Berlin 2016 - Day 4

Today began in the same was as the previous one had: Jeff got up and went to the conference, and I slept in.

Jeff gave me a heads up that the sun was out for the first time since we've been here, so I set forth to find my shadow, and also a cappuccino.

I didn't have a solid plan, but I thought I might like to see the Victory Column in the middle of Tiergarten, until I got off the train at a nearby stop and realized it was over half a mile away still.

That idea got tabled (maybe tomorrow), and I hopped back on the train towards central Berlin. I de-trained at the top of Freidrichstraße, and sauntered down this busy street towards Gendarmenmarkt.

I made a full circuit of Gendarmenmarkt, which is bookended by a pair of churches, before settling on a bistro for lunch.

After leisurely enjoying some sort of ham and cheese Tramezzino, I headed for the subway to go check out a prime Ingress spot in Prenzlauer Berg. On the way out of the bistro, I was interrupted by a police escort and a convoy of black Mercedes rolling up to the square. No idea who the VIP was; didn't stick around to find out. Also, it's unlikely I would have known who I was looking at, had I seen anyone.

The trip to P'Berg was uneventful, except I wasn't paying attention and took the tram one stop too far (I really wish we had trams). I decided to walk back instead of waiting for the tram in the opposite direction.

I Ingressed around the neighborhood for about an hour, but then it started snowing. At first it was light and harmless, bordering on "pretty", but that didn't last.

Soon, it was a wet, sloppy mess and I was trying to hold an umbrella and use an iPhone simultaneously. After about 20 minutes of that, I called it quits and headed back to the tram line. Also, I was running out of daylight.

I decided to complete the full transit circle that I started in the morning, and took the tram down to Mercedes Benz Arena, but somehow didn't bother to take a picture of it. I did get this gem, though.

The arena is the easternmost end of the U1 subway, and our hotel is at the westernmost stop, so it was a lovely, inattentive ride across/under downtown Berlin. It was after 6 by the time I set foot in the hotel room.

Jeff got back shortly after, and we caught up on the day's events (half of them, anyway) back home before heading out for some dinner. Jeff found a nearby venue that looked quite promising, and indeed the two different Schnitzel dishes we had were excellent.

I tasted that "Pommes sauce", but am still not quite sure what it is. Almost like a lemony mayo?

Tomorrow I might revisit the idea to, uh... visit...  the Victory Column, and/or stroll along the Spree River. Or something completely different. Taking all suggestions!