

Do you know what 18-year-olds like? I've got no idea. And I've got one coming to our house in Berlin tomorrow, straight off the plane from Texas.

My sister, Brandy, is almost exactly 10 years older than me. My elder nephew is 10 years younger. We're like those Russian nesting dolls. Brandy has trusted us to guide her first-born, Kyle, on his first trip to Europe before he enrolls in the Navy. This kind of trust - I simply don't know what to do with myself/him/etc. I am hoping my Berlin favs will stand up to test and we will have an amazing time. Press your thumbs for all of us....

To document how it all goes down, I am going to track our progress. I am expecting a lot of "okays" and mumbles in response from Kyle. That's how teens communicate, right?  We pick him up tomorrow.

The Holy Trinity of Mexican Food in Berlin

One of the greatest tragedies in German cooking is the absence of Mexican food.We practically live on taco trucks, hole-in-the-wall taquerís, and homemade tex-mex in Seattle. We were aghast to find poor man's Spanish food standing in for our beloved Mexican in Berlin when we arrived in 2007. Toto - we're not in Kansas anymore.

While it may seem strange for a couple of Seattleites to be talking up Mexican food, Ian has a mysterious past. He is actually from Eastern Washington. GASPPPPPPP!!! Oh - you have no idea why that's a big deal? Let me explain a little something about Washington state....

I heart Pizza

See this?

GET IN MY BELLY!

Gorki Park - Russian in Berlin

Gorki Park in Berlin

We sat down outside Gorki Park a few weeks ago on a steamy day...only to have a burst of rain shower chase us inside. I am so glad it did. The area on the left is more of the restaurant side with the right bar side holding USSR gems. Posters, memorabilia - it was a really quirky setting. 

We had a Russian beer, Moskwa, and it came in a bad-ass glass. We asked how much the glasses were, but 6.50 was a little spendy (I know, our thriftiness is impressive). The beer itself was serviceable and added to the experience, but nothing that special.

 

Hometown Love

Before I wax too poetic about Berlin (because we've had some pretty unbelievably good weekends of late), it's important to look at our recent trip to the States and our favorite corner - Seattle.

Space Needle

Hühnerhaus - Kreuzberg

Kreuzberg was the first kiez (neighborhod) we lived in this time around. The apartment was a really lovely, if awkwardly arranged one bedroom with crazy high ceilings and a great view of street life out front. We moved there in November (always practical) and it was one of the snowiest winters Berlin had ever seen. Tromping 5 minutes to the Netto filled your boots with snow and made you really question if you needed that tube of toothpaste today.

Kreuzberg

Vienna: Much more than a little Sausage

Ian & I were excited to return to Vienna as we have been there several time and indulged in the cafe culture, oohhhed & ahhed at Stephansdom, and ate and ate and ate. But returning with the parents this time, we realized we actually hadn't spent much time in this Austrian wonder. In our usual whirlwind fashion of travel we had been here on our way elsewhere, but only actually stayed for 1 or 2 nights. This was an egregious error that needed correcting and we couldn't have been happier with our latest experience.

As always, what follows are our highly unscientific, capricious ratings of "The City of Dreams" (home to Sigmund Freud).

Vienna Ratings:

 

Bratislava - Not as Bad as People Say!

We continue on our tour of central Europe with the p's & give our biased, unprofessional opinions of Bratislava, Slovakia.

IKEA I spy

As a sublettor in Berlin, you expect everything in your apartment to be from IKEA, but you don't know for sure until you go to the source. Oh, look!

There is our motar & pestle (who needs one of these anyways?)

Placing Poland: Szczecin

The parents are here and on day 5 of European travel. We have big plans for a trip to Hungary, Bratislava, & Vienna next week but since we are so close to Poland, why not a day trip? We didn't just want to hop the border for some nowhere, so we set our sights on Szczecin (auf deutsch Stettin). It reportedly had a Duke's castle, a tourist map with red line guided tour, and was only about 2 hours away. Plus - the train ticket was a Brandenburger ticket, meaning it would only cost 28 euro for all 4 of us to travel there & back. Bonus!

It didn't turn out exactly as we hoped, but was still an experience. Once again, we have decided to rate the cities we are visiting with our parental units. This town might not have stacked up so well, but there is more to come. 

Damn!berg

Continuing on our long drawn out story of our road trip through Cologne, Belgium, and France....

On the car ride back to Berlin from France we took a break in some of the cute German cities that aren't so prominent up in our NorthEast corner.

First stop:

Herrieden

Perfect Summer Day...in September

As summer draws to a close, I feel like

"Wait! But I didn't have all the summer fun I wanted to! The outdoor movies, swimming at badeschiff, and bike riding are still on the to do list!"

The seasons don't seem to care, but we are fighting back. Having just moved to Neukoelln (post about our near constant moving coming soon), and both of us finally having bikes, it seemed the time was right for an epic bike ride. Mind you, it's been since we were last in Berlin that I rode a bike (approx. 3 yrs ago).

Nervously, I saddled up and we were immediately off on a blissful ride down a trail and out into the openness of Templehof. Recently an airport, it has been shut down and is now a truly enormous park. We had walked through a tiny portion of it with Ian's dad & took some pics, but the park is made for cruising around by bike. It felt amazing to be riding on tarmac that once sent planes into the air and watch the Fernsehturm change in appearance in the distance.