Two-Nannies On The Road Again: Berlin

YWe flew into Berlin from Vienna and used public transport into the city where we checked into our apartment. The lift in the building was just tiny, barely room for heather and 2 bags, so I met her upstairs, where Heidi briskly welcomed us and instructed us to follow her and sit. She then spent 10 minutes giving great instructions,tips and commuting information to the key sites around the city, where to shop, where to watch for pick pockets, where to get cheap groceries, and so on. She also provided a great little map, but there was so much info and we just sat there like stunned mullets, then moments later we were briskly pushed out the door with yet more instructions on how to find our apartment, just a easy 5 minute walk away. And so we were in Berlin. It's actually an easy city to commute around, the transport system is reasonably easy though at times confusing with above ground trains, metros, buses... Our apartment was called Hollywood Stars - never did find out why, but we were nestled in the gay area, with shops around us displaying an array of underwear I'd never seen and a wide assortment of black leather. The where to eat guide Heidi had supplied - thankfully was all written out with names, descriptions and map locations, and the two we got to were great, excellent food, good service, and interesting places. The favourite was an evening in a nearby pub, where heather gobbeled roast goose, and I had the light and tasty meatballs with caper sauce. The beer was good, though when I asked if they had a wheat beer I was nicely (yet in that stern German way I was starting to get used to) told that I was in Berlin now, and he selected a local Pilsner. We added wine to this, and then I encouraged heather to break out a bit, and like we had watched so many others do, followed off our meal with some sort of liqueur that the locals enjoy. Some busking musicians came in for a spell, playing piano accordion and guitar, making this a great night out.

Had fun exploring huge Christmas markets, each with some different touches. One had an ice skating rink, and others open fires that you could sit around while eating and drinking.

It was truly cold here, though still very early in the winter. So we treated ourselves to new coats, which we were sure would be useful back home, then wished we could stay longer in the north now that we were finally set up better to cope with the weather.

I loved the Christmas wreaths everywhere, and pine brances for sale

Went into a tail spin in the large department stores, there was just so much Christmas stuff that I love, a whole section on advents - modern and traditional - oh if I only had more luggage space