Throughout our week in Berlin, our home base was Kerstin and Janine’s home in Paulinenaue, a small municipality in Brandenburger, about 50 km from Berlin (as the crow flies). The quiet serenity in this pastoral setting was a welcome relief after the bustling traffic and crowds of the city.
By far, the highlight of each day was Janine’s amazing breakfast: fresh local eggs, a wide variety of tasty German cold meats and cheeses, baskets overflowing with a fun assortment of hot fresh rolls, 3-4 jars of different fruit jams (my favourite was the pumpkin marmalade, André’s was the home-made raspberry) and a big jar of Nudossi – a delicious East-German version of a chocolate-hazelnut spread (with a whopping 36% hazelnut content – compared to the 13% in the popular American version). Breakfast was a delightful feast, all courtesy of Janine. We will forever remember with great fondness our wonderful Janine-breakfasts!
And every morning, on our drive into the city (or surrounding areas), we would pass by acres of fields covered with demoiselle cranes. (I think that’s what they were). And every morning Kerstin would patiently slow down and stop the car so that I could try to get better pictures of them.
On our last morning, after our last Janine-breakfast (yearning sigh), we took a leisurely stroll through Paulinenaue before the long drive to the airport to catch our afternoon flight back to Paris. We were sad to leave Kerstin and Janine, but left Berlin with our suitcases full of jams (pumpkin marmalade!) and a delightful collection of Berlin souvenirs, all thoughtful gifts from Kerstin and Janine…most of all, we left with our hearts full of precious memories of our amazing visit to Berlin.
This is my last post in this series on Berlin. I may post pictures taken from the plane in a separate “Epilogue” blog for my beloved friends who I know will enjoy those too. But my next “major” travel blog series will be the 2015 Cuba series in the Spring. (Though I do use this Meandering blog to meander through my heart-places too, so maybe there will be some of that before the Cuba series, but I never know in advance. 😀 )
Thank you to everyone for dropping by and being a part of this journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed meandering through Paris and Berlin.
Today, a few parting glimpses of Paulinenaue, Germany.
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Copyright © Sharon C. Matthies, Meanderings (blog), 2014. All rights reserved.
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I’m sad that this series is coming to an end. But maybe you’ll post more pictures? Please? Pretty please??
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LOL ❤ Well, I have pictures taken from the airplane, so I'll put together an epilogue post. And maybe a hodgepodge of leftover pictures just for you, Ruth. 🙂
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😀 ❤
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Dear Sharon, just want to say how much I enjoyed your travel blog. It had a little of everything: the beautiful sights, pros and cons of train riding, and of course the delicious pastries. I felt like I was leafing through an album beside you. Can’t wait to read your Cuban series!
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Angelika, Thank you so much for being here, and for your kind words. When I know that there are people enjoying these travels, it makes it all worthwhile. And it’s icing on the cake to know that there are tips and information that people can use in their own travels. It’s just too bad that there wasn’t a way to hand our samples of those pastries, LOL.
I’m looking forward to YOUR blog and seeing the world through your eyes. ❤
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