Liebes Berlin

Last month we spent a sublime holiday in Berlin. The weather was magnificent, mainly fine and beautiful, contrary to the forecasts.

Because of this we decided to visit everything on foot, which is easy to do, since Berlin is a pleasant city to wander around. The avenues are wide and long, with their names clearly visible. The streets are very calm and uncluttered, with an absence of stressed people and no confusion. This was a surprise and a real pleasure.

For this review of Berlin I am writing how I felt about this famous city. There is no use trying to explain the city's history to you as it has already being well documented.

This time, I did not go to Germany to visit family and friends, but rather to have a romantic break and to get to know and explore Berlin. It was really splendid. Sweetheart and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay and we found the Berliners to be very friendly, attentive, open and efficient (yes, the latter is also important for me!!).

Thus, over the coming days, I will talk about our holiday: visits to museums and a palace, traditional restaurants and our divine hotel.

But, first of all, a tour of the city and its historic monuments - I hope you will enjoy it and I wish you a lovely week.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is possible to walk in this pleasant labyrinth among the concrete slabs.

Brandenburg Gate is a triumphal arch in Berlin, and one of the best-known landmarks of Germany.

St. Hedwig's Cathedral is a beautiful Roman Catholic cathedral and its interior is very original. It is the seat of the archbishop of Berlin.

The Neo-Renaissance Berlin Cathedral and its amazing dome. It is located on Museum Island in the Mitte quarter.

I loved the rear view of the Neue Wache, converted into a war memorial since 1931. Inside there is a touching sculpture "Mother with her Dead Son".

Potsdamer Platz is the Berlin equivalent of New York's Time Square. This important public square is near the Brandenburg Gate and the German Parliament Building and close to the huge Tiergarten park.

The futurist roof of the Sony Center at night...

In the evening we came across Checkpoint Charlie, which was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.

Goethe statue in the Tiergarten, a huge urban park...

The Reichstag (German Parliament Building)...

A nice walk to the Museum Island...

Me at the Roman archaeology section of the extraordinary Pergamon Museum.

Berliner beer - a delicious “must try”.

Charlottenburg Palace is the largest surviving royal palace in Berlin.

Ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, not rebuilt as a reminder of WW2, and its splendid interior...

Entrance to the Berlin Zoo, the first zoo in Germany which houses the widest variety of species of animals in the world.

East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km long international memorial to freedom. The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall.

The Oberbaum Bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin's River Spree, an important symbol of Berlin’s unity, and one of the city's landmarks. 

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant (2014)

When Addie Baum’s 22-year-old granddaughter asks her about her childhood, Addie realises the moment has come to relive the full history that shaped her.

Addie Baum was a Boston girl, born in 1900 to immigrant Jewish parents who lived a very modest life. But Addie’s intelligence and curiosity propelled her towards a more modern path. Addie wanted to finish high school and to go to college. She wanted a career, to find true love. She wanted to escape the confines of her family - and she did.

Author: Anita Diamant is an American author who was born on 27 June 1951. She has so far published five novels. “The Boston Girl” is a New York Times bestseller. She has also published guides on contemporary Jewish themes.

My thoughts: I read “The Boston Girl” last month, but I first came across this book last summer in a book fair. Sadly, I didn't pay attention to it back then. Since then, I've heard good things about it and now I would recommend it to everyone! If I had to use one word to describe “The Boston Girl” it would be “captivating”. It is such a lovely book and very easy to read. Addie, now aged 85, tells her life story to her granddaughter, Ava: her education, friends, family, love affairs, happy marriage, jobs, hopes and struggles... Basically, she grew up in the early 1900s in the USA as a poor Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe. “The Boston Girl” is a work of fiction, but it feels so real. Addie’s story is quite simple and gentle, but extremely absorbing. Whilst reading it I was reminded of “Angela's Ashes” by Frank McCourt. If you allow me to use one of my bizarre expressions, this book “reads like a candy”.

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

At the end of March I saw this great fruit cake recipe in Monica's blog “Playing with flour”. I loved it and wanted to try it straightaway, which I did the following day. This is a simple little cake: easy to make and scandalously good.  It is the perfect combination of all the ingredients, with its softened strawberries and a hint of lemon.   I have slightly adapted Monica's recipe.

Bake this cake in a 20 cm diameter pan, since it's a thin cake (I actually used a 23 cm tin).

Ingredients

130g all-purpose flour

2g baking powder

2g baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

56g salted butter, softened

130g sugar

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 vanilla pod

1 large egg

118ml buttermilk

10 medium-sized fresh strawberries, sliced in half (I used 5 because my strawberries were big and sweet, but regret doing so because they shrank when cooked, so I advise you to use 10)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 190 °C. Lightly butter and flour the cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of greaseproof paper for easier removal later.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In another bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar. Add the lemon zest.  Beat the mixture at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the egg. Beat well.

At low speed, mix the dry ingredients with the buttermilk in several batches. Mix until just combined and smooth. Scrape the batter into the cake pan, spreading it out and smoothing the top.  Place the fresh strawberry halves, cut-side down, evenly around the top.

Bake until the cake is golden (about 20-25 minutes).  Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and let the cake cool for about 15 minutes in the pan. Carefully remove the cake from the pan and let it cool further on the wire rack.  For me, this cake is best served at room temperature.

