Back to Berlin, time for you know what!

The beginning of my travels home, back stateside. Oh what a wonderful trip it's been! I do get another 15 hours in Berlin, for which I am very excited.

My hotel, though, is way out. It's in eastern East Berlin. You know Warschauer Strasse? East of that. You know Ostkreuz? Yeah, east of that. I get to it and thankfully it is clean and nice (and cheap). And, it has a doner kebab place right down the street.

My final doner kebab in Berlin was just as one would suspect. Not the best doner in the world, but a totally great meal that left me totally satisfied. Juicy meat, plenty of toppings, and a great sauce to bring it all together.

What goes well with doner kebab? I know, currywurst! At the airport, actually, en route to Helsinki, there is a model train that sells currywurst. I must have some.

And I do. And, much like the doner, it is not the best but totally sufficient and totally satisfactory. And with that, I bid adieu to Berlin and to Germany!

Meat that's been pounded to an inch of its life

One final non-fast food meal in Berlin. I opt for schnitzel. Both because it is a German classic and because there is a very good looking schnitzel place next to my favorite bar / coffeehouse in the Kreuzberg neighborhood. Both are on Pucklerstrasse. The schnitzel house goes by the name of Markthalle.

This schnitzel lives up to its billing. The crust on the heavily pounded pork is near perfect, freshly crisp and not too bready. With a squirt of lemon it gets all the more edible. In some places, the breading has bubbled away from the pork itself, getting even crispier, much like pork skin would. The meat inside is also nice, full of porky flavor and still juicy. It's paired with a very good potato salad that goes light on the mayo, heavy on the mustard, just as it should be.

And you can't have schnitzel without beer. I get a tall Lowenbrau and it washes everything down.

More doner, more currywurst, and a Berliner

Back to solo travel. While I lose some good friends, I keep the focus on good Berlin food. Over the next couple of days, there are Berlin classics all over the place.

Sunday brings another chance to have a Hasir doner kebab. I oblige my urging to do so and am quite sated. It is just as good as I remember. Plus, I don't have to share this one!

It turns out my new hotel has a corner currywurst stand not too far away. And this currywurst, while not life-changing, lives up to its billing as very cheap and very tasty food. Especially when partnered with a Berliner Kindl beer (something that may not get exported outside the city).

Best of all for this currywurst stand is the enormous hot dog sculpture. He looks awfully pleased to be covering himself in ketchup...

To these two staples I add a third, new to me. In the train station, just before heading out to Copenhagen, I snag a Berliner donut. Very similar to the traditional American jelly donut, this has a larger, more granulated sugar that adds a great crunch to eat bite. And the jam inside tastes like its made from fresh German berries. I can see why JFK called himself one of these now.

Saying goodbye with a "ka-pow!"

And so it was, Saturday night turned into Sunday morning, and a lovely 9 days with Carolyn and Kevika drew to an end. But we took it to Germany and the Czech Republic, much as I imagine the hero of this movie took it to Hitler.

More seriously though, it was a fantastic time with fantastic people. All that's left to be said is that which is best said in German:

"Alles hat ein ende nur die wurst hat zwei."

(For those, like me, that don't speak much German, that is: Everything has an end, except for the sausage, which has two.)

Kudos to Carolyn for the quote, which is also apparently a hit single by Stephen Remmler.

A doner-off

Somewhere, on the internet or in a guidebook, perhaps, the claim was made that the doner kebab was invented in Berlin. Apparently, as the story goes, a Turkish restaurant owner was looking to make a name for himself and combined Turkish meat in a pita with a yogurt sauce. True or not, the town is full of doner places and we needed to try a couple.

The first contender was Hasir Restaurant. This was more upscale in appearance, a full Turkish restaurant.

But they had a counter and a very reasonably priced doner kebab at only 2.50euro. We ordered one (conscious of the fact we had just had half a chicken).

