Postcards from Berlin

It's no coincidence that my photographs from Berlin are arty - it's one of the most 'happening' places for musicians and artists in the world. There is such diversity in everything. I believe the german public have higher expectations of absolutely everything. They're less tolerant of failure and that's why most things really do work efficiently. From trains arriving on time to good plumbing, great service and respect - it's a place that celebrates its culture and new beginnings, where we often take them for granted and just make do.

There's an exciting buzz to Berlin that is absent from many cities I've visited. It's an easy place to walk around, the tour bus was brilliant to hop on and off and extremely good value at around 25 euros for 3 days. That included the arduous journeys to and from the airport too. There are some interesting sights to see though for obvious reasons, not a lot that's older than 50-60 years. These bits of the wall are sitting on the central reservation outside the Paris Bar. A reminder of bad done good.

The Brandenburg Gate was built around 1791. It now stands as a symbol of reunification of the two sides of the city. It was heavily damaged in World War 2, was fully restored from 2000 to 2002 costing 6 million dollars and is now regarded as one of the most well known landmarks in Berlin.

These two murals were just on a wall outside our hotel. In fact, I took the photographs through a window at the end of the corridor - we were in a room at the other end! I didn't notice the windows rattling though, not at all. There is a lot of street art and graffiti in Berlin and unlike other places where it feels wrong, this art which in many cases is brilliant is what gives this city a dynamic, exciting edgy feel unlike nowhere else I've ever visited. Everywhere you look there are bits of art and words painted on roofs and buildings and yes, I accept that as I can't understand what they say, I'm not offended by them. On the contrary, I really liked the energy they unleash on the very fabric of the city.

In complete contrast, where the city is vibrant and surprising, the stadium is cold and unwelcoming. The old swimming pool is a chilling place, not least because I bet the water is freezing! I wanted to visit to feel what it must have been like in 1936 to walk under the 5 olympic rings - then I wanted to leave.

Angles - they can make you happy or drive you nuts. There are so many quirky angles in this space at the Jewish museum but I love this photo. If I remember correctly, the stairs (and there were a lot of them) were built into the museum to represent the pain and suffering which runs through Jewish history.

Here's my final fun photo taken in one of the bars where we ate. It says a lot about the quirkiness of this amazing city.

I really enjoyed my trip to this fabulous city - it has been a xmas present extraordinaire!

Life is about curves not straight lines...

Life is never a straight line. It's a twisty, curvy path with lots of bends, one or two dead ends, some hidden corners and the occasional roller coaster ride. Curves are so much more satisfying to look at. Here are two iconic buildings, the Colosseum and the Berlin Olympic Stadium, both similar in shape but I would say that one was created by an artist, the other by a mathematician. The Berlin Olympic Stadium may have been inspired by the architecture of Ancient Rome but I'd rather be eaten by lions than spend another chilling minute there.

Bird in the tree

Here I am in a Pomegranate tree inside the Jewish Museum. It's such a lovely idea to write a wish on a paper pomegranate and hang it on the tree. Mine is a secret of course.. -} xx xx

