(photo: Queues form for dinner at the cafe)
Christmas is an interesting time at The Circus. Whereas big events and holidays during the year, such as film festivals, easter and bank holidays, the marathon weekend and, of course, New Year’s Eve, bring a certain special atmosphere to the different houses because of the number of people milling around, Christmas is very different. Berlin itself feels quiet, as it feels like half the city have gone someplace else to celebrate with friends and family, many businesses close down for the holidays, and everything just feels peaceful and calm.
(photo: Dinner is served at the hostel)
Ever since The Circus began almost fifteen years ago, we have been very aware that Christmas can actually be a difficult time for our guests, especially those travellers who find themselves along way from home and everything that entails (of course there are the others for whom escape from tradition is the very reason they are with us in Berlin … but that’s another story). So we always try and put on something on Christmas Day, not only for our guests but those of us who are working, and it is often one of the best days of the year to be hanging around the hostel, the hotel and, as of 2011, the new apartments.
(photo: Christmas dinner in Fabisch)
As is now traditional, we offered special Christmas dinner in both the Circus Cafe at the hostel and in the Fabisch restaurant in the hotel. We also had live music on Christmas eve, cocktails and festive tunes in Goldman’s Bar, and plenty of other goodies to hopefully give people fond memories of the time they spent Christmas with us in Berlin. We hope that everyone who was with us over the holiday had a great time, and that all of you reading this had a special couple of days with good food and wine, some nice people and some great presents!
The fun never stops of course, and we have a full programme of events taking place at The Circus to celebrate the arrival of the new year. So to find out what’s going on as we usher in 2012, check out the Circus blog tomorrow…
On Tuesday 20th December we will be hosting our very own Christmas Bazaar at The Circus Cafe. Beginning at 5pm we will be selling handicrafts designed and created by members of the Circus team, including cosmetic/travel bags with different motifs (including Berlin and the Circus), as well as loop scarves, notebooks and homemade pralines.
So here we are. After many months and the odd period of trials and tribulations, the first guests are on the way and the apartments team are ready to welcome them. And for all of you readers of the Circus blog who have had to do with moodboards, sketches, renderings and, well, simply our word for it, now we can present you with some pictures so you can get a sense of what we are opening on the Choriner Straße. It has been an exciting and tough time getting the building ready for the first guests, and we are very proud of the results.
Last Thursday was Thanksgiving for our cousins across the great wide pond, so The Circus Café put on a special three-course turkey dinner. Now, coming from Stockport there is not much that I know about this festival, so I had to do some research to make it as much like Mum’s (sorry, Mom’s) for our guests as possible. Some things we managed, but some others we failed…
Once upon a time there was a young man named Andrew, who came thousands of miles around the world, from one hemisphere to the next, to bring his distinct brand of Aussie-ness to the party that is known as The Circus. Over long winters he has shivered, finding warmth only in the satisfaction of great nights of music and street art tours around the city that he has helped to organise. But one thing was always missing, and as the last winter finally (in about April) began to release the city from its icy grip, the idea came to him.
