Wonderful Mexican Dinner at the Spotted Donkey Cantina

Sunday evening we went to El Pedregal Markets to the Spotted Donkey Cantina. We had a wonderful meal, the service was great and the place was just overall fun.

We got some chips, salsa and fresh guacamole. I had a very yummy margarita or two :)
Our main courses were very tasty also. There was even enough that we brought some home. A great way to end the week!

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Day 9 of our Trip to Germany, Wednesday the 13th, A Casual Day

Over all today was a slower more casual day. After walking around the city for a while. We went to a really big, famous and expensive department store here in Berlin called “The KaDeWe.”
We had a snack and drinks in there very cool restaurant on the top floor that had a atrium ceiling. Most of the food was pay buy the weight.



You can check out the store's history at: http://www.kadewe.de/en/the_kadewe/content/unser-haus-historie/
What apparently started as an adventurous idea by the Berlin merchant Adolf Jandorf in 1905 surpassed all expectations when KaDeWe was opened in March 1907. As the leading department store in the country, it presented customers with an array of desirable goods from around the world - from the latest Paris fashion show looks to exotic south sea fruits. Always a firm step ahead of the competition, KaDeWe today, as well as offering a vast variety of products, is also setting new standards in service. KaDeWe caters for a wide range of needs with luxurious beauty rooms and lounges, a wedding and gift service, a hotel and home service, tailor, hairdressers, buggy rental and a bureau de change. In its world-famous gourmet department on the sixth floor, Berlin's premium department store even plays host to exclusive parties high above the roofs of the city.
The same ritual takes place every day at KaDeWe and sometimes on Sundays too when, shortly before 10 am, the original iron gate dating from 1907 is lowered so that customers can embark on an exciting shopping adventure. Each day up to 180,000 customers from around the world are welcomed in cordially by the KaDeWe before being attended to on more than 60,000 sq m of sales space by some 2,000 employees, for each of which customer needs and first class service take pride of priority.
After our snack, I bought my new granddaughter Gabrella a German teddy bear.

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Later we went to a Turkish restaurant for dinner. I had lamb and Bina had a beef plate.










There was also a mixed platter the Norom and Ute had.

Not much else to say about day 9, like I said it was a casual day.

Day 8 of our Trip, Tuesday the 12th, Potsdam and the Palace Sanssouci.

After having breakfast this morning we were soon on our way driving to the city of Potsdam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam
Potsdam (German pronunciation: [ˈpɔtsdam]) is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Berlin city center.
The name "Potsdam" originally seems to have been "Poztupimi" from a West Slavonic name meaning "beneath the oaks", highlighting the area's many grand oak trees.^[2]
Potsdam has several claims to national and international notability. In Germany, it had the status Windsor has in Britain: it was the residence of the Prussian kings and German Kaisers, until 1918. Around the city there are a series of interconnected lakes and unique cultural landmarks, in particular the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, the largest World Heritage Site in Germany. The Potsdam Conference, the major post-World War II conference between the victorious Allies, was held at another palace in the area, the Cecilienhof.
Babelsberg, in the south-eastern part of Potsdam, was a major film production studio before the war and has enjoyed increased success as a major center of European film production since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Filmstudio Babelsberg is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world.
Potsdam developed into a center of science in Germany from the 19th century. Today, there are three public colleges and more than 30 research institutes in the city.

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We went here to see the palace Sanssouci name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci .
When we first get there we see this very cool metal garden trellised gazebo. This sets the stage for just how ornate this place is!
King Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. The palace's name emphasizes this; it is a French phrase (sans souci), which translates as "without concerns", meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolizing that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power.
Here is the South or Garden House.

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This place is really big, massive walking gardens, at least 20 or 30 buildings. Nice little home to get away too when you’re tired of the city.
Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, Frederick turned his attention to the landscaping of the greater vicinity of the palace and thus began the creation of Sanssouci Park. In his organisation of the park, Frederick continued what he had begun in Neuruppin and Rheinsberg.^[16] A straight main avenue was laid out, ultimately 2.5 km long, beginning in the east at the 1748 obelisk and extended over the years to the New Palace, which marks its western end.
Continuing the horticultural theme of the terraced gardens, 3,000 fruit trees were planted in the park, and greenhouses and nurseries laid out, producing oranges, melons, peaches and bananas. Statuary and obelisks were also erected, with representations of the goddesses Flora andPomona. Frederick had several temples and follies erected in the same rococo style as the palace itself. Some were small houses which compensated for the lack of reception rooms in the palace itself.
Walking through Sanssouci Park we came across The Chinese House, designed by Johann Gottfried Büring between 1755 and 1764; a pavilion in the Chinoiserie style: a mixture of rococo elements coupled with Oriental architecture.

