Friday was our last real day to
explore Berlin and we had lots on our agenda – so we had our earliest start to
the day – out and about by 8:30 am. We
started at a restaurant/record store that Rachel had found online called
Gordon. We got talking with the owner
and learned that they are music producers big in the techno world and wanted to
combine music and food in a way that would reach a wide variety of people. He initially asked if we spoke Hebrew when we
entered so I asked if we were in an Israeli neighborhood. He said it was actually a Muslim area but
that he thinks eating together brings people together. He filled us in on the big happenings in
techno world going on that night, but I’m not sure which of us he thought he
was appealing to. The food was amazing
though and he gave us a great tip, insisting that we walk a few blocks out of
way to see Templehof Field. We didn’t
know where were headed and were surprised to walk into a HUGE open field used
at various times in the recent past as an airfield, concentration camp…(look
this up) and is now used by Berliners for recreation – biking, running,
gardening, kite flying, etc. It was last used as an airport in 2008 and the people of Berlin voted overwhelming to not to turn the land over to developers. 
The last museum on our list to see
(though there are many more for another trip to Berlin) was the Jewish Museum,
tackling 1000 years of Jewish History. The museum is super interactive and
interesting, focusing on the lives of Jews over the years. I was surprised that recent history focused on
how Jews were treated in the years leading up to the war and how Jews were
treated as Germany healed from the war, but very little on the actual Holocaust
itself. |
| Synagoga |
From there we went back into Kruezberg to the Turkish Market along the river, which is held on Tuesdays and Fridays. We got one big Turkish lunch and sat at a table to eat it. We were joined by an older Turkish woman who has lived in Berlin for 30 years but still likes to get her Turkish fix at the market. We also had the chance to try juice made from sugar cane. The man had a big machine to juice the cane and mixed it with a little lime and mint. It was surprisingly not overly sweet, but really refreshing. Rachel is still trying to figure out how we can juice the cane available at our farmers’ market in Mountain View.
With the sites on our list out of
our way, we set out to take care of some business that needed to get done. Birkenstocks are cheap here by US standards
and we all wanted to get a pair as a usuable souvenir from our trip. Shopping and decisions don’t come easy, but
we eventually all decided on the best pair for us. The girls also wanted to stock up on Ritter
Sport chocolate before we left, so that was our next stop. I was thrilled when I walked in to find that
the ice cream machine was in action! I ordered
up my ice cream mixed with a white chocolate crisp bar and, truth be told, it was
tasty but nothing compared to the Jones Ice Cream from the night before! 
The very last thing I really
wanted to get to was a bike ride through the huge Tiergarten Park stretching
two miles in the middle of the city. I
had no interest in riding a bike on the streets of Berlin so we rented bikes
very close to the park entrance and quickly left the hustle of Berlin behind as
we rode through paths winding through the beautiful park. If only we had time to pull over and sit on
the grass and read! Instead we rode
along, stopping briefly in the Rose Garden and to see the iconic Victory Column
(so glad we didn’t miss that!).
We
returned our bikes in time to drop our shopping bags at home, change into our Birkenstocks,
and head out for our 7 pm reservation at Industry Standard (isn’t that a great
name for a restaurant?). We enjoyed a
delicious and interesting meal, with each course described to us in detail by
the waiter. They had forgotten one of
our course – a pea and goat cheese on toast – but brought it to us when we
reminded them. They were having trouble
with their credit card machine so we scrounged together every last cent that we
had to pay the 45-euro bill (thankfully they decided to comp us the pea dish)
and were able to leave a small tip. We
walked out penniless.
On a whim earlier in the day I had
googled Jones’ Ice Cream to see where else they sell it in Berlin. Turns out their one store is just a couple of
blocks from our house. If we rushed from
the restaurant we figured we could get there a few minutes before they closed
at 9. But, of course they didn’t take
credit, and we didn’t have even 2 euro for a cone. We left in search of an ATM and had to walk
quite some ways to get to one…we returned to Jones’ at 9:30 fearful he would
turn us away but he stayed open. Two cones in one day is a little indulgent I
know, but for the best ice cream of one’s life you make exceptions. It was a perfectly sweet end to our wonderful
week in Berlin!
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