The Avid Traveler

Over lunch at Berlin’s trendy Restaurant Diekmann at Weinhaus Huth, Nicole Röbel tells a story that grandparents might tell their grandchildren.

“We had no phone when I was a child,” she says, after finishing a bite of her Nicoise salad. She speaks of a childhood characterized by deprivation, with small rewards only on special occasions. When she performed well on her report card, for example, her parents sometimes took her to a special bakery, Intershop. It was an exceptionally rare extravagance. Smiling, she says, “I still remember the smell of the shop and the fresh-baked goods.” (more…)

How do you experience the real Berlin? Nicole Röbel (pictured), who represents Berlin’s official tourism department, lists five things visitors must do to say they’ve truly been to Berlin. (more…)