Berlin Gift Guide

After such a long wait to Thanksgiving and a bit of a stressful last few months I CANNOT believe it is almost Christmas. Less than a week to the big day, I am daydreaming about some of my best Berlin-related gifts as well as new things to covet.

Here are my Top 6 Berlin gift ideas.

 Design Hype's Berlin Metro Cuff

Why You Should Stay in Berlin This Winter

Berliners get extra ungemütlichkeit in winter as the days grow short and ice freezes in your/Ian's beard. Many try to flee the city, but I am making the case for celebrating the darkest season in the capitol. This is partly because we are poorer than ever and condemned to have no escape from the brutal Berlin winter. And since we gotta stay, we are trying to make the most of it and you should too.

DBall Baklava - Baking with Dad

Remember 6th grade when all you needed to get an "A" on a project was to bring food? I had one such project on Greece and being the "A" student I was, I took baklava (or rather my wonderful mom bought some for me from the local Greek restaurant). No surprise - I got an A.

Lets make these cookies!

Berlin's Tropical Island & Getting Naked with Germans

We first heard about the Tropical Island south of Berlin driving down to the Spreewald. Like an enormous metallic pimple, it stood out against northern Germany's flat terrain.

What is that?!

Some kind of indoor water resort. I think it may have been where they made zeppelins or something.

Intrigued by this bizarre structure and explanation, I snooped it out online. It is indeed an indoor water park - one of the largest of its kind - and it didn't actually house zeppelins (though that is a persistent rumor).

And it is large at 360 metres long, 210 metres wide and a 107 metres high. That means that it is big enough to fit the Statue of Liberty standing up, the Eiffel Tower lying down, or all of Potsdamer Platz including skyscrapers. Damn Tropical Island - you big!

Less Than 48 Hours in Manchester

When we made plans to visit Manchester, our friends told us we didn't need much time to for the city.

Good thing as we only had 48 hours and most of our time was going to be absorbed by the wedding and meeting with friends. Despite their naysaying, we had plenty to do in our limited time and fell a bit in love with this workmanlike Northern metropolis.

Whether you have 24 hours, 48 hours or even want to spend a little longer in this industrial city (gasp!) - here are a few of our favorite things to do in Manchester, the "Original Modern City".

Celebrating our Wedding Anniversary by Burning Down the Tower Bridge

Prepare to die Tower Bridge

You know the saying if you love something so much you have to let it go? This is kinda like that.

Visiting a Berlin Gartenhaus

I've always admired the small garden houses that line rail lines, dot the countryside and can be found all over Germany but never imagined I would actually get a peek inside. Generally, our friends in Berlin don't own more than a bicycle let alone a second home.

So when Ian's kita partner (aka his work wife), a life-long Berliner, invited us to visit her and her family's Garden Home we jumped on the U-Bahn.

Located deep to the SE of Berlin in Königs Wusterhausen (fun name, eh?). It was a bit of a trek but completely reachable by Berlin public transport with the purchase of a C ticket.

We were joined by Ian's boss, a transplant from Bavaria. In addition, Ian's kita partner's German partner and daughter would be there. This was one of the first times I would be intensely surrounded by only German speakers. I prepared for German language battle.

Offbeat Northwest: Camping in Montana

Happy Memories Camping

I love camping, but I've never been in Germany. This is partly because we moved to Berlin with 2 suitcases and have literally no equipment. It is partly because our travels outside of the city are in their infancy and I still have relatively no idea of the campgrounds in these here parts. And it is partly because of the Germans.

The one time we tried to go camping was in the Spreewald, just south of Berlin in Lübbenau. It went like this.

Ian: "Are there any camping spots available this weekend?"
Campsite: (laugh) "No."
Ian: "Are there any camping spots available in the coming weeks?"
Campsite: "No, there are no spots for the rest of the year!" 

Germans. Always prepared, unlike us.

A weekend in the Swiss Alps Outside of Zurich

With Ian off at a "stag party" in Manchester, I was left with the question of what to do with myself for a weekend alone. In the end, the solution was simple and beautiful. Why not spend it with my family who recently moved to Zurich? (Tough life - I know.)

Ready for my flight out of Tegel

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.