Last week was challenging on account of the need go to the doctors three times for some tests. I have been having digestive issues for a while, along with extreme tiredness, and I am trying to get to the bottom of it. All of this wouldn't have been too much of an inconvenience except the surgery is a two-hour round trip and opens at weird hours. 8-1 on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by 1-6 on Thursday, meant shifting work patterns around to accommodate but fortunately that was fine. On the first two days, it did enable me to get some lunch out - bread buns on the first day and a trip to Mini Pizza Kitchen on the second day. The latter was quite good value - €2.50 for a slice of pizza which was then cut into eight little chunks for us. I got one margharita and one pupperoni, sharing it with Wolfie. Thursday was different due to the late opening. We had planned to go out in the evening as the weather was good and there are some interesting places to explore near Wolfie's work, but he drank a lot of whisky the night before and had something of a Menty B. He stayed in bed all day, meaning there were no evening plans. It also meant that I had to do the vast majority of the housework, which really annoyed me too.

I spent most of last week editing stories, with two important deadlines that I had to meet by Friday. This was because Procyon was coming to visit. Due to these deadlines, I suggested he come to Spandau and we go out here. I managed to submit the second story with about 45 minutes to spare, meaning I could meet the raccoon at the station. We then headed straight to the Spandau Brauhaus, where we sat in their beer garden, enjoying their rather nice Sommerwit. The staff recognised us once again and we did most of the discussion in German, which was nice. Alas, I noticed that they were going to overcharge us by €20 before we completed the transaction, which at least meant we could get it rectified before paying. They did this with good grace. We had two beers here with the intention of getting a third at the gay bar, but that was strangely closed. Procyon then got a kebab from our usual place - he had tried to get a kebab from a place opposite Altstadt Spandau U-Bahn but they told him it would be 15 minutes for some reason and he didn't want to wait, so we ended up at our usual. He got a Durum for €8 which he ate most of, and we shared a few bottles of Maisel IPA I had bought at Edeka the following day.

We got up around 11am on Saturday and after breakfast and showers, we headed out to Templehof. Wolfie stayed back as his ankle had flared up again. En route, we stopped off at Olympiastadion as we were travelling through there anyway and Procyon hadn't seen it. Due to Bruce Springsteen having played last Wednesday and Linkin Park this Wednesday, you could only access the site by guided tour and there was a 90 minute wait. Still, we looked around the front and saw a motorcycle gang, I think protesting about an insignia ban. We also tried to buy a bottle of coke from a place that was going to charge the eye-watering amount of €5.50 so we decided to get refreshment elsewhere. At 29C, it was the hottest day of the year so far, but the breeze made it feel a little cooler. This was in contrast to the muggy hell that was Sunday's 31C which was quite difficult to navigate through.

The trains had been fucked at Spandau, which was why we had picked up the S-Bahn. We resumed this at Olympiastadion and got to Templehof via Westkreuz. The Ring is a decent line, but always busy. We got to Leinestrasse on the U8 and cut into the former airport at the site of the former air crash. They seem to be renovating this corner of the site, so we couldn't get a beer from the same concession where I had bought one with Petephin back in April. Fortunately, there was an ice cream van selling beer (my favourite type of ice cream van) from a cooling box. For €3 a bottle, it was a little steep, but it was nice to be able to walk around with a beer in hand. We followed the same path as I had done with Petephin six weeks before - up runway 27L, around towards the terminal building and ending where the circus concessions are. On the way, we noticed a new cafe had sprung up near the paving area where last time we had seen a load of Indians playing cricket. It was from this cafe that we bought a pretzel and in my case a non-alcoholic beer called Jever Fun, which was anything but. It should have been called Jever Meh or Jever Adequate. We also stopped to read the explanation signs detailing the history of the airport. There is a plane parked between the two runways which we also got to observe. :This is N106TA, which skidded off the runway in October 1987. While it got repaired, it was still prone to faults, so has been parked here since 1988. It was then first used by the fire brigade as a trainer aircraft for the rapid evacuation of passengers in emergencies. This type of plane was a workhorse that used Templehof during the 1980s and is a unique piece of history.

After wandering around the field for about 90 minutes, we ducked into the gritty yet bohemian streets of Neukolln in search of a bar. On the way, I fancied an ice cream, so we stopped to pick up one. I had Tonkabohnen and Procyon had Schoko-Macademia. After this, we had a pleasant twenty-minute walk through a nice park, where we spotted a petting zoo with loads of cocks to stroke. Procyon made an inappropriate joke which I was still talking about by the time we got to Brauhaus Sudstern. I chose this as I knew it had a beer garden (although I didn't notice the nicer beer garden out back until I went to the toilet when we were due to leave) and it's on the U7 so I figured Wolfie could easily make it. As it turned out, he didn't read my messages and so we met later. The bar itself was quite quiet, but the Aurora IPA was most pleasant, particularly in the sun. We had one 400ml glass and one diddy 200ml glass (look at this little guy!) which could barely contain the buxom breasts that formed the brewery's logo. We stayed in this pleasant road-side beer garden for an hour or so, before moving on to Rosenthaler Platz via the U7/U8 where we were due to go for food.

