Roman Holiday

We have found the most sublime bakery at the corner of our street. Forno Campo Di Fiori has a selection of the most delectable pastries, pizza and breads. For our breakfast today we purchased a number of pastries and a ham and cheese treat straight from the oven-the baker said it was belissimo and after tasting it we had to agree. From there we walked to the Jewish quarter for coffee, standing at the bar and luxuriating in the aroma and buzz of the little café. The Jewish quarter is a wonderful maze of streets and surprisingly empty of people considering how close it is to the city and the great coffee. We are always aware that Rome is awash with tourists and it must come at a significant inconvenience to the locals. Drinking standing up at the counter is an Italian tradition and reduces the cost of your coffee by two thirds-and this is how most Italians take their coffee. We then walked to the Capitoline museum to meet friends and visit one of world’s great museums. While waiting we ate the remaining pastries and sat enjoying the space and looking over the Marcus Aurelius statue to Rome. 

The Capitoline is a truly wonderful way to spend a day or more if you have the time. It is simply overwhelming taking in the centuries of Roman antiquities. Rome is a most magnificent pile of rocks. The original bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius, the collossal heads and feet, the Romulus and Remus bronze, the Dying Gaul statue, the view over the forum, the Caravaggio-the list goes on and on. And the building itself is a feast for the eyes. There was an exhibition displaying the tradition of the death masks. When we had finished looking, reading, photographing and drawing we took respite in the Terrace Café sitting atop the building with uninterrupted views over Rome and all the domes. Eating our paninis and freshly squeezed orange juice and reflecting on a great day.

We were lucky to have been invited to lunch with our friend’s Italian friend. He picked us up at the Sisto Bridge and drove us first to Trastervere and then onto Aventino when the restaurant he had chosen was not open. This area is a little out of the city centre and mostly residential. The treat we had when we stopped was absolutely sensational. The pasta, wine and desserts were superb. The speciality is a pepper and cheese pasta that the waiters mix at the table. Artery hardening goodness. The restaurant Felice A Testaccio, Via Mastor Giorgiio 29, was filled with Italians and impossible to find without a car and someone to navigate you there. It was without peer to the food you generally get in Rome wandering in off the street. Having a native speaker made the whole experience painless and gave us an opportunity of tasting a modern Italian cuisine-devoid of waiters in hand me down jackets and bow ties. No haggling was required to fill this restaurant. As always with new cities it takes a little research to truly identify the types of restaurants, cafes and bars you might want to frequent. And Rome is no different. Perhaps more so because of the sheer abundance of eateries. You can waste a lot of time trying to identify places of quality.

We are fortunate that we have friends in Rome (all visiting on their way elsewhere) at the moment to share the experience with. We all met at the Pantheon to catch up and hear all the travel stories and new experiences. The Pantheon with its six metre walls and stripped, decayed elegance is still an awe inducing site-no matter how many times you see it. In our haste to find somewhere to sit and talk we ate at a place that had English, German and Italian menus-indeed you needed to be careful what you ordered. On the whole though it was ok but the companionship was worth any price. In the evening wandering around-and Rome is a city that rewards evening exploration-we found a bar overlooking the Temple of Hadrian. What remains is a row of columns built into a more modern building-late at night over a cold beverage is an atmospheric delight to behold.

The Eternal City

We’ve arrived in Rome. We’ve been here a few days now. We are finishing the blog getting ready to venture back into Rome-this most engaging and romantic of cities. It is noisy, congested and warm. On our first night here, after settling into our flat in a small lane just off Campo de Fiori, we went for a stroll to explore our immediate area and surrounds. Along the way we feasted on pizza, calamari and beer. We found ourselves in Piazza Navonna at 8.30. It was packed with tourists, Italians- lovers, families and large groups of young people, buskers and hawkers selling gadgets and dubious artwork, strolling, eating and drinking, milling about admiring the Bernini fountains and the Palazzo and the other buildings surrounding the piazza. From inside the Museo De Roma we heard the unmistakeable sounds of jazz. Inquiring further we discovered a concert was being held in the inner couryard of the museum. As we were early we purchased our tickets and headed to our front row seats. The jazz was a mixture of classics and newer work-you really could not get a better place to listen to music.

