our last day in berlin was the least sunny of them all, and the one we'd left for the standard sightseeing. from our hotel we walked through tiergarten to berlin reichstag and brandenberg gate, and we wandered over to the jewish memorial to pay our respects. from there, katy and i weren't really bothered about what else we did or saw, so long as it included food, a glass of wine, and a big sit - the morning's trek had taken it out of us, and we needed to recharge! thankfully, the many apps available to assist in the local-food-finding stepped in and let us know that there was in fact something open nearby that sold "traditional german food", and it seemed to be in our price range. moments to our left was alt-berliner, and so that was lunch decided.
we walked in, and were the only people in the restaurant. we had been awake since sunrise, so it was probably only around midday to be fair, but we were welcomed with open arms and big smiles, and asked where we wanted to sit. they had zero qualms with us taking photos of literally evvverrrryyyything in sight, and how could we not when the place was so traditionally decorated and as utterly charming as it was? we obviously chose the table in the window, and ordered in a round of house wines before we looked over the fairly basic menu. basic, but gooooood.i went with a cheesy souffle dish, with layers of thick potato and what seemed like a a river of creamy, salty cheese, and katy chose a traditional german meatball dish - also served with potato (because what else?) and a pretty big side salad. both plates of food were *so* big and *so* hearty that there was no way we were going to be able to fit in a shared dessert as planned, but that was ok. mainly because it meant we could dessert elsewhere.. later.. and then again.. later still. my cheesy potato dish had such a strong flavour in it, that we spent far too long trying to figure out what it was - eventually, we had to ask the waiter what was in it so katy could recreate it back home. turns out, it was just gouda cheese and a touch of sage. totally doable! *drools*
the food was incredible, and we left totally satisfied and full of cheese - and in desperate need of a nap or a strong coffee; we went in search of the latter seeing as we had already checked out, then sadly had to make our way back to the airport. luckily our bellies were so full from an amazing traditional lunch, because with a little delay and the length of the flight home, we weren't back in time for dinner. we did bring one thing back though, and that's a newly discovered love for cheese souffle and lunch spots that include leiderhosen and traditional decor. if you think that's a bit of you, you can find alt-berliner behind the brandenburg gate at: wilhemstrasse 77, 10117 berlin.
