Staying and eating in Berlin

We stayed at the Circus apartments, having been upgraded from the hotel for 10 euros a night. It was an amazing place.

A long corridor, with two, yes, two, bathrooms on our right and the bedroom on the left

led to the extremely spacious sitting room/kitchen, with floor to ceiling windows on two facing walls

The sitting area,











with TV, sound system and ipad

kitchen and dining area






with the same dining chairs that we saw at the Bauhaus museum

and with great attention to detail, including where to place our key.






Chez Rose, a nice, intimate restaurant






was on Weinbergsweg, two minutes' walk from our apartment

and we ate here twice. The schnitzel was very good.

We had lunch at the Circus Hotel twice

The hotel has a very relaxed and trendy atmosphere

we sat by the window and looked out onto Rosenthaler Platz

and I enjoyed the avocado on toast with hummus and lots of other bits, enormously.

In the basement they have a display of the history of Rosenthaler Platz and of the hotel.

In the 1920s this was an area where the working class rubbed shoulders with the bourgeoisie






Philipp Fabish opened his clothing store in the building where the hotel is situated today. When he passed away a group of his heirs managed the store and his other businesses. In 1938 the building was 'transferred to Aryan  possession' days before Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) when Synagogues were torched and Jewish-owned businesses across Germany were pillaged.

Nazi repression and ever increasing persecution shattered the Fabish family. Philipp Fabischs' three children were deported to Teheresienstadt concentration camp in 1942 and were murdered, following years of harassment and oppression in Berlin.

The display tells us that 'the owners of the Circus Hotel are very much aware of the history of the building ... respecting the accomplishments of the Fabisch family and remembering their fate'.

Next to Chez Rose is Gorky Park, a Russian restaurant

a busy place with a vibrant atmosphere.

Einstein is situated on Under Der Linden

and we had lunch here. This place reminded me of the Viennese cafes.






Sauerkraut is next door to Gorky Park and is owned by the same people.

Wonderful atmosphere, German food.

La Cantina is a wonderful, very reasonably priced Italian restaurant

and we enjoyed the two meals we had here.

We had brunch at Pasternak which is just off Kollwitz Platz and next to the Water Tower . Pasternak is famous for its brunch. We had eaten here we the last time we visited Berlin six years ago, and were keen to go back.

Great atmosphere, people waiting to find a table,

and the spread was amazing.

We served ourselves several times

and then had pudding.

Palazzo Zichy

We spent a delightful week in Budapest and enjoyed every minute of it. It's a very beautiful city and if you're into Art Nouveau architecture, it's the place to go - I was in constant ecstasy.

 

This post is about where we started though, and the reason why I am including a post about this hotel is because of the sensitivity with which the old and the new have been combined, creating a harmonious whole. The hotel's motto is 'bringing history to present' and that certainly is the case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palazzo Zichy, Lorinc Pap Square.

 

Of neo-Baroque style, the palace was built in 1899. The residence of a Count and his family, this was typical for royal residencies as one side has mid-level floors and the other side does not, a separation made in order to create a barrier among the staff and the counts.

 

 

 

 

 



 

The palace is a hotel now. The whole place was gutted and redesigned in a very modern minimal style while retaining some of the original features. As a building it certainly works.

 



The hotel reception and public spaces are located in the original courtyard

 

which is now covered by a modern glass roof, allowing plenty of light to flood in during the day

 



 

 

 

 

 



while creating a mysterious atmosphere at night

 

 

 

 

looking up one can see the grand old balconies of the count's rooms.

 

 

 



 

 

Many of the old features have been kept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking closer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole effect is very stylish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the quiet corners

 

 

 

 

The grand staircase seen from the third floor

 

 

  

 

 

Looking down from the atrium of reception one can see the breakfast room

 

 

 

 

The modern lounge.

A perfect marriage of old and new.