Mr. Minsch in Kreuzberg

Hi Readers, I know I took a long break .... sometimes life keeps you busy and let's you forget that your blog readers might be waiting for a new post.

Slowly the weather in Berlin is getting really pleasant.. sunny and warm. Still some clouds but warm enough and when catching the sun rays one can already imagine the summer approaching.

We took this opportunity to take a stroll through the Park am Gleisdreieck which stretches from U Gleisdreieck, and S + U Yorkstrasse  and further. There is a cool area for skaters and other sportive activities. More info about the park here http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_am_Gleisdreieck
What would Germany be without parks? They are just part of the country and the people. I cannot imagine Germany without parks.

Afterwards going along Mehringdamm we ended up enjoying coffe and cake at the cafe Mr. Minsch which has fantastic cakes. It is a very popular place. We were lucky to find a table available and a short queue  While we enjoyed our most delicious pieces of cake we could see the queue getting longer and longer...

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Himmelspagode in Hohen Neuendorf near Berlin

Phew, times passes fast and I neglected my blog .....
Here something to cheer you up. It's a very big but pretty nice Chinese restaurant North of Berlin. It might be far out but worth a visit.



Die Himmelspagode is a Chinese restaurant which offers buffet or choose from a large menu. It has a fantastic ambiance. It has two floors and especially on the weekends you have to make sure to reserve a table either by phone or online.



In the middle is a pond with turtles.
If you look down from the top floor, you look right into the pond.

Directions: You just follow the Autobahn A 111 and take the exit 2b Stolpe, then Henningsdorfer Chaussee, continue L171 direction Hohen Neuendorf. Then turn left in Oranienburger Strasse. You will see the restaurant on your right.

We've went with our family and enjoyed the food and each other's company.

 And a good cup of tea at the end.

Our odysee of house-hunting

One of the reason why my blog has been so quiet the last few months is that we've been busy looking for a bigger apartment. I've never imagined before that this will take so much time and sweat. It took us almost three months and 18 apartment viewings.  Altogether it requires an enormous amount of time. There was even one day when I viewed three apartments, one in the morning before work, one at lunch break as it was just a few minutes from work and then one after work. Needless to say that I've been exhausted.

The good news is, YEAH we got one apartment. We had to slightly higher our budget and make a few compromises. However it's a very nice apartment and I am very happy that the hunt is over.

The weird thing while house-hunting was that the landlords are looking for people with a steady job, good income but you should have time to view the house in the middle of the day in short notice. Maybe once in a while it's even possible to drop everything and come running to the viewing but then as it takes time I cannot do it all the time. The last few years the housing situation in Berlin has worsened. Nowadays is is very hard to find an affordable apartment which is not in the suburbs.

The sites I mostly checked were.
immobilienscout24

immonet
You can register and do a search request with your criteria.

When you phone to ask about the viewing you need a lot of patience and the landlords or estate agents are not in and don't answer calls and almost don't call back. Sometimes they reply to emails. Once you know when to view the apartment, don't be surprised to be among many others. Then if you're interested you will have to give your documents. This is mostly the same: copy of your passport (in case of foreigner a copy of your "Meldebescheinigung" registration card), copies of your three last salary statement, statement from your present landlord that you don't have rent arrears, Schufa (can do it online at meineschufa) sometimes you will have to sign an agreement that the landlord will inquire your schufa.

Then it's good to call the next day. Often the apartment was gone so quickly.
Of course once you got a contract you should read it carefully. You can also get it check at the Mieterschutzbund. If your'e not a member you will have to pay a fee. We've got one apartment offered which was part of the social housing scheme and in the contact it was written how the rent will increase once the subsidized money stops.  This would have been a very expensive flat at the end.

Anyhow, in case you're house-hunting at the moment, I wish you good luck and lots of patience!

Winter reached Berlin

Hey, finally the winter is here and the snow. On Monday there was Blitzeis (freezing ice?) and lots of accidents. It was really slippery and one had to be so careful not to fall. Now it's cold (minus 5 C) and snowing. Ambulances are still full.
Just 2 weeks earlier I thought that we would skip winter this time and go straight to spring. But I guess it's good that way for mother nature and building snowmen. Here just one from Potsdamer Platz made out of Lego.

Popular things to do at New Year or Silvester

Here I collected some ideas how to celebrate the New Year's Eve.
This is mainly if you celebrate at home. Otherwise of course you can find many parties in Berlin. 
Some links to help you around (although in German):

http://www.berliner-silvester.de/feiern/992578-990341-silvesterambrandenburgertor.html
http://www.berliner-silvester.de/feiern/party/
http://www.silvester-party-berlin.de/


OK now for home party:
Hopefully you have a Raclette set at home and done some shopping.
This is what we will do this Silvester. It's such a pleasant thing to do together on the last day of the year. Same goes for Fondue. Creative ideas could be:

Cheese Fondue with
Marinated (Marinated with grated Orange skin and chilly) meat for Fondue

Raclette with:
 Ginger scampi skewer, Sausages filled with cheese, Figs, Olives, potatoes, nuts, bacon. Otherwise any vegetable and meat works well. Of course you'll need Raclette Cheese.

Home made fortune cookies
Bake them yourself.
Recipe: what you need is:
* 40 g wheat powder
* 10 g corn starch
* 50 g icing sugar
* 1 egg white
* 1 tablespoon oil
* 1 pinch salt

Mix all ingredients and 2 table spoons of cold water. Let it sit for an hour. Prepare a circle out of cardboard paper (diameter 9cm). Then put approx 1 tablespoon of dough in the circle. (sorry don't know how to say it better).
Preheat the oven 160 degree Umluft, or 140 degree gas oven on 2. Bake them cookies for 6 to 8 minutes till the sides are golden. Take a cookie immediately. Then put your paper of self made saying in the middle of the cookie and close the dough like a tortellini. Put it to cool into a small glass in order to keep the shape.

