Doing the "tourist" thing

This weekend has been a welcome respite before the madness which will doubtless ensue tomorrow. With five days to go, there is still no discernible end in sight - not panicking yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before the tearing out of the hair starts.
The boyfriend arrived at Schönefeld on Friday night. I was almost late to meet him; after having a much longer walk from the U-Bahn to our hotel than anticipated, then plagued by waits for trains, my frenzied run from the airport S-Bahn platform to the arrivals gate was less than dignified.
After a late dinner we headed straight for the hotel, deciding we'd both had long enough days to justify an early night (the fact that I'd gone to bed at 6am that morning and only slept for five hours had caught up with me). Saturday was occupied by a walk up Unter den Linden, a tour around the stunning Reichstag dome (a modern masterpiece of British design), and a quick beer at St Oberholz so I could catch up on some work. Went for dinner at a Block Haus (German chain of steak houses) near Alexanderplatz on a recommendation from my dad. At 7:30 on a Saturday night the place was packed, but despite delayed service the food and drinks were both fantastic.
We met up with some friends from the project and made our way together to Clërchin's Ballhaus, a club that more resembles a busy wedding reception than the typical smoke-filled, techno-thumping nighttime venues that dominate Berlin. It occupies the ground floor of a large Victorian building; a band were playing classic covers and the dance floor was full of optimistic shape-throwers. We stayed until about 3:30; the band had bowed out a couple of hours before and been replaced with a stereo, and we'd had enough drinks to be pleasantly merry on the walk back.
We stayed in the Park Inn on Alexanderplatz, a treat for the boyfriend since Friday night's accommodation was for a review. Our "room with a view" on the 18th floor looked out toward the TV Tower and Museum Island - otherworldly after so long in an apartment block in Lichtenberg. The fantastic view was quite something to behold in the darkness of early morning, and when we finally stirred at about 10:30 this morning.
Went out for brunch at a café called Anna Blume in Prenzlauer Berg; the fresh orange juice, coffee and crêpes were most definitely needed by that point. Afterwards we killed time first at the apartment, then at St Oberholz, before we had to head to the airport. Saying goodbye was quite tough (not sure the hangover-induced over-emotionality helped), but it is only a week before we'll see each other again.
The boyfriend said he enjoyed having a tour guide for the weekend (took it as a compliment, since my geographical knowledge of the city is far from perfect). It was nice to take a couple of days out to be a tourist; being in a foreign country for a month for work doesn't give you much of a chance to behave like one. From the start you have to pretty much fend for yourself, so it was a refreshing change to stay in a hotel, do some sightseeing and eat out guiltlessly.
Now my partner-in-tourism has left, work must commence again at a much accelerated rate.Well, it will commence tomorrow morning. Tonight has been about this blog and a beer, and when I get home it will be about tea, biscuits and the German elections.