We are always ready to spend a day walking and working directions in cities. On our first day, we started with superb coffee and pastries at Cafe Farnese-overlooking the Piazza and the Palazzo Farnese. Rome is a city where it is always possible to get lost no matter how familiar you are-and of course you like to head off the well worn paths. Tour groups have multiplied since we were last here and you pick the times of days to miss these suffocating hordes with the umbrella wielding guides. What was originally planned as a gentle amble took us to Campo Di Fiori, Piazza Navonna, the Pantheon, San Luigi del Francesi and the Carravagios, Collonade of Marcus Aurelius, the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps and the Piazza Del Popolo. It was a full day. We ate a delicious pasta a street back from the Campo Di Fiori. There are so many places to eat you need to be careful in choosing where to eat because the quality varies dramatically and you can always find yourself in the hands of one of Rome’s notoriously difficult waiters. Friends arrived from a day of celebrating-straight off the plane from Australia and whisked off to a day of eating and drinking with an Italian family. Moments like these are always to be treasured. The private lives of Italians are a wonderful mixture of warmth and generosity. Most visitors here only to get to see the public side of Italy. We enjoyed chatting and drinking at the edge of Campo de Fiori.

Berlin gallery

Goodbye Berlin

Our last couple days in Berlin were a blur. Food seems to be the overriding theme. Our expat friends hosted a dinner party. The food was delicious Thai, our friend is a very talented cook. The guest list comprised of Aussies and Germans. The conversation was lively, and as it often does when you get a room full of Australians together, the conversation turned to tales of living and traveling abroad, anecdotes coming funny and fast, everyone with a story to tell. Eating and drinking was also a popular topic, as many of the guests were also keen foodies. Our host was responsible for many a good meal had in Berlin, and for that we owe him our thanks. Our last meal in town was shared with them, at our favourite local spot in Shoneberg, Renger-Patzsch. Predictably, the food was terrific. It was the perfect end to our stint in Berlin.

We loved all the little shops in Berlin. In our little neighborhood street alone there was a cycle shop, an electric guitar maker/restorer with guitar bodies in various stages of progress hanging in the window, and a lovely small pottery studio called tontonton, manned by the lively and friendly potter Maria.

We found quite a few mid-century design shops selling new/re-issue and used objects and furniture at reasonable prices. This was practically torture, considering the huge asking prices and limited availability of these items in Australia.

Gestalten is a design shop and gallery we found located in one of the 'hofes', (hidden internal courtyard and garden spaces). The space was light-filled and open, a perfect venue for art and covetable design objects.

Slow Travel and onto Potsdam

We have really enjoyed our experiences using slow travel as our inspiration. Basically slow travel is an opportunity to spend more time making connections with the community you are in and in undertaking experiences similar to those around you. We have mixed our time staying in relatively tourist free areas and of course visiting the major institutions such as galleries and museums-but having a smaller more intimate area to return to. Slow travel is a response to speed and its association with success. Even then we have only scratched the surface of what is available in Berlin. For those musically minded the Specials, the Jezebals and Suede all played in Kreuzberg over the last week or so. There are some superb private galleries. Wandering through Orianerbergerstrasse we found the Hofs-German courtyards -full of small shops and artists studios. As well as Tacheles, an artist cooperative based in one of Berlin’s most grand department stores of yesteryear. Here in the misting rain we found shelter in a small brown bar and drank 15 year old malt whisky. Journeys are, as Alain de Botton aptly reminds us, the midwives of thought. Alain de Botton wrote the wonderful book “ The Art of Travel “ that everyone who enjoys life’s travel experiences should read. By traveling slower our perceptions are enhanced and we can discover the subtle differences between places. We have been fortunate to have access to bikes and this has been a wonderful time allowing us freedom to explore local areas at street level. And staying in apartments rather than hotels is private, comfortable and homely. We have been able to have some enlightening discussions and to get an idea of contemporary life amongst the immense history of Europe. It has also enabled us to catch up with old friends and make new friends. 


