Berlin, Germay! Part 1: food and transportation

We’ve been to Berlin before, though it was many years ago. We decided to stay in Charlottenburg, which was a nice neighborhood to be based out of. We walked around some days and bought day pass tickets to the subway for 7 Euros each on other days. We could have bought one-way tickets for 2.80 but didn’t know if we’d want to take more than 1 additional ride, so it was worth the 7 Euros for unlimited rides. We didn’t get a tourist pass because we planned on activities other than many museums, which are discounted with the tourist pass. The ticket machines have a British flag on the screen to select your preferred language, and the app is also helpful.

Although we are not big shoppers, we went to two malls twice, for different reasons. We were intrigued by KaDeWe’s claim to be the largest mall in continental Europe, and it may be true! Our favorite section was the food court, with an unbelievable variety of fish, meat (burgers starting at 9 Euros), pasties, teas, coffees, fancy decorative sugars to buy for your tea parties, cheeses, chocolates, and on and on. We had a pastry, which was ok, tea that was super, and dinner at the buffet on the top floor. It’s self serve and then your plate is weighed, which can get pricey, but the view was great and it wasn’t crowded. Like many stores in Germany, it closed at 8pm, which we found surprising in such a large city. Please note that the cafeteria on the top floor of the Karstadt just a few blocks away on the Kufurstendam street has the same foods as the buffet at KaDeWe, and the prices seem lower (I got the same fresh juice twice, and either the KDW overcharged me, or the prices really are different). The Karstadt department store buffet is smaller but tastes great and a different wonderful view.

The other mall we went to just about every day is Bikini next to the zoo. The star of the show for a certain someone was their mashed potato snack bar. It’s on the outside of the food court on the second floor, and there are at least 8 varieties of mashed potato bowls made from fresh hot/whole potatoes and your preferred toppings such as grilled veggies, smoked salmon, etc.! Worth return trips! And their desserts were nice, too. The food court food was ok, but also closed at 8pm, even on a Friday, while the mashed potato place stayed open later every night. On the roof of the Bikini mall, you can look out into the zoo, and from the ground floor there is a large window into one of the monkey play areas.

Near the Stadmitte train stop, you will find yourself in a delight of many kinds of chocolate! There is a large shop, with a “deli” next door and a formal café upstairs that opens at 11am. Since we were there before 11am, we checked out the deli and loved the 2 types of chocolate we got there: a huge pudding for J and an amazing hot cocoa for me. They also have salads and sandwiches. I am not embarrassed to admit that we returned to the café in the afternoon and enjoyed the treats there. We actually liked the deli items better, although two of my 4 small desserts were outstanding upstairs. Next time, we’d sit at the cafe chocolate “bar” where a conveyor belt carries small plates of pastries that you select and check off on a paper menu at your seat, then pay at the end. I thought I knew all about excellent European chocolate, and am happy to add the discovery of Rausch to my list to superior products.