Planning to visit my mother town

After having discovered so much around my home town Basel, I feel homesick for my mother town Berlin. Sabine has booked two rooms in the Hotel Villa Kastania. I look forward to strolling through Berlin – first alone, then on the weekend – with her.

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Arriving in the old Berlin Schöneberg airport with S-Bahn on strike

Easyjet loses height and the Müggelseen (lakes)  appear in the window.

We land softly at the sober ex-GDR airport of Schönenberg in the far south east of Berlin. It is about five pm.  Immediately I notice that I am in a large town: Plates announce that the S-Bahn is not working due to strikes. Strikes – this is unknown in Switzerland. Shall I take a taxi? – Probably not a good idea. Instead I opt for the bus X7. Good decision. From the bus I can see traffic jams being announced. My bus quickly reaches the Rudow metro station.  The metro is packed with people that try to get home using alternatives to the S-Bahn. At Bismarckstrasse I switch to the Ruhleben metro  (I like this – Ruhleben means “quiet life”). I reach Theodor Heuss Platz about an hour after having landed.

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The quiet and friendly Hotel Villa Kastania

Just around the corner of Theodor Heuss Platz I find my Hotel Villa Kastania and settle in a quiet room. The restaurant looks welcoming. I take my dinner here: Liver cooked with apple and ognion – one of the dishes that my mum has brought me up with. Well, the hotel restaurant serves a “design version” of this common and delicious Berlin specialty.

After having slept deeply in the quiet Kastanienallee, I take a swim in an Italian garden under a blue sky with a few cyrrhus clouds.

Hungry I go to the breakfast room, and I am surprised by the morning buffet: It even includes fresh oranges and an orange squeezer. I have never had freshly pressed orange juice at a hotel breakfast buffet before.

After the delicious breakfast I leave to see my favorite spots in Berlin again.