Category: in germany

Categories
foooood in germany

bonanza coffee heros


the sign outside states “don’t die before trying”, and so, try we did. and then it became a sort of ritual: every time we were nearby, the caffeine siren calling would divert us from our path straight into this tiny little coffee shop. well, the coffee and the cheesecake, if we’re being honest. it’s really good.




i don’t know enough about coffee to comment beyond “i like it” – so their fancy machine has little allure on a commoner like me.

but sometimes, good coffee has this quality of making time go slower while you sip. have you noticed? this is one of those coffees. you take a sip, taste the foam, close your eyes and feel all is well with the world. you take a bite of that cheesecake and let it melt in your tongue, slowly. yup, you don’t even notice the impatient baristas anymore. all is well. :)

bonanza is on oderberger straße, 35 near mauerpark.

Categories
in germany

walking on history, II: stolperstein


stolperstein, or stumbling blocks, are the name of these little brass cubes that you can find on the sidewalks of berlin. they’re small and unremarkable in the hustle and bustle of the city. but if you take the time to stop and really look, you’ll notice they’re more like silent memorials. each one of these blocks marks the last place of living of a victim of nazism, who was later deported and murdered. they’re made by artist gunter demnig, who started this project in 1993 – today there are over 20000 of them, all over europe.

in the words of cambridge historian, ioseph pearson:

“It is not what is written on the stolpersteine which intrigues, because the inscription is insufficient to conjure a person. It is the emptiness, void, lack of information, the maw of the forgotten, which gives the monuments their power and lifts them from the banality of a statistic.”

more from this series.

Categories
in germany photography

photomaton

i’ve always wanted to live in a city with one of these…

ana in the photomaton


…and now we do! :)

Categories
foooood in germany

sweet berlin

imagine a market where the booths are all from local bakeries and chocolateries displaying their tiny bits of goodness… how could we resist such an invitation? so we’ve spent some time today cruising their stalls, picking morsels here and there, and then sampling them on some sunny church steps, along with friends. perfect afternoon in my book!


“kalter hund”, or cold dog, is apparently a typical german sweet made of chocolate and crackers. reminded me of our portuguese chocolate salami, with a higher cracker to chocolate ratio :)

other yummy things we’ve tried:


the minute i knew hudsons cakes was going to be in the fair, i knew i wanted a slice of their “chocolate lausitzer porter” cake. we had tried it before, and it stuck with us. it’s so good, moist but not too chocolatey… just perfect.

like they say around here, lecker! :)

Categories
foooood in germany

berlin burger international

it’s this tiny place in the corner of sonnenallee with pannierstr. you order on the counter and wait for them to howl your name while trying to secure a place in the few biergarten tables outside on the sidewalk. your eyes wander hungrily up and down the table, to the neighbour’s plates. these are grown-up burgers, they slip from their hands and squirt ketchup everywhere as they try to eat them, an inevitable mess in the making. you smile in anticipation and wait some more while you watch the passers-by and briefly consider moving to this street. there’s that croissant place, the cakes place, the paleo place, the turkish market around the corner… pretty neat street, not bad at all.

you’re pulled out of your reverie when a strange sounding version of your name is shouted from inside. a few heads turn, eyebrows knitted. was it their name? nah, you’ve been here long enough, it’s probably yours. so you stride in, grab the bounty and plenty of napkins. just look, aren’t they a beauty? so you pull back your sleeves, press the bun into the burger with both hands, close your eyes and dig in.
every bite is like a blast of flavours in your mouth. the veggies, the meat, the sauces. it’s… really intense, and you’re torn between enjoying it slowly or inhaling it with superhuman speed.

after the first couple of times you’ve learned to drop the fries and soda… tempting as they might be, your taste buds can’t handle that much stimulation in a meal. just the burger is just right, and it ends all too quickly. now where did you put those napkins?

berlin burger international

berlin burger international
pannierstr. 5
12043 berlin – neukölln

open monday through saturday, 13h-23h