Berlin: to see Rachel, with Tracy and Simon

It was good to be back in Berlin and to see Rachel who had not joined us at the Kulturhaus and so we had not seen her for four days.

Good to be back at the Michelburger Hotel in Warshaurstrasse.

Julian and I went back to Berlin by train, as I was meeting Max's mum, Katrin that day, and Tracy and Simon had the opportunity to fit in another day's birdwatching and were fortunate to see their target bird the Great Bustard.

We spent at good few hours with Katrin who was charming and interesting and who had seen a good many changes in Berlin over the past 40 odd years, and had memories told her by her family going back even further.  We had teas and coffees in Cafe Anna Blume near her home in Prenzlaurberg and walked in a nearby park Kollwitz, named after a local teacher and artist.  More about this and Prenzlaurberg here https://www.knberlin.de/berlin-prenzlauer-berg/

 First evening. Rachel, Max and me at Vegan 1990 Boxhangerplatz.

All of us at Vegan 1990 oriental restaurant in Boxhanger Platz, the best tasty food, we all enjoyed it very much.

Outside Cupcake where Rachel used to work as a baker. Near Vegan 1990

Nearing the end of first evening

Tracy and me in Michelsburger after Restaurant 1990.  We had a pot of Turkish tea.  They make up their own tea bags.

Day one, our first full day, and here we are getting ready for our Segway tour of central Berlin and some of us are not at all sure whether we will get the hang of it and actually be let loose on the roads in central Berlin.

Simon in training with our guide Wallied.  A British Jamaican. Very good guide.

After 40 minutes training Wallied thought we were ready to hit the streets.

Here we are in front of the Brandenberg Gate.

Me with two Australian brothers who were on the tour with us, so a total of 7 of us

Tracy and Simon relax in the hotel courtyard after all the Segway tour  which was followed by a picnic lunch in the Teirgarten where we saw a Buzzard.

That second evening we went to an Indian restaurant in Prenzlaurberg.  Chutnify. Such a beautiful area, but the food was too hot and did not taste of much.  Lovely street scene setting  Quiet but interesting. Lovely warm evenings.

There are over 7000 restaurants listed in Berlin on Trip Advisor. 

Day two. Potsdam to follow on next page

East Germany and Berlin to see Rachel with Tracy and Simon. Part one birdwatching in Angermunde and Wahrenberg

All set for our holiday and before we met Tracy and Simon off the plane at Berlin Schonenfeld airport in the afternoon, we had picnic lunch in a park with Rachel.

Just off the sleeper train to meet Rachel at  Berlin Ostkreuz station with very Germanic tower in the background.  

That afternoon we met Tracy and Simon, collected the hire car thaat Tracy had arranged and drove North to Angermunde. This part of the holiday, i.e. the following 8 days were a surprise for Julian and I, because Tracy had planned them and it was our job to plan the Berlin bit.  Rachel was able to join us and she slayed in a nearby Air B&B and we picked her up each morning.

Our accommodation was in an old Water Tower, beautifully solid and restored and I wish I had taken some photos.  This was forgotten in the excitement of meeting and travelling and discussing our birdwatching trips.

First morning 5.30am start birdwatching walk in the woods near Angermunde

Even just one early morning took it out of us and we realised that we could not keep going from crack of dawn to dusk, which was at about 10pm, especially having consumed few drinks the evening before.

Swimming in natural clear lake near Angermunde

Beach at the lake

Eating supper in the sun by the lift at the back of the Wasserturn

Restored water tower (Wasserturn)  We had central floors below owners accommodation.

Typical East German church at Angermunde

After 4 days in the Watertower we moved to Wahrenberg near Wittenberge (not Wittenburg where Martin Luther nailed his thesis to the church door))

We stayed in a lovely old house Air B&B called the 'Kulturhaus'.  This was a big rambing old building with two large barns surrounding a central grassy courtyard with gardens to the side and rear and an active Storks nest with babies on the room of one of the barns!

Tracy and me in the garden of Kulturhouse

Simon learing at Tracy and you can just make out the Stork's nest on the chimney in the background

Tracy and Simon looking for birds at an old mill and education centre near Angermunde

Lunch at a lake  This was at Linus on the way to Wahrburg and where we saw the Penduline Tit's nest.

Courtyard Wahrenberg

Kulturehouse Wahrenberg  Only one bathroom!  We found another toilet which made things easier!

Here we are packing up at the Kulturhaus which we decided was very lovely despite some ambiguities and plain inaccuracies in the description on the part of the owner. 

River swimming Zurich

As we don't like to fly and go most places by train or bike, our trip to Berlin to see Rachel involved the Zurich to Berlin sleeper  We set off from our boat in Pont de Vaux near Macon, walked 2 miles to the nearest station with our luggage!  Train from Fleurville to Tournus, over night in Tournus and then train from Tournus to Dijon.  Dijon to Zurich, overnight in Zurich and then the sleeper arriving at 8am the next morning at Berlin Haupt Banhof. So it took us a few days but we got to have a lovely swim in a river in the centre.  It was 1km long and the current let you drift along very pleasantly. HEre I am here testing the water before getting into my cossie.

Add captionRachel outside her appartment building