Berlin - Day 4 - Pergamon, Berliner Dom & Knut

This was our final day in Berlin. The walking tour that we had originally booked was still on the cards. Lil Miss J and Kt having missed the last leg of Mike The Hottie's tour opted to make their money's worth. J and I deciding that there can be only ONE tour of Berlin took it upon ourselves to see some of the other sights of Berlin. First stop was the Pergamon Museum to see if the Germans were as good as the British and the French at plundering other civilisations.

Outside the Pergamon Museum and the altar indoors.

The Ishtar Gate.

Judging from that one museum, the Germans weren't good plunderers. But what they did take was massive. We can start that whole size versus quantity debate.

Next was the Berliner Dom, a cathedral. Kinda reminded me of St. Peter's in Vatican City.

Being the hungry hippos that we were and with a Christmas market located conveniently opposite (it's Boxing Day and it was open!), we had more bratwurst.

I had come to accept that the short time we were spending in Berlin would not be sufficient to visit my beautiful-but-not-so-little-anymore polar bear Knut :D at the Berlin Zoo. It was a little upsetting that I was so close, yet so far and there was some uncertainity about the zoo being open. I was so happy that J and I had time to visit the zoo and more importantly, it was open! Knut was begging for me to visit!

I hadn't seen any recent photos of Knut, now that he is quickly growing out of his puppy-like cub phase and lacking the photogenic qualities and money spinning publicity. I do feel like a mother to a child who is watching her cute, cuddly dependent approach the ugly early teenage phase. A mother will love her child, no matter how ugly - that's how I feel about Knut. It is somewhat crazy.

Here's the important bit - photos:

Me so happy to pose near Knut.

After about 20 minutes of ogling and urging Knut to do something, J and I left. We then walked past the wolves, heading towards the nearby souvenir store so I could voluntarily be sucked in to buying stuff that I would never need nor use but was Knut-related nonetheless.

It was then I noticed about 50 metres away a small crowd of about 10 people near another enclosure. I decided to delay the souvenirs. We moved closer and to my heart-stopping horror I realised that I had spent 20 minutes lavishing love and wasting photos on THE WRONG BEAR. Do you understand?!?!?! IT WAS THE WRONG BEAR!!!

F*#K

I was sooooooo upset with myself, I wanted to cry. I was a mother who didn't recognise her own flesh and blood. While snapping shots of the other polar bear, I did think that Knut had aged kinda rapidly since any last photos I'd seen, but I justified my thoughts with the fact that animals do grow quickly. Then other thoughts ran through my head. Had I instead chosen to go directly the souvenir store, ignoring my innate Asian behaviour of following the crowds, I would not have seen my beloved bear!! *cry*

Damn the Berlin Zoo for having only Eisbär signs and no signs which pointed directly to Knut!

The sign which made me realise my grave error.

Yes, yes, yes, this bear was Knut!

Now I was really happy to be near Knut.

There was no point sulking any further. At least I found my bear. I made the most of the situation and snapped some more photos. Unfortunately, the grey skies and setting sun meant that they weren't that great quality.

Now this bear was much more like what I was expecting. This clearly was a cub moving into early adolescence, still retaining the playfulness of what Knut is adored for. Jade and I could have watched him for ages - chewing on a teething toy, watching him walk towards a bird, falling over on his back and pretending to be human. Knut's a little bit dirty but I assume that is because his zookeeper is no longer permitted to interact with him anymore for the fear that Knut's cuddles may kill him. So no manual bathing for Knut :(

Chewing on his toy.

Oh hey, where's it gone?

Yes he's much bigger, but still adorable. Please pat my soft belly.

I managed to get two fairly ok videos :D

You can clearly hear J and I discussing whether his chew toy was a piece of poo and also cooing over his belly.


He's so cuddly and even pretends to be a dog in this. Such a show for the cameras.

Happier, we went back to the souvenir store. I am proud of myself for refusing that Knut calendar, postcard book, keyring and children's book in German. I still want this book and I was so disappointed the Berlin Zoo only had the German version - maybe I will get one from Amazon. After spending 20 mins in a store the size of a small ensuite, I left happy with my carefully chosen souvenirs.

I left the zoo a happy girl :D The other animals? What other animals?