"So may Potsdam rise and call out: I shall not
give way, even to those cities hailed as the most beautiful." - Bellamintes

On our trip to Potsdam we took our bikes onto the S Bahn no 7-bikes get their own ticket and arrived about 30 minutes later. Having a bike gave us a fantastic freedom to explore and to escape the crowds whenever you wanted. It also allowed us to cover lots of space quickly. Potsdam and the gardens and palaces surrounding it are spread over quite a large area. Potsdam is a beautiful town separately from the grandeur of the palaces. The Dutch quarter is more reminiscent of the Netherlands than Germany with the distinctive architecture. And we have fortunate that the days we have decided to visit were warm, with gentle winds and free from rain. Over two days we transversed Potsdam and visited the World Heritage listed sites: Sanssouci, New Palace, Charlottenhof, New Garden, Babelsberg Park, Sacrow Estate, Linstedt, Chinese Haus.

One of the areas we found rather remarkable was the Dutch settlement on the lake. Built in 1906 it is in the most idyllic of locations situated inside the park and is impossibly picturesque. Red brick buildings with gables and large gardens. Further along is the luxurious suburb of Berlin-large beautiful homes on sweeping lawns with towering oak trees overlooking the lake. As we rode we kept coming upon groups of nude sunbathers loading up on vitamin d before the onset of winter. The main thrust of most people’s visits is Sanssouci-which is spectacular after all-but once you leave here and explore the areas further afield the crowds quickly dissipate. Many times we found ourselves alone at the most intriguing of places. A truly delightful experience.

Culinary delights

When you stay a longer period in one place, you have the luxury of discovery. We’ve seen, admired, eaten and imbibed during our time here in a way that you can only achieve when you’ve plenty of time to spend. Berlin is a rich treasure trove of specialty shops, cafés, restaurants, galleries and interesting nooks and crannies. Along the way we’ve met a wonderful array of people- proprietors, artists, artisans-the cast that make all these places hum along. Meeting and talking to new people enriches your experience in travel, and it’s certainly been the case for us.

The culinary opportunities in Berlin are broad. We’ve eaten Thai, Asian fusion, quite a lot of Italian and Mexican, and have been to several local places serving delicious contemporary fare with German touches. There have been schnitzels and apple strudels, the best doner kabob we’ve encountered anywhere, hand made chocolates and great cocktails, ice-cold German beers, lovely Spanish olives, French wine, champagne and oysters, dense hearty breads and soups and creamy cheeses from all around Europe. Let’s just say, it’s a good thing we’ve got the bikes, and have walked kilometers and kilometers, or else I suspect we’d be 2 sizes bigger by the time we’ve leave here.

We’ve mentioned our favourite coffee shop, Double Eye in Shoneberg in previous posts, but it deserves another mention. It’s become part of our every-day experience in Berlin and we’ve got to know the wonderfully warm and friendly young men and women who produce what we think must be the most excellent coffee in Berlin. We’ve spoken to the owner who generously gave us a look out back at his roaster, and have become quite friendly with one of the baristas, who has recently won a barista competition, and is off to Italy for the finals (good luck!!).

