Four Days In Berlin

The Zoo in Berlin or otherwise known as the Zoologischer Garten is a major landmark in the city and whenever I have to meet anyone in Berlin I always tell them the directions to the Zoo as I think it is a good meeting point and the lion and elephant gates can't be missed. The Zoo is west of Berlin and it is also a U bahn and s-Bahn station as well as a departure point for several bus routes.

The zoo is the oldest in Germany and situated in beautiful surroundings just opposite the station. It is set in 80 acres of ground and and even older than the zoo in Vienna, Paris and London. During the bombing that took place on November 23 in 1943 the zoo was very nearly destroyed and only just over 90 animals survived. These days there are over 1,600 different species and about 14,000 mammals and birds, making it one of the largest and most impressive collection of animals in the world.

The main attractions are the carnivores, which live in the biggest enclosure in the world, a delightful area for nocturnal animals (underground), the bird house and the bear pits.

Everyone loves a giant panda and people flock to see these gracious and cuddly creatures. The monkey house which is my favourite house has some remarkable species such as orangutans, proboscis monkeys and gorillas (my husband's favourite). The big creatures like rhinoceros and elephants are worth visiting but the wonderful setting for the zoo has become a tourist attraction in its own right. Ancient trees, beautiful verdant expanses, trickling ponds and gurgling streams, not to the mention the restaurants and children's play areas, create a great destination for a day out.

Also, if visiting the zoo a trip to the aquarium is a must. It was built in 1913 and renovated in1980. I believe that this is also the biggest in Europe. The aquarium contains about 600 various species with just over 8.5 thousand creatures in total. Many of the displays have been specially built to recreate natural landscapes with rivers, fish and reptiles; alligators and mouth snapping crocodiles live in their natural habitat. The creepy crawly insect house contains a marvellous collection of spiders, scorpions and centipedes from all over the world.
The zoo is open every day from 9am until 6 .30pm and the aquarium is open from 9am until 6pm.

Berlin is one of my favourite cities to visit and since there are a variety of cheap air operators flying to the city it makes it easy to hop on a plane and visit regularly.

Berlin is a vibrant city offering history, culture, art and nightlife. A sprawling metropolis packed with towering flat blocks, roads of exquisite shops and boutiques, cinemas, theatres, museums - everything you could ever wish to see packed into this great city. However, my review today is not about the city but about a restaurant I visited in the Kurfurstendamm area (Ku Damm for short).

Although Berlin is a large city it is very easy to find your way around and there are a plethora of hotels and restaurants so you don't have to worry about finding food or a bed for the night.

This particular visit last year, we stayed in a hotel in the Ku Damm area but wanted a change from eating in the hotel restaurant. For some reason I wanted to try an Armenian restaurant so we went walk about until we came across the Dwin restaurant.

This restaurant named after an Armenian provincial capital in the Middle Ages is situated on the street Kurfursten Uhlandstrasse and the address is: Kurfursten Uhlandstrasse 157, 10719 Berlin (Wilmersdorf), near (Kurfurstendamm).
Telephone +49 (0) 30 881 29 15


The restaurant is small, probably the smallest I have ever been in. I think about 6 large tables in all. The decor is very simplistic - white walls with two shelves of various wines and spirits on the right as you walk in.

As we arrived at the door the waiter came and took our coats and showed us to a table on the left hand side facing the window.

The atmosphere was very smokey which didn't go down too well as neither of us smoke, and quite noisy with the music of Norah Jones blaring away mixed with family banter from the rest of the occupied tables.

Straight away I noticed on other tables that a lot of food had been left on plates and my inital thought was 'Oh!Oh! this is not a good sign! But realised later that this wasn't because the food was unsavoury - it is the Armenian way. They like to choose several different dishes from the menu, sample a bit of each and then leave the rest. I have seen this happen in Cyprus also and amazed how much food is wasted.

At this point we hadn't ordered any food only drinks.

A party of about 8 people suddenly came to the door and the waiter kindly showed them to our table. I was beginning to get a little irritable as the smoke was making my eyes run and it was very claustrophobic being in such a small environment with all these people. I am not generally anti-social but I always feel a little uncomfortable when having to share a table with people I don't know. I find I can't concentrate as I am too busy listening to other peoples conversations.

