Go to Gendarmenmarkt

Our first proper outing in Berlin took us on a short walk from our apartment to the Gendarmenmarkt area. It's a nice shopping area built about around a large square containing two matching churches (the French and German Cathedrals) and the music hall, called the Konzerthaus.

The Konzerthaus

Most historic buildings in Berlin have a dramatic history -- as they were either bombed, disassembled or looted within the last 200 years. Most buildings have since been put back together with painstaking attention to detail. The three buildings in this square are no different.

But the real jewel of the Gendarmenmarkt is the two-story chocolate store called Fassbender & Rausch. Hello! Two words: Chocolate volcano. You can be sure we'll be bringing back samples.

There are also a bunch of shops around the area, connected underground -- including a French market! Bonjour! Leah got a new Hello Kitty dress from the H&M store. Fancy!

As we walked back to the apartment, we identified some restaurants we'll want to try while we're here. And then it was out again to the grocery story to pick up a few more essentials. Interesting fact: they don't bag their groceries at the checkout. They put their items back into their cart and walk over to a nearby counter to bag them.