December 2007
The biggest impression we took away from our first trip to Berlin was:
Not this:
Or this:
Or not even these:
Here’s Pat’s take on it:
We left LA on Christmas Eve, arriving in Frankfort on Christmas Day. From there we drove to Gottingen and had Christmas dinner with YK’s 3 cousins and their families.
From Gottingen we planned to go to Dresden for two nights, then on to Berlin. Yk has been using Priceline, the travel bidding site, to make hotel reservations. With a little bit of research, she’s been able to get good deals. From Gottingen, she set out to make Berlin hotel reservations for Dec. 29 and 30. Her research told her that $80 a night usually worked, so she tried $70 for a 4-star hotel. No go. She tried a higher price, changed areas, still no go. Finally, she dropped to a 3-star hotel and dropped the price to $50. Bingo! Courtyard by Marriott. I thought we were home free, but apparently she had also dropped the request to the night of the 29th. When we tried to extend to the 30th, not available. Higher bids and wider searches turned up nothing for the 30th. Apparently the entire country descends on Berlin to celebrate Silvester (New Year’s Eve). Abandoning Priceline and searching hotel websites, yk finally found a downscale hotel for the 30th for 80 euros, a far cry from $50. It did include breakfast, though.
May 2014
My cousin’s graphic designer daughter took us around the ethnic neighborhoods of Berlin. The cousin’s young professional son and daughter were attracted to the vibes of these areas, and they chose to live in Tempelhof, a multiethnic area. The most popular kebob sandwich place was only a 5-minute walk from my cousin’s apartment. The line was long, but the wait was worth it.
May 2015
My cousin was out of town, thus, we took over the apartment and played locals for a couple of days. Walking from the central station to the parliament(Bundestag) then onto the Brandenburg Gate was a nice introduction to the historic center of the city. We then checked out some art museums and galleries.
August 2016
My cousin and his children took us to a Korean fusion restaurant in Berlin city center. It was quite artsy in the interior design and the food presentation. Tasted pretty good, too. Considering all that, the prices were not too high.
Small Wide World 