Wochenmarkt

After hearing much about it we finally went there today: Wochenmarkt at Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg. It really was worth the sunny bike ride to these beautiful old market halls if only to have a cup of coffee in café Neun at the entrance and for the wonderfulness of the old halls the market is in. We also had some lovely pies, let the girls play at the mini playground in the middle, bough flowers, Easter branches and this week’s groceries.  

If in Berlin I would definitely recommend a visit to Markthalle Neun and enjoy what they have to offer. We will definitely come back on Thursday night for street food Thursday. 

Fischerhütte

After a long stroll we don’t want to send Opa and Oma back on the road with empty stomachs. Since Strandbad is not open yet we decide to drive by Fischerhütte am Slachtensee for some decent German food: Pea soup, Potato soup and of course some sausages. 

It still is a bit cold of sitting outside, bur the soups definitely keep us warm enough. They also have a playground to entertain the little ones, but as our little ones are clearly a bit too little for this playground we in turns keep guard at the gate. Keeps you warm enough alright

Wannsee

Grandma and Grandpa are leaving again. What better way to escort them for the first bit of their journey back than to drive to Wannsee together for a stroll along the lake and throwing some sticks into the water.

Restaurant Richard

First time we have a (Dutch) babysitter here in Berlin, which means we have time to go out for dinner! Because it’s also almost my birthday we decide to go to a special place this time which I have been eying since we are here: Restaurant Richard. The restaurant is hidden on the otherwise not so pretty Koepenicker strasse, but the place itself is, inside and out, lovely to see. Beautiful stained glass windows, a wooden carved flower ceiling with gorgeous glass lamps hanging from them.

 Their menu is equally lovely. They serve you up to nine courses and have a five course vegetarian menu as an alternative. We go for a five course meal and combine the courses of our likings, which in my case means I don’t have a main course, but four small dishes and a pina colada desert. The food all is very nice, they cook with regional and seasonal products. We had a lovely evening here and I will definitely be back some day to try their five course vegetarian meal when one of my vegetarian friends comes over.

Leaving Richard we wave at the Lenin statue standing in between containers on the other side of the road.

 

Volkspark Friedrichshain

Ice Cream – Petit Fleury

Besides a restaurant and a coffee bar Petit Fleury also has a little separate ice cream bar with some pretty good flavors among which also some Soya onces. My little ice cream expert really likes their waldmeister flavor and I discover one of my favorite flavors so far of which I totally forgot the name but it had some nice caramel like chunks in it. Will be back here for that one definitely.

Strandbad Wannsee

Since we live in Berlin our car is mostly standing parked somewhere being forgotten in between trips to Amsterdam. Back in the Netherlands he was like our second home, especially in the weekends driving up to friends or family, the forest or the beach for walking the dog. Here we do everything by foot or bike and since we don’t know anyone living outside of Berlin we don’t need the car for visits either.

This weekend we found a great new destination for using the car: Wannsee. Strandbad Wannsee. We’re so happy we packed up the gang this morning to check out this place. The forest was really quiet, both kids and dog can run around freely, throwing sticks in the lake and see a deer run past just a few meters away. (our dog is a city guy, don’t think he even noticed)

I know in summer it will probably be crowded, but we will certainly enjoy the lovely quietness as much as possible before this time.

Mail

Moving abroad means we  have a lot of mail to send to all newborns and birthday kids. Searching for sendable presents, a lot of drawing, lots of wrapping and lots of writing. We don’t always find the time to do so, which results in whole afternoons of business and a whole lot of presents to send at once. So sometimes the birthday kiddo’s have to wait a month or so to receive their present, but better late than never right?

Clärchens Ballhaus

I discovered Clarchens Ballhaus via Instagram when one of the bloggers I’m following, Sandra Jutto, had lunch there. It looked to me as a place I would like to visit. I decided to go there that very same day and since we have already been three times. It is the perfect place for an early dinner with kids. Later in the evening it can get really crowded and there’s always a chance a dance lesson will start in the middle of your dinner, but their big empty space in the middle, where later on there will be dancing, is a great place for the kids to run (or dance) around while you eat your delicious pizza.

One visit we started outside in their garden but halfway went indoors because it started raining. Inside the band was practicing for their performance later that evening, our oldest girl had the best evening dancing around the ballroom floor. I haven’t been to their upstairs room yet, but hope to go there soon. It’s said to be beautiful

Waiting

Waiting for grandma and grandpa to arrive. I've been trying to distract them all morning but they're so excited they have waited for over an hour, the whole time with the same spirit and enthusiasm.

Birthday

The celebration of one very important birthday calls for my very first homemade birthday cake.

We’ve been reading a book about a vegetable garden a lot the last couple of weeks because it’s one of her favorites on this moment. In the end the vegetables have a party and they celebrate with a big cake with dots. Ever since we read the book for the first time, about two months ago, she has been talking about wanting a dotted cake for her birthday ever since. I’m not really a good pastry baker, but baking a normal cake and putting some colored marzipan on it: that sounds as something I must be able to do.

Of course I ended up putting some fruits in the cake attempting to make it feel sort of healthy, but I must say making this cake has been very fulfilling. Especially after seeing the little happy face as we walked in with her so wished dotted cake and all the candles on top.