quote by Franz von Suppé (1800)
I’ve been
living in Berlin since the autumn of 2013. The first winter has been especially
tough. After all the soft light, the warmer temperatures and – to put it simply
– the “Frenchness” of Paris, Berlin felt gruff, grey and cold. I still don’t feel like I have really arrived but a sunny Berlin is definitely a crazy,
exciting and fun experience. So, just as I did with my Paris posts I’d like to
sum up my adventures in this ever changing city. If you do not want to miss any post with even just a glimpse of Berlin - just click >>here<<.
Well then, let's talk about Berlin...
&sights
I am afraid I still haven't done all the touristy things to do in Berlin. When you live in a city you sometimes just forget how much fun it is to prentend being a tourist. I especially love discovering new stuff while hosting friends and family. Here's what i blogged about so far:
Take a walk with me:
- Engelbecken >>> (Kreuzberg)
- Viktoriapark >>> (Kreuzberg)
- crossing the Oberbaum Bridge >>> (Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain)
- between Oberbaum Bridge and Elsen Bridge >>> (Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain)
- along the Spree near Oberbaum Bridge >>> (Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain)
- from Ostkreuz to Rummelsburg Bay >>> (Friedrichshain/Rummelsburg)
- Volkspark Friedrichshain >>> (Friedrichshain)
- snapshots at night >>> (Friedrichshain/Mitte)
- from Frankfurter Tor to Alexanderplatz >>> (Friedrichshain/Mitte)
- Müggelseedamm>>> (Friedrichshagen/Köpenick)
- Government Quarter >>> (Mitte/Tiergarten)
- Neptunbrunnen >>> (Mitte)
- along the Spree >>> (Mitte)
- or walk with a pro on a Free Walking Tour >>> (Mitte)
- exploring the city by boat >>> (Mitte)
museums, memorials, interesting buildings:
- Castle Charlottenburg >>> (Charlottenburg)
- Eastside Gallery >>> and >>> (Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg)
- Jewish Museum >>> (Kreuzberg)
- Museum of Technology >>> (Kreuzberg)
- Museum of Communication >>> (Mitte, Leipziger Straße)
- Martin-Gropius-Bau>>> (Mitte) museum with a lot of different exhibitions
- Memorial to the Sinti and Roma victims of National Socialism >>> (Mitte)
- Madame Tussaud's >>> (Mitte, near Brandenburg Gate)
- Kinemathek - Museum of TV and Film >>> (Potsdamer Platz)
- Naturkundemuseum >>> (natural history museum, Mitte)
- Berlin Wall Memorial >>> (Prenzlauer Berg/Mitte)
- Tränenpalast - Boarder Experiences. Everyday Life in Divided Germany >>> (Mitte)
- Opernwerkstätten >>> (Prenzlauer Berg/Mitte)
- Museum of Natural History/Sciences >>> (Mitte)
Let's get out of the city:
- Teufelsberg >>> abandoned spy towers (Grunewald)
- City of Potsdam >>> and Castle Sanssouci >>> and an autumn stroll >>> (Potsdam)
- Insel der Jugend >>> (still in Berlin, Alt-Treptow, but sooo green!)
