First We Take Berlin!

Our dear friend Ferdinand in Berlin reached out to tell us that his lovely daughter Clara would be getting baptized and confirmed in March 2022 and that it would be wonderful if Christos, Clara's Godfather, could attend.  

With the pandemic having curtailed our travels for the last two years an opportunity to once more cross the pond was well received by both of us so we booked a flight for a four night stay in Berlin but decided to add a bit and booked the return flight another four days after that but from Paris! 

The flight over was great for Lisa who got upgraded but less so for Christos with his sciatic pain and reliance on pills to get through the flight. Ah well, the rigours of getting old!

We made it to Berlin on Friday morning and stayed at the same place as when we visited in 2019, the Sir Savigny Hotel. Christos had wisely booked the previous night so we could collapse into bed at 10AM (rather than 3PM) and get a nap in before meeting up with Ferdinand later that evening. 

Around 4PM we met up with Ferdinand and after reconnecting went out for a tour of short Charlottenburg as the sun was setting. With the tour done it was time for dinner at a local restaurant where we both had enormous schnitzels accompanied by several glasses of simple but delicious pilsner beer. 

We left Ferdinand after dinner but ended up at a local bar near our hotel called Dicke Wirtin where the Guinness is only euro 5.30! 

Several pints were enjoyed as we watched the nightlife unfold (it being Friday night) before stumbling back to the hotel for a solid sleep.

The next day started with a lovely breakfast at our hotel before meeting up with Clara for a walk to pick-up Ferdinand at the local coffee shop and, after a brief pitstop at his place, to enjoy a sunny albeit brisk forty-five minute walk to Charlottenburg Palace. 

At Charlottenburg Palace Ferd and Clara left us, as Clara had to be back at her mom's soon, and the two of us enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the Charlottenburg Palace Gardens and then along the Spree and through Berlin for the sunny afternoon. 

We met up with Ferd in the evening at his place and had a few drinks before the two of us set off for a lite night dinner at a local, and very popular, Taiwanese Noodle House. After dinner it was back to Dicke Wirtin for our evening ritual of Guinness and people watching. 

The next day was the main event, Clara's baptism and confirmation into the Anglican faith! All told six kids were being confirmed and only Clara baptized and an Anglican Bishop had been brought in for the service. 

We arrived at the Church dressed in our finest at 10:30AM and the service began fairly soon thereafter. Some hymns were sung, some preaching was spun and about an hour later it was done! The only disappointment is that the planned standing of the Godparents for Clara's baptism did not occur so the need to be there in person was theoretically diminished but it was good to be there nonetheless.

After a quick trip back to our hotel, the afternoon was spent with Ferd, Lilly and two of Ferd's relatives back at Ferd's apartment chatting until Clara arrived a little later and then more chatting over beef ragout that Dorte had made earlier. Sadly Dorte was out of sorts and could not attend the day's festivities.

After Ferd's relatives departed we idled some more until it was time for Ferd to take Lilly back to her place. While he was gone, Clara and the two of us played cards (Clara's choice of game was called "Dog") and it was great fun as Clara's charm and fun-loving nature were on full display. Clara was exhausted after a long day and when Ferd got back it was time for us to go (the next day also being a school day with tests for Clara!), although not quite time for us to go to bed! So off we went for another night at Dicke Wirtin although this one was much subdued given it being a Sunday evening.

Our final day (Monday) was a subdued affair. We met up with Ferd in the early afternoon and the three of us went antiquing in Charlottenburg (no purchases were made but many fine things were viewed!) before Lisa and Christos headed back to the hotel in the early evening. Dinner for three was at a nice Prussian place where we enjoyed traditional German food such as duck with dumplings and purple cabbage (Christos) and veal in a white sauce with spetzel (Lisa). Bidding good night to Ferd it was time for one last trip to Dicke Wirtin (yes that makes four evenings in a row) where we closed down the bar with the staff.

The next day ... of to Paris!