The menu wasn't too extensive so it was easy to read and choose a dish. For a starter we ordered a feta salad with olives which when it arrived was enormous - enough for two people and we had ordered one each. It was delicious and had all the normal ingredients you would expect. Feta cheese, shredded carrot, cabbage, cucumber, peppers and so on. It was very tasty The price was 6 euros each.

Main meal - we had been told by a colleague that this restaurant was famous for the dishes cooked on the lava stone. Basically these are meats like chicken, lamb , minced meat, marinated and then cooked on the famous lava stone served with basmati rice, potato gratin or salad. As the feta salad had been huge we were quite full and didn't fancy this option so instead we both chose a rollo which is home made Armenian flat bread filled with a choice of vegetables or chicken. The chicken fillet was tender, dressed in yoghurt, tomato sauce and pomegranite syrup. I thoroughly enjoyed my rollo but I do love flat bread but my husband wasn't too keen.This was priced at 8 euros each.

To drink we had a bottle of French red wine - Chateau de Pena which cost nearly as much as the meal - 29 euros to be precise. The wine was smooth and adequate but nothing special. It's ridiculous what restuarant's charge for wine. I am not a cheap skate but I do begrudge paying over the odds for wine but then I feel like an old misery if I don't have any so I can't win on that one.

We always give desserts a miss but there was a fesh selection of home made desserts and they looked very filling and extra sweet.

To finish the meal we had an Armenian coffee which is called 'surdch' and cost 2 euros. Very strong I might add.Tea is also served as well.

After we had paid the bill I couldn't wait to be outside in the fresh air. My head was buzzing with listening to Norah Jones whine on for nearly 2 hours. I have nothing against this lady. In fact I think her voice can be enchanting but the same album played for 2 hours nearly drove me bonkers. What with that noise, cigarette smoke, clanking of plates and boisterous voices I was ready to go to bed or at least have a nightcap in the hotel.

Unfortunately I wasn't very impressed with this restaurant. It seems that they prepare and cook a handful of good dishes and they do this extremely well. The service is excellent but the restaurant space is too small making it claustrophobic. The only remark I can make about smoking at the dinner table is - Put an end to it as it does really spoil the atmosphere for other guests. All and all I will give the experience 5 out of 10.

Summary: Not bad but not really good.

Last year when I visited Berlin on a 4 day trip, the Bauhaus-Archive Museum was one of the great museums in the city I chose to visit. The museum is situated by the Landwehrkanal which runs parallel to the River Spree in Berlin.

The building is one of Walter Gropius' later designs who was the founder of the Bahaus movement. It was built from 1976 to 1979 in Berlin on the flattest piece of land near the canal. The design is similar to the building that had already been built in Darmstadt. Gropius had always wanted his work to be admired in the city of Berlin. The distinguished silhouette of the building is admirable indeed but once inside the building it is a different story. The inside of the museum is very unpretentious and I felt as though I was going back to my youth and walking through the rooms on the lower floor of my secondary school. The building definitely has an institutional feel to it.

The museum now in Berlin is the home of the largest collection and covers the entire spectrum of all the activities involved with this movement. Some of the designs that most people will recognise are the ones of chairs, buildings, tea pots and office furniture. These have travelled world wide and are still popular today.

Collections
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I'll start with the collection of art as this is the field I am most interested in. Having walked through the entrance and paid our admission fee, I was undecided as where to look first. There is a vast mixture of drawings, collages, watercolours and sculptures displayed in this area. Some works are from the great masters themselves - others are the works of their students. The collection of work in this area is quite a sombre one. It doesn't shout out at you and say,'Look at me!' Most of the work displayed on paper is quite old and frayed around the edges. Many of the drawings are sketches and rough sketches at that. They could be interpreted as naive but are fascinating in the way single angular lines and shapes are the beginnings of contemporary pieces of furniture, lamps and buildings.

Of all the artists work on display I think Wassily Kandinsky's is my favourite. Probably because the Russian born artist's work is vibrant and busting with colour and does shout at you. Although he was influenced by the Impressionist movement he went his own way and experimented with lots of different styles. He started to add a blob here and there, a straight or a curved line would be added with a palette knife but everything would blend in on the canvas to add a sense of harmony. He is known as the founder of abstract art and in his earlier years participted in several different movements and later joined the Bahaus School.