And it was a sight to behold! This doner kebab had a quarter of a large pita that had been toasted. Inside, fresh shawarma meat was mixed with a yogurt sauce, red cabbage, tomatoes, and other not fully identifiable things to create a massive sandwich. It was approximately the size of Kevika's head before we started digging in. Then, it started to go fast. It was so full of flavor and so fresh! The meat was not dry, as doner meat can often be. It got much closer to the excellent lamb I've sometimes had in gyros. The accompaniments added so much. They also made it that spectacular meal where each bite is just a bit different as the contents mix in different proportions. A very high bar was set.

The second contender was the Schlemmerbuffet. This one had the imprimatur of Lonely Planet, crowned as best in the city, "nuff said."

This was good too. The ingredients were plentiful and fresh. However, it didn't match the subtlety of flavor that the Hasir doner attained. It felt very much more like very good late-night fast food than an amazing dish. Perhaps the best comparison that can be made is that the Hasir doner is like a La Taqueria burrito whereas the Schlemmerbuffet is more of a El Farolito one.

Winner: Hasir's doner kebab. I will not escape this city without having another one of these.

Look, a chicken!

The afternoon took us to Kreuzberg. We were walking through the streets, actually on our way to get a doner kebab. But then! Across the street! A line! For food! We must...

Crossing the street and heading under the train tracks, we found the Huhnerhaus 36. It's always a good sign when the eatery has a number in it to differentiate it from other street stands. This one, though, also had the virtue of a very long queue.

No matter, though. We were on vacation, and this was what we were here to do. We waited.

This glorious half of a roast chicken with pomme frites was our reward. The chicken, cooked rotisserie style, managed to remain very tender and very juicy even as the skin was crisped. we used the little toothpick forks and tore into this. Our table got very quiet.

To complement the bird, we got knoblauchsosse and specialsosse as dips and an ayran as a drink. Ah, a Turkish place! The knoblauchsosse, a garlic and yogurt concoction, was amazing. I want the recipe and I want to make this right now. Yum. The specialsosse was also very nice, a mix of tomatoes and spices that had a bit of a kick and some deep flavor too! The ayran was ayran, a great drink for such a meal.

Five minutes after getting our dish, we were back on the road, still headed for the doner kebab. And we knew our food karma was good!

A few remaining remnants of the Wall, now covered in art

I was intrigued to discover just how far the wall has receded from public view in Berlin. Very few parts of it our still standing, so the clues between the former East and West parts of town are more subtle.

One significant stretch remains, however. 1.3 kilometers long on the north side of the River Spree just into the Friedrichshain neighborhood, this stretch is now under historical protection.

It is also completely covered in large murals done by artists all over the world, usually addressing themes that have something to do with the wall and with freedom. I took some photos of the ones that were my favorites.

A brunch I could eat over and over

Hot on the heels of eating blind we decided to eat Alsatian brunch. No particular connection why.

Our destination was Gugelhof, a cafe just north of our hotel in Prenzlauer Berg. It was a delightful setting, an outdoor cafe on a tree-lined street.

Auspiciously, they had one of my favorite beers on tap: Kostrizer Schwarzbier. A smoky but still light enough for brunch beer, this one packs in the flavor.

Dish one of the three we would be sharing was a choucroute plate with smoked pork, mini sausages, and blood sausage with a side of sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. Wow, what a plate! The pork was delightful, rich, smoky, tender and beautiful. The mini sausages retained so much moisture that each bite was a treat. Both also benefited from the delicious duo of mustards. But, nothing came close to topping the blood pudding.

Though this picture is less than fantastic, the blood pudding was so fantastic. It was advertised on the menu as being the winner of a best in Germany award. It was the best blood sausage I've ever had in my life, and it's not even close. The meat and blood were mixed with a slew of spices, some of which we could pick out. There was a bit of cinnamon, or maybe nutmeg. There was a touch of cloves. The effect was superb. That, and the texture of the blood pudding was somehow like a very moist chocolate cake. I treated each bite like a little gift from heaven.

Dish two was a dish of baked eggs with ham and cheese. It sounds so simple yet it was excellent. The eggs had not been scrambled yet were baked to perfection. The whites would every so often be interrupted by a delicious yolk. The filling ingredients added yet more flavor. And it retained the feel of a thick custard, pleasing to the tongue. It also managed to stay warm throughout our entire meal, no mean feat.

