There is no such thing as a coincidence; or is there? In February 2025 I was notified that I had one Wooga’s June’s Journey Destination Berlin International Contest. In fact I learned that out of 1.1. million players, and out of all the contest entries, I was the ONLY person in the WHOLE world who got all the quiz questions correct, the question written to find their most ardent detectives correct – NO ONE ELSE DID, and Dario said my essay would have won even if I had failed the quiz!

All the plane tickets to get to Berlin were purchased by Wooga and they put me up in the 5 star Berlin Marriott Hotel near the Brandenburg Gate and the entrance to the Tiergarten and paid for my meals and taxis.

Just a short 110 meters (361 feet) walk from the entrance to the hotel was the entrance to a FABULOUS Indian restaurant. Being partially disabled, this was just the right distance for me to walk to the traffic light, wait, get to the median, wait, then cross. And this is where I ate Sunday and Monday nights.

A lot of Indian restaurants have pictures and statutes of Lord Krishna and Lord Ganesha. Except for a restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City which had a statute of Green Tara, it’s rare to find ones that are what the Tibetans call “empowered”. After eating a meal worth traveling for 3 days to get to, I asked if I could take photos. I was transfixed by the seated Ganesha and didn’t notice a man asking me in German how I was. I was startled and he had to ask again in English.

This Ganesha was most definitely “alive” for lack of a better word. I was instructed to touch his foot for a blessing. The energy felt like “home”.

This Ganesha was adorable, but I didn’t “feel” anything.

Lord Krishna was standing right behind my table. I kept feeling like someone was staring at me. I turned and the statue glowed and I felt like Shri Krishna was just as mirthful as could be.

This is the formal entrance to the restaurant.

I sat facing the street. It was just a bit too breezy to sit outside in the outdoor cafe section. A sparrow kept getting on my table and stealing rice so I finally just gave him some.

This a banquet room and the energy in this area was incredible!

That led to a conversation that would blow my mind. One he attended college in Wayne, New Jersey which is not far at all from Upper Montclair where I graduated back in 1975. What was even more of a mind blower is the statues were imported from Bali and they have a shrine in the kitchen.

If you know ANYTHING at all about Sikh temples, known as Gurdwaras, anyone can go and eat a free vegetarian meal called a Langar. Everyone is welcome, rich and poor. The food is blessed and anyone who has the karma to receive such a meal is extraordinarily lucky. I have always wanted to get to India to visit a Gurdwara, but not that I have trouble flying, I hold out no hope of ever going.

HOWEVER, a restaurant where the owner and the chefs are Sikhs cooking in a kitchen with a shrine, I think my wish came true. The food tasted better than anything I ever ate. And the detox effect was indisputable.

This is what I had Sunday night and I went back Monday and got adventurous.

This was the BEST salad I have ever eaten anywhere ever!

THIS is the Mumbai hot fudge brownie with Madagascar Vanilla Ice cream served in a piping hot iron skillet so the hot fudge sauce bubbles the entire time you eat it with a tiny silver spoon!

I had to order the raita – it’s not on the menu. The waiter was shocked when I asked for it. The lamb korma was outstanding.

I was not all that fond of the chicken Punjabi street food. The chicken melt like butter in my mouth, but the flavoring was different than the tandoori chicken spices or chicken tikka spices I’m used to. The samosas were HUGE and I could only make a dent in one.

I fell in love with the tea and am going to order it on Amazon. It was exactly what I needed to detox from getting sick on the flight from Salt Lake City to Boston and then the next day from Boston to Dublin. Right before I had to leave to drive 4 hours east to Salt Lake City so I could fly to Boston, a process server showed up with a SECOND lawsuit filed by Armstrong Steel.

I filed my response when I got back. It hopefully, will be covered by the national news soon.

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