Of course the question was posed to me - Mike The Hottie or Knut? Well duh, Mike of course! Sometimes you have to make sense of the situation and I choose man over beast.

With a Christmas market across the road from the zoo, it was the perfect way to end our time in Berlin.

We jetted back into London tonight without any problems but Berlin is a destination I will be visiting again!

Berlin - Day 3 - Christmas Day

Aahhhhh Christmas Day. It wasn't a white Christmas and as fairytale as it is, I'm kinda over the whole snow thing. All snow means to me now is a cold, unbearable, inconvenient day with a dash of how-do-people-live-like-this astonishment.

Before joining the others for lunch, J and I popped back to the Gendarmenmarkt to have a peek around especially since I missed the first night when everyone else went. Ooooh what a quaint little market with medieval stalls and people cooking stuff the old way. Sausages over burning coals, pizza (erm clearly not German cuisine) in a woodfire oven. A must see if you are ever in Berlin over Christmas.

Berlin really is alive on Christmas Day. All the Christmas markets are open, public transport runs and people are everywhere. A stark contrast to ghost-town London, where EVERYTHING is shut including public transport!!!! It is unbelievable that such a large city doesn't even run a skeleton service on Christmas day, ultimately giving taxi drivers a licence to double their fees.

A variation of pizza cooked the German, wood-fired way.

Mmmmm warm Kinderpunsch (non alcoholic fruit punch). We opted for the no-booze given that it was the morning.

Lunch was booked at the Grand Hyatt as we had figured that many restaurants otherwise would be closed. As always, too much was eaten. One of the best drinks at Christmas is mulled wine, otherwise known as Glühwein in Germany. Mmmm warm, spicy alchohol goes down particularly well on a cold winter day. It was everywhere!!

(L-R, T-B) Yummy, yummy, warming, glowing Glühwein. My beef carpaccio. J's steak tartare.

Lil Miss J's scallops. Kt's goat cheese. Kt's tortellini.

Lil Miss J's halibut (I think). My duck breast - a bit dry. My dumplings.

Yeah, that's us at the Hyatt.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Reichstag (wow! so famous!) and lined up for about 40 minutes before being let in to the view the dome. There were a few casualties with half of us heading back to the hotel due to the freezing cold.

The queue into the Reichstag.

We were all so relieved to finally get to the front of the queue, away from the freezing cold and to go through the appropriate security checks. The bigger shock was upon exiting the elevator that brought us to the base of the dome and the realisation that the the dome was not an enclosed space!!!

The view into parliament from under the glass dome.

The dome from outside.

For dinner, we all made our way back to Gendarmenmarkt for more bratwurst, gluhwein and tidbits of all sorts.

My langos on the left. It's not even German! It's Hungarian so I guess that's close enough. The dough base is deep fried in front of your eyes and tastes like yau cha kway. Topped with sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce and parsley, it's a hard snack to beat. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

On the right, my chopped up pancake (or Palatschinken if you prefer) with powdered sugar, warm vanilla custard and sour cherries again. You know, I'm starting to think these desserts might be healthy for me.

I went home full. Yes indeed I did.

Berlin - Day 2

I think my Northface puffa jacket has melted into my skin. It's very effective and much warmer than any of the other woollen jackets that I own. It's the one thing I can count on in wintry places like New York and now Berlin.

After yesterday's flight fiasco, I finally flew into Berlin without a single hitch. I arrived at Heathrow at 5am and much to my surprise, the never-ending queue was still there!!! People were sleeping all over the terminal with foil blankets. I'm so glad that I wasn't forced to do that.

I met with the others in time for our walking tour, only to have the tourguide not show up! This was a little concerning especially since we had already paid! J, Lil Miss J, Kt and I decided to wander around the Potsdamer Platz Christmas Market near our hotel to bide our time until a different company's 1pm 'free' walking tour.

For those not in the know, Germany's Christmas markets were traditionally held for stall owners to sell goods for the upcoming festivities and colder months. Nowadays, it's more a crafts and food bazaar but still retains it's charm, lacking the commercialism that is present in other societies. I really felt like I was celebrating Christmas in medieval times!

Us getting excited about gingerbread, bratwurst and Christmas balls.


The Christmas dough snowball which we shared but tasted crap. Mmmmm curry bratwurst. Lil Miss J taunting her bratwurst. A dessert of some sort (I can't find it's German name) - boiled soft, light dough with a chocolate spread centre covered in warm custard and sour cherries. Sounds gross but it was so yum!