Always keep your eyes open! Berlin is full of street art - something i really like. Examples here >>>
&shopping
If you're a shopaholic, Berlin is perfect for you. There's just about everything you can wish for. From all those chain stores to these very hip vintage boutiques. My favorite are the fleamarkets. I haven't seen them all yet and there seem to be new ones popping up all the time. Here you can read about my shopping experiences:
- Bikini Berlin >>> (Charlottenburg)
- Kaufhaus des Westens >>> (Charlottenburg)
- Markt am Maybachufer>>> (Neukölln) - also a fleamarket on Sundays (more>>>)
- Outlet Zalando >>> (Kreuzberg/Mitte)
- Kulturkaufhaus Dussmann>>> - a wonderful bookstore (Friedrichsstraße, Mitte)
- Asia Mekong Supermarket >>> (nice variety of Asian food, Hackescher Markt, Mitte)
- shopping in the area of Boxhagener Platz >>> (Friedrichshain)
fleamarkets/markets
- Kreuzboerg Flowmarkt >>> (Prinzessinnengarten, Kreuzberg)
- Nowkoelln Flowmarkt >>> (Neukölln)
- Soloh Market >>> (Neukölln)
- Treptow Art Centre (covered fleamarket - Kreuzberg/Treptow/Friedrichshain)
- Katermarkt>>> (Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain)
- Flohmarkt Boxhagener Platz >>> (Friedrichshain)
- RAW Flohmarkt >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Kunst- und Antikmarkt am Bodemuseum >>> (Mitte)
- Mauerpark >>> (Prenzlauer Berg)
- Christmas markets: Wintertraum >>> (Alexa, Mitte), Klunkerkranich >>> (Neukölln)
&celebrations/fun
The people living in Berlin defintely like to party. Some of them are doing so a full weekend without pause... or even a full week. It's Berlin after all! As i am not a huge fan of big crowds and my disco days are kind of over, i am sorry not be able to give you much insight into Berlin's nightlife. So here are the parties i enjoyed in Berlin:
- parties during the first of May in Kreuzberg can be amazing or a little too wild
- you can celebrate the "Fête de la Musique" in Berlin as well. Cheers to the French-German friendship! Here are impressions from the festival in June >>>2014.
- Festival of Lights 2013 >>> (October), 2014 >>>, 2015>>>
- the Olympus Photography Playground >>> is said to be repeated in Berlin - i do hope so!
- Berlin Symphony >>> (free lunch concerts on Tuesdays!)
- enjoy concerts in the tent like Tempodrom >>>
- how it feels to live on one of Berlin's party streets >>>
...or go watch a movie
Kein Kino >>> (Friedrichshain)
&food/restaurants
Oh, yes, my favorite topic! After Paris Berlin feels so much cheaper when you go out having dinner. I think we've been eating out more often since moving here. Here are some restaurants i have tried so far:
Cafés
- kaufbar >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Silo Coffee >>> (friendly, nice cookies, Friedrichshain)
- Cupcake >>> (Friedrichshain) - i always have take-aways but the café itself is really cute!
- Louise Cherie >>> (nice French food, Friedrichshain)
- Aunt Benny>>> (Canadian, awesome cheesecake and croissants, Friedrichshain)
- Kahrmann's Own >>> (Friedrichshain/Prenzlauer Berg)
- Café Fleury >>> (charming, French, Mitte/Prenzlauer Berg)
- Milchhalle>>> (lovely stuff, Mitte)
- Oliv Café >>> (also nice to grab a bite to eat, Mitte, Münzstraße)
- Café DIJUU>>> (nice little snacks as well, Kreuzberg)
- Cassonade >>> (really small place with really tasty waffles, Kreuzberg)
- Café Rix >>> (nice interior, Neukölln)
- Kame - Japanese Café and Bakery>>> (really good cheesecakes and savory treats, Charlottenburg)
- Café Guam >>> (cheesecake heaven, Potsdam)
- Café Lehmann>>> (classic Berlin café with really nice cake, Friedrichshagen)
Burgers
in Friedrichshain- Burgers Berlin >>>
- Burgeramt >>>
- Burgerwehr >>>
- Hannibal >>>
- Rembrandt Burger >>>
- Schiller Burger >>>
- Frittiersalon >>>
in Kreuzberg
- Burgermeister>>> (Kreuzberg, Schlesisches Tor)
- Ketchup & Majo >>> (Kreuzberg, Oranienstraße)
- The Bird >>> (Kreuzberg, Kottbusser Damm, also in Prenzlauer Berg)
- Belushi's >>> (Mitte, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz)
- Rosenburger >>> (Mitte, Brunnenstraße)
- Fräulein Burger >>> (Mitte)
- Hans im Glück >>> (Mitte, Friedrichsstraße)
- Shiso Burger>>> (Mitte)
- Tommi's Burger Joint >>> (Mitte, Invalidenstraße)
- Revolver Burger >>> (Mitte, Hackescher Markt)
- Ruben & Carla >>> (Mitte, Linienstraße)
- Burgerie >>> (Prenzlauer Berg, Schönhauser Allee)
- ZsaZsa Burger >>> (Schöneberg/Charlottenburg, Motzstraße)
- WindBurger >>> (Charlottenburg)
- Jim Block >>> (Charlottenburg, Bahnhof Zoo)
- Burgerbüro>>> (Köpenick, Bahnhofsstraße)
- Waschbar >>> (Potsdam)
Asian
- District Môt >>> (Mitte), Vietnamese
- Toca Rouge >>> (Mitte), Chinese Fusion
- Glory Duck >>> (Friedrichshain), Korean
- Kimchi Princess >>> (Kreuzberg), Korean
- Long March Canteen >>> (Kreuzberg), Traditional Chinese
- Yoko Sushi >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Rice In - Sushi Onigiri >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Cocolo >>> (Ramen, Mitte, Gipsstraße)
- Sushi Daily by Yamamoto >>> (Mitte, Galeries Lafayettes)
- Makoto >>> (Mitte) traditional Japanese (Ramen etc.)
