Berlin Calling!

I was looking for a holiday destination for this year’s Easter break and I decided to take a trip to Germany’s amazing capital. It is a convenient destination as planes leave from Graz and I have a friend there, so I didn’t have to look for a hostel.

The flight went well and I arrived there Sunday evening. We spent a nice evening in a Lebanese restaurant and planned our week. I’ve already been to Berlin 6 years ago but that was only a 3-day-trip and as it was long time ago we decided to visit the most famous tourist attractions again. It took us one day to see the main sights like the Berlin Wall, Brandenburger Tor, Alexanderplatz, the Museum Island or the Siegessäule. 

Victory Column

Brandenburg Gate

Reichstag

Visiting a city with someone who lives there is completely different – eventually we didn’t to that much sightseeing but I got a closer look at places that real inhabitants of the city enjoy.  She took me to nice bars, we went to see a concert of a local musician and she showed me some magnificent parks.  

At the Rittersport shop

We also visited some museums – my favorite one is the Pergamonmuseum. It is divided into three sections: the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum and the museum of Islamic arts. The most impressive piece of art is the reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate, which was a gate to the inner city of Babylon. I also enjoyed the museum for Islamic art very much – probably because I’ve already heard much about Islamic art in Arabic classes but I’ve never had the chance to see some of it up to now. 

Ishtar Gate

Another must-see for Berlin visitors is Sanssouci – a palace located in Potsdam, half an hour from Berlin.  It reminds me a little bit of Versailles as it is built in a very similar style. The park is also beautiful. One can spend a lot of time wandering around there. Unfortunately it was freezing outside when we were there so we could not enjoy it that much. 

Since we were already in Potsdam I insisted on visiting the Babelsberg Film Studio. Many famous films are shot there – German films as well as international productions. It was an amazing experience where we got loads of information about the making of films. What’s even cooler is the fact that we could see the set of GZSZ, a German soap opera. I stopped watching it 10 years ago but it is still funny to see all these places which we know from TV in reality.

Walking in a winter wonderland =)

As one week is I also wanted to see something else than Berlin, so my friend proposed a trip to her hometown, which is situated in Saxony-Anhalt.  We spent two days there – it was quite a change because Thale – her hometown – is a small village that differs very much from the cosmopolitan city Berlin. It is situated in the Harz district, which is one of the most mountainous areas of Germany. Besides it is famous for its legends and sagas that are mostly about witches. 

Werningerode

Quedlinburg

The last night there we went out. Berlin has so many possibilities if you want to go out! It was really hard to reach a decision but eventually we agreed on going to Fritz Club near the East Side Gallery. There were various floors with different kinds of music and we spent a nice evening there. People there are different from Austrians. In my opinion they enjoy dancing much more and they seem more relaxed than the majority of dancing Austrians. 

It was an amazing week but unfortanely time flies when we have fun! I'm already looking forward to my next journey! :)

The most photographed part of the Berlin Wall

What national dishes from your country would you recommend to the world?

I’ve given this question a lot of thought and it’s not easy to find an answer. As I’ve already mentioned I’m not a big fan of the traditional Austrian cuisine but there are still some dishes that I like as well. It’s still difficult to make a choice because there are many regional meals that taste great but it is hard to remember them all because one only get’s them so rarely. I decided to present you a three-course menu that (if you’re not vegetarian) you will certainly appreciate.

To start off you should eat a “Fritattensuppe”. This is a really simple dish but it just tastes great. Fritattensuppe is a beef broth filled with thinly sliced pancakes.

For the main course I absolutely recommend “Tafelspitz”. It has it origins in Vienna but I’ve seen it in many restaurants by now. Tafelspitz is boiled beef in broth, which is usually served with vegetables. It can be absolutely delicious but sadly not everybody who prepares Tafelspitz really knows how to do it – so if you want to get a good-tasting Tafelspitz the best way to have it is preparing it yourself.

 The best Tafelspitz I've ever eaten was at Plachutta in Vienna. It is kind of pricy but it's totally worth it!

After eating these good dishes there’s only one way to complete this perfect menu: a “Sachertorte”! I think this cake is the best cake in the whole world and everybody should eat it at least once in a life time (after eating it once I’m sure you will have it more often ;)). It consists of two layers of chocolate cake filled with a thin layer of apricot jam (you can also try it with cherry jam, it tastes great as well). These layers are coated in dark chocolate couverture on top and on all sides. You can eat it with some whipped cream but in my opinion it is better without the cream. This cake is quite easy to prepare yourself so you should give it a try. If you don’t like baking that much you can also have an original Sachertorte at the Sacher-Café.

Here's a video so you can learn how to make it yourselves:

Another specialty I need to mention in this context is Austrian coffee. I think coffee is strongly related with food because many people sit together at a cup of coffee after having a good meal or while eating a Sachertorte. The Austrian coffee culture is extraordinary – there are much more different types of coffee than in other countries. In my opinion it also tastes much better than elsewhere. Austrians just love sitting in a traditional “Kaffeehaus”, reading the newspaper or a good book while enjoying a cup of delicious coffee. 

About me

Hey there!

As you are reading my blog right now I am sure you want to find out some facts about me. My name is Laura, I'm 22 years old and was born and raised in Graz. After graduating high school I spent 2 years in France – one year as an au pair and one year studying economies. Unfortunately I discovered that I do not like economies at all so I decided to come back to Austria and study translation. I chose French and Arabic – I guess you can all see the reason why I chose French and I think that Arabic is a fascinating language. There are not many people studying Arabic so I will have many opportunities in work life later.

Some month ago I realized that I missed talking English and that I've forgotten so many things that I came to the conclusion that studying English as a third language was a good idea. I'm glad I made that decision; I can already see my English skills improve.

In my spare time I love reading, watching some TV shows and traveling. I've planned some fantastic trips for this year like an internship in Oman and one month in Australia. You can imagine that I'm really looking forward to this summer!! I also like doing Pilates and Yoga. In the winter month you can meet me quite often in the mountains skiing. I am not that in to summer sports but who knows, maybe I'll get keen on surfing while I'm in Australia.

What else could I tell you? Ah yes, I love cooking and everything related to it so I'm glad we'll be doing this in class for some time. Unfortunately I'm kind of fussy – there are many meals I don’t like, especially the traditional Austrian food.

If you want to get to know me better just keep reading my blog!