Sandy was due to meet us, which was the main reason for going up to Rosenthaler Platz. Both she and Procyon had expressed an interest in Detroit-style pizza restaurant Fergy so we agreed to meet there around 7pm. Alas, as the trains were still screwed, Wolfie was about half an hour late. This made Fergy's casual dining style perfect, while I was surprised to notice that it was nowhere near as busy as it had been when we visited last back in March. We grabbed a full pupperoni pizza, saving one slice for Wolfie, while I bought the cheesy pizza as our second slice. The food was fine. Nothing outstanding, pretty adequate, but at least good for drinking, which is what we were about to do. As the weather was so good, we decided to go up to a nearby park, picking some bottles of beer up from the Spati en route. This is one of the things I love about Berlin, particularly in summer, and the park had a really good vibe. We just chilled and chatted on the grass, catching up and talking about a range of things until it was time for Sandy to go to bed. It was around this time that I got a message from CoVahr asking if we were at the Spandau Stammi that evening. It was the first time we had spoken in seven months. I told him we weren't, largely because we had a friend visiting, but the Pool Hall is quite unbearable in the summer. It was a shame we missed him though - we didn't go to Thursday's Fureigners Meet either as it's a ticketed event and we missed getting the tickets, what with them being released the morning we were travelling to ConFuzzled last month. I understand the need for ticketing these events as it's a pub booking, but I'm not sure I want to commit going to a pub in four weeks' time. Many times, I don't sleep well or have a busy day or just don't feel like it. I don't really like the obligation.

It was about 9:30pm by this point and breaking from tradition, we decided not to go to BRLO, instead favouring Prater Garten near Eberswalder Strasse. This proved to be a mistake. We got on the tram and were delighted to discover most of the middle section having empty seats until we realised why. The pungent smell of astringent strawberry gave us our first hint, with the rose-coloured vomit sealing the deal. The gentleman who was stood opposite us as we made our journey north suggested that maybe whoever had chundered as just feeling queasy by the ride. I pointed out that with the colour it was, that was unlikely. Fortunately, it was only three stops, so we got off the tram pretty swifty. We also got to Prater Garten swiftly too and enjoyed two beers (one alcoholic, one non-alcoholic) before some token-based unpleasantness. Like most places, they do a pfand system. Each beer costs an additional €2 for the glass and you get this €2 back when you return it. Normally, you recycle glasses or they give you fresh ones on a cycle. This time, we were told to put our glasses to one side, got fresh ones, but were charged for the pfand again. Not aiding this is you pay for the beer at separate station. This meant we had three glasses and six tokens. When coming to trade them in, the discrepancy caused a problem. I told the gentleman that we were told to put the glasses to one side and he said 'I don't think so', basically calling me a liar. We left with just three tokens traded and Wolfie went back later to get the refund on the other three. He was successful, but I don't like confrontation and this put a sour taste on the evening. I was still feeling it a little at Manifest, our final bar of the evening, and Wolfie and I had a little disagreement. He wasn't as sympathetic as I needed him to be and although it was smoothed over in the morning, it did end the night on something of a low. Manifest was lovely, even if we did have to sit indoors due to the lateness of the hour. We headed off about 1am, with Procyon desperately needing sleep.

My mood did lighten with the S-Bahn train back. There was engineering works between Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Zoologischer Garten, with all trains cancelled apart from the S-Bahn. These were running at lower frequency, enabling us to call at Backwerk with no risk to missing our connection. Here, I discovered they sell pretzels stuffed with sour cream and chive. This was delicious, despite being salty. After feeling somewhat sated, we got on the S-Bahn train which was very much the train of regrets. There was one young lady who was clearly pissed off and another drunk guy who kept eating cheese and tissue pizza as it was blowing back on top. He also posted his crusts between the gaps of the two chairs, and even offered a random person some floor pizza he had dropped. He then went to a bank of four chairs to feel ill. He was almost as bad as the ginger kid we had met on the tram earlier in the day who had taken so much weed he was absolutely battered. He was horizontally slumped on the chair, not knowing where he was, but at least we had a friend with him.

