Tag Archives: Berlin

Movenpick Hotel, Berlin

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Movenpick signs are everywhere in Berlin, this familiar Swiss brand offers delicious ice-cream, as well as characterful hotels! The Berlin branch is huge and startlingly unique employing a stylish kaleidoscope of colours and shapes. Located conveniently in the city centre near to Potsdamer Platz and the eccentric surrealist Salvador Dali Gallery, it is ideally placed for city explorers. Just outside the main door a taxi rank and overground station offer easy access and transport options.

It is a funky, cool hotel with bright interior décor and great attention to detail. The hotel has 243 rooms, 10 event and meeting rooms, a gym, sauna and restaurant. Our huge, hip room was ideal for an overnight stay in Berlin with a luxurious large bed and ample living space for a small family!

Wifi is on offer for 3 Euros an hour in the room and we found it to be super speedy and useful for looking up and investigating events and venues in Berlin. Sitting on the bed flicking through travel guides and singing along to the soundtrack of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret, we were more than content at the Movenpick. After a trip into town to experience the crazy nightlife, we were delighted to return to our homely room. The Movenpick team had left yummy treats all over the room, chocolates by the bed, biscuits and apples on all of the tables.

It was easy to unwind with every amenity at our fingertips. Our en suite bathroom was vast, bright and airy – the ideal boudoir for pampering. The FUSION toiletries were revitalising and the scented bath salts made my hot bath deep cleansing and calming. As a quirky touch, our bath even had a little rubber duck to keep you company while bathing, a cute idea I loved!

Attired in terrycloth dressing gown and slippers with a cup of mint tea in hand, we relaxed in front of the TV to watch the Culture Show while dozing off. With a duvet each it was easy to sleep well, tucked away under one’s own blanket. My friend was especially pleased as I can be a difficult sleeper, known for talking and duvet stealing throughout the night! We did find the room a little hot overnight and needed to adjust the air conditioning and open the window to achieve a suitable temperature.

Downstairs in the main restaurant, a huge selection of breakfast treats was on offer, my indecisive nature got the better of me and I struggled back to the table with a heaving tray: thin, crispy bacon with brown toast and freshly churned unsalted butter, a bowl of fruit salad, miniature croissants, and yoghurt with muesli from the impressive display. It was all delicious, freshly prepared and of the highest quality. My only disappointment was the orange juice which was sadly not freshly squeezed. I am a fussy orange juice drinker particularly after tasting such scrumptious sweet fresh juice on the streets of Berlin.

Fun, reasonable and comfortable, the trendy Movenpick hotel is ideal for a city break in Berlin.

More information here.

Guests booking online can save 20% on two-night stays; or 30% on three-night stays between now and 2 September – see the following link for details:

www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/pub/special_offers/europe/summersavings2012.cfm

THOROUGHLY MODERN MISS: Movenpick Hotel Restaurant, Berlin

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After one of the most exhausting days I’ve ever had walking round Berlin, Milly and I arrived at the Movenpick hotel, hot tired and very hungry.

Within 5 minutes we had checked in, put our bags in our room and were at the table having ordered supper! The restaurant at the Movenpick is in the courtyard in the middle of the hotel and is a funky but practical looking place. The menu was very varied and seemed to go on for pages and pages, but there was also a separate pasta menu which was perfect for my need to break the carb curfew and indulge in a huge bowl! We shared a Caesar salad to start with which was delicious, lots of crispy bacon (the Germans really do pigs well), and lots of Parmesan, then for my main course I had linguine with chilli, garlic, sundried tomatoes and a huge handful of Parmesan! It was lovely fresh pasta and steaming hot – just what I needed. Milly had steak and chips, and whilst I can’t vouch for the steak (although she said it tasted as yummy as it looked), I did steal a lot of chips off her plate and they were delicious!

Pudding was slightly disappointing as I had a warm raspberry dish with vanilla ice cream, something I always used to eat on holiday as a child, and it had a massive bit of glass in it which was rather alarming and seriously put me off finishing it!