 
This place had its own guard watching over it!

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Like the rest of this place, the main building was also BIG and very ORNATE!

Even from the distance you can see the many statues covering almost every foot of the building.

The statues were of many styles including a few whimsical ones like this one with two small dragons hanging on an urn.




This is the back side of the building you see above. Also, just behind this building is another not much smaller one that was used for all the staff and management functions of the palace.
After all the walking we did around this palace grounds we needed to relax and have some coffee and snacks at an open air bistro.
Another wonderful day in Germany!

Desires & Dreams

 

When a person really desires something,all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream ~ Paulo Coelho

Day 6 & 7 of our Germany Trip to the beach

We were treated to a special trip. We got up and drove to Ostseesbad Heringsdorf and stayed in a hotel called Upstalsboom over night.

From the maps you can see that it’s way northern Germany right next to Poland. Where we stayed was only a few miles from the Poland border.

We got there a bit late, it's about 3 to 4 hours north of Berlin. We checked into the hotel, it's right off of the beach. Just back from the white sandy beach was both a paved and gravel walkway. Many people walking and biking along this path.
 
Between the fresh sea air and the pleasant temperature, it was great. We walked along the path and stopped for dinner.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We also walked out on a very long pier with many gift shops. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Back at the hotel there was a two man band playing old American rock and roll songs. From Norom and Ute's balcony we watched them play their music and had a couple beers.
 
 
 

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We had breakfast in the hotel the next morning. It was complementary with the room. It was a buffet and amazing how many things they had in it, including cooked to order stuff
After breakfast we rented bikes and headed towards Poland. We were able to bike right on into Poland, not even a check point.

The ride was wonderful, perfect temps and flat all the way. At the border between Germany and Poland we stopped for a photo opt!







  In Poland we stopped and had a snack in a market by the beach. I had to try a Polish beer and the place we stopped had smoked fish as it’s main attraction.

Many years ago when I lived in Germany I loved smoked eel! Most of the little festivals had it as a snack food. What you see on Bina’s plate is smoked eel. Of course I had several large chunks of it on my plate also.







Bina found a stand selling amber jewelry. She ended up buying a good size amber and silver piece. Poland did not seem to use the euro; they use money called the zloty (Pronounced zwotty).We got four zloty for one euro.
 

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Finished in Poland back to Germany and our hotel.
 







Also.. before we headed home I did go swimming! The water temperature was probably around 62 or 63 degrees but I loved it!!!

Day 5 of our Germany Trip, Saturday the 9th

Its Saturday morning and we are had our first cup of coffee. Breakfast was  fresh rolls, cold cuts, fruit and cheese. There was also peanut butter on the table. I think they got it because they know I like it.  
Norom had some work to do that morning so Ute and us went out on our own.
We took the train out to a neighborhood to walk around and see things. The central train station in Berlin has quite a history.
Berlin Central Station (German: Berlin Hauptbahnhof, listen), is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of twenty in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.
Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.
Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.
 

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When we got there, we found that a street market was going on. One of the first place we hit was a Turkish food stand. Bina ordered a couple fresh Turkish Flat Bread with spinach, feta cheese and freshly grated zucchini ... yummy!!!
After walking around more at this market we started our way over to another street market.
 
 
 
 










 

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The leisurely walk there was really nice.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
When we got there Bina bought a very cute frog setting in lotus position made from old silver spoons.
 
 
 
 

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After dinner we walked around some more. There was an area called Berlin’s Hackesche Höfe (Hof means courtyard)which used to be housing buildings all connected and having court yards between the buildings.
 
The complex was designed in the Jugendstil (or Art Nouveau) style by August Endel, and the first courtyard is adorned with a magnificent facade of polychrome glazed brick. The construction of this project, launched in 1906, follows a pattern of clear separation between residential areas, crafts, trade and culture, which distinguishes it from the backyards of the 19th century. 

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We did some more walking around before heading home for the evening.

 





Over all a long day with a lot of walking but it was a lot of fun!