In Berlin it feels like winter has really arrived. I rarely notice any blueness when I look up at the sky. The air bites back. Hat, scarf, gloves and a warm coat are essential when you step out. Sipping piping hot chocolate while walking is pretty helpful.
Kicked off the weekend at Francucci's, an elegant Italian restaurant in Charlottenburg, a ten minute walk from our place.
Devoured their legendary house made pasta served with generous shavings of white truffle. Heady damp forest aromas whacking the nostrils before your tastebuds catch up. Lekker! The exquisite pizza blanketed with thin grilled slices of eggplant was satisfying too. Italian reds - full bodied, but fruity - matched well. For dessert, a velvety tiramisu, drenched in liquor, clearly the product of an expert. Digestifs of grappa and limoncello helped settle our tummies and gave us time to reflect on the explosion of flavors we'd just experienced.
Sunday, November 19
A culture filled day, starting with a visit to the Barberini Museum in
Potsdam. Julia's birthday present to me ready to be redeemed two months later. She'd had in mind the current exhibition: Behind the Mask: Artists in the GDR
What a treat it turned out to be! Julia's pampering actually started the evening before in Michendorf. She prepared a dinner feast starting with creamy white asparagus soup made with local asparagus that she froze back in the spring especially for us. The taste so overwhelmed us all, especially Fabian, we gulped each heavenly spoonful in silence. When the veggie schnitzel, roasted potatoes, romanesco and broccoli arrived, we dove into serious topics. Homelessness, poverty, immigration. A 2010 Chianti, dry and robust, went well with the meal. Dessert was a scrumptious homemade cheesecake - the German version made with quark, not cream cheese. Herrlich! But ... I digress ...
The Barberini Museum, newly opened, and situated in the Old Market Square facing historic buildings that had been bombed and rebuilt, is a Potsdam treasure. On this chilly, drizzly Sunday, we were warmed by the many thought provoking works displayed in a welcoming space. East German artists in the years between 1945 and 1985 employed extraordinary creativity to express themselves under authoritarianism. Many used abstract self portraits sporting provocative expressions. Influences of Old Masters and other significant painters could be seen in various arresting works. The Palace of the Republic gallery was the highlight with its recently restored mural sized works newly on display for public viewing. It evoked works by the great Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera and Orozco. Rich depictions of strong political themes, messages, symbols, dichotomies, peasant life ... impossible to take it all in one visit. The third floor provided magnificent views of Old Market Square down below -- St. Nicholas Church, the Roman obelisk, and the Old Town Hall, with the gilded statue of Atlas holding the world on its dome.
From visual art to classical music ... Back in Berlin we experienced another sumptuous building early Sunday evening. The Pierre Boulez Saal is a new concert hall in Berlin. While the faćade is an existing old building that blends with the other structures in the Gendarmenmarkt area, the interior is completely new, designed by Frank Gehry. A first glance of the auditorium immediately reminded me of LA's Disney Concert Hall also designed by Gehry. But the Pierre Boulez Saal is like an improved version with an oval shaped seating arrangement, tiered above the stage. It feels intimate, as if designed just for chamber music. Two achingly beautiful Beethoven concertos were performed by the renowned pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. He used the piano that bears his name because he had it especially made for him. Hi son, Michael Barenboim, accompanied him on the violin, and Kian Soltani played the violoncello. A third, inaccessible to us, contemporary piece by Borowski was also performed.So Sunday was certainly a full day of cultural immersion.
Fittingly the weekend ended with a truffle meal. This time, at home, with a black winter truffle acquired from our neighborhood Saturday farmer's market. (There are always new, irresistible things at this market. The French cheese vendor now has Mont d'Or which we bought and will have soon.) I was astonished when I opened the refrigerator on Sunday evening. I was hit by the overpowering earthy aroma of the truffle even though it was wrapped in a paper towel and stored in an airtight container. Turns out the smell is actually stronger than the taste. So inhale deeply as you scarf down truffle!
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