2014 Poland, Austria, Germany Tour: DAY 25 - MON 10/13

Now that we're alone after a hectic jam-packed few days with Heidi and Frank, we slept in this morning and got a late but leisurely start on the day.

Even though it's almost noon, we must stop first and have our usual breakfast in order to fully wake up...some freshly squeezed OJ, one plain and one chocolate croissant, und zwei cappucci.

We see some of the usual wired-up locals...they seem to be here every day at all hours...it's like their office. And the cafe loves their presence.

And every morning this old geezer below, the one on the right, was always there too. We thought he was one of the street people who hang around to get food handouts, as we saw him eating but never saw him pay. He always sat near us, curiously staring. We found out he speaks perfect English and lived in the States for about 25 years, but we didn't get more than that about this local character's story.

Outside the cafe there are two 'high, lifeguard' chairs. We're not sure why they're there, if they serve any special purpose, or if anyone actually uses them. They're funny and curious.

Then one night we were surprised when we saw this, two guys perched up there very casually drinking beer and chatting. We ogled curiously, and chuckled at the sight. Just a different way to hang out and get high.

We know that, today being Monday, all the stores should be open. So our main goals is to go back to Tesla on Ku'damm so that Marty can schmooz and talk some serious business...he's so curious to see how Teslas are sold overseas and maybe to talk to customers.

So off we go into our local U-Bahn station at...(our home port)

...and emerge right in the center of where we want to be.

We start walking, passing some sights along the way. It is very reminiscent of the Champs Élysées.

And then we arrive at our intended destination. We're in luck...they're open.

There's only one Product Specialist on the floor, and it takes quite a while until he's free and Marty can get his attention.

But before that happens, he notices a curious customer and steps right up, introduces himself, engages him in conversation and responds to his questions. They spoke for about 15 minutes, and the guy was very appreciative of the information. He was Dutch and an enthusiast.

Finally, Marty got to meet two of the sales guys, Felix and Jonas. They were surprised and happy to meet Marty, and vice versa! There was love all around, especially the mutual admiration about the car and the company and Elon Musk. The store opened just a week ago. There were 2,600 visitors on opening day. That's a WOW!

They were thrilled to meet a top veteran NY sales guy!

After that very enjoyable experience where Marty had done his thing and gotten it out of his system, we were a little hungry for a light lunch. We decide to return to Reinhardt's, the elegant cafe where we had our last drinks yesterday with the Harlings, because we know it's classy and good. We order an omelette to share and a beer...we feel a little like regulars. Then we each have a cafe macchiato and relax and people-watch for a while...it's fun and what we love to do, wherever we are.

With what's left of the afternoon, we just stroll in and around Ku'damm.

A Ralph Loren wannabe, and not bad either.

Some local shoppers

Ubiquitous Apple...

We decide to go in and check it out. It was jammed.

The atmosphere is the same, no matter where you are in any Apple around the world. We've been in many.

We pass the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church again, such an iconic tangible remembrance of the World War ll devastation.

We have had our eyes out for a hair salon for Marty throughout the trip...he likes to have his hair cut in foreign countries. We find a few on some side streets that look good, but, guess what? Hair salons in Berlin seem to be closed on Mondays. We just haven't been lucky with this. We'll never find one that is: a) open when we're there, b) looks like a cool place, and c) has a free hair dresser who can do it on the spot. So we just about give up on that idea, especially since we only have a few days left in our trip.

Believe it or not we really haven't bought anything on this trip either...oh some chocolate from Aachen, a disk of the klezmer music performed at the restaurant in the Jewish ghetto in Krakow, a T-shirt from the politico restaurant StaV in Berlin, and that's about it...not like us at all!

We don't really need anything, not that that matters when you're traveling, but since we had a little time to browse in this big shopping area, Marty got some ideas. He wanted to find a wallet to replace his old one. We found a lovely leather goods store, but the one he liked was 250 euros, so that wasn't happening. Then he remembered that he had seen a store somewhere on the avenue with the same name as one he had bought some great underwear from in Portugal several years ago and loved. So we trekked until we finally found it, Tezenis, and so he stocked up on some...a find of the trip!

Oh yes, Marty did buy shoes in Maastricht. Note: Jill hasn't bought anything! Not even shoes or a scarf or a hand bag or perfume, some of her passionate must-haves! Could it be that her suitcase was so full that she couldn't fit in even one more thing?! Unprecedented!!

Now was starting to get dark, so time to return to the apartment and get ready for dinner.

Tonight we're going to Katz Orange. The name means Orange Cat, inspired by the owner's trip to a Peruvian shaman who owned such an animal with which he became enthralled.

The space is most impressive, taking up the bottom two floors of a 19th century former brewery. It is tucked away in a back courtyard that has tables for dining al fresco as well. What an amazing and impressive atmosphere!

It has a small well-focused menu of seasonal and classic dishes.

As we walked in, a woman was walking out and said, you have to try the pork...it's one of the best things she's ever had. It's their signature dish as well, served for two, so we had to go for it.