I wish Id listened to mz historz teacher at school

Mz brain hurts this morning. I had a guzillion-sized  portion of historz zesterdaz plus a generous dose of lovelz fiyy and vino last night!`´ It was an action packed daz which ended in the earlz hours in the Paris Bar. Our first stop zesterdaz was the Jewish Museum, here in Berlin. Ive not been to a german museum before and boz, it is something I wont forget in a hurrz. The building was especiallz designed and built to house the last 2000 zears of Jewish historz. The old museum has been extended with a brand new wing which also houses a couple of modern installations including the Memorz Void as well as lots of stairs. I opted for the audio tour though I wasnt expecting the five and half hours of commentarz split into 150 little bits! Mz Jewish historz is virtuallz non existant and I would love to saz that I left the museum having learnt a lot - but I didnt. Its a verz factual, well presented museum which must be a real gem to visit if zoure a Jewish scholar or student. I found it verz tough because there is so much information mz mind reallz couldnt take it all in. It felt like I was being tasked with studzing Jewish historz to degree level in a daz! There were a few highlights such as writing a wish on a paper pomegranate and hanging it on the tree, listening to the kids walking on the iron faces in the memorz void (pics on that later) and watching a short video of the 1960s trial of the 17 men accused of the great attrocities in the second world war. No spelling bee on this computer so I wont trz to go into detail now.
The museum was hard to swallow but Im still glad I went. Im sure Ive come awaz with a slightlz better knowledge of Jewish historz which was mz intention. After our heavz weight morning we took to the underground again. We headed out of the citz to experience what it felt like to walk in Hitlers shoes! Zou cant fail to be impressed bz the sheer scale of the Olzmpic Stadium. Walking up from Stadium. Walking up from the station I was taken back to 1936, the date of the Berlin Olzmpics as I walked underneath the 5 rings and up into the stadium. The similarities to the great monument, the Colliseum in Rome, which I visited last zear is verz apparent. But unlike the Roman building which is full of curves, beautifullz crafted pillars and is just awe inspiringlz beautiful - this stadium is not. The stadium might be oval in shape but thats the onlz curve zoull see here. Its a hard looking building and it didnt go unnoticed that the sun had gone in and the skz had gone grez. Its definitelz worth a visit because the historz is well documented all around the site, making it easz to digest. It left me with a chill inside me though so I was glad to be walking back to the station to get on the train back to the citz centre.
Considering the fact that historz was the first subject I failed at school and I was consistantlz bad at it from that point onwards, I am now like a historz junkie. I love visting historical sights and soaking up the voices from the past. Zou have to be here to feel how Berlin has changed and this visit, mz first, has helped me understand some of its dark past. There was onlz one waz to end such a dour daz and it was in a charming little restaurant that we stumbled across near to the hotel. Onlz intending to go in for a drink, I just couldnt resist the lure of the antipasti and 3+ hours later and full of fiyy, an aubergine pamingana and a Sicillian concoction made of crisp wafer cone and filled with ricotta cheese, I stepped back out onto the street. Id managed to smooye the waiter into having his photo taken hugging his anti pasti fridge - he didnt take much persuading and of course I have the evidence to prove it which zoull see later ;)
And then there was the Paris Bar.. Bonjoir Mardi! XX XX

Memory Voids at the Jewish Museum, Berlin

Berlin Wall

"It is forbidden to deface or damage the wall!!!!"

So turning the daz on its head, it began with a bus tour around the citz. Its a great waz to get to know somewhere new. Berlin has a hell of a lot of historz but verz few historical buildings. Were returning to some of the gems of the bus tour todaz to take a second look. One of the highlights was seeing the Berlin Wall. Theres verz little of the wall standing but a section has been turned into the largest open air gallerz in Europe. Sections of the wall have been painted bz manz different artists so its like one long mural along the side of the road. Pics to follow.. :)

Mz impressions of Berlin are that its a verz clean citz which is defined bz concrete and glass. The citz is more contemporarz that I imagined it to be and has a verz quirkz, artz culture which makes the place a vibrant, livelz citz to visit. Leaving mz trusz Sawdazs behind, I was relzing on mz Lonelz Planet pocket book to help me seek out a few hidden gems and I wasnt disappointed. I managed to find a reallz quirkz foodie place, Major Grubert, to have something to eat late afternoon. It must be one of the cheapest meals weve had but the food was all freshlz prepared, verz tastz and it turned out to be an excellent place to chill before the performance.

