Back to Berlin

Oops...vacation distraction. Back to vacation food. My first couple of days in Berlin were spent in a daze, following a seasoned German speaking Peiz around. The only things I knew were "Hauptbanhof", change at Alexanderplatz for all the trains and take the Train to Pankow (also a song) to get back to the hostel. And stop by the biomarkt to get organic produce.

I can't believe I was so ill prepared!!!!!! Peiz dragged me around the city to forage for food. I was so starving when we got to this place near Rosa Luxembourg. She said that it was a pay as you want restaurant and the last time she was there, she felt so guilty, she gave them 20 euros. I think this place is called Weinerei, according to Peiz's facebook description, in between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg neighborhoods. From what I could gather, Prenzlauer Berg is kinda like the Park Slope of New York. Lots of young people and 30-somethings with their babies, good eats, good places to party, organic supermarkets.


(photo snagged off Peiz's facebook)

The old East Berlin has turned into a little bit of a hipster paradise and the buildings are low lying, old, solid and retains a lot of its cozy charm. Weinerei was extraordinarily charming – they make everything there themselves. There were two soups as well as some sandwiches, pastries and cakes to choose from. They were out of one soup and we had the curry soup with apples and mmm other delicious things.



I had two bowls of it with some bread. I think it cost 3 euros and you could have as much as you wanted. Peiz was a little disappointed, but I wasn't! It was a gooood curry soup. If I actually put a little more effort into planning the Berlin leg of the trip, I would've probably wanted to drop by a squat and sample their food and entertainment. Berlin seems to have all these hidden secret places to eat at and to discover, like Spreepark, an old abandoned amusement park in the old East Berlin. Dinosaurs! Weird moustache go carts! Creepy swans! Forgive his overly dramatic storm cloud effects.

Also, there was a secret restaurant, The Shy Chef, where it was like being invited to someone's home. They would email you directions to get to the location, which would be somewhere obscure and you'd be questioning if you were heading in the right direction. It's a 50 euro cash donation to eat there and it's a 5 course meal. According to the website, it is a super secret club. A super secret food club is something I'd give a couple of limbs to be a part of.

Cookies Cream was another place that I would've liked to go to. According to New York Times, it's behind the Westin, down a dark alley and you have to hop over a bunch of garbage bags to get there.