Another section that I found intersting was the collection of commercial work. Having always been interested in marketing and had to do a lot of my own in my earlier days I was fascinated by the early samples of posters, forms of lettering and different ideas used for advertising products of the time.

Georg Muche was a character of great interest and there are several exhibits of his work on show in the museum. His main creative interest was weaving and he was asked to join the Bahaus School by Klee and Gropier. He set up and was in charge of the weaving workshop and was responsible for the Experimental House along with Marcel Breur. He became very influential in the architectural study group and produced the original Stahlhaus at Dessau - Torten which was a prototype for the ideal of inexpensive homes suitable for one family, built of pre-fabricated steel pieces welded on a metal frame. Although not a prolific artist most of his prints were very experimental and influenced by artists such as Marc Chagall and Paul Klee. His use of colour was usually in blocks with the odd geometrical shape forming patterns in the forefront of the painting.

The workshop area is very interesting and I think actually was my favourite part of the museum. I remember the room being packed to the brim with exhibits. The room was far to small to display everything. The collection takes us through every Bahaus period and displays all products made either by hand or prototypes for mass production. A lot of the simple pieces of furniture, lamps, chairs, ceramics and items made from metal, are easily recognisable in furniture shops today.

Famous pieces such as Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair which was the first bent tubular steel chair. This design has been copied many times and are sold in most contemporary furniture shops all over the world. It is a classic piece of furniture. He also designed the Laccio Nested table set which is a lounge table made from tubular steel with a laminated top. It is versatile because not only is there one long table but a smaller table nesting over the top. Very simple, very clever and exhibits an aesthetic tecnique. Cesca chairs are also his design and are probably the most popular of the cantilever chairs. Cantilever chairs are a very simplistic design made from metal tubing and have no back legs.

Apart from furniture there are accessories like lamps including the famous Bahaus table lamp designed by Wilhem Wagenfield in 1924 which is a famous icon and has been copied and changed over the years but most offce lamps today are made from the original design. This is my favourite design of lamp as it is so versatile - it can be moved in lots of directions, is elegant although slightly industrial looking. Other works from the texile workshop are on display including ceramics and kitchen utensils made from metal.

The collection of works in the architecture section covers approximately two hundred works from all the courses taught during the Bahaus movement. The topics covered are technical study, study of ground plans and interior decoration. Most of the work is documented by photographs, documented sheets and a row of architectural models. The most important model is the one of the Bahaus building in Dessau which was built in 1925. I do love architecture and am partialled to a Bahaus building which there are many distributed throughout the world. This section was very interesting especially the simplistic drawings.

Now we move on to the photography section which is also very exciting as most of the work displayed is from the twenties and thirties. One of the photographers work I really like is Walter Paterhans who was a German photographer and taught at the Bahaus School. All his photographs are a work of art and depict great beauty. He used his camera to illustrate the expressions of the times, experimenting with methods of composition. He loved taking snapshots of everyday things and loved to photograph objects in the form of still lifes. There are photographs of architecture also and portraits.

On the top floor of the museum is the library and it is accessible to everyone. The special collection covers all aspects of Bahaus life documenting art, architecture, photography, with the main focus on the twenties. There is a wonderful selection of old and modern magazines.

When you have finished your visit to the museum don't forget to call into the shop where you can buy copies of some of the famous icons and designs from the Bahaus lamp to one of Aalto's vases. All items are beautifully displayed on stacked glass shelving which are immaculate. Sales from the shop help to finance the museum and contributes to the printing and publishing of magazines, and also towards the acquisition of other Bahaus works which are exhibited in other parts of the world.

There is a Bahaus cafe which is fitted out with Bahaus design tables and chairs, of course. We did stop and have a cup of coffee because I wanted to sit on one of the cantilever chairs just for fun. The cafe was quite busy and reminded me of my student days as it definitely had a 'university feel' to it. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, basic snacks and cakes are on offer and in the summer there is a terrace where you can sit out and look at the canal.

I had waited a long time to visit the Bahaus museum and although I really enjoyed it I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought I would have been. The museum building itself is a fantastic design but seemed very jaded on the outside and weather damage was beginning to take its toll. So repairs are definitely needed there. Inside, it was like a huge institution and was very silent which I found a bit off-putting.