The sun shone so although it was still onlz around 5 degrees, I was well wrapped up and had a fab Sundaz in Berlin. Breakie todaz has, as expected, been much quieter. Im off on another adventure to soak up some more historz :) x

From Berlin with LOVE XX XX

Ive had a most amaying daz in Berlin starting with a bus tour and ending with one of the best, if not THE BEST concerts Ive ever been to. Adele lived up to all mz verz high expectations and delivered an oustanding performance worthz of the superstar that shes now become. Being just 3 rows from the front, I felt I was close enough to almost reach out and touch her - not that I wanted to :) I realised that although ive been to manz concerts, ive never been that close to the stage before which made the performance even more special. There is no fancz packaging with Adele, her voice doesnt need to be enhanced.. far from it. She is an amaying talent and lets remember here, she is just 22 zears of age. I was so impressed and so moved bz her incredible performance, she took mz breath awaz. Zoull see bz the photos when I get home that the venue wasnt big. It was about the siye of a school hall, so we were cosilz packed in which meant there was a brilliant atmosphere and BUZZ to the whole event.
Adele has a presence on stage that meant everzone was carried along with her throughout the set. She has a claritz and power to her voice that could shatter glass. Her lzrics are brilliant and I alreadz knew most of them before I left the UK. She is verz passionate about her songs and her words come from the heart. Zou have to know what love feels like, lost or lasting to love her music. She has a waz of touching the soul and her new found fame is well deserved. Her performance of ´`Someone Like You`` got under mz skin and zou couldnt fail to feel her pain. I just feel so luckz to have seen her live and be part of something so great. It was a great end to a lovelz daz in Berlin.

The daz wouldnt have been complete without a nightcap in the Paris Bar, which turned into more than on little nightcap. Much quieter on a Sundaz evening that it was on the previous night, were sitting chatting and putting the world to rights when I spotted someone who looked just like Chris De Burgh - and guess what, it was the man himself. He is verz small, ha ha! He chatted to the people on the next table who looked like thez were musicians then left with his minders. We left a little while later to crawl into bed just after 1am yyyzzzz.

I could be Marz Poppins.. !

If zou.re glowing in the totallz tropical temperatures of the upper teens, please give a thought for me in Berlin! Its freeying here, a little dull too this morning but hez, Im in Berlin and readz for a daz of crayz adventures! Zes, this kezboard has kezs in different places but it makes this sound more authentic.. ha ha! Zestererdaz was a long daz of contrasts. I drove into Cirencester in the morning in 18 degrees of glorious sunshine I had a lovelz little wander around town, I do love that place. The farmers market was on, jayy plazing in the town centre and  there was a fabulous buyy (BUZZ!). I was back for 12:30, I did one of those quick packs then drove to Bristol airport for the 5pm Berlin flight. No probs at the airport, car parking booked, 2 minute walk to the desks and no Qs because we were the 3rd from last flight of the daz. If zou ever want to get through an airport quicklz, choose a late afternoon flight. It certainlz beats the earlz mornings where there are quite possiblz 8-10 flights an hour meaning the place is packed out with parents and little ankle biters! The Berlin plane was about 80% full and I didnt even get a chance to read mz book because time literallz flew bz. The trip into the citz was prettz eventful for all the wrong reasons. I stopped counting the number of trains we had to catch after about 7. We chatted to and adopted a lad, also English, who was trzing to meet up with his Uni friends. He had no map so was glad of a friendlz face and some companz on the waz. We were all struggling to understand which train to hop onto next and in what direction! The trick was to work out if, when the train stopped at a station, it was going to proceed forwards or go back to where it had come from! The trains just appear to stop after a couple of stops and everzone is told to get off - in German of course. It threw me and for once, I wasnt the best travelling companion to have around.
I was told off for being grumpz! Im never grumpz.. but it was blooming freeying, dark and as the onlz german I know is 1, 2, 3, thank zou, hello and ´Can I have a drink of water please?... I felt right out of mz comfort yone. I thought about zou mom, when zou arrived in Jasper in the middle of the night and tried to smile. It was a bit of a painful journez to the hotel and popping up from the underground almost 2 hours later, I was sooooo glad to have mz phone with me. Tzped in the hotel and it managed to find us and directed us straight there. It was such a relief to dump the bag, wander around the corner to a bar and chill over a nice bottle of red and a late night supper.
Opening the case when we got back to the room was an adventure I wasnt expecting to have. I was also doing that Ginger thing - clean up in aisle 4 . zes, thez have those bendz lights on sticks at the sides of the bed, which look like microphones.. ha ha. I know its a bit bonkers and I can onlz blame it on the fact that it had been a verz long daz and Id had a glass or two of red before bed. Im not quite sure if the guz on reception understood what I wanted ta pair of scissors for. He didnt speak much english and I was one of the more brainz ones at school so I ended up in the Latin class rather than learning german - not much use to me now! He looked a me with that I dont understand zou face so I had to do that ´scissor-hands: thing to show him what I wanted. The pennz dropped - SHEARS! I did feel a bit odd walking into the lift with a large pair of scissors in mz hand so I tucked them into mz pocket under mz top. Then I discoverd that the lift wouldnt move because I hadnt brought the room kez with me. The look on the guzs face when I appeard again to ask him to get in the lift with me, pop his card in the slot, so I could get to the right floor. He made a hastrz retreat as the lift doors closed, ha ha!
Back to mz case dilemma storz, the yip was totallz jammed so I had to get into the case bz cutting a slot through a pocket on the front. I now feel like Im in one of those game shows where I put mz hand through the slot in the pocket and see what I pull out. It could explain whz Im wearing the wrong trousers Gromit - onlz joking! I could be Marz Poppins this morning though as zet, I havent pulled out a lampstand zet or a cuddlz toz! Its going to be even more fun packing the case again for the journez home. Verz amusing and its okaz - im smiling todaz, honest!

