I Think I Love Berlin-Part 3

Shopping at the KaDeWe

I got to do a little shopping (my favorite thing to do) in Germany's largest department store called the KaDeWe.

Oh, look! There's Santa.  I'm digging his color scheme and fancy coat.

I fell in love with these glass birds for the Christmas tree. I have memories of my grandparents having birds on the tree every year. So I had to get some for myself and for gifts.

And then... I cannot resist a stationery department! I bought this blue journal with grid pages. And I love these pencils with the dark rhinestones on the ends. I do enjoy nice pencils.

 All Photos by Amy Dietrich for Coventry Drive.

I think I Love Berlin- Part 2

The first night in Berlin, my husband, Mikel, and I were invited out to dinner.  Our hosts were a wonderful couple. She is an American expat and he is originally from Berlin, but lived in the U.S. for many years.  The dinner was in a restored Bauhaus building that is now a private club called Soho House. The other guests were lively, warm, accomplished, and interesting. And we immediately found that we had many things in common. The food was delicious and the spirited conversation was fueled by a common love of people, travel, adventure.  I felt included there, in a way that I have not felt sometimes in my own backyard.

The next evening, we attended a party held in a beautifully raw, but intimate space called Fortuna's Table.  The chef/owner, Suzy Fracassa, is an American expat from Detroit and the guest were a wonderful mixture of Americans and Germans. It was a wonderful way to connect with people who are passionate about their lives and their work with an international point of view.

 Photos: Soho House, Amy Dietrich for Coventry Drive, Fortuna's Table.

I Think I Love Berlin - Part 1

I think I love Berlin.

Sometimes I have a feeling about a place before I get there.

I have wanted to visit Berlin for several years.  I had heard about the resurgence of art. culture, and life there for some time now. And Germany is also the land of my heritage. So when my husband needed to travel to Berlin for work, I jumped at the chance to join him.

The timing of my first visit to Berlin, coincided with the creeping winter darkness beginning at 3:30 pm every day.

Right away, I was struck by the severity of much of the architecture. I wasn't prepared for the lack of the beautiful ancient buildings that I love that are in cities like Paris and Florence.  Many of the buildings feel cold and austere to me. They seem devoid of warmth, the result of the years of a divided city and its infamous past. Most of the oldest buildings have been torn down over the years to make way for more modern buildings.  Evidence of the Cold War abounds. The gray skies and clouds add to the murkiness of the cement buildings. 

Nevertheless, I found beauty in architecture and graffiti as I walked around the city.

In the past, when I traveled, I would make a plan each day, trying to squeeze in as much work and sightseeing as humanly possible.  This time, I threw my agenda out the window.

The bottom left photo in this collage is a piece of the Berlin wall installed in a department store.




The city was lit up. 

The Brandenburg Gate was breathtaking.

All photos by Amy Dietrich for Coventry Drive.