As I had bounced between soft drinks, non-alcoholic and alcoholic ones, I was feeling reasonably fresh on Sunday. The plan today was to go over to Kopenick, with Wolfie once again staying back due to his foot. Things started frustratingly due to more train delays, with us crawling from Bellevue to Alexanderplatz, taking about 10 minutes per station. It was cloyingly hot, with 31C outdoor temperatures and no air conditioning. As all the trains were slow, the platforms started filling up and people were taking risks, including one man who darted onto the train as the doors were closing, only to get his backpack caught in the closing doors. It took three people and 20 seconds to get him free. I was feeling increasingly agitated and was wondering whether we should go elsewhere, as Kopenick is not that well-connected. In the end, Procyon wanted to persist and we got there about 45 minutes later than intended.

Interestingly, there was a festival going on, much akin to every other bloody festival in Germany. There was the usual Bowle Bowls store, langos and Thuringa Bratwurst of course, and the teddy bear concession that sees you having to cut a piece of string to win a prize. We grabbed food and drink from a bakery, before sitting on the steps overlooking the river. We then had a wander around the town, taking in the church and Rathaus, the two equine statues and the palace. Before going to the palace, we needed the bathroom and didn't want to pay €1 for the privilege. There was a porta-potty open that I think was used by the workmen who were constructing the road around the main square. We used it, but it was absolutely filthy, with shit smeared over the seat. At least there was running water and soap. We decided to get out of there was quickly as possible, avoiding the store selling Amrican & Sweets, and headed into the grounds of the palace. Alas, for some reason, we weren't allowed to take bottles or cans in, so we had to walk by the river some more so Procyon could finish his water. We then went inside and were greeted to some decent swing jazz on a stage with full brass band. There were more of the usual concessions and we walked around the pleasant palace grounds. We ended our trip by having a beer in Germany's smallest brewery on the main square. Here, I noticed there will be a childrens' fair in two weeks' time offering pony and unicorn rides which sounds great fun. I do hope the unicorns aren't just horses with horns strapped to their heads.

Typically, we had just missed a bus by the time we wanted to leave, meaning we had a 20-minute wait for the next one. This was rammed, but at least it would take us to the U8 without worrying about the clogged S-Bahn. The journey was 45 minutes but I did get to see parts of the city unknown. I also got to show Procyon the entrance to Kit Kat Club before making our way to Rosenthaler Platz. We were due to meet Sandy again, this time at a 'Syrian-style' restaurant called Yarok. This is on Torstrasse and I would usually bawk at the word 'style' whenever it is used to describe food. This was rather good though. Wolfie arrived about 10 minutes later and the two of us shared their mixed meat grill plate that came with delicious things like humus, labna, chickpeas, chicken, schwarma, coucous and a range of salads. It was quite healthy, which was good after all the crap we had eaten, while sitting and eating outside is always a real thrill. We got a Fritz Cola too, knowing that drinking after would be inevitable.

Thunderstorms had been promised but we had managed to dodge them. There had been one short one in Mitte before we had arrived and the rain did come eventually, but we didn't get wet at all. We ended up in The Castle as it was nearby, with their beer garden being nicely toasty. Their range of pizzas seems to have expanded, but the rotating advertisements on the TVs didn't give us their beer list, which was a bit annoying. We sampled six beers here over three rounds, with Sandy staying for two of them. She left and we had one more, before ending the evening at BRLO Charlottenburg. Alas, they were closing when we arrived, even though their advertised hours are 2am and it was only 11:15pm. Indeed, we had gotten lucky with an S1 train to Friedrichstrasse from Nordbahnhof, which connected with an S9 Spandau-bound train. The barman was willling to sell us some bottles though, having already cleaned the taps, so we had these in our usual spot tucked behind the main door. Typically, a few other people came in wanting beer and he had to turn them away, but it was good to show Procyon this bar too. As I say, we usually end up in their beer garden at Gleisdreieck over summer, but we didn't go this weekend. My stomach, as has been the case of late, has started to get quite pained when drinking beer so once we had headed back home, I stopped at this point. We had all bought a beer at the Spati along with some Sweet and Sour Pringles that tasted of uninspired chicken, with the other two drinking theirs.

As Proycon needed to be up for 7am to catch his flight home, we went to bed around 2am. We both woke up to see him out (although Wolfie's insomnia meant that he hadn't gotten to sleep) while I've been feeling quite lethargic since. It was great meeting up with Procyon again, as it always is, and we hope to see him again soon whenever that will be. Sadly, I've come to the conclusion that any trip to the UK over the summer won't be worth it financially, while I doubt we'll do EF too. Looking at the costs, it's probably going to be around €1,000 in total. With money much tighter now and my desire to go to Scotiacon and CFz next year, I think I may have to pass. By passing, it will also free up funds for NFC should I want to do that, as well as wherever I will go with these free flights I have. I'm still considering it, but ultimately, I'm not convinced it's worth that much money. I don't have to make a decision for a while though.