The Berlin Plaza Hotel is situated on a side street leading to Kurfurstendamm which is one of the most popular boulevards in Berlin where Berliners like to stroll and be seen.

Knesebeckstrasse is a very different sort of street - you could say a litlle jaded and what I will always remember are the bright pink pipes which are quite wide and dominant and run up and down most buildings on the street. I never did find out what they were actually for - heating I think.

This 3 star hotel sits very nearly on the end of Knesebeckstrasse and it is well situated for many attractions such as the Zoo and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The nearest underground station, Uhlandstrasse U Bahn, is close by.

Booking
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We booked on line which was a simple procedure. You just fill in the on-line form, say how many nights you wish to stay and what sort of room - single/double, and then pay a 10% deposit with a credit card. The balance is paid on departure.

Foyer
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Having walked through the entrance you will be greeted by someone on reception wearing a stylish uniform. The reception area is quite small, in many different shades of brown. There is a semi circular desk with information leaflets and newspapers on the top of the desk. After checking in, you can then take the lift up to your room which is right next to reception. If you have to wait for the lift then turn around and you will see a 1930's style glass cabinet filled with souveniers of the area. The lighting in this area is very bright and I remember the lift being quite small and only having the capacity to take 3 or 4 people at a time.

Rooms
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As soon as I walked inside the room I was amazed at how white everything was; walls, lamps, bedding and lace curtains. The only other colour was a maroon/plum sort of colour. I thought the room looked very clinical but extremely clean.

There were two single beds without headboards which I am not keen on. I like a headboard to lean on. Two small white lamps were mounted on the wall above the beds for reading. The duvet covers were sparkling white as were the pillows. The duvets were very warm and comfortable. At the side of one of the beds was a small table to put your books and glasses on and there was a separate table at the end of the room with a Bauhaus type armchair. The carpet was a maroon colour with a pattern that wasn't too outlandish. The swishing curtains matched the colour of the carpet and were full length and reached the floor.

The view from our window was facing the opposite side of the street. Here we could see a couple of cafes and an Internet cafe and some more of the bright pink pipes.

Bathroom
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Another clinical affair. Stainless steel and blinding white tiles. Spotlessly clean. So clean - you could perform operations in the room. Towels were also white and were soft, fluffy and of various sizes. There was also a small towel for placing on the tiled floor so you didn't slip when coming out of the shower or bath. Although I can't fault the cleanliness I did think the bathroom and the room were a little too austere for me.

Breakfast Room
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Now, I really did like this room. It had a sort of 1920's feel to it and the spread was amazing. As you entered the breakfast room you were met by four large oak dressers which on top, a fantastic buffet was laid out. Tables were placed down either sides of the buffet and at the back of the room more tables were laid out but raised up on a seperate platform. Beautiful, glass chandelier lamps hung from the ceiling giving the room a pleasant and mellow ambience.

The buffet was one of the best I have come across in this part of Europe. Baskets filled to the top with different types of bread; white bread, poppy seeded rolls, brown bread with caraway seeds, black bread, pumpernickel. Cold meats ranging from various hams, garlic sausage, salami, cold sliced sausage. Boiled, poached fried, scrambled eggs. Edam, Gouda, creamed cheeses, Brie, German cheeses - all displayed on huge platters and decorated with salad. Every type of cereal I can think of with dried fruit, fresh fruit, yogurt, cream, hot or cold milk to accompany each cereal. A feast fit for any traveller. Coffee - freshly percolated and as many cups as you could possibly drink. Black tea, green tea and so many types of fruit teas. The list of goodies is endless and everything I ate was absolutely delicious. Top marks for the breakfast.

Evening Meal
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To the left of the reception desk is a glass door that leads you to the adjoining restaurant called The Plaza Knese, which is part of the hotel. We found on our first night that this restaurant was very busy and had a jolly, bustling, noisy atmosphere. First we sat at the bar and had a couple of beers and soaked up the atmosphere. I remember feeling quite exhilarated with the atmosphere and suddenly I felt my face get overheated due to the warmth of the restaurant and the fact that I was wearing an Arran jumper as we had been out in the cold air for a stroll before entering the restaurant.

