We’re now in the good part of summer where it’s warm enough to wear a skirt or shorts almost every day. It feels like summer is just beginning as time goes so quickly, so I was a bit disconcerted to realize that we’re heading into our last month of summer now that it’s almost August. We’ve had a lot of unsettling news lately, what with Brexit, various terror attacks across the world, and the attempted coup in Turkey. Crazy times. However, here are some of the good moments from the last two weeks for the Weekly Small Pleasures blog event. From small pleasures from far away in New Zealand, you can also check out Thistles and Kiwis!

Week 1: 

Canoeing in Müritz national park. Canoeing is hard work, but when your arms hurt afterwards at least you know you had some exercise. The scenery in this area is beautiful, you can read more about it here.

A relaxing Sunday around Berlin. We started off by having brunch with a friend. Going out for brunch on a Sunday is a really big tradition in Berlin. Many cafés serve brunch buffets, where you pay a set price for a plate and can fill it up as many times as you want, and sit there for hours chatting with friends over coffee and food. The brunch hours are normally from around 11-16.

Afterwards we went for a walk up the hill to the water tower to work off all the food and played a bit of table tennis (there are table tennis tables around Berlin in many parks or squares).

 

I had to pop into work for a while, then later in the afternoon we went for a nice bike ride in Tiergarten, a big park in Berlin.

After the bike ride we headed back towards our home neighbourhood, dropped off our bikes and then took a walk in nearby Mauerpark. Every Sunday there’s a big fleamarket at Mauerpark, and in summer there’s also karaoke in the amphitheatre and people busking all over the park. It’s a pleasant place to take a stroll as there’s always lots going on. We bumped into a friend of ours there so ended up going for dinner with him, which was also nice. All in all, a good Sunday.

The rest of the week was not so eventful, but we did have this delicious Schillerburger.

Week Two

Catching up with a schoolfriend. Someone I went to school with happened to be visiting Berlin for a wedding, and we met up for a catch-up. I hadn’t actually seen her since we’d left school and it was great to chat. We sat in one of the touristy restaurants on the Spree at Friedrichstrasse, as it was a nice evening and she loves being next to water. The food wasn’t that great at the restaurant we chose, but at least it was beautifully presented. We also had free entertainment as there were some party boats passing by in preparation for the St. Cristopher’s Day parade (a gay pride parade that takes place once a year) and when they passed by all the people on the boat would wave, cheer and wave colourful pompoms.

Summer fruit. The blueberries are really big, plump and sweet at the moment, and you can also buy blackberries and also still some cherries.

Baking. I bought some sour cherries and made muffins.  I don’t often have time to bake anymore so it’s nice when I get the chance.

Weekend in the Czech countryside. We had a relaxing weekend, walking the dogs, taste-testing more wedding cakes and walking in the garden. We also took a drive to a big dam where people swim, go out on boats and even learn to water-ski. It was really fun to watch people learning to water ski!

Napping with the cat. What’s better on a Sunday afternoon than having a nap after a big lunch with a cat!

Checking things off my list of things to do. At work I have a never-ending list of things to do, as new things get added onto the end of the list all the time. We also have a long list of wedding to-do’s, and getting all the paperwork both for our marriage and for my parents travel to the wedding has been quite stressful. Some of the tasks came to and end this week or are almost finished, and it’s nice to check things off the list.

Dinner at Gorki Park. It’s a Russian restaurant near Rosenthaler Platz, and I absolutely love their food. I’m especially addicted to the cheesy “Wareniki with brynsa” – dumplings stuffed with feta cheese and served with a cheese and walnut sauce. They also serve homemade lemonade with elderflower (Holunder), and I can’t get enough of the summery taste of Holunder.

Evening walks in Mauerpark. We’ve had lovely warm evenings lately, and it still gets light fairly late, so it’s nice to go for evening walks.

Wishing you all a lovely week!