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As you come up the steps from the U-Bahn and see this in front of you you'll find yourself taking a deep breath and maybe having a bit of a tear in your eye. Having seen the Tor in so many films, books and pictures, it's more than a little bit amazing to see it in real life. 

We came here for cocktails and two out of three of them were delicious – the Mari Pippins and one that had strawberries and pepper in. The one with prosecco, mint and limoncello though, not so much. Not just ‘ooh I don’t like this one’, but ‘something has gone very wrong here’. In fact, it tasted like soap.

Things we liked included the really wide widescreen screen (I’m not sure how else to describe it), the resin filler in the wooden tables, the matt grey paint, the ‘wobby wood’ decorations and the Scandinavian/sauna feel of the bit at the back.

Things we weren’t sure about included the red light effect in the window booths that smacked of a particular area of Amsterdam and the soapy cocktail.

Although in hindsight we should have probably booked a table for afternoon tea, we were really well looked after and had drinks in the bar downstairs until a table was ready, at which point an exceptionally lovely lady came down to fetch us.

My sisters and I had the prosecco afternoon tea and there was so much cake we had to take some home with us. We fell in love with the mismatched china and furniture and with the delicately pickled cucumber slices.

The perfect way to spend a relaxed yet oh-so-civilised afternoon.

You can't come to Berlin and not visit the East Side Gallery. A tangible piece of history that you can reach out and touch, with some fantastically poignant and well presented art. For free!

If you're intrigued about the SED and its MfS then this is definitely the place to come. Fans of The Lives of Others will be happy to pay the 5 Euro entrance fee simply to be on a film location (I was!), and those who want to learn a bit more about the Stasi, its history and ultimate demise will find it fascinating to go through the rooms and seeing the different exhibits in situ. I don't understand the negative comment below about it being 'inaccessible'!

I love Azova! I spent a good twenty minutes mooching around Mitte trying to find somewhere I could hole up with a book and a glass of wine and this was the only place I found that fit the bill. Soli is a fantastic host - super friendly and very good at making you feel welcome. Top of my list of places to revisit when I come back to Berlin : )