We’ve eaten some great meals in Berlin. Also, we’ve had the pleasure of being able to dine with friends here, which always adds to the experience for us. There’s nothing better than sharing a great meal with good friends. Last night’s dinner was no exception. We went to a lovely local place here in Shoneberg called Renger-Patzsch. The food was really delicious, the ambience and the staff a treat. The night before we had the best Mexican food I’ve encountered outside of Mexico (big call!) at Maria Peligro. Between the six of us, we shared authentic and succulent bits and pieces with 2-for-one Margaritas -a drink I haven’t had since my 20ies- and afterwards went for drinks at a very cool bar nearby. We enjoyed a particularly good meal at +39, an Italian place in Kreuzberg, one of us ordering an impossibly huge calazone. The pizza and pasta were all fresh and delicious, served up by our delightful and funny Florentine waiter.

An afternoon at the Altes Museum

Altes museum is a collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. The museum houses world-renowned, jewelry, sarcophagi and statuary. Enjoyed a visit there one rainy afternoon.

Inspiration at the Neues Museum

Having seen numerous major Egyptian exhibitions, we were probably less than enthusiastic about going to visit the Neues Museum. But it does, after all, house the famous bust of Nefertiti. So we went along thinking we might breeze through in a fairly short amount of time. Well, Nefertiti was magnificent, but the treasures held by this museum along with the beauty of the building kept us occupied the whole afternoon.

Pergamonmuseum revisited

No trip to Berlin is complete without a trek to the Pergamonmuseum. We made our visit with some friends of ours who are also traveling in Europe, and have come to Berlin for a spell. We’ve visited the Pergamonmuseum previously, just after the wall came down in 1989.  At the time, the Pergamon was still in East Berlin and the feel of the place was quite different from our visit this trip. Back then, you paid your entry fee in flimsy East German currency at the front door and you could admire the exhibits unimpeded by crowds, security guards and barriers. Now, you have to go through the ubiquitous entry hall equipped with cloak room, book shop and audio tour headset desk, and have to battle queues, overly officious security guards and barriers to admire the exhibits. All these changes haven’t diminished the experience though. The collection still commands the same response. It is monumental, imposing, inspiring and at times, overwhelming. The museum houses 3 major collections; classical Greek and Roman antiquities, ancient art from the Near East (mainly Assyrian) and Islamic art, but the main attractions are the 3 massive structures which have been meticulously recreated, stone by stone, piece by beautiful piece. The first, and probably the most famous of the 3, is Pergamon Altar. It’s a temple from about 170BC. The Hellenic frieze that adorns the base of the altar is a masterpiece. It depicts a battle scene between giants and gods, and the figures are incredibly fluid, naturalistic, beautifully proportioned and full of movement and grace. The second structure is the grand and ornate Market Gate that stands two levels high, is from the early 2^nd century and physically forms the entry into the room containing the last great structure, the Ishtar Gate. The Ishtar Gate is from the 6^th century BC and is a soaring blue tiled fortification decorated with stone relief animals and mythical creatures.

Every object in this museum is wonderous. After our departure we all agreed that the human capacity to create incredible beauty is practically limitless.

Berlin's rich architectural legacy

We have spent much time exploring Berlin’s vast architectural heritage. To name a few we have visitied:

The Reichstag, The Mies Van Der Rohe New National Gallery, The Berlin Wall, The Tiergarten, Karl Marx Allee, Soviet Cenotaph, Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island, Schiller Theatre, Design Museum, Tacheles, Tea Garden, Great Star Square, U Bahn, S Bahn, Schoneberg Town Hall famous for JFK speech, The Philharmonic, New Tempodroom, The Bertoldt Brecht Theatre, The Automobile Museum, Berlin Cathedral, Bodemuseum, Freidrichstrasse 166, The Victory Column, Deutsches Tecnikmuseum, Unter Den Linden, State Opera, St Nicholas Church, The Diplomatic Area, The Jewish Museum, the State Library, Holocaust Memorial, Marie Elizabeth Luders Building, Potsdammer Platz, Orianbergerstrasse District, Charlottenberg, Sony Centre, Nordic Embassies, Berlin Train Station, Hotel Adlon, and the New Synagogue. 

