May 21, 2014

Mini break Berlin (part 1)

Berlin is actually a very green capital
The biggest shopping boulevard a k a KuDamm
The best departement store in town - KaDeWe
One of four Champagne bars in KaDeWe...
OUTER BEAUTY
When you go on a mini break it is all very intense. At least for me and my husband when trying to do just a little of everything in 48 hours in a metropolis...Last weekend were spent in Berlin, and we had definitely high hopes, having been to Berlin several times before, but this weekend was one of our best ever, we would both say. The weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot. The hotel was great, actually more than great.
To take it from the beginning...since we live in the south of Sweden close to Denmark we traveled by car, if you have been reading this blog for a while you know we love a good road trip. We took the ferry from Gedser to Rostock, which takes two hours. Perfect for a stress free eating in the restaurant on board. Two hours later on the road we arrived in Berlin, and it is always fantastic to arrive in a pulsating metropolis that Berlin really is. We checked in at the newly built Waldorf Astoria and had a great corner room with a panorama view over the city. The location of Waldorf is great if you want to be in central Berlin with walking distances to both sightseeing and shopping. Since I´ve been several times before, having done all sightseeing thoroughly, I focused on shopping, culture and food, and time in the hotel's SPA.

KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens, is the biggest department store and is actually second largest in Europe after Harrods. We spent a great amount of time here...The shopping is outstanding with all big brands having shops in shops here. You find everything from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. to Tory Burch, Uggs, and Fabiana Filippi. If the shopping is great here, the food hall - the Feinschecker etage - is even more fantastic. Here is where we also spent a lot of time...with four Champange bars, filled with people from noon to evening to 30 food stands with every choice of food you could come up with, this is seriously fantastic. The thing with the food hall is that it is actually very popular and not touristic. Berliners go there to have a glass of Champagne or have some tasty food, enjoying themselves in a bubbly atmosphere. We hopped between several stands, shopped a little, had a glass of Champagne, shopped a little more, had a bite to eat and started over again. Two days in a row actually...







Can never really have too many of these...


There must always be room for a glass of Môet rosé...


To not bore you with too many details in one post I will tell you all about the fabulous hotel and it´s fantastic Guerlain SPA in an additional post along with a great restaurant tip and some more shopping in the cool area Mitte. All in all, Berlin is über cool and great for a mini break, definitely meeting high standards in culture (the whole city is beaming with culture), hotels, shopping and restaurants which was our focus during this long weekend.