Zwillingsschwestersektgeburtstagsfrühstück!

Prost! To our Berlin birthday reunion! We had a nice, relaxed first day back together. It mostly revolved around lounging and eating, which is ideal, if you ask me. :)

Frühstück at Mokkabar in Kreuzberg. Elisabeth had the vegetarisches Frühstück and practiced her German ordering... eine Tasse Tee, einen Kaffee...She's really picked up a lot of German over the years of visiting me, without ever seriously studying the language. It's really fun having her here because we see Germany through new eyes, and hear the language through fresh ears. :)

Dinner at e.t.a. hoffmann in Kreuzberg. This was my birthday wish, and I had been looking forward to it for a while. After walking in, I was a bit disappointed. The decor was a bit old-fashioned, not in a cozy way, and the walls were a strange yellow color. Atmosphere-wise, it's not Berlin's hippest joint. Anyways, when the food started arriving I put aside all judgments. It was amazing. So creative and delicious.

hair credit: Elisabeth (I don't know how to French braid)

 Elisabeth and I ordered the "vegetarian surprise 3-course Menü", and Michael ordered a 3-course Menü with meat. From top left: scallops with pumpkin chutney, a stacked red beet and blue cheese appetizer with little mushrooms and mache greens, Michael's duck with red cabbage, and the vegetarian main course: a black root (Schwarzwurzel) strudel with shaved truffle on top, atop greens, with a braised cabbage on the side...and creme brulée with blueberries and ice cream for dessert. Yum...It all sounds like a lot, but the portions were perfect, and the meal lasted about 3 hours. We had time between each course to talk, enjoy our wine, and it was really nice.  Each dish was beautifully composed and had so many different tastes. We were really impressed with everything. A very memorable meal.