Zur letzten Instanz, Berlin, Germany

One of the things I enjoy most about traveling is coming across unexpected gems.  Case in point, Zur letzten Instanz.

As my  brother and I were exploring Berlin early one evening, we came across Zur letzten Instanz, a quaint little restaurant established in 1621.  I turned to my brother and said “What a cool old restaurant.”  He replied “I’ve heard of this place.  Napoleon ate here.”  Well, in my mind, that bumped up the coolness factor of this old restaurant.

As I stood in the doorway of Zur letzten Instanz, I just kept thinking…Wow!  Napoleon walked through these doors and ate at this very restaurant.  That’s amazing!  I turned to my brother and said “This place has been in business for almost 400 years.  If these walls could talk, what a story they could tell.”   I kept thinking about what this old restaurant has seen and survived… wars, civil unrest, and think of how many other famous people have crossed this threshold.  That last thought intrigued me, so when I got back to our hotel I did some research and discovered that Napoleon was not the only famous person who had dined here.  Many other famous people have frequented this establishment, such as Beethoven, Charlie Chaplin, and recently, Angela Merkel (to just name a few).

Unfortunately, the evening my brother and I found this little gem, Zur letzten Instanz was closed.  Because we had a very full travel schedule, my brother and I could not make our way back to this quaint little restaurant.  So,  I hope to one day return to Berlin, and when I do, I will make sure to dine (at least once) at Zur letzten Instanz.  Then perhaps one day, maybe one hundred or two hundred years from now, a couple of tourists, perhaps brothers, standing at the doorway of Zur letzten Instanz, will turn to each other and one of them will say “I’ve heard of this place.  Ottoman ate here.”  Hmmmmmmm.