Serves 8

A massive thanks to Monica!

Remembering Edinburgh… city of mysteries, legends and medieval architecture

Scotland, is seen in the thoughts of many as the country of mysteries, witches burnt at the stake, legends, dark corners and medieval architecture. We love the Scottish, their accent, landscape, history, heritage, famous Scotch whisky and tartans...

So, to close these “remembering” posts, I have chosen to honour Edinburgh, a UNESCO World Heritage Ste since 1995. It is the second most visited UK city after London. In my view, it is an excellent destination for a cultural holiday and five days should be ample time to see everything.

A couple of years back I stayed in Edinburgh in March.  The weather was cool and sunny, with occasional cloud. I visited some stunning places, walked through the city and parks and enjoyed the soul of this charming city.

I have put together a selection of photos, taken with my old compact camera, and will tell you a little bit about the places I visited. I hope you really enjoy the tour!

To start with, Edinburgh is divided into the Old Town and the New Town. The Royal Mile is the most famous and busiest street of the city. It runs for about 2 km and entertains us with curious narrow alleys, souvenir shops, hotels and pubs, with Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace standing at each end. The main streets forming the Royal Mile are Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate.

View looking at the Royal Mile

The inside of St Giles’s Cathedral offers beautiful stained glass windows and the famous Thistle chapel. The funerals of important Scottish personalities are held there.

The statue of one of the world’s greatest philosophers, David Hume (1711-1776)

Fun attraction, isn’t he sexy in his kilt?

Gorgeous pubs where you can drink a good pint of beer or a “wee dram” of Scotch whisky, in a very warm and eclectic ambiance…

Edinburgh Streets

Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress located at the top of the Royal Mile on an extinct volcano at the summit of Castle Rock.

Edinburgh Castle Gatehouse

The views from the Mons Meg siege gun....and Foog’s Gate

Holyrood Palace is located at the bottom of the Royal Mile. The Palace is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. It is also setting for state occasions and official entertaining.

Holyrood Palace

Forecourt fountain of Holyrood Palace

I loved the ruined nave of Holyrood Abbey, a romantic and mysterious place

 

In the gardens of Holyrood Palace

The Royal Yacht Britannia is where we discover what life was like on board the Queen's floating royal residence. This beautiful boat tour is very interesting and well documented with audio guides. It takes two hours to see everything.

Mary King’s Close is located on one of the Royal Mile’s alleys. Mary King’s Close offers a tour of the underground world of the 15^th and 16^th centuries. It is not a frightening place, but sometimes we feel uncomfortable because of the sinister true stories about people who died there. (I took no pictures there).

Scotch Whisky Experience, we visited this virtual whisky distillery where they explained the manufacturing process. It also offers the possibility of tasting before the end of the visit.

Nice bottles of whisky

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants and one of the world’s largest plant collections.

North Bridge

The Scott Monument and Gardens

Clinique Sonic System purifying cleansing brush

Hello ladies, I have been wanting to do this article to tell you about my favourite beauty  appliance for some time now! I have been hugely enthusiastic about the Clinique Sonic System purifying cleansing brush since the first time I tried it. I have been using this brush as it should be, every evening, for a year now...Now I feel I can finally tell you all about this marvellous tool and I would definitely recommend this product to you ladies.

In the past, I've never really been tempted by this type of product because I was apprehensive.

I have extremely sensitive and reactive skin and I simply thought that a brush would not really do any good to my skin.

In April of last year, I went to Marionnaud to take advantage of 20% discounts and bought a new perfume, Chanel No. 5. The sales lady explained all the advantages of this brush which CLINIQUE had released recently. I was won over by the fact that it was developed by a dermatologist in Switzerland and I was seduced by its small size, convenience, affordable price and effectiveness. I thoroughly enjoy this brush! Using it daily in the evening for just 30 seconds, my skin is smoother and healthy looking. My moisturiser seems to have a better effect in my skin. The timer feature is very good. I have never noticed any skin irritation at all, even after the very first use. It is very gentle and yet so effective. I cannot think of anything negative to say.

Clinique Sonic System purifying cleansing brush, what is it?

It is an innovative sonic facial cleansing brush, dermatologist-developed and Swiss-engineered. It's waterproof and can be used for all skin types.

This brush is used for what?

The Sonic movement offers deep yet gentle cleansing. The angled tip targets the T-zone and other hard-to-reach areas and allows the skin to regenerate better by removing makeup, impurities, sebum and pollution. This reduces clogged pores, spots and imperfections. The skin becomes healthier with less dryness-related wrinkles, because the skin cleansing optimises the efficiency of any treatments that are applied afterwards.

How is it used?

*Use once daily for 30 seconds (and no more than 60 seconds).

*Apply cleanser to moistened skin or on the brush head.

*Massage in a circular motion for 15 seconds on the cheeks using the white bristles.

*Massage in an up-and-down motion for 15 seconds on the T-zone using the green bristles.

*Rinse, pat dry and moisturise your face. Rinse the brush head after each use.

How much does it cost?

Clinique purifying cleansing brush: CHF 137.00 at Marionnaud

Purifying cleansing brush head: CHF 22.90 (replace every 3-4 months for best results)

Worth every penny!!!

This post, like all my blog posts, is not sponsored.