BERLIN

We arrive at our apartment in East Berlin at about 4pm. It is twice the size of our Paris apartment and has beautiful views over the area. We settle in and walk the 200 metres to our local supermarket and stock up. Large bottles of Holstein pils are 59 cents while the more expensive Becks is 10 cents dearer. We also buy a good Sangiovese and reasonable Medoc for $5. We shower, change and drink the Sangiovese before heading into town. We use our local U-Bahn station, the Strausberger Platz, and head into Potsdamer Platz. After walking around and viewing the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag at night, we head to the Berlin version of Vapiano for dinner. Located in the heart of the Potsdamer Platz, we have to wait for a table. We finally get one overlooking the street and order three pizzas. We wash it down with Becks beers and a couple of glasses of red wine and leave with a bill of 25 Euro. Sleep comes easily and we enjoy the space and comfort of our new apartment. We awake fresh and bright and hungry for adventure. After our vintage adventures in Paris, we are eager to hunt down some DDR fashions. Our research leads us to Humana in Friedrichshain, which is five stories of retro Eastern European chic. It is also only two blocks away. Karin leaves with three new jackets for 44 Euro. Lunch is taken at a Vietnamese restaurant before we head into the Mitte district for more retro bargains.