The monument to the Belle Alliance sits atop one of the three hills in Berlin and allows for great views over Kreuzberg. There is a waterfall that runs from the monument straight down the park to the park below-cascading over rocks and eddying in pools. On the far side of the memorial is a huge development reclaiming factories and older buildings and reconstituting them as apartments. 

On our journeys around the city we've found markers in the cobbled sidewalks naming jews from each community who were deported. It's a constant reminder of the frailty of humans.

Sociable Berlin

The last four days of Berlin have been full of social activities, bike riding and watching talented people do creative things. Shoneberg is full of artists and artisans working from small workshops-retail at the front and work areas at the rear. In one morning we watched a jeweler who uses sterling silver and glass blow her beautiful creations. For the dinner party we have been invited to we decided to take hand made chocolates-we watched as the delicious morsels were created in the store. A short walk down the street a tailor was making a suit-they smiled at us as we watched. All the shops had large plate glass windows perfect for viewing. Watching people so good at things is very rewarding.

We caught an S Bahn to Potsdammer Platz and rode down Unter Den Linden-a major thoroughfare of Berlin. We caught up with friends for drinks and then rode to Transit. Transit is a Thai Indonesian fusion tapas restaurant in Mitte-with a very interesting menu. Items like Duck in Pajamas and Chicken Little adorn the menu. The bonus of bike riding is there is always parking right out front.

Tall willowy girls in leather served the food. Drinks were cocktails such as caipirinha- rum, lime, lime juice, cane sugar and maitai- rum, cointreau 1, pine apple juice, coconut. The food and the drinks were fantastic as was the location filled with a young and well dressed crowd. After dinner we rode through Mitte in misting rain to B Flat, a jazz and acoustic lounge and listened to the Andy Winter group. Riding home at 2pm via museum island with the mist falling was quite beautiful.

The club has a huge window at the front where you can view the band area and see the interior from outside. The view is very enticing. The club has a great ambience and excellent acoustics and serves great quality beer.

In the morning we rode to the markets via the back streets behind Karl Marx Allee, breakfasting on Turkish flat bread filled with spinach and freshly squeezed juice. The market is a kaleidoscope of fresh food, specialty goods, flowers and Turkish food. The middle of the platz was filled with water fountains and sandpits for the children.

We rode back via the remnants of the Berlin Wall, Wendall café that was not open this week and an Italian Deli for goods for dinner.

In the afternoon there was a talk from the Berlin Historical Society at the historic Schloss Schönhausen. It is a palace in Pankow in northern Berlin. Under "Frederick the Great", the palace was turned into a royal residence for his wife, who used it as her summer residence from 1740-90. While the building history was quite interesting-it was not a particularly grand or opulent or well-kept palace and the renovation missed the most important tenants. There were two extraordinary things about the palace though. Firstly there are plane trees over 330 years old. The garden is beautiful. Secondly it was located in East Berlin and became the centre for the GDR and then the official guesthouse. The list of people staying included Fidel Castro, Gaddafi, Ceausescu, Gorbochev, Indira Ghandi, Kim Jong-Il, and the last visitor was the Queen of the Netherlands in 1990. And of course Carlos the Jackal. Ok that was maybe fanciful. The bathrooms have purple tiles. The reunification treaty in 1989-90 was in the main worked on here.

In the evening we were guests at a dinner party. The food, wine and company were excellent. There was much discussion on a range of issues, gastronomic, political, literary, cinematic, architectural, historical and artistic. Books discussed included Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, Somme Mud by E F P Lynch, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr. Films and docos included The Fog of War, Wings of Desire and the Darjeeing Express. Food topics included the best coffee-which everyone now knows is the Double Eye when in Berlin.

In the morning we cycled back to Shoneberg via Orienstrasse for coffee, only getting lost once. In the afternoon we rode through the new park created on disused East German era train tracks, very near to our flat, to the Tiergarten. We meandered back in the warm 28-degree day, stopping at the Brandenburg gate, the Soviet memorial and the Teehaus in Tiegarten for a well deserved German beer.

