An excellent quick break holiday to eat and drink in Dusseldorf. Japanese food in biggest expat city in Europe, a great riverfront for beer drinking, and great beer to go with it. And more shopping centers than any normal city deserves.
We had a very enjoyable day. Kai’s present was sleeping until 7am. We casually prepared and left for the zoo around 9, leaving a bit of extra time to pick up some fresh juice, coffee, and pastries our local shop. A few hours at the zoo, and we moved on to a magnificent brunch at a Movenpick restaurant. It was in fact too good — the food was excellent quality and variety, so much so that one could not help but eating much more than one should. But all for a celebration of a great cause — the mothers.
We both had a little extra time in the morning, so decided to have a mini morning date. The weather was nice enough to enjoy some cake and coffee outside. I would definitely do this everyday if possible.
May 1st is labor day here in Germany so we had the day off. In fact, we started the afternoon before a party in the afternoon (it was for a one-year old, so no major hangover). Today we were invited to adventure to Berlin’s other zoo (yes, our city is so cool that it has 2 zoos), and even though we are members to the other zoo we decided to give it a go. While the animals were not as varied or pristine, the Tierpark was a nice hybrid park/zoo complete with playgrounds, bandstands, and more. It was a perfect day with good food and fun for all.
It was never clear whether the family visit could succeed. An early house sale almost cancelled the trip once. Kai’s perpetual cold returned again and from Thursday had been banned from daycare do to bronchitis. And the weather threatened a majority of rain.
But, a new buyer came around, Kai managed to stabilize, and the weather turned out a majority of sun across the 3 days. And as usual Wolfson tradition, we ate and drank and all had a great time. From the Berlin Zoo to discovering another new restaurant around the corner, it will be great memories.
When we renewed our zoo memberships, we decided to go all out and add on the aquarium. I think it was the right call. Not just because its a well done exhibition of fish and reptiles and the like, but its a friendly indoor space where Kai can run around and everyone just smiles.
Spring is here in force and now that Kai has a clean bill of health we have renewed our membership for a solid year of animal-tastic adventures.
I think Kai inherited Ann Wolfson’s (his paternal great-grandmother) gift of gab. Here he is at the doctor’s office where he finally received a clean bill of health.
It was unseasonably warm weekend here in Berlin, which required something a bit off the beaten path. I ventured down south to Kreuzberg for brunch at Nest. At 11.80 euro it seems a bit steep for Berlin, but the quality was quite good (especially the baked ham and kraut — yum!). Worth a second visit for sure.
