It was 2:30 by the time I woke up. I looked at the clock and swore loudly. How could I have wasted half of my one full day in Berlin sleeping?!
M. had already been up and about for a few hours, so we decided to go out and get lunch (or, err, breakfast).
Our first stop was Café Manolo, a truly amazing spot which totally won me over by serving Kusmi tea.
We then wandered over to Schneiders Schokoladen, a tiny shop and café which served a plethora of (you guessed it) gourmet chocolate, and promptly helped ourselves to hot chocolate and cake.
M. was meeting an old roommate to pick up her deposit at yet ANOTHER café down the street, and instead of sitting around my millionth cup of tea with them, I went for a long walk around the city. Certainly the best cure for hangovers, I think.
An hour later I met up with them and we decided to get dinner at an African restaurant called Savanna, where I tried fufu and ful. As it sounds, it was delicious.
Yet even more hours later, D. and I decided to head out to Café Zapata, a bar and danceclub in an old bombed-out-building-turned-arthouse called Tacheles. After about 20 minutes of wandering through the city, I asked him:
‘God, how long does it take to walk to this place?’
He stopped suddenly and stared at me. ‘You don’t know where we’re going?’
I stopped suddenly and stared back at him. ‘YOU don’t know where we’re going??’
‘I’ve been following YOU this entire time!’
‘And I’VE been following YOU!’
We both stared at each other. And then burst out laughing.
A taxi ride later, we arrived at our destination.
We met up with an old friend of mine who had just moved back to Berlin after a brief stint in the States, and sat outside drinking beer and catching up. Behind Café Zapata is a big sandy plot with beach chairs, rickety playground structures, and a giant metal spaceship that you can climb up into. As tempting as it was, I didn’t risk it in the rain.
We went inside after beers and danced endlessly to the cumbia they were playing inside, spinning and laughing and spying on all the hyper-awkward older patrons with no rhythm. Having decided to take it easy that night and go home before dawn, we said our goodbyes somewhere around 3 and D. and I walked home in the rain, huddled under my 2,50€ umbrella from Rossman, splashing through puddles and trying to not get lost in the dark. Berlin, at any hour, totally enchants me.
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