After all that excitement we had a short rest at our hotel before heading off for the 'free' walking tour. Run by the same company who did my London walking tour, people might baulk at a 'free' tour but to be honest, because the guides work for tips, they usually work quite hard and are often better than those tours which are paid in advance. This is also where the story of Mike The Hottie begins. I can already hear girly squeeeeaaaals!

The four of us at the Brandenburg Tor. I do remember this as the pit stop in The Amazing Race where the husband pushes and berates his wife. He was an awful man.

I must have a thing for guys named Michael/Mike as demonstrated by my Stockholm post. We were greeted at the tour meeting point by an American who left his Yankee roots and had been residing in Berlin for the past three years. Mike The Hottie gave us a brief history of himself, citing that Berlin was his last resort destination to study an art course but he fell in love with the city and hadn't been back to the States in about 2 years. *swoon* Artistic, passionate and romantic! All four of us girls gave each one another the 'he's a bit alright' look and continued to remain at the front of the tour. Tee hee!

Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to take proper tourist shots and didn't manage to get a good photo of MTH before my BATTERY WENT FLAT! Grrrrrr... Trust me, the photos I do have don't do him justice.

Mike The Hottie in his beanie *sigh*

Alright, well back on the tour, we were shown the Adlon hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby, Checkpoint Charlie, WWII remnants, all with colourful commentary courtesy of MTH. Berlin itself has a rather sad, fascinating history which I feel needs a return trip to explore further!

(L-R,T-B) The brick in the road shows where the Berlin Wall once stood. The Holocaust Memorial.

Inbetween the blocks of the memorial. The site of Hitler's bunker.

A remainder of the Berlin wall. Yep, us three at the Berlin Wall.

Now, back to Mike The Hottie. With his beanie on, none of us really knew what colour his hair was. At at mid-walk break he removed his hat to reveal strawberry-blonde-beanie-tousled soft hair which after a while fell flatter and sat perfect in all it's freshly washed glory *gush*. Not greasy boy-hair or even I-just-woke-up hair. That was probably the best time to take a photo except none of us did! I have the most valid excuse - my battery was already flat! This manga is the best I could find which most closely resembled his hair. Sorry J, if it's not to your liking!

While on our break, J and Lil Miss J had fairly legitimate questions and motioned for him to come closer. He pointed out clubs and churches on a map which he pulled out of his back jeans pocket. It is that same map that J now cradles in her sleep.

Being girls, we discussed possible reasons why MTH stayed in Berlin. We've concluded that he'd stayed for a girl (or a guy) and that he must be really devoted as he even speaks a bit of German. He mentioned that he usually does the morning tours but today took the afternoon one, to which we've decided that his meeting us and we missing our morning tour was purely fate. J and I even contemplated taking the tour again! Hahahahahahaha

MTH stood right next to Lil Miss J, where she admittedly could not stop staring at him while he answered her questions, stating "OMG, HE IS SO HOT" before melting into a warm, glowing Lil Miss J-puddle. "He has the most perfect nose!" she says. The freezing weather unfortunately was unbearable so Kt and Lil Miss J left the tour early.

The rest of us floundered to the Gendarmenmarkt, where another Christmas market was located. Then onto Humbolt University, Neue Wache, Book Burning Memorial and finally Museum island. I did point out to J "He's a little bit skinny" to which she giggled "I like skinny guys". Hahahahahahaha I couldn't stop laughing - I've never heard a girl say that before.

J and I manage to get a photo and look at the glee on our faces :D. It's a bad photo of him :(

Later that night, being Christmas Eve we realised that the Germans were at home celebrating as most of the markets had closed by 6pm, few restaurants were open and the streets were bare. Except for this group of 11 people walking together. In the end we did find a place to stuff our faces. Lucky us.

Kt with the schnitzel that was as big as her face. Actually I think it was bigger.

The entire crew at dinner.

Berlin - Day 1

We jetted back into London from New York late on Friday night. Horrendous as usual, our plane landed early but sat on the tarmac for 40 minutes while the plane waited for an available gate.

I slept all day yesterday until about 5pm. I'm a slob. Then woke up to pack for my Berlin flight, which was departing today but about 1.5 hours later than the rest of the Circle.