- Udon Kobo Ishin>>> (Udon Ramen, Mitte, Hackescher Markt)
- Hanage>>> (Prenzlauer Berg, specializing in Okonomiyaki, aparently closed right now)
- Dr To's >>> (Kreuzberg)
- Kame>>> (Charlottenburg, Café&Bakery)
German
- Bötzow Privat>>> (Mitte) traditional south-west cuisine
- Kartoffelkeller >>> (Mitte, Friedrichsstraße) everything potatoe related
- Fleischerei Domke >>> (Friedrichshain) more like a butcher's, down to earth traditional food
- Speisehaus >>> (Friedrichshain, Wühlischstraße)
- Keule >>> (Friedrichshain, Simon-Dach-Straße) focus on typical (east) Berlin food
- Café Uebereck >>> (Friedrichshain, Sonntagsstraße)
Other
- French Louise Cherie >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Fusion German/Brasilian Butterhandlung >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Russian Datscha >>> and >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Vegetarian/Vegan (as well as meat options) Hot Dog Soup >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Vegan/Vegetarian Vöner >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Vegan/Vegetarian Ohlala >>> (Friedrichshain)
- Vegan/Vegetarian Laauma >>> (Friedrichshain, Sonntagsstraße)
Food Markets
- "Neue Heimat">>> (Friedrichshain) - EDIT: has unfortunately been closed for now (09/2015)
- Markthalle IX>>> (Kreuzberg)
&transport
I already wrote a post comparing Paris to Berlin. You can read it here >>>. All in all Berlin's pace is much slower which can be annoying for me sometimes. That concerns the frequency of transport but worse for me are the people that seem to have the speed of a snail. Biking is much faster (and easier than in Paris), though, and i guess i really need to get that bike. (All expats/people new to Berlin say they need one.) Walking everywhere is rarely an option. To really get around you cannot avoid other means of transport - because, let me warn you, distances are always much greater than they appear on a map...
&people
To find some "original" Berliner is getting really tough. Berlin is such an international city that it's easy to find people from all over the world who moved here. It's rather "open" in every aspect as well. This also means that you pretty much can survive just speaking English. While the French may just ignore you, Germans tend to be a little less rude when you're not even trying to speak their language. Still, it's possible that the directness and lack of smile sometimes makes you wonder... don't worry, deep down people are like soft teddybears but are known to "hide" it well. Once you've conquered their hearts you have a friend for life. With the fast pace of the city it is, however, not too easy and a lot of connections remain superficial.
One thing that leaves me astonished by now is how tourists behave in Berlin. It seems that the city is a crazy party playground to them. Yelling, public drinking (the weird kind) and destruction seem to be part of an average tourist program. Be assured that people behaving so badly are rarely Berliners!
&questions
I am happy to answer your questions to make this little section more informative!
louveaparis{at}gmail.com
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