Another thing that I’d like to do in Berlin next time around is to visit the food or farmer’s market. I have simple wishes, I do not ask a lot =)
Below are more pictures that I took during our 4-day Berlin long weekend trip in March of this year. They are daily street scenes, some of our dinners (they did not merit their own post), more historical monuments and places and things of interest.
One of our dinners at Restaurante Malatesta, an Italian restaurant in Gendarmenmarkt. We shared a spinach salad doused in balsamico vinegar and showered with roasted pine nuts. Dutchman had homemade ravioli with buffalo milk and ricotta cheese filling while I had seafood risotto which was quite salty. For dessert, see next picture. Overall: 3.5 stars out of 5.
We shared our dessert: Creme caramel at Restaurante Malatesta. 3 stars out of 5... Bonne Maman's creme caramel at Albert Heijn is much better. I must add that the older Italian waiter who attended to us was a such a sweet gentleman. He thinks the Dutchman is American because he ordered Coke, haha!
Mini cars are so easy to park in the city.
I was speechless to see the massive Nespresso shop in Berlin! Wow, look at the variety and the inventory, and how do they stock all of them so high up? This one is located on Friedrichstrasse.
Nespresso capsules.
Beer bikes even go late into the night in Berlin. If I am not mistaken this concept started in the Netherlands, I blogged about this 5-7 years ago, but this has since been banned here. I can understand why because Amsterdam and Utrecht for example where these beer bikes started are full of canals. When the boys get rowdy and intoxicated with alcohol they might find themselves drowning in the canals! Scary.
The Berlin MINI.
Some random architectural interest, building bridge and sculptures. In Budapest, they have similar statues guarding doorways.
Berlin has a Galeries Lafayette but it does not come close to its Parisian sister. It embodies the same style though, the atrium and the dome.
Das Sachsenhaus, proud of its 'Made in Germany' stuff.
We also had dinner at the Spanish restaurant chain called Maredo. We had high hopes of this restaurant but our experience was summed up into a 3 stars out of 5 rating. My salmon was OK and the scampis as well but it lacked the ooomph. I even forgot what Dutchman had. The dinner was saved by the dessert: Appelstrudel with ice cream and whipped cream. This is 4.25 stars out of 5.
I cannot help it but I am attracted to the green colour.
At Alexanderplatz, some (cheap) Don Lucas Brut (cava sparkling wine). 
A small protest rally on Alexanderplatz.
The 17th of June Avenue (Strasse de 17 juni).
Grosse Stern (Great Star), is the central square of the Grosser Tiergarten on the 17th of June Avenue.
As we drove out of Berlin, we followed the Polizei =)From Berlin, Dutchman and I went to nearby Potsdam for a half a day visit. Potsdam is hands down very pretty. More about it next...
With my Pashley Princess having transitioned to a new home, it is time to ring in a new era.
This is my new friend, as well as the reason the Pashley has left me: an olderGazelleI unexpectedly acquired last week.
This Gazelle is most likely from the mid-to-late 1990s (which, frightening to think, was 15 years ago!). It was made in Holland, purchased in Germany, and brought to the US some time ago by the previous owner. It feels like a modern bike, but handles similarly to a vintageRaleighDL-1.After riding it for several days, it became clear that it suited me better than either myPashleyor my vintageRaleigh, because it combined my favourite features of both. Thus, thePashleywas set free, and the vintageRaleighwas moved to our photo studio (to replace theMerciermixte, which has been set free as well). The decision was swift and ruthless, as I did not want to dwell on it too much. TheGazelleis not quite as elegant as thePashleyand not as rare as the vintageRaleigh -but as a transportation bicycle it just suits me better.
This Gazelle is the A-Touren model, which I believe is the predecessor of what is now the Toer Populair. It looks similar to the Toer Populair, but comes with a coaster brake (yes!) and front drum brake, whereas the current model has rod-activated brakes. 
