Travelogue: Eats (....and a recipe, too: Sun Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta)

I just returned from a two-week long adventure to Berlin and Breda (which is in the south of the Netherlands) visiting family and friends. It was a wonderful trip which left me wishing I had booked it for longer...but time marches on. I start medical school one month from today.

I discovered that Berlin happens to be an amazing place for cheap eats (bowls of soup or burritos for 3 euros---and enough to be a whole meal!)

Cheese danish from the train station

Baguette with brie, tomatoes and arugula (train station food!!)

Blueberry kuchen and a cappuccino

Loaves of bread in a Berlin bakery

Arugula and fresh tomato pizza in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin

Marzipan pouch filled with layer cake and raspberry jam at Fassbender Rausch ---foodie splurge but very, very worth it.

Blissful eats.

Dark chocolate drinking chocolate at Fassbender Rausch 

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As much as I love eating out, I enjoy cooking dinner and shopping at local grocery stores in other countries. (One of my favorites is  Albert Heijn, a Dutch grocery store chain).

My Dutch friend always comments: "It's so hard to find a good cappuccino in the US". This is her version, made in her kitchen....

Berry cobbler I made to celebrate July 4th in the Netherlands (just like the peach mulberry one, but with raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)

And the last thing, Sun Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta---easy, delicious, and savory. My cousins had just moved into a new apartment in Berlin, and were still filling the pantry. One night for dinner I made this pasta, almost surprised at how well it turned out for how simple it is. Chop as many mushrooms as you like, and sauté them in butter or olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, and either chopped sun dried tomatoes or sun dried tomato paste. Add a few dashes of white wine. Allow the mushrooms to release their juices, and add some rosemary to taste. Serve over pasta with olive oil.