Dish three was a typical Alsatian flammenkuchen with arugula, walnuts, chanterelles, and ham. Yet another winner, and Gugelhof was 3 for 3. The chanterelles sang from the pizza, coming fresh from the hills not too far away. The arugula was appropriately spicy and fresh. A true delight to eat, especially as it was served on a pizza paddle.

We were all quite, quite happy with this meal, proclaiming it the best of Germany and perhaps of our week-long trip. We celebrated by walking through the farmers' market nearby, picking up a little pint of little strawberries, and polishing them off in a nearby park.

Waiter, I can't see my food!

Carolyn, Kevika, and I love to have culinary adventures. We had reunited previously in Chicago to partake in the cuisine of Alinea. It ended up being perhaps the most fabulous dining experience of my life.

So, we wanted to try something new in Berlin. Better yet, we had a lead. A new kind of restaurant had started in Berlin and the concept was spreading across Germany. A dunkelrestaurant, or dark restaurant, is one in which the dining room is completely, pitch-black dark. You cannot see a thing and so must rely on your other four senses to eat.

We went to the granddaddy of them all, the inventor of dunkelrestaurants, unsicht-Bar Berlin.

Here's how it works. We walked into a bar and reception area. There we were greeted and sat at a table. All was well-lit. We received these menus which presented five set course options for us: vegetarian, river and sea, beef, poultry, and "surprise."

The dishes themselves were cryptically presented as little rhymes, where one could make out some of the ingredients but still be a bit perplexed as to the actual dish. For example, the starter of the beef menu was listed as "Berlusconi's young choice of arugla potency." Huh?

I went for the surprise menu, letting my taste buds figure out each little bit. Kevika and Carolyn went for the tasty sounding beef menu. Our waitress, a blind woman, led us to our table (all of the waiters are sight-impaired).

My first dish was Tranchen von der Putenbrust mit wurziger Guacamole und sommerlichen Blattslaten Uberraschung in einer Vinaigrette von Balsamico (translates as an hors-d'oeuvre with fish oil on turkey breast with spicy guacamole and summery green salads in balsamic vinagrette). The experience of receiving a plate in front of me and having no idea whatsoever what was on it or even where the food was located was fascinating. I would discover the turkey breast, and have to figure out what it was. Of course I thought it was chicken. At the end of poking around with my fork, I began to use my hands on the plate, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything.

The second dish was a soup course of Pastinakensamtsuppchen mit Rauchfleisch (or parsnips soup with smoked meat). This was served in a cup and oh-so-much easier to eat. The first bits of smoked ham proved awfully surprising, and also a good contrast to the root vegetable taste of the soup.

The third dish was Lammruckenfilet unter einer Thumiankruste dazu zweierlei Spargelragout und Salbeignocchis (or lamb back filet under a "thumiankrust" with asparagous ragout and "salbei" gnocchis). Imagine being confronted with a large piece of meat! How do you get it into bite size pieces so you can actually consume it? Very challenging, it turns out. I was successful on my first attempt to slice off a piece. From there, though it went downhill. Unable to find the edges, I would cut pieces either way too big or too small. So, down went the fork and knife and out came my hands. Much easier to tear into a steak with my teeth. The other great moment of this dish was when I found the asparagus. Asparagus! What a lovely surprise!

The fourth and final dish was Parfait von Jagermeister an Waldheidelbeeren und einer Creme von Zartbitterschokolade (or a parfait of "professional hunter" with forest blueberrys and plain chocolate cream). Coming on a long rectangular plate, this presented new challenges in eating while unable to see. A little glass in the middle full of chocolate cream. A spread of blueberries all around the plate (imagine eating blueberries when you can't see them to find your fork).

All in all, the food was just ok. The asparagus was excellent as were the gnocchi that came with the lamb. Also, the parsnip and ham soup was quite tasty. Other dishes just muddled through a bit. The first salad was poorly composed and I had no recognition I was eating guacamole. The last dish had blueberries that were too tart.

