Grunewald - 2

The bus took us along the Kudamm to Hubertus Alle then briefly into Hohenzollern Damm before taking us along Clay Alle to our destination. I had the window seat behind a women with a little girl and a baby boy she was holding. The baby had blue eyes like 'Mutti' and smiled at me all the way. I just melted. I wanted to take him from Mutti and hold him - and for a bonus, to take him home!

Mutti turned to see who the baby was smiling at, saw me and then smiled at me. I melted again! I noticed she was also listing with interest to Marga and I speaking in English. She clearly used the opportunity to do some listening practice! When we got off the bus, I smiled and waved at the baby. He smiled back and Mutti took his arm to wave to me. Aaaah! 

The bus dropped us south of Grunewaldsee. For the 'Sildsdeners' - See means lake and not sea = das Meer - the exception is the Ostsee which is the Baltic. This is getting too complicated!  It is in the western part of Berlin and covers a large area before melting into Potsdam and its rural areas. When Berlin was divided into East and West, this was sometimes called the 'Green Lung' of west Berlin. It was a favourite spot for west-Berliners to visit, enjoy walks in the forests, swim in the lakes and sun themselves on the beaches.

As we started our walk I noticed nearly all the other walkers had dogs with them. I began to wonder if we had wandered into a dog event! We passed a car. An old Mercedes. I got into conversation with the owner. He finally accepted my offer of €90 and said he would deliver next Friday. That was all the money left from the wine advertising campaign I reported earlier on my blog. Even so, I need more for insurance. I wonder if he will deliver on Friday.

Marga and I then entered The Chalet Suisse for a coffee to celebrate my becoming a new 'old' Mercedes owner. It is a popular stop for coffee and meals. I really liked the place and took a shot looking into one of the two dining rooms. I liked the statue of the man staring into the red wall about the fireplace burning logs. A very welcoming place.

Later we came to an even more imposing building on the side of the lake. It is called 'Forsthaus Paulsborn am Grunewaldsee'. It was built in the 1870s and is now a hotel and restaurant. High quality reflected in the prices. A room for the weekend would cost me my new 'old' Mercedes and a bit more! Forsthaus translates as a forester's lodge or inn. You can even take your dog there - if you pay an extra €7.50 a night. Woof....woof!