Dinner for One
In Germany a MUST. It seems all Germans sit in front of the TV in the evening and watch this. It's the program broadcasted the most. Some people might take a drink each time James does.

"Bleigiessen"
Lead is melted over a candle and forms into shapes which are supposed to tell your fortune for the coming year. You can use an old spoon to place the lead on. I think this is also a very German thing to do.


Anyway whatever you do on this night, HAVE FUN and "Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr". This too is a very German expression, literally saying good slide into the new year.

Finally MIDNIGHT is here and the firecrackers, kisses and Champagne. Oh and then they Germans say "Frohes Neues Jahr"

Also in Germany don't miss to eat a "Pfannkuchen" a filled doughnut. It's absolutely part of New Year.

Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hello Autumn!

Last week it seemed that spring was back in Germany although the color of autumn had already arrived. Today the sun was there only in the morning and it has been slightly cooler. Now the sky is grey and it might rain. Again the "proper" autumn seems back in Berlin.

The leaves are changing colors which is very beautiful and many people used the Sunday for a walk. I don't know but somehow I like autumn. I find the season very pretty even with rainy days and cloudy and grey times. A walk in the park smelling autumn and seeing the richness of mother nature makes me feel good. And then to come home and drink a nice cup of chai. That's a perfect autumn day.

Here my impressions of our Sunday autumn walk.:

Enfield in Berlin

Just yesterday I saw this Enfield on the streets of Berlin. It reminds me so much of India... and I would love to ride it on the bumpy roads. I haven't riden an Enfield before (only a modern motorbike) but would love to. I suppose it can't be so difficult. The bike is not mass produced and "has a soul". 

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Also, I remember the "kiss of the motorbike" which almost everybody gets at one point. In India nobody  wears heavy leather clothes just ordinary clothes when riding the motorbike. Then it happens, your calf touches the exhaust pipe and "ouch!" there is the "kiss".

The Enfield is a very fascinating motorbike and the sounds so very Indian. Since a few years one can also buy the Royal Enfield here in Germany. A company imports them.

But I think it's only half the fun to ride it on the nice roads here.

The info below is from this website:
http://royalenfield.com/aboutus/overview/

THE INDIA CONNECTION

Royal Enfield motorcycles were being sold in India ever since 1949. In 1955, the Indian government started looking for a suitable motorcycle for its police forces and the army for patrolling duties on the country's border. The Bullet 350 was chosen as the most suitable bike for the job. The Indian government ordered 800 of these 350 cc motorcycles, an enormous order for that time. Thus In 1955, the Redditch Company partnered with Madras Motors in India to form what was called 'Enfield India' to assemble these 350 cc Bullet motorcycle under licence in erstwhile madras (Now called Chennai). As per their agreement Madras Motors owned the majority (over 50%) of shares in the company. In 1957 tooling equipment was also sold to Enfield India so that they could manufacture components and start full-fledged production. The Enfield Bullet dominated the Indian highways and with each passing year its popularity kept rising.

More to do in Spreewald

There is more to do in Spreewald than boats tours. Of course you can canoe but you can explore on land as well. We didn't go hiking because we went swimming in the Spreewelten Bad in Luebbenau and visited the Penguins. It's a fun swimming pool with a wave pool, stream channel, giant slide, sauna village with many different saunas outside and penguins, Yeah real ones. From the water outside you can see them behind a glass and twice a day they get fed. I don't know why but penguins really look cute.

                       Look at these penguins :-)

We also had a look at the Cucumber museum (Gurkenmuseum). It's small but cute and showing the traditional old style and some information about Spreewaelder life and cucumbers.

 Gewuerzgurken

 Senfgurken

A Boatstour in Spreewald

Last weekend we went for an outing to the Spreewald. We drove the Berliner Ring A 13 direction Cottbus taking the exit Luebben. From Berlin Wilmersdorf it takes less than an hour.
Luebben -at the heart of Spreewald - is a cute little town offering diverse cultural and leisure activities.

Schloss Luebben (castle)

We reached our hotel and then later went to the harbor in Luebben. Very near the museum castle Luebben. At the entrance of the harbor we took a boats tour - the famous "Kahnfahrt" in the many canals of the Spree. You can go in traditional boats and take different tours, even a tour at night. We went for a round trip for two hours but they also offer longer tours. Our boats driver was very talkative -probably they all have to be- and he mostly seemed to complain about the tourists renting canoes. Often they don't know how to canoe probably and give the boat drivers like him a hard time ... at least according to him. We were lucky to have nice sunny weather, and not too many mosquitoes. It was also busy in the canals and some boats with young guys obviously had a lot too drink and were rocking the boat. Their poor driver had to balance the boat


We enjoyed our boats tour. It was very calming and relaxing.

The boats can "park" on the side at the stalls for a rest and taste of traditional pickled cucumbers

 You can see a "Heuschober"

A box to keep the fishes cool especially at the time when there were no fridges

We stopped at Lehde for a small break but only to get eaten up by mosquito However there is a museum where you can learn about Spreewald history but we didn't have enough time to visit it.


Back on land:
Near the harbor there is a small traditional market selling hand made baskets, pottery items and of course various pickled cucumbers.

 Bread baked in a wooden oven   

                                                                                                All the famous Spreewald specialties on sale

Most famous is the pickled cucumber in vinegar (saure Gurke) but the cucumbers are also pickled in mustard  (Senfgurke) or garlic (Knoblauchgurke) or Chilly or pepper (Pfeffergurke) or other herbs.