Author: ana

about me

Categories
in germany on the big screen

six movies to see and understand berlin a little bit better





we’re slowly working our way through a big “berlin movie list”, discovering a number of movies that portrait berlin in its different eras. they set the atmosphere to the places we visit and the books we read. we recognise the streets and sidewalks, the façades, the monuments, and even the everyday objects that we now see elevated to relics in flea markets across town… it’s quite magical.

in ljubljana we were lucky to find to so gadi, which takes place in the same houses we lived in. but in berlin, it feels like the whole city is a movie set.

any movies you’d like to recommend?

Categories
in germany traveling

public transportation

on the list of things we love about berlin, public transportation is featured prominently. i have a monthly pass for the first time in my life, and though it’s just a small piece of paper (not even a card!), the freedom it gives us is breathtaking. we can go anywhere in the city, anytime (well, after 10am anyway), by bus, tram, metro or rails. no need to worry about gas prices, insurance or where to park.

at 53 euros/month, the cost comes at around 1.76 euros/day, which is nothing for a big city, and especially given the mileage we put on it. the public transportation system here is as efficient as you would expect (despite some incidents now and then.)

the possibilities make me ridiculously happy. i’ve never felt better about our choice of leaving the car behind :)


Categories
foooood in germany

madame zucker

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 :)

Categories
foooood

slow carb breakfast frittata

one of the things that was hard for us in the slow carb diet was the prescribed 30g of protein for breakfast… you start looking at the labels, and unless you want to eat steak, chicken breast or protein shakes for breakfast, your options look rather grim.

that was until we discovered the almighty frittata!

frittatas are cool. they take little active time to cook, keep for a day in the fridge, are filled with protein and if you can get your hands on egg whites from a carton, the waste is minimal. we love them! :)

we use a variation of mark’s sausage & egg breakfast bites for ours. you need 8 eggs (we use 7 egg whites + 1 full egg), about 250gr of minced meat and whatever else you want to add (mushrooms, spinach, sundried tomatoes, etc).

cook the raw veggies and the meat until they’re done. mix it with the eggs, then pour it all on a greased pan. put it on the oven in medium heat for 20 minutes or until everything is well cooked. plim!


if you break the frittata into 4 equal parts, you’ll get about 20gr of protein in each part. add some lentils and ham to top up the proteins, some avocado w/lemon juice and voilá! problem solved!

Categories
foooood in germany

cupcakes…

…make our cheat days a lot sweeter! :)


these little beauties are from cupcake in krossenerstraße 12, friedrichshain, 10245 berlin.