Reichstag, the History Museum and Kreuzberg

Today was a museum day. At the Reichstag with its Norman Foster designed dome you have to be subjected to security like going on to a plane. Passports, bag screening, pat downs. This part of Berlin is BIG. The Reichstag is a wonderful viewpoint of Berlin and the Tiergarten. The History Museum is vast. We managed Celtic times to the First World War before defeat. It is detailed, well laid out and the number of items on display absorbing and interesting. Another day for 1919 to the present. We walked around Museum Island saw the three major museums there-again huge. And all the bullet damaged columns. When the weather deteriorates we will make a visit to each. We walked to Kreuzberg-Orienstrasse for lunch in driving rain. After lunch we found the most delicious chocolate store by accident after getting lost and drank hot chocolates as the rain ran down the window. When the rain stopped we walked to Schoeneberg via the canal. It was a lot of walking today. Tomorrow will be back on the bikes if it is sunny. Bikes definitely make Berlin attainable.

first snitzel

Walked through heavy rain to indulge in the first snitzel of Berlin at Lenzig. Arrived saturated from the knees down. The Bistro Lenzig was warm and inviting. In the area we are staying there are few tourists and we are met with some amusement. The snitzel dinner was vast and delicious. Berlin has proven to be very friendly to travelers-even ones with such poor German.

New Areas

Last night after dinner at Wein Gut we wandered the streets of Schoneburg and found a new area awash with small bars, art galleries, design stores, book stores and restaurants in a quiet, secluded area. Surrounding the area are beautiful turn of the century apartment blocks. Wein Gut is an intimate restaurant on a corner block and was full of locals-it has maybe 8 tables. The menu-in German of course-changes daily. Next door to us is an electric guitar restorer with beautiful guitars in all states of repair and round the corner is a cemetary with the scarring of bullet holes on the tombs. When we were having coffee with a friend a German guy, who had toured Australia as a roadie-gave us a list of some bars in Schoneberg to check out. We have found a number of different places worth mentioning-some in Schoneberg, some in Kreuzberg.

• Hot and Cold-interesting design store
• Wein Gut-intimate restaurant
• Chocolaterie Estrellas-beautiful chocolate store
• Feine Handtaschen und Accessoires-specialist fashion
• Sunde Chocolateria-the ultimate hot chocolate
• Mimi Vintage Textile-50 years of cool clothes 
• Voo-fashion institution
• Santa Maria-mexican diner with great music
• Zwo Vier
• Gotlob-great sunny place for a wine or beer
• Nelia
• Friedland & Partner
• Green door-all night bar
• Renger-Patsch-traditional German restaurant and bar

We watched the German film " The Lives of Others" in preparation to going to the Stasi Museum.

Tiergarten and Charlottenberg by Bike

Berlin has a mind-boggling array of architecture from every era. As we set out on a cloudless warm day on our bikes, we decided to track down a Mies Van der Rohe building on Potsdammer Strasse built in 1968, along the way to the Tiergarten. It houses the New National Gallery but upon our arrival we found it is currently closed for refurbishment. This wasn’t a disappointment because the exterior is stunning and it was worth the search just to see this cathedral of light. The structure is much like his other buildings comprised of a linear steel frame with floor to ceiling windows. but on a much larger scale. It sits perched atop a huge flat expanse of stone and behind, on a subterranean level (about a 10 metre drop with no guard rail!) we could see down into the formal walled sculpture garden. Just past the Van Der Rohe building is the design museum and concert hall.

Tiergarten is the most beautiful park. It is on 465 acres. Riding through here is perfect. It is immense. Seeing it all would take some considerable time. We enjoyed our time thoroughly here and after rode onto Charlottenberg for dinner and refreshing cocktails-a metropolitan and a sea breeze. On the way back to Schoeneberg the roads were closed and there were thousands of people milling about for a huge festival.