Ars Vini: a little bit of Switzerland in Berlin

There's one tthing about me: I LOVE cheese,no, I WORSHIP cheese!
So there's been some time I was craving for a fondue and a raclette. So I decided to look for a Swiss restaurant, and yesterday we went to try out Ars Vini.They are specialised in fondues (cheese, meat and chocolate), they have 2 venues, we went to the one in Mitte, at the angle of Templiner Strasse and Zionkirschestr.

First, the place is very nice, you feel welcome right away, the staff is very nice. If you order wine, they will advise you, make you try a few samples,... Well, as I don't drink wine I just had a vodka with orange juice.

We had the Classical Swiss Fondue, we thought we'd get 1 or 2 pots for all of us (we were 5), but no, each one gets a small pot with a "dosis" for 1 person. You get with it a small salad and bread, I also took an extra portion of potatoes. It was so delicious! A delight for my tastebuds! I'm so looking forward to have my own place for quite some time and invest in a fondue pot and a raclette grill to throw "cheese" parties at home! ^^
And the "portion" of fondue was really a lot, but with my huge appetite, I was the only one to eat it all and even helped my friends out! :D After this, a kirsch to digest a bit and we went on with chocolate fondue, served with fruits. We had almond chocolate fondue, such a delight once again, but this time we ordered for 1 person and shared between 4 of us. It was really a delicious dinner and plus we had lots of fun!

When paying, the waitress asked us if it was the first time we were coming, and with one friend, we answered at the same time: "yes, but that's not the last"! We are already planing another visit, next time I might try out the meat fondue (I also love this one - yes I love meat, potatoes and cheese, this restaurant is kind of a paradise for me).

Berlin's Christmas Markets: Schloss Charlottenburg

So here's my last article on Berlin Xmas markets, I didn't do them all  I guess.
Today was the one by Castle Charlottenburg, my first reaction when getting off the bus was: wow! It's indeed a wonderful place. It's worth seeing just for the lights play on the castle's front.

Then, the markte itself is very pretty, there's  a stage where a chor is singing, some unique handcrafts booths, one of "birds house" I really liked.

There was also a Raclette seller, you know that chesse I can't resist, well guess what? I didn't resist!! ^^ It's so delicious!

It was a nice walk, despite the hords of people, but I couldn't expect otherwise, it's last advent Sunday.


PHOTOS







==Greetings from Berlin==

Berlin's Christmas Markets: Postdamer Platz

Today after a journey to hell (I went  to a big shopping mall in the center of Berlin on a Saturday afternoon one week before Christmas) I went to Postdamer Platz Christmas Market.

Well, it is nothing extraordinary, they could make something better out of it, but there's so soul, no atmosphere. The plus is the sledge slope, but then the booths are almost like everywhere else.

And like everywhere, they sell those gingerbread hearts with written on it "Ich liebe dich" (I love u" or "du bist mein Schatz" (you're my sweetheart), craps like that, and I got the idea that just for fun I could buy myself one with written on "ich liebe dich", because I love myself! ^^ Untill, I saw this one:

 

No need of translation I guess, if I wouldn't have been alone I would have hung it around my neck, but well alone that's not fun that's stupid. It's now hanging at my wall, I'm thinking of eating it when I won't be single anymore, best before is august 2012, got some time. :D

PHOTOS

==Greetings from Berlin==

Berlin's Christmas Markets: Alexander Platz & Roten Rathaus

This week is my X-Mas Markets week. Almost every evening I'll go to one of numerous "Weihnachtsmarkt" of Berlin. I love Christmas Markets, coming from a region at the border with Germany it's also part of my local tradition, and I just can't help it, I love it, especially once snow has felt down, and of course best part is at night time because of the lights.

So this evening I went to Alexander Platz, in the center of the city, the one just by the train station is cute, mainly food but also nice handcrafts. You got an outdoor icering and you can play also a kind of curling (or petanque on ice since you got no broom and can't step on the ice). A little further is a giant shopping mall, and behind it is a little fun fair, with the snow, the smells, the music and the lights it was very nice to walk around, I was a child again, sparkles in my eyes.

Then, kinda half way between Berliner Dom (Berlin's Cathedral) and Alex Platz station, you can find the Roten Rathaus (red townhall), and there is a very charming Xmas market, with a big wheel I'll try to ride this week end by daytime (best for the view it might offer). There's a bigger ice rink, by a beautiful statue, the decoration are also very cute. Well, it was really a charming walk, deep in Christmas Spirit, but better than words are photos.

One week and still homeless

Well, it's been one week since I have arrived in Berlin and I'm still staying at the hotel, no more in a nice single room (my company paid for it untill till Friday) but in mixed dorms...

So on Monday, my 1st work day was ok, I go to meet some collegues, I already have tons to do, but the texts can sometimes be funny. But it's hard to really get to know my collegues, I'm still having lunch alone, ans as I have no excuse to talk to them about job-relate dissue it's hard for me. But it should get better soon... I hope... at least the one around me and my bosses are cool.

