living in Germany
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #4 – beer, food and sports
This week was pretty busy at work and the weather was not so great (this Berlin summer weather is similar to early Cape Town winter weather at the moment!). So the fun this week was in the food. During the week we visited two of our favourite restaurants in Berlin, Babel (a Lebanese restaurant on Kastanienallee) and Tommi’s Burger Joint, on Invalidenstrasse, which is a frequent pit-stop en route home from my bi-weekly German class. Also, it was Berlin Beer week, and several places around the city were showcasing various craft beers. I tried some new beers including a coffee cream beer, a sour rye beer and – my favourites – whiskey and bourbon barrel matured beers! I’m not sure if it’s just the Irish in me, but Wow, it tasted good. I’d be happy if they put whiskey in all beers!
We also had a lovely bobotie (traditional South African dish) and peppermint tart (a favourite South African fridge tart) prepared for us by a South African friend also living in Berlin with her British husband, and made a stop next to the Cape Times cafe/shop, right next door to a friend’s apartment, for a coffee and a quiche. Although the household items sold in the shop are definitely “designer”, since the prices are pretty high, it’s a beautiful room to sit in and have a coffee.
Another good thing this week is that they finally opened a Decathlon in Berlin, on Alexanderplatz. In case you haven’t heard of it already, Decathlon is a sports store selling well-priced gear for a wide range of sports. A Romanian friend of ours used to take a group of us to Poland to pick up cheap sports gear when we were planning skiing or other adventures. Glad a Decathlon store has finally arrived in Berlin!
Join the blog event at A New Life Wandering to read what others have been up to this week!
15 things I love about Berlin
Ausflug to Heide Park
On Sunday we and some friends made a trip to Heide Park (https://www.heide-park.de), an amusement /theme park which is about 3.5 hours from Berlin by car. It’s one of the biggest amusement parks in Germany and certainly the biggest I’ve ever been to (actually, the only other amusement park I’d experienced previously was Ratanga Junction in Cape Town – http://www.ratanga.co.za/theme-park, which was also a lot of fun). Heide park has nine rollercoasters as well as a variety of other rides suitable for many different ages and preferences. Continue reading
Weekend of blossom festivals
This weekend we visited the Baumblütenfest in Werder an der Havel (www.obstbauverein-werder.d
About us
We are a South African and a Czech living in Berlin, Germany, and we love visiting new places, whether close to home or far away. We love the outdoors, and whenever we get the chance we head to the mountains, fields, forests, lakes, rivers, seas and oceans. I started this blog as a memoir of our experiences living in Germany, our outdoor adventures and our travels to the countries around us, and further afield. Some of them may be about places you have visited, and some of them may give you ideas for your own travels. On our outdoor page, you can search for posts specifically about sports such as cross-country skiing and hiking.
Why did we name this blog Middle Europe? In English, the term Middle Europe is rarely used – Central Europe is the usual term. However when visiting a friend in Finland I was curious to hear that up north that’s what they call us down here. And coming from the southern hemisphere, travelling through the countryside and forests of central Europe reminds me very much of scenes from Middle Earth in “Lord of the rings”. Whatever you choose to call it, this region basically refers to the countries in the middle or central region of Europe which share some common landscapes and history (although of course each country also has its own histories and culture). This includes countries such as Czech republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Hungary and Liechtenstein.
Of course, I will also share some stories from South Africa (my home) and about our travels to other regions beyond Middle Europe.
Enjoy!