Tuesday 12th September 2023

Got up and breakfasted downstairs in the hotel bistro…it was better than I thought it was going to be. The ham and the bread were particularly good. Ventured south-eastward today. Took ourselves down to Platz der Luftbrucke to ogle the largely disused buildings that made up Templehof airport, which the west used for the  Berlin Airlift in the late 40s. We wanted to take a look at the old airfield, which has been turned into cycle tracks and walks, but we couldn’t find a way in from the north-west corner…walked and bussed our way along the lengthy northern perimeter, and were able to cut through the woodland along the eastern end of the airfield, which eventually opened up to us…it’s vast, and provides no cover, so we were glad we hadn’t found our way in earlier, as we’d have had to walk it in 30C heat! 

Zigzagged our way south to Hermannstrassse S-Bahn station where we hopped on a train to Spindlersfeld. Found the little island with Schloss Kopenick on it, and ate in a waterside restaurant…I had Wiener Schnitzel and potatoes. Walked in the grounds of the modest Kopenick palace before heading back west to Neukolln. 

Walked up Karl Marx Strasse through some very grim looking areas…lots of homelessness and drunks about…it slowly improved as we walked north toward the Rathaus, but we were a bit shocked at how tatty it all was, especially as I’d read that the area was getting trendy and rejuvenated. Found a knodel bar for dinner…they specialised in different flavoured German dumplings…I had a bacon one, a cheese one, and a tarragon one, with a bowl of mushroom sauce on the side. 

Walked down to a seedy little joint on Donaustrasse called Donau115, which hosts live music. Tonight was open mic night, run by an American chap named Chad. It was a very intimate venue, and the standard of the acts was very high. 

We especially enjoyed the Finnish lady who accompanied her sad melancholy songs on the house piano, with backing vocals from several of her chums who happened to be stood at the bar at the rear. Caught a bus back to Hallesches Tor and walked back to the hotel.