Well, Berlin - Day 1 didn't really happen for me. It was more like 'My Boring Adventure at Heathrow'. I spent 5 hours in Heathrow airport and about 4 of that was spent in a queue that stretched from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2. Awesome.

Every year, there is airport passenger chaos at Christmas when the mass exodus from London is compulsory. Every year there is a Christmas fog which ruins everyone's plans and they all become trapped at the terminals.

The tips of the Canary Wharf skyscrapers where everyone works.

Luckily for all the others going to Berlin, their flight was merely delayed, whereas mine was cancelled. I was forced to join the never-ending queue and re-book my flight. It was hilarious to see every newcomer's 'wtf??!?!' expression as they joined the ridiculous conga line.

People were crying and getting angry at the Heathrow staff, while others were making friends in the queue. I happily played my Nintendo DS. I didn't get any smarter though.

The couple in front of me managed to rebook their flight for the next morning over the phone about half an hour into waiting in line. When they finally got to the front 3.5 hours later, they were told all flights to the Europe continent were cancelled for the rest of the day and that given they had already managed to book a flight for tomorrow, they could go home. They waited for nothing! NOTHING!!!

BA managed to rebook me for a flight the tomorrow at 7am in business class. I queried having a nearby hotel put me up for the night but no joy - they didn't have enough and were reserving them for those in transit. The staff member did offer the option of staying at Heathrow overnight to which I pictured myself giving her the finger.

I did the only thing I could do, take the 1.5 hour journey back home on the tube. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

New York - Day 6

Our final day in New York was spent on last minute shopping (I bought a very necessary Nintendo DS - it was half UK price!) and also visiting the Empire State building observatory. The view from the Empire State and Rockefeller Centre don't really differ and in retrospect, we should've only done either one and not both.

But if you're a fan of popular culture and movie references (Elf, Sleepless in Seattle, King Kong) then going up NYC tallest skyscraper is a must. I didn't enjoy the 45 minute queuing and smaller observation decks. Hindsight is knowledge and I suggest that people do the Rockefeller observatory only.

Yours truly in the Empire State Building foyer.

I decided not to post up any pics of the view because they look too similar to the Rockefeller ones.

Ew.. one of the numerous pigeons on the outdoor observation deck.

Next was a visit to Chinatown, where I had pretty much the worst meal in NYC. That was a little surprising given that this Chinatown is one of the largest in the world. I'm sure that it was just bad luck. I had a rice with with three different BBQ meats and while Smee had ordered wontons and dry noodle, he received fried noodles instead. It wasn't even that nice but we understood why people went there - the servings were huge and the prices were cheap.

I miss pork rolls! I didn't eat one though, just in case I ended up with food poisoning.

Dinner tonight was somewhere I would never usually go - Red Lobster. It's seafood for the masses, TGIF-style! I could already predict what kind of style of food was going to appear on our plates. But with my history of devouring seafood, is it a surprise that we decided to eat here?

With a giant lobster out the front and a sign bearing an uncanny resemblance to Red Rooster, how could I not be tempted?!

I tried to find the 'least fried' dish available, while Smee opted for the fluffed Rock Lobster tail. Needless to say, our dishes were enormous, mash was creamy (read fatty) and everything was drenched in butter. Things that were 'grilled' still managed to have that 'fried' in the pan look about them. My scallops were one of the biggest I've ever seen and same goes with Smee's lobster tail.

My scallops, garlic butter shrimp, grilled jumbo shrimp with mash and rice pilaf. Smee's lobster tail - very fluffy. Me gorging myself and Smee's food battle.

It's something I would never do EVER again. But hey, you only live once. Do I also need to mention that I felt sick after dinner? Not vomity sick, just too-much-food sick.

*sigh* Like all good things, our time in New York had to come to an end. Despite the cold weather and giving my North Face jacket the best work-out it's ever had, I would still like to live here! NYC is a city I recommend everyone visit in their lifetime! If I could also be packed inside your suitcase and follow you there, that would be excellent too.

New York - Day 5 - Statue of Liberty

Tired from all the eating, shopping and sightseeing, Smee and I slept in today but waking up in time to first eat more ramen at the other Men Kui Tui in Cooper Square. It had a student vibe given that a university campus was nearby.

