Firolino - Undiscovered Italian Fare in Berlin

Firolino is a small and inconspicious place in one of the many Friedrichshain streets that are home to a myriad of restaurants, bars, cafés, and take out places - some more and some less fancy.

Though it does not deserve to be called more than a coffee shop and despite its rather unspectacular appearance, Fiorolino definitely is one of the more creative places with a simple but tasty food concept: piadinas. These thin Italian flatbreads, typically prepared in the Romagna region, are an Italian snack that for the majority is still undiscovered here in Germany. Prepared on an electric griddle and stuffed with fresh ingredients such as mozzarella, parmesan, prosciutto, mortadella, tomato, rocket salad, grilled vegetables and much more, piadinas can be enjoyed in the shop accompanied by a refreshing Aperol spritz or devoured on the go. Either way - they are well worth a try!

http://www.firolino.de/

Berlin - Sightseeing of a different kind

Just recently I had the honor of accompanying a guide friend of mine on one of his city tours about which I would like to tell you today. Why in the world am I writing about a guided city tour, you may be thinking, aren't there more exciting things to do in Berlin?

The reason being is that these tours are not the boring standard city tours that present fact after fact but leave no extraordinary memories. On the contrary, this excursion is more than just a city tour - it combines the art of movie making with the historical sights but also less known spots of Berlin. A company called Zeitreisen (Time Travels) lead by a young historian entrepreneur has developed an outstanding city tour experience that remains incomparable in Berlin!

Departing every second Sunday at 1:30pm from the famous boulevard "Unter den Linden" on a bus that is equipped with several video screens, this tour attracts tourists and locals alike. While the bus takes guests through town, the guide brilliantly combines facts about Berlin's history, its sights and movie making showing short episodes of outdoors scenes featuring Berlin's streets and squares on the screens. So for example, driving by the square Gendarmenmarkt one realizes that all major outdoor scenes (supposedly in London) of Jacky Chan's "In 80 Days Around The World" were taken right there, or that Lola in "Run Lola Run" was standing right in front of Hotel de Rome with the view over Bebelplatz after robbing her father's bank. One can also see the original streets in which "The Legend of Paul and Paula" took place as well as outside facade of the home of the protagonist of "The Live of the Others". Truly intriguing!

Of course many more contemporary but also historical films are being featured during this diverting city tour so that the 2 1/2 hours fly by in no time. This is not only due to the entertaining mix of cinematics and sightseeing but also for the nearly indefinite knowledge of the guide about the city in every aspect.

So, now that winter is coming up this may be the perfect Saturday afternoon activity - not only for tourists but also and especially for the Berliners of you!

http://www.videobustour.de/berlin.html