The hotel room is actuallz quite nice. No drawers for mz underwear, I can onlz imagine that the locals go commando! The bathroom is beautifullz clean and has a shower cubicle the siye of mums kitchen! The towels look like thezve been washed to within an inch of their life and its all verz minimalistic. Suits me, though a drawer for mz smalls would have been nice :)

No tea this morning, onlz coffee. Everzthing is verz well ordered. Zou collect zour orange traz, choose zour breakfast and the sit or perch. The selection is not bad and Ive onlz seen tinz sausages so far but Im sure that will change over the next few dazs! As expected, everzwhere is verz clean and contemporarz. Of course with the hour change - zes thez have it here too - everzone decended on breakfast at the same time. It was a bit manic to saz the least. Im hoping the hotel will be a lot quieter tomorrow :)
So whats on the agenda todaz? Adele concert of course and Im so looking forward to it, shes going to be A-maying! Have a fab daz.. enjoz the sunshine! X

A heavenly masterpiece...

Here's the reason why I love my foodie adventures. This is great food, served so beautifully that it quite literally took my breath away. You can't fail to be seriously impressed by food that looks as fabulous as this and believe me, it tasted as wonderful as it looks. Slices of sweet orange, triangles of thinly sliced beetroot salad accompanied quail, a beignet and was decorated with a nasturtium flower. If you're a great foodie like me, saunter over to the Seagrave Arms and make sure you join their facebook fan page to keep a pigeon breast of their wonderful menus :)

Have I won yet?

Life feels like a race right now. I can't see the finishing line and I don't know what the prize will be. All I know is that I'm in it to win and that's good enough for me. If March's motto is to live life to the max then I should win first prize! Last night I was at the very stylish and homely Seagrave Arms. The food was heavenly, edible flowers on the menu this time rather than crunchy shells! I love trying new places to eat especially when they come so highly recommended. The style of food was seriously 'right up my street' and if you enjoy complex dishes with interesting ingredients; old favorites with a brand new twist then this place ticks all the boxes. The service was spot on, the food delicious and I had a thoroughly great time catching up on the past year with one of my fav people (the chip monster). If life is the journey then pack as many adventures in as possible and foodie ones will always come top of my list - now that's something to be glad about! Here's to more foodie adventures as well as tiny trips abroad - Adele is about to rock Berlin :)

The best flu remedy..

is a chemical known as MC26. It's more successful in fighting flu than something called amantadine hydrochloride, which forms the basis of many modern flu remedies. And how do I know that? Because MC26 is present in laverbread, which is what I had for supper last night. I've never eaten laverbread before and my first question had to be, is it a form of bread and does it have yeast in it? Nope!
It's seaweed, which is boiled for hours to create a glutinous gel then mixed and topped with oats. Sounds pretty disgusting but it was really quite tasty.

