Last full day in Berlin. The weather wasn’t that much more inviting, but at least it wasn’t raining.
We took the bus to reach the seat of the German parliament, the Reichstag. Some architecture looks actually better in these hazy autumn days …
A few meters away is the Brandenburger Tor, which from my view is as impressive as the Reichstag (but I might be biased).
From here we split up. My wife, the little one and the inlaws went on to see Gendarmenmarkt, Checkpoint Charlie and go shopping … and I rented a bike.
First stop was Konnopke‘s, the birthplace of the Currywurst. Located under a streetcar bridge in the former East, in this shack the first Currywurst was served in 1960.
Sausage was good, well spiced with a fruity curry sauce.
Cycling further through the former East, there were only a few things that caught my eye …
A few kilometers away is the Dong Xuan center. As I explained above, Berlin has a huge Vietnamese population, and this is where they shop. I went there to stock up on some items, but also to get a Banh Mi. The market inside looks just like you are in Vietnam. It took me back 😊
They had all the Banh Mi ingredients you could ever ask for, plus a spacious outside seating.
Unfortunately I messed up the picture and noticed too late. Please image a lovely Banh Mi with extra liver pate, pressed pork head and spicy pickles 😌
12 km back into the west side of the city is Kreuzberg, center of the Turkish population of the city. It is not a pretty place per se, but has its charm.
Alledgedly, the Döner Kebap was (co)invented here by Mehmet Aygün, the founder of Hasir Döner.
The Döner at Hasir differs a bit from the usual Döner you find. The meat is more coarse, definetely beef with sufficient fat interstacked on the skewer to render the shavings kind of greasy, yet very juicy. The meat doesn’t contain much seasoning except salt.
Like in a french rotisserie, they keep cuts of potatoes under the rotating skewer to soak up the dripping fat. You get one or two in your Döner sandwich. Speak of flavor …
