Thank you LondonElite. I had previously enjoyed the currant juice and soda so I did enjoy the berries-just a bit tart though! HB was mostly to satisfy my friend's desire for "German food" so I went for the easy nearby option in the pouring rain XD

Good to know about the ice offrendum. If I didn't take my friend to one "German food" place (aka what is usually associated as Bavarian food) I wouldn't have heard the end of it :p

The red currants are definitely more tart than the black ones (which are the ones usually juiced).

The next day was my last full day of the RTW trip before I returned back to the states, and it would generally be a slow relaxing day to wrap up the trip. Breakfast was had at the nearby Konditorei Buchwald, which was a small cafe tucked into a mostly residential area. I had a slice of delicious plum cake and a slice of a lovely baumkuchen, which is a layered cake that resembles tree rings.
After getting all sugared up we went to the Spy Museum, which has a lot of interactive exhibits on the history of espionage. While geared towards families, it's still plenty entertaining for adults. There's also an extensive James Bond exhibit, though since I had seen all of them and knew my 007 inside and out it was more of a trivia game for me than anything.
Having had our fill of espionage it was time to fill our stomachs. In addition to trying standard local foods, it's always fun to try local fast food once on a trip, so we popped by the local Nordsee outpost. Nordsee is a German fast food chain that specializes in seafood ranging from snacks through full meals. The fish filet with mushrooms looked pretty good so I went for plate accompanied with vegetables and potatoes.
After lunch there was still one place I wanted to visit, and so after lunch we set off to Oranienburg to the Museum and Memorial Sachsenhausen on the site of the former namesake concentration camp. There isn't much left of the original structures, but those that are still there paint the pictures of unspeakable horrors and atrocities from the past. Guided tours are available, but we decided to go at our own pace and read over just about every placard placed. It's definitely very sobering to visit former concentration camps and a painful reminder of the past lest we repeat history.
We stayed at the memorial all the way until closing before catching the last bus of the day back to Oranienburg station before hopping on the train back to Berlin. While it had started drizzling while we were in Oranienburg, it had turned into a full on downpour by the time we had arrived in Berlin. It was so stormy that we were seeing what I like to call sideways rain. We returned to the hotel to grab some umbrellas before heading back out to Café am Neuer See for dinner. Normally the restaurant has a large beer garden on the lake, but with the rain and some ongoing construction on the property there was a relatively small dining hall available for dining for you to get cozy with dozens of your newest friends. While we were perusing the menu we noticed a lot of pizzas coming out of the oven, so we ordered one in addition to a plate of sausages. Overall it was a nice final meal to end the trip before an early flight back home the next morning.

I'll definitely have to find some black currants next time :)

Currants, red or black, are rarely eaten just like that. You probably know why if you tried. Red currants are turned into cakes, jams or "Rote Gruetze", black currants into juice

Unfortunately all good things come to an end and so I began the trek home the next morning. And by the next morning I mean at about 4AM for the 7AM flight out of TXL. I walked from the IC to the zoo station and boarded the X9 bus to the airport.
When I booked the flight I had the option to book TXL-FRA-MUC-IAD-SCE in J and TXL-MUC-FRA-IAD-SCE in F and J, but presented no options to book TXL-FRA/MUC-IAD-SCE despite both being legal routings. While the OS agents at TXL tried their best they weren't able to get me a 2-stop itinerary. After checking in I headed over to the SEN lounge, which is outside of security. In the early morning the lounge was really empty. The lounge itself is fine with some hot food options, though I just settled for a quick pretzel before heading out to clear security at the gate before boarding the flight.
LH2055
TXL-MUC
Airbus A321
3F
Once boarding was called it seemed that half the plane boarded as priority. However for this flight there were six rows of J and only five passengers in the entire cabin. This is the usual eurobiz with the drop tray in the middle seat.
The flight itself was relatively uneventful, though I did take the breakfast plate on offer. I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to eat everything but it was decent enough for a sub-one hour flight. Immediately after finishing the plate I leaned against the wall and napped the remainder of the flight.
We arrived at the satellite terminal at MUC and I headed over to the newer F lounge nearby. I really like the layout of the lounge, which feels really open while having screens to section off various areas. There are many displays of drinks and finger foods all over the place and there are great views from the lounge of the apron.
Since my flight departed from the main terminal, I headed over to the F lounge in the main terminal. While it featured the same design and furniture and looked really nice, there was a noticeable amount of age showing in the lounge.
Because of the double connection at MUC and FRA I didn't have too much time in MUC but I did have enough time for a quick breakfast in the lounge. I primarily ate from the buffet, but I did order a breakfast berry bowl and a teapot of black tea as well. After the excellent breakfast I headed over to my gate for my flight to FRA.
LH103
MUC-FRA
Airbus 321
7A

