If you are ready for Christmas, you’ve already bought your presents, cleaned your house, and you don’t have to participate in the preparation of Christmas supper, you could devote this last weekend to a short journey! Berlin is pretty close, it’s a nice trip, and you can choose a highway or a train. And what’s going on in Berlin? There are so many amusements that you won’t stand a chance of seeing them all in just one weekend, but you can always come back for more 🙂 And, as there’s still no snow, the Christmas fairs may substitute it in whetting your appetite for Christmas…
We got to Berlin at the end of our German journey. Our first ravishing experience with the delightful Christmas markets was in Dresden where we had a curry wurst after a few-months-long break and mulled wine for the first time this year. Nuremberg had brought us to our knees – we fell in love with the city’s ambience. Leipzig gave us unique culinary pleasures that we’ll probably tell you all about in January. Last but not least, there’s Berlin… Will it be our cherry on top? 🙂 I have to say that I’ve never dreamt about Berlin – it’s an immense city and I prefer smaller cities, more intimate, more charming… But I’ve changed my mind as soon as we got there. Why is Berlin so fascinating? Most of all, it fascinates with the diversity visible at the first glance, diversity that makes you want to come back for more than a day and a half! 🙂
If you don’t have a lot of time, we recommend visiting Berlin in the Christmas season, as there are over 60 markets in the city! Small ones, big ones, well-known and fringe, in interesting neighbourhoods and devoted to a certain theme – i.e. a vege market.
the surroundings of Postdamer Platz
It’s definitely worth visiting the fair located at the Gendarmenmarkt Square. The square is beautiful – there’s a German Cathedral on one side, a French Cathedral on the other, and Konzerthaus – a concert hall. It looks very picturesque with a Christmas tree and white stalls decorated with stars. The fair offers traditional delicacies, sweets, wooden figurines, soaps and candles. Maks had a mandatory wurst (grilled sausage), and we went for marzipan potatoes (absolutely delicious!) and a banana in chocolate.
The Gendarmenmart fair is the only one that’s not free – at least among the markets we’ve managed to visit! Thankfully the price is not too high – 1 euro 🙂 So, it’s an affordable pleasure 🙂
Christmas afternoon ambience
it’s crowded!
a filling meal for a cold afternoon – yummy!
and a 100 marzipan variants for desert 🙂
and maybe with nougat?
Concert Hall
The second fair we visited is located at the Postdamer Platz – we had counted on attractions for children because we had seen a carousel, as we were passing by. You can take a short walk from Gendarmenmarkt to Postdamer but we got spooked by the cold and decided to go by car. The Postdamer Platz makes a completely different impression in comparison to all the other markets, as it is located in a very crowded and modern spot. It’s one of the largest squares in Berlin; there are many companies, a city train station, etc. But that’s not why we were there! Maks was determined to ride a train that he had remembered from Nuremberg and he was looking for it in Berlin. Unfortunately, the Postdamer Square didn’t have a train to offer, but there were other amusements…
Maks wanted to ride on an inflatable rubber boat down an artificial slope – it’s the most standing-out attraction. However, although Maks had begged and cried, it was not suitable for two-year-olds. So, he had to take potluck on the carousel and the meeting Santa Claus. When he saw him he just called “Santa”, stopped on a dime and started staring at the miracle, but as soon as Santa Claus gave him a chocolate, he became interested in something else – as you can imagine 😉 In the meantime, we bough souvenirs and sweets that we hadn’t had before. The most prominent thing about Christmas fairs is the Polish language. There was predominantly Italian, English and Spanish in Nuremberg and Dresden, but there were many Poles at the Berlin markets! I’m glad, as they’re worth visiting!
down the snowy slope on an inflatable boat
attractions for children
biscuit balls with icing
looking for Christmas souvenirs
it’s a tough choice
Although we spent very little time in Berlin (too little!) we managed to discover two delicious spots. The first one is called Chipps and it’s quite close to Gendarmenmarkt Square. Chipps offers predominantly vegetarian cuisine, delicious soups and very interesting salads that customers compose by themselves. I was brought to my knees by their pasta with goat cheese and rocket, as well as their marvellous deserts served in tiny jars. The idea of serving food in little jars, glasses or cans is definitely not new but it’s nonetheless charming. A coconut crème brûlée with pineapple sauce in a tiny jar is to die for! 🙂
one of the best pastas I’ve recently have
it’s to die for!
The second spot we visited was even more amazing, as it perfectly matched my culinary preferences. Spanish tapas and jugs of sangria in the centre of Berlin? Why not! We don’t have any pictures as we got there by coincidence, but if you ever want to have calamares fritos, croquetas or pimientos de padron in Berlin, you have to go to Las Olas on Alexanderplatz. On a Friday night the restaurant is teeming and it’s almost impossible to find a free table! As soon as we try their tapas, we understand why! And the fact that there are puntillas, or fried small squid on the menu is definitely one of the advantages, because even in Spain they are seldom on the menu and they are perfect with sangria! 🙂
We concluded our stay in Berlin on a Saturday morning with delicious food and in exquisite company. We had breakfast in a very untypical, filled with life and positive energy blogosphere house – at The Family Without Borders. I don’t know who was more pleased with the visit: us or Maks who finally had the chance to play with the girls after a week with his “oldies” 🙂 Ania, Tom, thank you for your hospitality! 🙂
It was a very intense time in Berlin filled with many positive experiences, so we’ll have to come back! 🙂
Due to the short length of our stay we didn’t have the chance to see many attractions, so while looking for information about Berlin go to the Visit Berlin website – Berlin’s official tourist portal. And then jump on the train or into your car and leave for Berlin!
* this post is the result of the collaboration with the German Tourist Centre (DZT)
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