To eat our food we moved away from the bar and found a cosy table in a corner. Most of the meals served where bar type meals but traditional Berlin dishes. We both chose the same dish which was stuffed cabbage leaves in a tomato sauce with fried potatoes.. The servings were quite large and very filling. Both my husband and I enjoyed our food and to accompany the meal we tested a couple of glasses of the house wine which was a Burgundy, very smooth and went down a treat. The lady who served us seemed very nice and friendly or at least we thought so.......until........

After our plates had been cleared away we decided to have another couple of glasses of the very same wine. My husband went up to order and spoke in German to the same lady. As we were having glasses of wine the contents had to be poured from a bottle but in the bottle that was already open there were only a few dregs which she secretly poured into both our glasses, hoping that my husband hadn't noticed and off she went to open a new bottle. She then added the new wine to the old wine in our glasses. Suddenly, my husband's blood pressure rose and I could see he was annoyed. I thought, Oh no, here we go. He asked nicely if she would mind changing the wine and starting again - pouring the new wine into two new glasses. She refused and then a kerfuffle kicked off. The manager then stepped in and said that this was the normal procedure. My husband said that he didn't want the glasses of mixed wine and refused to pay for them. Words were spoken and in the end the manager gave in and gave us both a glass of fresh wine from the new bottle.

That small incident was unfortunate because it put us offf eating in the restaurant the next evening and put a bit of a damper on our first night there. It was also a shame because the restaurant had a great atmosphere but the customer care wasn't up too much.

To summarise - the hotel is in a good location - very handy for shopping, theatre, restaurants and travelling on the underground to the Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz Square. The rooms are spotlessly clean, simply furnished if a little utilitarian. Free wireless internet is available and there is also an Internet Cafe across the road. The breakfast room is delightful with a vast array of foods and drinks to choose from. The adjoining restaurant has a lively atmosphere and serves good food and wine but the customer care is second rate.

The price of a twin room with breakfast was 50 euros per night which isn't a bad price to stay in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.

The first night of our stay in Berlin we chose to eat in the Berlin Plaza's Hotel but from then on decided we would eat out every night because there are so many wonderful and varied restaurants in Berlin. Taking a walk down Kurfurstendamm, or down Ku'damm as the locals call it, is an enthralling experience. A beautiful boulevard full of cafes, restaurants and high class boutiques. We hadn't walked far when we came across a Spanish restaurant called El Dorado. From the outside the interior looked very bright, warm and welcoming and as we knew steak would be on the menu due to the fact that it says STEAKHOUSE in huge neon lights on the front facade we decided to give it a go.

On entering the restaurant you immediately get a Spanish feel. Classical guitar is playing softly in the background, waiters are busy buzzing around and the overall atmosphere is one of calmness but vibrant at the same time.

The decor is absolutely beautiful - so very colourful with pale yellow walls adorned with stencilled motifs; strings of garlic, peppers and Serrano hams hung from the ceiling.

Dried flowers and fresh flowers are everywhere to be seen giving the dining area a rustic and country feel. Wall mounted candle lights give off a mellow yellow light making the pale walls richer in colour, Andalucian style.

The furniture is very dark - possibly solid oak. Tables are long and solid with bench like seating having solid backs with bright red scatter cushions. On each table a solitary candle in a long candle holder sits with the table set with bright yellow serviettes. Everything colour co-ordinated which is simple but very effective.

Above the table and chairs are rows and rows of bottles of wine intermingled with bunches of flowers and candles which illuminate the reds and golds of the wines. Mirrors are placed on the walls along with paintings of rustic Spain. Apart from the hundreds of bottles of wines surrounding the restaurant there is also a corner area filled with dark mahogany shelving, holding wines from the New World.

Once I had taken in my surroundings for the evening I sat down with my husband and immediately the waiter came along. As soon as he spoke I realised that he was Portuguese and not Spanish which was an added bonus for us as both my husband and I are fluent in Portuguese having lived in Portugal for ten years. My husband spoke to this small, cheerful and enthusiastic man in Portuguese and immediately a huge smile beamed out towards us. Then we started to chat and he talked about home - he was from Oporto and said he missed the warm sun although Porto is quite a rainy place but I guess it isn't as cold as Berlin in the winter. After chatting about Portugal he then gave us the menu and recommended certain dishes and wines and then left us alone for a short while to decide.