The Movenpick restaurant is not somewhere you would travel to go to, (the atmosphere is hotelly and bland and it’s not even that cheap) but if you are staying in the hotel and need a quick, fresh, yummy bite to eat, it’s perfect – AND the bonus for travelers is that it stays open until 12:30 am so you can eat if you get a late flight in, or after you’ve been out bar hopping in Berlin’s many many funky bars!

Visit the Movenpick website here for more information.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Miss, Emily Vaughan-Barratt.

Tim Raue, restaurant, Berlin

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Armed with my TimeOut Berlin guide, my friend and I took to the streets to discover Berlin’s best kept secrets. On the food pages I excitedly came across an article on Tim Raue, chef extraordinaire and culinary magician. Miraculously this restaurateur’s eatery just happened to be the place I had arranged to review for lunch.

Just round the corner from the famous Checkpoint Charlie, we dodged a few fellow tourists through to a hushed office-like building. Tim Raue’s restaurant is on the ground floor, a blissfully calm but hip venue with quirky artworks, ancient pots and generally creative décor. I felt completely at home, and was delighted to finally find a Michelin star restaurant with a bit of personality! Perhaps Berliners are just more trendy than Londoners offering an entirely different fine dining experience.

Immediately you are enveloped into Tim’s world, a welcoming environment of freedom, creativity and innovation. The friendly relaxed staff are dressed in cute athletic outfits and made our lunch enjoyable, thrilling even, from start to finish. At times Tim himself came to our table to chat about the concept behind his food, and explain our dishes. Our lunch menu for the day was chosen specially by him, tailored to our preferences. He is a humble but passionate man and made a big impression on us.

It is a touching story, Tim and wife Anne-Marie fell in love with the city of Hong Kong and hoped to bring the essence of this busy Chinese metropolis to Berlin. The menu at Tim Raue is Asian-inspired characterised by the unique combination of Japanese, Thai and Chinese flavours and philosophies. The dishes are completely free of bread, pasta, rice, white sugar, lactose products and gluten… ingredients which are unnecessary burdens to the body. Instead animal products are utilised in Tim’s creations, wildly imaginative and innovative recipes that taste exquisite.

Hong Kong, which translated means “fragrant harbour,” is a continuing inspiration to Tim and Marie-Anne Raue. No wonder therefore, that the two use every opportunity to visit the bustling city and bring a flavour of it to Kreuzberg.

The philosophy of Restaurant TIM RAUE is to serve Asian-inspired cuisine which can be characterised as a combination of Japanese quality products, Thai aromas and Chinese cooking philosophy.

We were treated to an array of exquisitely fresh and exciting flavour combinations. To start, an assortment of eclectic dishes arrived with appetisers… Raw fish and salad, marinated veal tongue, and other intriguing meats. Of the following dishes (there are too many to mention them all) we favoured the dim sum bbq Pork & Ginger which was sweet and comforting and the light and refreshing Brill with Wasabi Cream, pickled radish sweet-sour, pear & watercress and green Thai chilli.

A tiny pot of insanely yummy, steaming, vivid green, fragrant thai curry soup arrived. We barely spoke as we slurped it excitedly.

Our menu for the day included RAUE classics such as “Peking Duck Interpretation” a deliciously imaginative dish of Duck cooked three ways. This exhibits Tim’s fine cooking skills at their very best. Beautifully arranged and presented, carefully seasoned, rich and scrumptious.

The experienced sommelier chose fantastic wines to match each of our dishes… totally unique and inspiring choices that complemented the flavours but were equally tasty without food.

Pudding really got us screeching… the most stunning dessert I have ever seen, let alone eaten. A hand crafted dark chocolate tree with basil leaves sitting in a bed of plump raspberries and basil oil. It looked too special to demolish and tasted as good as it looked. To accompany our final cups of tea and coffee another course of little sweets was served of which Almond Cream filled Cherries were the best.

So… what would I recommend you order? Pray that Tim’s in the kitchen, tell him what you like and wait for the spectacular show to unfold. Tim Raue’s restaurant is unique and special in every way… discovering his imaginative and creative world was a true highlight of our Berlin trip.

Visit the website here for more information and to book.

http://tim-raue.com/