it feels like it hasn’t stopped raining since we came back from portugal, in the end of june. gloomy days, cold and wet, as if it was back to school weather already. it makes us shy away from summer foods and turn to warmer comforts instead… like hot chocolates, cappuccinos and pancakes!

madame zucker is a breath of fresh air in these parts of neukölln. berlin cafés tend towards the shabby side, but not here. the mismatched white & red furniture is fun and light, there are wooden floors, red polka dot table cloths, a fresh flower in every table, low-volume music… it all seems to say “you’re too tense, relax here for a bit, have fun”. the word gezellig comes to mind :)

and then… we might have a slight obsession with pancakes, crêpes and the likes – it’s one of the first things we look for when we move. nothing beats a good breakfast for comfort, right? it’s my favourite meal of the day.

we’ve had other pancakes in berlin, but they were “cakey”, or drenched in cheap chocolate… do people really think they can replace nutella?! fools!! so it took a few tries until we found madame zucker’s pancakes, which were hiding just around the corner from our house, tucked away on the middle of an unexplored menu. behold this banana beauty:

it’s perfection! :) yes yes, they also have cakes, croissants and the typical german brunch fare – although why anyone would settle for less than exquisite pancakes on a cheat day is beyond me, but apparently some people (*cof* boyfriend *cof*) like variety. bah!

madame zucker, on wildenbruchplatz 5, is open everyday from 10am to 8pm. now you know :)

in a sharp contrast with little known slovenia, everybody seems to know something about berlin. people ask us, persistently: have you been to the brandenburg gate? have you seen the berlin wall? what about the holocaust memorial? have you eaten currywurst? did you climb the tv tower in alexanderplatz?

to which we answer with a relaxed “yeaaaah… we’ll get there”. we don’t feel any of this urgency to visit all the landmarks, and do lonely-planet marathons… we’ll be here for a while, so we’re taking our time, enjoying the gorgeous summer weather, riding our bikes up and down the cobbled streets of neukölln. just soaking it all in, sipping coffees in the sun.

so far, so good, i’d say. :)

when i think of european cities, i think about intimate cafés. lovely, warm and cozy cafés, with steaming expresso machines, newspapers and a crowd of happy people, sipping their cups of coffee and eating chocolate cake. do you have this mental image too? i was secretly hoping ljubljana would be a bit like this, having heard good things about its cafés.

so on sunday, we tried le petit café (trg francoske revolucije 4).






the place was crowded! and no wonder: good food, good coffee, nice decoration, not expensive… it was perfect. well except… the cups and mugs. sorry to be this picky, but it as if they got the whole supermarket shelf of cheap luminarc mugs (plus a few spare they had at home) and put them to use. they don’t look so nice on a café and almost ruined my bohemian vision of this brunch…

…almost. :) it was a good start, i’m looking forward to more “café testing”!

captain hostel‘s top floor bar: quiet, decent prices and great view of pudong. who says drinks on the bund must be loud and/or expensive?

i always have trouble spelling cappuccino. 2 sequences of 2 p’s and 2 c’s? that’s just asking for trouble. plus, i don’t know of many decent cappuccinos in shanghai (it’s not you, mr. barista, it’s the coffee you use).

now, meet this cappuccino:

a real work of beauty, isn’t it? look, look:

*happy sigh*

also, there are milkshakes, some pastas, paninis and other simple things. and a cat. oh, and pizzas. with carrots in it.

all mingled in a strange bohemian/cozy decoration, that you don’t see too often around here. the ceiling is wallpapered with newspapers that have gone yellow, the cat has scratched all the sofas…

and yet, it feels right. i believe i could spend my days here, marveling at the photography books and magazines they have, working quietly, enjoying the soft brazilian music, patting the cat and sipping cappuccinos.

tired of the sterile cafés in shanghai too? the marienbad is on 55 wukang road (but really, it’s on the beginning of anfu road). enjoy!