For this flight it seemed like everyone was priority, and eventually I got settled in to a business cabin that went out full except for the other seat in my row. Overall this was another uneventful flight, with a snack plate immediately followed by another nap until we landed in FRA.
With the short connection at FRA, I hurried over from concourse A to concourse Z and had a couple of minutes to duck into the SEN lounge since concourse Z doesn't have an F lounge. Compared to the F lounges, the SEN lounge was a zoo and I soon after headed out to board my flight back to the US.

I definitely found out for sure! That's good to know drminn.

Um, I beg to differ! Eat them by themselves all the time! Also good on cereal/muesli.

LH418
FRA-IAD
Boeing 747-8i
1A

As a child I remember flying NW's, and later UA's, 747s on trips to Asia, albeit in the back. Recently I had the experience of flying in 747 in the upper deck for the first time, and this time would be my first time flying in the nose of the 747.
Upon boarding at door 1L I was shown into the F cabin. In my opinion having a cabin in the nose is very intimate and it's definitely a bit of an odd sensation knowing that there's nothing in front of you aboard the aircraft. At the seat was a Sinn-branded amenity kit with the usual La Prairie cosmetics. As soon as I was seated the lovely Dianna came by and offered a PDB, nuts, and pajamas. Additionally, wifi vouchers were passed out, which is a new (and welcome!) change since I last flew LH F. Overall the flight went out 4/8 in F and Dianna continued to provide wonderful service throughout the flight.
Soon after takeoff preparations begun for the lunch service, with the extensive menu as follows:
I was first presented with a salmon tartare, followed soon by a pot of green tea before the table was set for the rest of the meal.
I had the salad and all of the appetizers, and once again LH's reputation of having interesting combinations came true again. The coconut mousse, curry bok choy, cilantro, and ginger mayonnaise appetizer was an odd combination where none of the individual parts seemed to go with one another, and the tuna sat on a bed of mashed peas. Definitely some interesting combinations, but what's life without some adventures. The palate cleanser that followed was definitely needed to get past some of those interesting combinations.
For the main I went with the scallop and prawn skewer with thai curry sauce and coconut risotto, which was absolutely delicious. However the portion was a bit small and left me wanting more, though it probably helped prevent me from totally overeating.
After the main I had both the cheese plate and the pineapple carpaccio dessert, which was an excellent way to finish up the meal.
Pralines were passed out after the meal, and given the low load, Dianna absolutely insisted that I try one of each and who was I to say no?
After lunch I made a quick trip to the lav and did a lap around the plane while the seat was turned into a bed. After returning I was about to get the pajamas and change for a nap, but we were hit by a decent amount of turbulence so I just buckled in and ended up napping away most of the flight.
After waking up I logged on to the surprisingly useful wifi while snacking on a fruit plate before arrival into IAD.
After arriving at IAD, there was a staff member holding a sign for all of the F passengers and accompanied us on the 1-minute walk to the moon buggies that would take us to immigration and customs. I was the only one with a connecting flight so I got on a separate moon buggy. I find this system a bit odd since at IAD immigration and customs for passengers who are terminating at IAD and those who are transferring occurs in two different areas. The absurdity of the system reared it head since my bag was sent to the other area for terminating passengers and it took another 45 minutes for the bag to come back to me. It didn't really matter since I had a 6-hour connection at IAD, but it sure leaves room for a lot of inefficiencies.

While I had planned on going into DC I really only had about 4 hours left after immigration and chasing my bag down, so I just camped out at the SEN lounge before my final flight. The lounge itself is mostly just adequate, with the usual dry chicken and soggy vegetables seen in most lounges in the US. I ended up napping through most of the connection before a quick stop at the tried and true Wendy's before boarding my final flight home.
UA4940
IAD-SCE
Embraer 145
9A

Overall this flight was uneventful, with a total flight time of about 40 minutes, and soon I was on my way home to get ready for a new post-grad school life. Thanks for following along!