And Now For Something Completely Different: KaDeWe

Enough Vergangenheitsbewaltigung already. The next day, September 9th, we took the underground, and surface too, to Schoeneberg, the big former West Berlin shopping area, to visit KaDeWe, Berlin's and Germany's largest and most famous department store. KaDeWe is Kaufhaus des Westens: Germans understandably are fond of contractions and acronyms and the whole brevity thing. It has been known as KaDeWe since its opening in 1907. Originally Jewish-owned, it was Aryanized by the Nazis, ruined by bombs in 1943, and then rebuilt as one of the showpieces of Germany's reconstruction after the war. It is now owned by a conglomerate based in Bangkok. Sic transit, Gloria. We had an extended look around, modestly stimulated the local economy, then headed for the food court upstairs.

KaDeWe from Tauentzienstrasse; not sure what all the lavender
pipes are about? Homage to Bowellism? 

Approaching from the station

The very famous Naturisten am Brunnen

Ubiquitous city "sculpture"

In the toy department, Lord Voldemort and Vicki

And here, I am receiving The Force from Harry Poppins

Adjacent to the toy department is the KaDeWe Outlet Store, to
which we naturally gravitated...of course I was tempted by the
50% off Abito Leisure Slacks, but at €1,460 (you can round that
off at $1,500) I thought they were just a bit out of my price range
(Vicki did buy another small travel bag) 

Now we are in the kitchen department, examining the latest in
small appliances

For tubing on the Rhine

The food hall seemed to us rather more focused on sit-down dining
than selling fine and exotic foods; no comparison with the Galeries
Lafayette nor Bon Marche; our lunch/snack was at the tapas
bar, jamon and a quiche Lorraine...

The ham (Cinco Jotas) was so good we decided buy some to take
home

And while the guy was slicing it off this leg, I got to sample the
sherry, the wine, and then some great Spanish brandy

Nice department store, but not up to les grands magasins nor even
Harrod's