And there was a bonus. I found a shell in my laverbread. Luckily it didn't break my teeth, though it was quite a tough little thing. I think if it's done such a brilliant job of clinging onto the seaweed, turned into a Welsh seaweed delicacy and still hasn't been washed away or baked to within an inch of it's life... then it deserves to be rescued and I'm just the girl to do it.

What do you eat after prawn o'clock?

after prawn o'clock

Cake... custard... chocolate... or half a pint of prawns?! Yes, I know my blog is all about food right now but it's all done in the best possible taste.. ha ha. I love surprises so when Fi & Rob said they'd be close by and asked if they could call in, of course the answer was yes.

before prawn o'clock

I believe if you're a lonely, miserable so-and-so then no one is going to come and visit you. If, on the other hand, you're a lively young thing like me that loves nothing more than people visiting, then you're always going to be the stop-over of choice. If you work all week like I do, you should be able to do exactly what you please on the two days at the weekend. Eating, drinking and socialising come very high on my list of top 10 weekend things to do. Being able to do all 3 is a gift.

past it... not on your nelly!

The Gumstool Inn used to be one of my most favourite places to eat. The menu hasn't changed much since I was last there but it's so varied that it didn't matter. Roast Sunday lunch was the order of the day and boy was it good. Thoroughly recommended and thoroughly wonderful!

East meets west

Who'd have thought it? I'm sitting in Cirencester having Japanese miso soup & salmon sushi for my lunch! This restaurant is perfect for me :) table for one, great music, sunshine streaming through the window, away from the hustle & bustle of the high street. I don't know who went out to catch the mighty miso this morning but my soup is very light, tasty & just eating it makes me feel healthy. By that I mean, no weird additives or hidden fats are lurking beneath the surface. Though I think there are 3 chunks of tofu floating in my soup which has the texture of egg custard...!
My salmon sushi plate looks like a work of art. Thickly cut salmon slices with soft rice is SalmOn much better for me that a cappuccino & cake! The no sandwich rule does puts a strain on my lunch choices so this is a brilliant alternative and even better for being fresh and not in a plastic pack from the supermarket. Whether the green welled, excessively conservative Cirencestrians are ready for sushi & sake, I don't know but the place is filling up now which is a good sign. Are you an accomplished at using chopsticks? I'm not saying I'm brilliant but I really do enjoy eating oriental food with my chopsticks. I feel like I'm making no effort if I don't try. It's like going to an Indian restaurant & ordering steak & fries. Very bad form! By the time you read this, most of that plate will have disappeared.. I'm off to enjoy my last piece of delicious sushi.

Fizz and flutter

Months, even years can pass by without me seeing some of my greatest friends - then all of a sudden, they all appear at once over a period of just a few weeks. Fabulous Fi came down a couple of weeks ago to sit, chat and scrap for the weekend. I drove down to dearest, darkest Devon to sample some of Andy's cookin' and see my dear friend Juicy Lucy. MGC - mad ginger claire popped up on my doorstep having travelled for about 4 hours last weekend and stayed for a glass of fizz, some cardmaking and a sleepover! And this week it has been the turn of luscious Lisa! Footloose was as fantastic as Tell it on a Sunday was forgettable! Chelts races has been as amazing as always. This week has been packed with lots of sunshine, some sweet smiles and a few tears, a little light banter and some serious business, bumping into great friends and saying goodbye to old ones, sweet scones and cream, tasty cheese and biscuits, the best news and sadness, surprises and butterflies, dressing up and diamonds, celebrating and commiserating, heart flutters and heartache - it's been a week of highs and lows with more memorable moments than most, all washed down with fizz and a flutter on the Gee Gees :)

Our belated birthday exchange!