I visited a few rooms this week end, hope this will work out before Wednesday, but there's so much people looking for rooms, now I'm widening my search and would go to up 1h ride to work (I can start between 9 & 11 am).

This afternoon I went to see one Christmas Market, but I guess it's more charming at night with lights... Later on, I went to visit the East Side Gallery, it's a part of the Wall dedicated to art, it's 1300 meters long, I did only a part of it since it was getting freezing cold and dark, will see the rest next week end.

Not much so far, my social life being around 0, it's getting harder & harder to eat alone at restaurant, but once I'll be  settled in a room that might change, there are always CouchSurfing meetings and I'll have to look for regular activities where I could meet people.

==Greetings from Berlin==

Cologne, Germany

Dom

In May & June I spent one and a half months in the nice city of Cologne in Germany. In March, I had started intensive courses of German to recover my skills in this language, and we had an internship to do over there, I got a position in a hotel, as receptionist, and those one and a half months were fantastic!

First,  Cologne is a very nice city, there you can take different pleasant walks. The main landmark is the Cathedral, the "Dom", it shapes the skyline of the city and is a very nice work of architecture. You can't miss it, and that's actually the first thing you see when going out the Main Train Station, by its size it's quite impressive. You can climb up its tower and admire the view on the city.

You can also take a walk along the Rhine, the Rhein Park is very nice, when the sun is shinning, you'll find lots of people doing barbecue there, as in every park all over the city. Another nice park is Hiroshima Park by Aachener Wiener, a small artificial lake on which is floating a piece of art... And of course, in almost all parks you can find Biergarten (Beer Garden) where you can refresh with a Kölsch (local beer) for instance.
Don't miss the Zoo neither, it's really nice place, with animals coming from all over the globe, everything is made so they can feel at ease, with big spaces. I personally will never forget my visit there since I got completely burnt and turned red (don't forget your suncream when the sun's out, even in Germany ^^ ) I recommend a whole day to visit it all, and of course it's better to go at opening time (10:00 am) since there's less people and you can see more of the animals.

Flora

And just next to the Zoo, is Flora. The Botanical Gardens, also worth a visit. It took us a few hours to walk throughout the park, as expected you can find there different type of plants, don't miss the greenhouses, very interesting, it's sometimes looking like the jungle (well I presume since I've never been in a jungle), very hot and wet.


In Cologne, you can also find lots of churches and most of them are worth a visit. St. Mariä Himmelfahrt, for instance, is very impressive. I also liked the Pink Churchs, one opposite the Main Station, and one almost opposite the Chocolate Museum.

Talking about Museums, a few of them were of interest to me, I visited 3 of them.
The City Museum (Kölnishes Stadt Museum) is very interesting if you wanna learn more about the history of the city. What stroke me there most are pictures of the city just after World War II, you can see lots of blank areas because of the bombing...

Chocolate Museum

Then, I also went to the Roman-Germanic Museum (Römish-Germanishe Museum) which traces the history of the city and the whole area back from dinosaur time up to Middle-Age. It seems that around 2 millions year ago, this place was by a tropical sea, things has quite changed! ^^ Maybe in 2 millions year it will be a snow desert... who knows! A big part is also dedicated to Roman occupation, it's actually where it got its name from, as it was a Roman "Colonia". You can find downstairs a wonderful mosaic floor, very impressive.
The last one is the Chocolate Museum, owned by the Swiss brand Lindt. It traces the history of chocolate, explains the growing, the transformation, the production and so on... It's very interesting, and you got some sample too! One at the entrance, and later you can find a Chocolate fountain! There, you can get a waffle dipped in hot chocolate... And their shop is amazing, you can find anything made out of chocolate, from cocoa powder to chocolate beer, from strange-flavoured chocolate to chocolate pasta... 

Schnitzel @ Bei Oma Kleinmann

Another great thing about Cologne is the night life! It's very busy, we tried a lot of cocktail bars and restaurants out there! On Hohenzollernring for instance, you sure can find a place you'll like. Sausalitos is a kind of mexican cocktail bar, everyday from 5pm to 8pm you can get cocktails for half price, normal or jumbo size and the menu is impressive. They also have nice and cheap food, 13€ for a giant burger with a big bunch of fries or fajitas which will make you full for 14€, that's really worth the money.
But don't miss Bei Oma Kleinmann on Aachener Strasse and its big Schnitzel (pork or chicken or turkey filet, very thin and breaded) but there, they're not thin and one is enough for 2. It goes with different sauces, fries or baked potatoes or wedges and a side salad... for 12 to 15€!
If you go there by Spring/Summer time, if the sun is out don't miss Sky Beach! It's a beach on top a high building with a bar, it's so great, the view is wonderful, nice cocktails and beachlike atmosphere.

Cologne has plenty to offer, for all tastes, go there and you won't regret it! If you wanna see more photos you can browse through my online photo album, there's 6 folders about my stay in lovely Köln.


==Greetings from Dublin==