Berlin Or Bust: Ich komme zurueck!

(Apologies for both a lack of recent posts and the decidedly iffy grammar below...)

Hallo, Deutschland!  Fast 20 Jahre spaeter, reise ich bald nach diesem tollen Staat.  Ich freue mich sehr darauf, und mein Zweck ist ganz einfach:  essen, trinken, kaufen, und auskundschaften!  Und wieder kaufen...

Wir reisen nach Berlin und Muenchen, Staedte mit besonderer Bedeutungen fuer mich.  Als ich in Berlin war, gab es die "Mauer."  Und ich habe in Muenchen wahrend Uni gewohnt.  Ich weiss, dass viel hier passiert ist, und viel geandert hat.  

Wenn Sie, die in Berlin und Muenchen wohnen, etwas zu empfehlen haben - bitte, teilen Sie!  Wir suchen nach guten Restaurants, Kneipen, und "Wein Bars."  Und, klar, lokal Boutiques.  Wir halten uns auf, in der Naehe von Mitte/Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin, und Maxvorstadt/Schwabing in Muenchen.

Und...  wir haben auch zwei Tage in Salzburg!  Also, was gefaellt Ihnen da?  Ein Lieblingsrestaurant?  Geschaeft?  Park?  Das will ich wissen!

Vielen Dank!  Und bis bald!

- M

Now that all native German speakers are done gagging at my "schlechtes Deutsch," I'll quickly recap all the grammatical errors above:  I'm off to Germany - with a quick detour to Austria - very shortly, and would love any recommendations on places to eat, drink, shop, and whatever else is worth checking out.  It's been 20 years since I last roamed the streets of Munich, and even a few years more since my classmates and I chipped pieces off the Berlin Wall as do-it-yourself souvenirs.  I'm excited to get back to what I consider my second home country.  I've got many great memories, and I'm just happy as a hamster in the Hofbraubaus to be getting back there.  

So, please, please let me know of any great spots in these cities that you adore - extra points for non-touristy spots.  In Berlin, I intend to check out the Ku'Damm and the KaDeWe, but I'm giddier to get lost in the indie shops.  When I hit Munich, I'll chuckle when I see Wormland again, and I'll sigh as I remember buying my first Kraftwerk cassette (hey, I'm old) somewhere down the corridors off Marienplatz.  I don't remember doing much shopping in Salzburg when I was there, so that'll be new territory.  As you can see, I'm gonna do my darndest to speak Deutsch as much as possible.  It's just plain good for me to exercise my rusty language chops, but I'm really hoping it'll win over the locals enough to share their favorite haunts with us.  Because when in Rome, er, Berlin...

Bis spaeter!

M

Photo:  My own, taken in Berlin circa Spring 1990