This bicycle is enormous. The frame is 57cm (22.5") with 28" wheels and wide tires, and I am just barely tall enough to get on and off comfortably. In fact, I had to remove the original saddle (which had monstrously huge springs) and borrow the flatterBrooks B18 from my vintage Raleighin order to ride it.But that is fine with me, as the large frame feels very comfortable.
Indeed, the enormousness of the bicycle seems to be an asset while cycling. Riding this Gazelle feels like sailing a ship - a huge and initially unwieldy ship that surprises you with its agility and power to accelerate once it is in motion. It sails through flat stretches and then glides uphillonce you get it going,seemingly on its own accord. To be sure, it is a dauntingly heavy bike - but I do not feel the weight once I am in motion, and it does not pull me backwards when stopped at hill-top intersections.
Everything in the pictures is native to the bicycle, except for the saddle, the pannier, and the coiled cable lock on the rear rack. It has a (Sachs) 3-speed coaster brake hub that works perfectly, and the gearing is just right for me. The front drum brake is activated by a lever mounted on the right handlebar. The headlight and tail light are bottle-dynamo activated. They work nicely, but eventually we might rig up a system to make the headlight brighter. The fenders, full (vinyl) chaincase and solid (vinyl) dressguards are in excellent condition. The rear fender has not only the white edging, but also the matching Spanniga tail light I so love that was specifically designed for these. The rear rack is enormous and sturdy. It is the only part of the bicycle that shows signs of wear - a small patch of rust where some paint got scraped off.
What I love about older Gazelle bicycles, is the overwhelming amount of proprietary insignia with a gorgeous Art Nouveu feel to it. This is the headbadge.
And a tiny badge underneath the tail light. Who does that anymore?
Tiny gazelles embossed onto the chrome on the flat fork crown!
A gazelle on the front fender!
A gazelle on the stem bolt.
Even a gazelle on the kickstand bolt! And of course you already saw the gazelle on the bell in the first picture.
Another design feature I love about this bicycle, is the lugged connector between the downtube and the curved toptube. Most manufacturers no longer do this, and I do not remember whether the current production Gazelleframes are still made this way. Anybody have one handy to check? It would have to be a post-2006 model, which is when I think they changed production methods.
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to my new-to-me bicycle, and I will write more as I get to know her better. I do not see myself making too many adjustments to this bike, other than eventually replacing the tires with cream Schwalbe Delta Cruisers and maybe getting some nicer grips. I don't think the absence of my Pashley has fully sunk in yet, but I am pleased about the home she went to - they are a beautiful match. Hopefully, I have now met my match as well! Now, to think of a name...
There's more to it than just that though. I had been chewing on this very topic for a blog post when she wrote to me. Because I'd been pondering how surprised I am that I still get emotional when we leave a place. I get attached and do fall in love and am always sad to be saying goodbye. Part of it is just my personality, meaning I hate saying goodbye.
The other part is that there is just something so uniquely endearing about each and every place we visit. Each place has a way of worming itself into our hearts. We find some good there. We find something we admire there. We find something that is beautiful there. We find people that inspire us there.
That might sound really cheesy to those that haven't experienced this way of living and seeing the world. It might sound like someone who says they still love every girl/boyfriend they ever had. Really though, it is quite a bit like all of the relationships one has. There is always some downside or something that is snark worthy, and trust me we do our share of those observations when visiting. We are human after all. Like past loves though, there is always something that touched your heart and becomes a part of you when you live in a place. Even if you do only live there for a week or two.
When I was a girl, the one and only vacation I remember our family going on was to Galveston Island. One of the things we kids loved there were the houses on stilts. I still love them. It is one of the things that makes island living seem so quaint to me.
Beach houses tend to have three things in common as far as I can tell. They are on "stilts". They have great porches. They are built to have views of the ocean. I think they are beautiful.
I have had some kind of creedy crud, or my allergies are really in high gear and it's been that way for over a week now. I feel pretty miserable. It was kind of nice today though because it gave me an excuse to sit and catch up on editing pictures and blogging some!
