luckykaa

As mentioned, my mum and a friend came to visit. They were actually feeling a bit rough which was a shame. The trooped on though, determined to have a good time. I was working so mostly we just met to eat.

Tuesday: Met at a Christmas market. Can now claim to have done one of them. Bit too crowded for me.
Wednesday: Went for meal at a very german restaurant. It was a very german meal.
Thursday: The Wyld. Awesome show. See previous entry. Visitors had been to see the TV Tower but didn't get a fantastic view. Really need to go there some time.
Friday: Visitors had been to see the Reichstag and saw Angela Merkel. Italian meal. We got shafted on the wine. We saw a bottle advertised for just under €20. Bill came. It was €40. Turns out that the €20  was for a 1 litre jug rather than a .75 litre bottle. Disappointed that they didn't make that clear. Probably should have realised that it was different. Pledged never to go back there.
Saturday: My full day with the visitors.

Met for breakfast at a place in Potsdammer Platz, then went to "The Hollow Tooth" - the remains of Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church, kept in its bombed out state as a memorial. Lots of information inside including a somewhat over apologetic note on a translation of the plans of what to do after the Germans won the war.

went to Charlottenburg Palace. Here I discover that my mum's friend, while being quite assertive and being German is actually not very useful when it comes to public transport navigation. She assumed that the correct station was Charlottenburg. Actually some way away. Still there is a bus that goes to the palace. So we arrived. Included a free audio tour, which was nice. I was impressed with how many different ways the announcer had to tell me to press the green button at each room.

Always seems rather sad how many people died at such a young age. There's always a "never lived to see it completed"  in these places, and these are the rich! Also always sad how much was destroyed by the Second World War. The palace is essentially a 1940's building built around 17th century plans. We went into another room and saw a huge collection os porcelein. Seems King Friedrich was something of a porcelein nerd. History was interesting. Upstairs was basically just a museum. Not very interesting to me.

Went back to place where visitors were staying. Bit drab. Also my mum seems unable to operate the keys.

Decided we'd go back to the German restaurant to eat, but they were full. The Italian place wasn't but they'd gypped us on the wine. Found a nice place in Freidrichstein. A little chain-y but did good steak! This place was halfway between where I lived and where my parents were staying. Got home. Got a text. "DDo you still have my key"? Turns out I had. Dammit, I'd just got in!

Okteberfest is mainly a Munich thing, but there is a Bavrian Brauhaus in Berlin. There's a also a very well organised expat comunity that arranges a trip there. It's close to where I live.

So I arrived. It was crowded! I had a beer, because what else is there to drink? Very nice it was too. The Oktberfest Bier and a Dunkel. Each in a 1 litre glass, because how often do you get the chance to do that? Huge glass!

The band played music and we drank and danced on tables! We need more of that. Perhaps nexty time I should get a pair of Lederhosen.

So, I was hoping I'd have more time at this flat. Despite crappy internet and being a bit impractical for public transport, it's actually rather nice. Sadly the landlord wants it back.

So, I went on a website. Saw some suitable canddidates. Was a little preoccupied with car and work and didn't respond immediately. By the time I agreed to see them they'd all gone. Actually that kept happening. Have decided I need to pounce on these places as soon as I get told of them.

Since seen two places. First one wasn't quite right.

First place - tiny TV stuck on the wall. Scruffy kitchen. Scruffy bathroom. The place could really benefit from a trip to Ikea. The bedroom was nice, being in the basement so a good few degrees cooler than the rest of the place.

Second place Sort of adequate. I decided I'd accept it mainly to remove the flat hunting stress. I realised today that I had the email address wrong. Oh well. Will see what happens