A BBQ on the runway

While the rest of the world is busy building new airports and adding runways to existing airports, Berlin has decided that one airport is more than sufficient. Unfortunately things haven't quite turned out as planned and two years after the official closing of Tegel, the airport is alive and busier than ever. (More on the subject of airports another time...) 

However, Berlin did manage to close down one airport and to turn it into a giant park with picnic/BBQ areas, rollerblading and cycling paths, basketball courts and dog exercise areas.... welcome to the Tempelhofer park!

Last May Berliners (unfortunately the non-German residents were excluded) were called to vote in a referendum to decide whether the Templehofer park should stay as it is or to give way to a large-scale property development, including a public library. Non surprisingly (in a city constantly battling between modernisation plans and staying true to itself) around 65 percent of voters rejected the development plans and decided to keep Tempelhofer Feld as a public park. 

So if you're looking for somewhere to go on a Sunday, possibly without crowds of tourists or hipsters, Tempelhof is the place to go. Oh and don't forget your kite!

Where do hipsters go on Sundays?

A colleague recently asked where he could find hipsters in London. My other colleague and I answered in unison: "Hackney".
If you're wondering where the Berlin hipsters hang out on Sundays the answer is Neue Heimat.
NH is on Revaler Strasse in Friedrichshain, on the RAW grounds (or Gelände in German).
It calls itself a village market, which appears to be the latest Berlin trend. (Unfortunately these days I'm probably the last Berliner to spot a new trend given my almost non-existent social life, but I did briefly visit another street food market in the summer: Bite Club Mitte). 
NH consists of several large and spacious halls filled with stalls offering a variety of gourmet street food: from Korean tacos with kimchi to gourmet burgers, South American arepas and vegan cheesecake. There is plenty of choice when it comes to food and of course drink. The portions are rather small and the food is not cheap, but then again hipsters are not know for stuffing their faces.
So if you want to spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon savouring exotic snacks from around the world with Berlin's hippest crowd make sure to head to NH. They also have live music in the evenings.
P.S. Sadly there was no currywurst or sushi in sight.

Never leave nail varnish in toddler's reach

Last summer we went on a short family holiday to an island off the coast of Sicily. The last evening, as I was handing back the keys of the hired bikes and the receptionist was busy praising my gorgeous boy and listing the joys and delights of having children, little did I know that my darling little one had grabbed my coral nail varnish and had smashed it inside the shower cubicle.
When I got back, I found my exhausted husband trying to put little one to bed. He had managed to remove most of the nail varnish, but there were still some pink stains on the tiles.
While I was wondering how to clean up the mess so that they wouldn't charge us for the cleaning expenses, I remembered seeing the girl in the bungalow next door applying nail varnish. I waited on the verandah until she appeared and asked if by any chance she had nail polish remover. Unlike me, the neighbour turned out to be well prepared.  She kindly handed over a huge bottle together with a pack of cotton wool pads. I spent a good half hour working on the stains and by the end most had gone. So luckily we got away with it, but I learnt my lesson: things are never safe with a toddler around!