Carolyn and Kevika had largely the same experience with their meal, though, on average, it was superior. A starter of antipasti led to lots of fun guessing games. And a dessert that included pop rocks was the perfect unexpected surprise. Well, partial surprise: at one point early in the meal, Kevika, being highly perceptive, said that she'd love to have pop rocks in this setting. With no knowledge whatsoever of what was to come, she got her wish. Other dishes of theirs, particularly the meat main, fell down.

But, the amazing thing is, it didn't really matter. Sure, I would love for the taste and flavor to be better, and they can certainly improve. That said, though, as a culinary experience, it was amazing. The tastes were new, each new ingredient a splendid reintroduction to something I've had before. It felt like a whole new way of eating. And that way had so much to offer in terms of getting us to recognize food differently.

A late afternoon pick-me-up, a la Prenzlauer Berg

After an afternoon of such sightseeing, we were a bit peckish. Back home in our quaint neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg ("the Noe Valley of Berlin!"), we stopped off for a sugary treat. Anna Blume, a corner cafe, welcomed us in.

My espresso, delightfully tasty, came also with a mini-biscotti and was adorned by a delightful little floating flower.

A piece of marscapone and nut cake was Carolyn's order. I had a bite and it was quite good, not too much sweetness in each bite so the full slice could be enjoyed.

I went a little overboard and got a delightful mango sundae. It came with three scoops of ice cream: bourbon vanilla, strawberry, and some kind of chocolate. It also came with whipped cream, mango slices, mango chunks, and little bits of banana. It was superb, just what the doctor ordered.

A hour or two lounging in the wonderful outdoor cafe and we were ready to head back out.

German history, then and now

After the currywurst, it was back to more Berlin sights.

There, in the middle of the street, an enormous gate. The Brandenburg Gate, in fact. Present to so much history, including several of Hitler's speeches and many military marches. A very imposing structure of stone.

Then, to the current seat of German government, the Reichstag. This was architecturally very interesting. The building itself had been the site of so much, including being burnt down in 1933 that led to Hitler and the Nazis grabbing more totalitarian power in Germany. Left unoccupied and decrepit for awhile, in the 1990s it was rehabbed by British architect Lord Norman Foster. The exterior old stone facade was kept, but the interior made entirely new and modern. We went inside.

In the center of the building, there is a very large glass dome. Visitors can explore this dome and walk up its side. In the middle, a slew of mirrors serve two purposes. First, they reflect natural light and reduce the need for artificial light and electricity throughout the building. Second, and much more cool, is that they symbolize the German government's commitment to transparency. Immediately below the mirrors is the chamber in which the legislature meets. The building itself embodies the core principle that the government serves the people and that they should know everything that happens within.

The dome itself is open air and lets in rain, cooling the building. There was also an enormous sun shade that rotated around the dome to deflect the sun's direct rays. It was an ingenious bit of architecture, mixing neat design with pointed symbolism. It also afforded great views of the city.

Bevy of beards, part three

So much beard, so little time. Will my beard beat my blog back to the States?

Admiring the Wawel Castle in Krakow, July 9, 2010.

Supporting transparency in government at the Reichstag, July 16, 2010.

The Berlin fast food staple, currywurst

For a heavy snack or light lunch, depending on your perspective, we strolled down the middle of Unter den Linden, a wide boulevard smack in the middle of Berlin. Time for currywurst! There were stands every few feet.

We went with a populated one called Berliner Currywurst.

Can't have sausage and sauce without beer to wash it down, and this Erdinger Weissbier definitely fit the bill. Ah, weissbier.

We tried two different types of currywurst: with and without skin. Without was highly preferable, as the skin was an oddly breaded crust that was crumbly and not so tasty. However, the sausage was a highly competent hot dog. With the ketchup and curry powder, it was very yummy. And with little toothpicks too!

To round out our nutritious meal, we also got bratwurst and french fries. The brat was nice, more flavor in the sausage than in the currywurst. The fries were a let down, very plain and not that good.