After lunch, we were greeted by the fellow passenger on the subway. Needless to say no one sat opposite. A woman did emerge from under that bedsheet eventually.

The Statue of Libery was our next destination and another touristy sight to tick off the list.

Smee getting the tickets to Liberty Island.


The lady herself. She's big but not that big.

Yah-huh, proof that we were there.

Me so happy to be near the 'Immigrant Processing' sign.

For dinner, we were keen to try out Yama on 49th after reading an article in the inflight magazine recommending the no-reservation-policy-big-slabs-of-fish restaurant. I'm so glad I read that article as this has to be one of the best places to go to for good ol' fashioned sushi with minimum fuss. Not the neatest sushi rolls but it all looks the same inside one's stomach.

The non-descript restaurant entrance.

Yama is probably considered mid-high range in New York but to be honest, it was cheap in comparison to UK and comparable to what I would expect to pay in Australia. Their Special Roll #6 is to die for!

Our sushi platters. There was so much food, I had to torture myself to finish it.

I've eaten so much sushi this week. But I love it!

New York - Day 4

Three days of non-stop shopping and eating had taken it's toll. It was time to see some of New York's highlights - you know, the real reason why we were there.

Giant Christmas decorations in a fountain near Rockefeller.

We decided to go to the observatory on top of the Rockefeller Centre to see the views of Manhattan and the other boroughs. Lucky for us, it was a very clear, sunny, albeit cold day and the views were flawless - well except for the glare.

Central Park, me looking through the binoculars, the Empire State Building and Smee's turn at the binoculars.

Smee doing his best NYPD impersonation. Shortly after, he was hauled away in the back of a cop car for impersonating a police officer. I spent the rest of the day alone.

We were getting a bit peckish, so lunch was next on our list and headed towards the subway.

Yep, we needed to go Downtown.

A hint for future NYC travellers - learn a bit about the geography of New York and the subway system. Although it is obvious after the fact, it will help if you understand where Downtown, Uptown and relate them to the streets.

The subway leaves a lot to be desired. This is where London trumps New York. The tube is modern when compared to NYC subway. The lack of signage, intuitive maps and staff make it very difficult for non-locals to get around. You need to ignore the colour of the lines on the map and pay attention to the letter or number. I would not have had a clue otherwise! While the trains are reliable and more roomy, it wouldn't hurt the city to make the subway a bit more aesthetically pleasing. I'm not being fussy!! It really would benefit with a general makeover. Finding a subway entrance was almost like a "Where's Wally" game at times and sometimes there are different entrances for Uptown and Downtown. The good thing is that it runs 24 hours. That rocks.

Lunch was at Tomoe Sushi, a little eatery in Greenwich Village. You'd think we'd be sick of Japanese food but au contraire I couldn't get enough. New York just highlighted how difficult it was to get decent sushi in London. As the wise Britney Spears says 'Gimme gimme!'

While recent reviews have been less than favourable, it was definitely better than any other place I've been to in London. Would I return? Yeah, if I lived in the neighbourhood, although reviews seem to indicate that there is better out there.

Our fried oyster, sashimi platter, sea urchin and sushi platter.... mmmmm

Within walking distance, in the next neighbourhood is the famed stoop to Carrie Bradshaw's apartment.

It took me ages to pinpoint the exact location (maybe my Googling skills aren't up to scratch) but for those who want to visit, the address is 66 Perry St, West Village. We ran into another couple who were also searching for the same address. An acknowledging look and rolling of eyes were exchanged between the two male parties. The Magnolia Bakery is nearby but I opted not to go there given that I wasn't going to eat the cupcake.

Next we made our way to the former World Trade Centre site. I had forgotten that I'd actually been up to the observatory back in in 1999. The NYC skyline is definitely less distinctive without these two buildings in place.

The WTC memorial plaque, where the Twin towers once stood and Ground Zero.

Believe it or not, we were a bit peckish afterwards and stopped by the Maccas nearby to our hotel. I didn't know that Third Pounder burgers existed and even more oddly they didn't have that 'healthy' menu that I've come to expect. Anyway the burger looks gross and I don't deny that it was unhealthy but it did taste good!

Third Pounder burger with swiss cheese and mushrooms.


A shot of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. I had to go there to do some mandatory Ipod buying.