The Next Time You are in Berlin - Einstein Cafe

If you ever go to Berlin, I highly recommend visiting this place for a meal or dessert and coffee or a drink. Einstein's is a chain of cafe/restaurants now. You can find locations around the city and they have fantastic coffee and good food, and they serve alcohol too. But you want to go to the original Einstein's which still operates out of a very old European building with an outdoor garden on a quiet street in a residential neighborhood in west Berlin, near the zoo and Tiergarten. 

We first went here for a late lunch and the food and the atmosphere were so fantastic that we decided to return the next day for breakfast, and then again that night for dinner. We also found another one of their cafes in the touristy part of town and had some coffee and dessert in the afternoon. So yes, we went to this place 3 times in one day and 4 times over the course of two days! That is how much we loved it. I can’t speak highly enough about the food and the atmosphere at the original place. Very old Europe feel. We had such a positive experience. 

For breakfast order the eggs and bacon or eggs and herbs or the poached eggs in a glass and don’t miss the bread basket because their croissants and bread and butter are to die for. On the lunch/dinner menu I had the beef goulash with dumplings. Twice. It was the best meal like that I have ever had. They have great wines and their coffee is probably some of the best I have had. They are known for their coffee. They have a great bar upstairs too that we hit after dinner - very loungy and cool - candles, open windows, old school soul music - reminded me of the early days of the 18th street lounge in DC. Wish I had taken some photos of the building.

Café Einstein Stammhaus, Kurfurstenstrasse 58, Berlin. Open 8 am to 2 am. http://www.cafeeinstein.com/

Jesus was really born in Hong Kong...

I like to take photos. I like to take photos of interesting graffiti. Not the big artsy kind. Just random little things I find on bathroom walls or staircases and things. I found this in Bruges, going up the many stairs of the bell tower in the market square...made famous worldwide by the film "In Bruges." I wonder what's up with this one...so random.

Trains

Anyone who has traveled in Europe knows how great the train system is - I don’t have to write much about it. Until now I actually have traveled very little in Europe and very little by train. My travels were more for work and in places in Asia and Africa. So seeing Europe and by train is a fairly new experience for me on the scenic byway.

We arrived in Paris without a hotel booking...yeah I know, I know, but it was really busy planning for the wedding...so we decided to just move on and save Paris for the end of our honeymoon (we still have to book our place in Paris by the way...). Sitting in the Paris airport we decided to jump a train to Bruges. I love how you can do that here in Europe. It is so easy and not that expensive. Then later we trained by Eurostar from Bruges to London, mainly because I wanted to travel through the chunnel. Paul has done it, but I had not. It was not as thrilling as I thought it would be…just weird to think you are riding under the water. The train to London was a nice, more relaxing change from flying. We then flew to Berlin to save time, but then took a train to Dusseldorf. And when we realized we would not be able to book a hotel room in like a 100+ mile radius of that area (several large “fairs” including the world’s largest book fair happening in Frankfurt), we were able to on the spot book an overnight train down to Basel which is where we are at the moment. 

We will probably end the trip by taking a train up to Paris, and then home. I love that you can get everywhere pretty much any time, and it is not really that expensive. Power at your seat to charge your laptop; comfortable seats; a dining car; mostly uncrowded cars; beautiful views. 

I am sold on the beauty of Europe’s train system.

Eurostar train Brussels to London - in the Chunnel.