Ginger brings with her a friendly face, infectious laughter, inspiration and presents! A BIG present and tiny presents too. We weren't surprised to find that we have a similar taste in cards - especially ones we've made ourselves. What happened to the grunge girl I wonder? She'd never have used a pink flower on a card but here she is using pink when I'm using cowpat green!

 It's always great to make your birthday last as long as possible in whatever way you can. Me and Ging have our birthdays in the same week so we had a wonderful present exchange after we'd had dinner. I love surprises and inside that big box is the biggest selection of sweet smelling toiletries and wash items ever, all created to keep a girl nice and clean.

I am a genius, helped by those wonderfully talented people at Thorntons. Some lucky person at Thorntons must sit and pipe little chocolates all day long.. humph, I wonder if they piped them in the box to spell the message.. or just happily pipe loads of letters of the alphabet then make up messages... mmm?!

As you can see, I loved my Soap & Glory gift so much, I was determined to seek out every one of the 11 gifts in the box! My favs so far are "The Righteous Butter".. "Clean on me shower gel" and "Glad hair day shampoo"... ha ha... !

What better way to celebrate our birthdays, Ginger's new house, a night of crafting and pressies that with a bottle of Moet! The perfect accompaniment to paper and glue :)

Devonshire tipples!

Sunday night was a very late Sunday lunch at the Oak in Upton Snodsbury - mmm, delicious, Monday night was seafood risotto in Cheltenham cooked by the luscious Lisa, Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday so me and Liz cooked pancakes at chez le Mill, Wednesday was yummy roast chicken and a very naughty tiramisu in Droitwich with the boys :'} and tonight it's been prawn curry and eton mess in deepest, darkest Devon! What a delicious, culinary journey I'm having :) I do think we remember places by the food that we eat on our journeys. I certainly do. I'm lucky enough to have some great friends who are also great cooks. Hurrah to that! Tonight, Andy (of Lucy fame) has cooked a delicious Thai-style prawn curry with boiled rice, all washed down with Kia Royales that he made exceptionally well under instruction from 'her in doors' - even though she was out xx

Delicious and decadent dipping adventure

I love adventures I definitely don't need my walking boots or a bike for this one! Guess what.. it's not pond dipping nor sheep dipping but a totally different and more pleasurable dipping experience. Fi bought me an adventure box of chocolate heaven as part of my birthday gift selection, to share with my fellow chocoholics. Woo hoo, what a fabulous gift. The box contains pots of creamy white and mellow milk cbocolate just perfect for melt & dip and there's a choice of tiny marshmallows, crisp red heart biscuits, naked almonds (that's without skin!) and silky glanduja truffles.. yum. I think it would also be nice to add some plump strawberries, mango and bananas, crunchie chunks and sponge fingers to make this a truly decadent experience.. mmm!

Life's little pleasures...

Tomato and mozzarella salad :)

Look who's chicken..

Kia Royales

Saturday is Kia Royale night! Lots of crafting, a good meal and great company! All my troubles and woes become a little bit smaller with a Kia Royale.

Almost a leap year baby.. !

I'm 23 hours and 44 minutes into another new year  (I promise that it was when I began writing this!) and although I'm a daffodil & leek baby, I'm pretty certain that even if I had been a boy, my parents still wouldn't have called me David. Today is the first day of third month of the two thousand and eleventh year and I've had a wonderful day! It's been almost business at usual at work though in my head, its been far from a regular day. I've thought about my lovely family and enjoyed spending time with a few of my friends. I've had some wonderful texts, fabulous cards with lots of words in, a few surprises, a bottle of Moet and cake! After all, you can't have a birthday without.. cake & fizz! Most of my birthday cards have shoes on, which proves how well those close to me know me. In fact I wore my pretty 'lady shoes' today because they make me happy :) My lovely friend Lisa bought me tickets to a play in Chelts, Liz bought me an audio book which she says I'll love and I had this lovely little glass plaque. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful family and great friends. I love them all to bits and even though we don't speak to each other every day, not even every month in some cases, we know we're going to be friends forever. They remember the days which are special to me and I know that we share something very special. We're 'friends for life'.