Today we walked again to Mauerpark to witness the phenomena of the flea market and karaoke…wow! It was so packed! The first thing we saw was a quartet (clarinet, drums, stand-up bass, and singer) performing klezmer/ gypsy /swing music. So good! We recorded them and will try to post it on the Google hang out. Then, we muscled our way into the area where all the vendors were, and it was body to body. Not our thing, so next time we will get there earlier, because there is so much good stuff to see. Clothes, jewelry, modern furniture, boots, tools, etc. I thought of my family here. I thought of my Dad because he loves flea markets, Mom because there was so much good stuff for thrift store prices (from what I could tell), Matthew as there were so many buskers and folks hanging out with their dogs, and Michael because there were food vendors everywhere. He would make a killing at this thing, and in Berlin in general. I am indeed challenged to find good fish in this town. But with all these “firsts”, I will. The karaoke hadn’t started yet, but we needed to get home and get ready to meet with our friend, Christoph.
Christoph lives only 4 blocks from us. Very cool! His apartment is decorated beautifully–minimalist with of course an emphasis on music and books. He treated us first to coffee and tea, and we chatted and got to know each other better. Then the meal began. Wow! First there was an Austrian soup. Yum! It had a barley base, white wine, rosemary, and not chicken stock, but goose stock. Delicious with red wine and fresh, warm bread! Then, the main course was a Bavarian pretzel. This was not like any pretzel I have ever tasted. It looked like Italian polenta with the same consistency. He bought the dough at a bakery then added bacon and chives. The man can cook! This he served with steamed asparagus and sautéed mushrooms. Oh, and it wasn’t over. For dessert, he made homemade crepes with strawberries. Good thing we are walking a ton.
Christoph is a gentleman. Mild mannered, a bit serious, but also witty. I think he thought well of us, or at least I hope so. We are invited to a party at his place this coming Saturday, so we must have done something right.
We walked home in the rain, and this ended a very nice first weekend.
