Walk with Anne S, who is unfortunately in the process of leaving Berlin, to St. Marien und St. Nikolai Kirchhof I, to Kirchhof I. Der Evangelischen Georgen-Parochialgemeinde, and to Volkspark Friedrichshain. Back via Platz der Vereinten Nationen.
My route on Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/tour/334845778.
I saw this : https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/02/cauliflower-cake-recipe-yotam-ottolenghi but I find cauliflower the most flavourless and textureless of all vegetables, and wheat flour, especially of the self-raising variety, is also not my thing, so I decided to experiment and make it a bit more flavourful and healthy.
Instead of wheat flour I used gram flour, and insted of cauliflower I used leeks. I added garlic and chili (of course) and used thyme instead of basil.
Glutenfree and vegetarian (but not vegan).
In a couple of tblsp olive oil, sauté the leeks with rosemary, thyme, chili and garlic till they start to collapse. Season with a little bit of salt and lots of black pepper.
Take off the heat, and while it cools off a bit, mix in the turmeric and the parmesan.
Whisk the eggs.
Mix flour and baking powder and baking soda well.
Add to the eggs and which to eliminate lumps. Season with a little bit of salt and lots of black pepper.
Line the bottom of a 22 cm round cake tin with a loose base with baking paper. Brush the sides of the tin with olive oil and coat with some of the sesame seed/nigella seed mix.
Pour in the leek mix, level, and sprinkle the rest of the seed mix on top.
Bake at 180 C until golden and set. Let cool a little before serving and eat the leftovers cold the next days (better the day after, actually).
A walk with one of my “walking bubbles” at Herzberge Landscape Protection Area and the adjoining Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde.
The route on Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/tour/333541892.
On Alexanderplatz, on the way to the tram:
On the way back, on what seemed like a refurbished, antique tram:
Berlinische Galerie, conveniently located basically in my backyard, has kindly organised three audiowalks in the neighbourhood.
Not really mentioned in the audio, the newly refurbished Bessel Park is a neighbour of some of the buildings mentioned. Here are some photos, also of other, newer buildings surrounding it:
My route on Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/tour/346683061 (I got cold and cheated a bit at the end).
Some text will follow later.
My route on Komoot: https://www.hellemoller.eu/2020/08/29/mehringplatz-in-progress/
The walk starts on Mehringplatz which I have already photographed extensively in this post, and which is still being renovated.
Next stop also mentioned in this post I have also documented here:
I therefore went straight to the third stop in the audiowalk:
Not mentioned on the walk:
Also not mentioned in the Audio:
With the new U-Bahn station finished, we can again see all of Unter den Linden, all the way from Brandenburger Tor to Alexanderplatz:
Definitely not mentioned in the Audio: one of the many demos that usually take place in Berlin, especially on Sundays – this one for a car-free Berlin :-):
And finally, I just liked this:
Approx. 500 g fish filets, from salmon or a firm white fish, or a mixture, in 1,5 cm dice.
A bag of frozen shrimp, thawed and drained
2 medium red onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large or two small chard, trimmed and sliced
1 packet of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Some chopped chili, to taste
2 Indian bay leaves, and a bit of salt and pepper
1 cauliflower
300 g chickpea (gram) flour
2 tblsp coriander seeds, roasted and ground
About 1 dl milk, any kind of milk, I used oat milk, but I actually think water would work just as well
3 tblsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a food processor, mix cauliflower, gram flour, ground coriander, liquid, olive oil and salt and pepper to a thick, fairly smooth paste, with just a bit of structure from the cauliflower.
Place the fish in one layer in a fairly deep baking plate. The one on the photo is 26x26x7 cm.
Then distribute the shrimp on top and sprinkle with a bit of salt and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper.
Sizzle, but do not brown, the bay leaves, onions and garlic, in olive oil or ghee, and add the chard, until it starts to wilt. Mix in the spinach. Season with a bit of salt and a lot of pepper.
Spread this mixture evenly over the fish/shrimp, and finally “seal” with the cauliflower/gram flour mash.
Bake at 180 C fan for about 40 minutes.
I have been here quite a few times over the years. It has changed a lot, and is still changing.
The route on Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/tour/328345222.
Halbinsel Stralau: http://stralauer-halbinsel.de/
Across the street from S-Bahnhof Treptower Park:
To garnish:
Combine flour, butter and salt to a homogeneous mass and incorporate milk and water little by little.
Form a ball, wrap in clingfilm and let rest in refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.
Mix crème fraiche, leek, herbs, garlic, ginger and chili (if using), salt and pepper.
Press the dough into a baking tin lined with baking paper.
Distribute the leek mixture on top and then place the potatoes evenly.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake at 180 C for 35 to 40 minutes.
Distribute the garnishing.
I have been lied to more times in the five years I have lived in Germany than in the 63 previous years living in Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Denmark (again) put together.
I have conveniently forgotten most of them because they were less important in the grand scheme of things. The worst one, and the one I will never forget or forgive is the one told to me in the Eigentümerversammlung where we were told about the renovation project – Viktoriahöfe – next door and promised that our balconies would not be affected.
We were also told that that part of the scaffolding would be there for about eight months, i.e. till March-April 2020 (!).
It has been nothing but a nightmare ever since. More information here: https://www.hellemoller.eu/category/neighbours-from-hell/.
And now they are letting several pairs of rats with wings (pigeons) nest on the shelf just above my balcony and I think also on the one above that.
I have had psittacosis twice before, with no after-effects, and I am not keen on tempting fate once more, which means that my balcony is off-limits for me from now on.
I thought the previous summer 2019, and spring and summer 2020 (the year where I had to spend most of my time at home (!!)) were ruined because at least 50% of the daylight was stolen by the monster scaffolding and I had to look at all that ugliness. But I could at least spend time on the balcony and grow a few herbs etc. there, although I did not feel like inviting friends around, even during the times where it was allowed.
However, now that they have let the netting collapse around the scaffolding, allowing pigeons to nest virtually on my balcony, but out of reach for me to remove them, I have to stay indoors altogether and also give up growing herbs etc. there.
EDIT 4 March – this one paragraph added: Despite my tendency to catch psittacosis easily, and the fact that pigeons also constantly try to nest on my own balcony (which I am able to control – sort of), and my resulting lack of sympathy for them, I still think this constitutes cruelty to animals, and despite several messages to Cresco Capital Group, they are seemingly refusing to respond let alone do anything about it: https://www.facebook.com/1073953174/videos/10221891189003568/.
So I have to stay off the streets as much as possible to avoid one virus – and off my balcony to avoid another one, in this case purely because Cresco Capital Group can’t be bothered to finish their work on one wall and remove that part of the scaffolding. This particular part of the scaffolding was added much later than the rest of the scaffolding and could therefore be removed again much earlier. If they wanted to. But the magic word, as ever, is DENKMALSCHUTZ, which means they can behave whichever way they like and I just have to be honoured and eternally grateful to be such a close – literally – neighbour to a building which – and this is the big irony – if they ever finish it in – what five? eight? years (this IS Berlin after all) – will still be one of the ugliest buildings in the world.
Schön & Sever, Cresco Capital Group, Victoriahöfe, GBP Architekten
