Zu Besuch

Life in Berlin rolls along. The big excitement of late was a visit from Sam, jetsetter that she is. It was a short visit and I had to work for a few hours on Sunday, but we tried to pack in as much fun as possible. We finally had our summer bbq, though the weather refused (yet again) to cooperate and so we had to move it inside. (Because the Germans love to bbq so (little-known fact), many of the parks here have areas where you are allowed to bring your mini IKEA grill (Berlin is 99% IKEA). Anyway, we grilled on the balcony (and by" we" I mean "he") and people were shivering in their wool "end-of-German-summer" coats. On the upside, there's literally nowhere to buy ice here so outdoor bbqs feature warm beer, which I just can't support. Anyway, a good time was had by all and we were actually joined by an acquaintance/friend we knew in Barcelona, which made me feel all worldly and cool. I made a gorgeous plum tart with hazelnut frangipane, but as is my way, neglected to take a picture.

Other activities included a German breakfast (somewhat lacking in the meat and cheese dept. albeit) auf dem Balkon, highly successful flea market wanderings, randem wanderings resulting from my inability to read a guidebook (sorry, Sam), Kaffee und Kuchen (Egg Cream-Poppy Seed Torte!), and because Sam is my Beer Friend (or rather I tried to be her Beer Friend back in our Barcelona days when there were a lot of holes to fill...(sidenote: she was also bestowed with the title of Sommelier for el Camino de Santiago 2006, a job she carried out beyond all expectations)), a visit to my favorite brewery mit Restaurant.

This weekend we are off to Hamburg (the last trip to Hamburg was cancelled) to visit a bunch of babies (3 baby-related visits in 8 hours have already been scheduled!), say that they are cute and give them presents. Alas, I think all the babies will take up the time that I might otherwise use to eat eel soup and a wierd/gross but typical salad including pears, green beans, and bacon and other Hamburg delicacies. Schade......