Just as we have done on previous visits, we booked a table some weeks ago at another favourite restaurant. Not Bavarian this time, not one with beer and bratwurst, but one with fine dining in a rather special location and with a rather interesting view.

We took the S bahn to the Brandenburger Tor and made our way through the wedding parties, the stag dos and the groups of friends just having a good time.

We joined the queue of mostly sightseers, because even at this time of the evening, the place is still open for visits. We showed our vaccination certificates as usual but this time also needed our passports as id. Our names were checked on a list and we stood aside until there was a group of four ready to go.

The waiting area was bordered by these vertical shards of ?metal? which on closer inspection had names embossed on the edges. There were probably around fifty shards along this stretch of the fence - I wondered about the significance of the names there. Who was (is?) Ernst Grube?

Eventually we were invited to the next step of the security process - airport style scanning staffed by women with a sense of humour! A reminder was offered to my hero to remove his belt - the woman on duty mused on the German word gurtel (belt) with me - she smiled as she reflected on the gurt bit! During this time, our belongings had been scanned and my hero was putting on his gurtel again, but missing a belt loop - cue the second woman stepping in to help. All good fun and in good nature - diffusing what could have been a stressful situation.

Having passed the security screening, we stood in places as marked on the floor, a young man came and checked our names (again) and we were taken across the terrace and up the steps into the Bundestag.

Each step of the way in was very secure indeed, but once inside we were free to explore the public area - mostly the glass dome, in which there is a spiral walkway to the top and down again. A restaurant booking here includes the same access as a sightseeing ticket, so why not stay and have dinner?

The entrance to the restaurant Kafer is on this, the entry level. Havin been here a couple of times previously, we didn’t feel the need to walk up and down again, so spent a short time reading some of the historical panels before going to the restaurant, showing our vaccination certificates and id before taking our coats off and being shown to our table.

Yes it’s faff to get in here, but given the nature of the location it’s hardly surprising. And the food is very good indeed!

My main course was an Autumn lamb dish with mushrooms, pumpkin, nuts and other delicacies (!)

My dessert was lemon mousse with coconut, vanilla, black tea gel and again, other bits and pieces I can’t remember. Delicious!

We enjoyed a bottle of German red too - A Schneider Black Print 2019 from Pfalz. I must say it was the best German red we’ve ever had!

The views from inside the Roof Garden are a little distant as there is a safety rail all the way around. However, after dinner and free to roam the open roof terrace, they are somewhat better. The purple cone is the roof of the Sony Centre at Potsdamer Platz and the adjacent brightly lit tower is the DB headquarters, again very close to our hotel.

On our way down, I peered into the central atrium and caught sight of a few blue chairs.

If I’d waited until we reached the ground floor, I could have seen the whole parliament chamber! As we left, people were still arriving for sighteeing visits and the security ladies were still hard at work. When I asked what time they finished work, the answer was 10.30pm but sometimes 12 midnight. Why does it seem strange to visit such a place so late in the evening?

Feeling replete in so many ways, it was back on the S bahn and to our hotel. The Christmas elves had been out with their elevator lifts again this afternoon and the trees were sparkling more than ever.

The end of another great day in Berlin!