Before choosing our food we decided to have a cold beer first which is the normal procedure for us. We had a Berliner Pilnser which had a good wholesome flavour - very similar to Czech Pilsner. That went down a treat. When our friendly waiter, called Jose, came to take the food order he gave us another smile and said a few words and then we ordered.

Firstly we ordered from the cold tapas menu and I chose Serrano ham because wherever I go if air dried ham is on the menu I have to try it just to compare it with Portuguese proscunto as that is my favourite of all time. The ham was thilny sliced and came with a salad decoration and a basket of fresh bread. The texture of the ham was smooth, not too salty and melted in my mouth. My husband ordered Pimientos Rellenos de Queso which are small cooked red peppers filled with a soft cheese served on a bed of salad drizzled with olive oil. Of course he added more olive oil being an olive oil junkie. He said they were exquisite.

There is no point eating at a steakhouse if you are going to order fish but you can if you want to and there are some fish dishes on the menu; salmon. prawns and lobster. Apart from steaks there is a menu of house specialities which consist of mixed grill, lamb, chicken and pork. My husband chose the mixed grill and I had a sirloin steak cooked medium rare. The mixed grill came served on a huge white plate and consisted of Argentinian steak, freshly grilled (well done - that's the way hubby likes it), pork steak which was extremely lean and tender, small piece of lamb and a chicken fillet. This plate of grilled meat was served with chunky potato wedges and a small pot of sour cream. To add a little colour to his meal my husband ordered from the side dishes and dressings menu, a bowl of Mediterranean vegetables which had been baked and drizzled with olive oil and fresh herbs. The vegeatables came served in a terracotta dish and the bowl of sour cream came in a white pot placed on top of a plate decorated with a blue mosaic design which was very pretty and colourful. What was his verdict? He said that all the cuts of meat including the steak were soft and tender and delicious. The wedge potatoes were a little dry for his tastes but he thought the Mediterranean vegetables were scrumptious and he could taste a drop of balsamic vinegar mixed in with rock salt, oregano, basil and of course olive oil.

My sirloin steak weighed 250gm - the largest available. I asked the waiter to ask the chef to make sure it was medium rare when cooked and any good chef should know just the correct amount of cooking time to achieve this. I looked at the side dishes and didn't fancy chips so I chose a baked potato with herb butter and a side salad. I have to say that my sirloin was spot on so full marks to the chef. The minute I sliced into the steak I could tell it was cooked how I liked it. The taste was so meaty, juicy and smooth. No amount of chewing was necessary - it just glided in my mouth. It was delicious. My jacket potato could have been cooked a little longer but it was okay and the herb butter was very creamy and added an extra taste to the potato. The sald came in a lovely Spanish decorated bowl filled to the brim consisting of lettuce, garlic, onion, red and yellow pepper and lots of sliced tomatoes and olives.

To accompany our main meals we had a bottle of Luis Canas Crianza Rioja which was a bit pricey for us at nearly £18 a bottle. Rioja is one of my favourite Spanish wines and when you get a good one the taste is heavenly. I love that smooth, fruity but dry taste. Yes, this was a good wine so after the first sip I had stopped thinking about the price. Our friendly waiter poured the first drops into large, balloon type glasses and then left us in peace to enjoy the flavour.

Did we have any desserts? If you read most of my restaurant reviews you will notice that we generally skip desserts but this was such a lovely restaurant and the ambience was perfect that we did order two desserts and another bottle of wine. Very naughty but you hvae to have some pleasures in life.

My husband ordered Creme Catalana which is like a Portuguese egg custard type of dessert with a caramel sauce poured over the top. Actually I had a taste and it wasn't too filling. My dessert was almond tart or more like a cake with a hot orange sauce poured over the top. I had to eat this slowly because I knew that if I gulped it down I would get indigestion. So I took my time, taking each spoonful gracefully and being totally intoxicated with the tangy orange flavour and smooth almond taste accompanied with my full bodied Rioja wine. After the meal I just wanted to go to sleep but my husband said that I would be arrested for vagrancy if I did that.

So I didn't - I paid the bill which came to 98 euros. To say we had two bottles of wine I didn't think that was a bad price. Of course we gave Jose a tip because he was an excellent waiter and lovely person.