Everybody knows that Berlin is a beautiful and fascinating city full of amazing tourist sites, incredible museums, fabulous tree-lined streets and wonderful restaurants and shopping. But there is another side of Berlin that people may not be as familiar with – the quirky, off-beat anti-establishment city that boasts crazy clubs, wonderful flea markets, unique restaurants and some of the best street art in the world. The Berlin that I fell in love with is the Berlin of crazy street art, the anything goes sense of fashion, the fact that when the sun comes out so do all of the inhabitants of the city. I love the weird contradictions of quirky, crazy people who like to flaunt the rules while still living an orderly life (even the dogs don’t bark in public) . I love the fact that every neighbourhood has it’s own unique personality. I love the fact that people are accepting of alternative life-styles and encourage individuality. I love the fact that the city feels that the arts are for everyone and promotes that by making things accessible. In short, I love Berlin. Berlin is one cool city – quirky and crazy, full of contradictions and very safe and friendly!
Eastside Gallery
What was once the Berlin wall separating East Germany from West Germany, the East Side Gallery is now the longest open air gallery of street art in the world. Featuring 118 artists from 21 countries, it is 1316 metres of incredible art and an absolutely must visit when in Berlin. Many of the murals depict the celebration of the reunification of Berlin or the pain caused by the separation of family and friends. On the edge of the Friedrichshain neighbourhood and just across the Oberbaum bridge from Kreuzberg, it is adjacent to the Spree river. You could spend days (weeks!) exploring this area. In fact, you could do what I did – take a hop on, hop off tour to visit the big tourist sites and then hang out in and around Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg for much of your visit. For more examples of the murals, check out the East Side Gallery Murals post under Street Art.
Funky Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain is the neighbourhood where my amazing AirBnb was located and, after a month of exploring Berlin, it remained my favorite part of the city. It has a wonderful easy, anything-goes, vibe. Full of green space, street art, vegan restaurants, hostels, punks, artists, hippies, musicians, dancers, you name it – you can find it in Friedrichshain. On Saturday there is an amazing food market in Boxhagener Platz and on Sundays there is also a wonderful flea market at the same location. On the edges of the area are apartment buildings that have been taken over by street artists and, as a result, have become works of art themselves. Every third restaurant seems to be vegan and those that are not will feature vegan entrees. There is also vegan ice cream everywhere and a full on vegan grocery store. There are several clubs featuring live music and if you are looking for good (great) food of any type, look no further. The icing on the cake is RAW (more on this below). Some of my favorites from the area are listed below:
Food and Drink – a few suggestions.
- 1990 Vegan Living
- Datscha (Russian cuisine)
- Burgermat
- Silo Coffee
- Hops and Barley (for microbrew beer)
- Noble Rot Weinbar (for great wines by the glass)
- Fattoush (Lebanese)
Krazy, Kolorful, Kreuzeberg
You can spend hours just wandering around the colourful neighbourhood of Kreuzberg. Kreuzberg is located across the Oberbaum bridge from Friedrichshain. The two communities were once separated into East and West Berlin and now have become the epicenter for various counterculture movements as well as retaining it’s traditional feel. Kreuzberg also is home to a large Turkish population. Traditionally home to Berlin’s punk rock scene the area now boasts a heavy hip hop, rap and breakdance scene. Kreuzberg celebrates it’s influences The Carnival of Cultures, a large annual festival with parades, live music, art, and food and craft stalls. Kreuzberg is the epicentre of the LGBTQ life in Berlin and boasts the Schwules Museum, dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and discovering queer history, art and culture. Like so many other places in Berlin, the Street Art scene is Kreuzberg is incredible. Tip: Don’t miss the twice weekly Turkish market along the river.
Hackeschen Hofe
Through an unobtrusive entrance, next door to a coffee shop, in famous shopping district Hackescher Markt, you find the amazing Hackeschen Höfe. A series of interconnecting, courtyards featuring boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops, a movie theatre and the fabulous Theatre Chameleon, (a must see in Berlin). However, perhaps the best part is, immediately upon entering you find yourself in Schwarzenberg Art alley, featuring a huge variety of offers from well known and lesser known street artists. For more information check out the Haus Schwarzenber website: http://haus-schwarzenberg.org/das-haus/haeugig-gestellten-fragen/
Dance the Night Away in Mitte
Dancing by the river spree on a weekend afternoon or in the evening as the sun slowly sets has been one of the greatest pleasures offered by the city. Strandbar Mitte, offered such a unique experience with different styles of dance on different nights, primarily tango and lindy hop. Sadly, the bar has closed although there is a movement to bring it back. Luckily the same folks run Clärchens Ballhaus ballroom which offers dining, dancing, dance classes and live music in a beautiful old ballroom. Step back into a more elegant era, pull out your dancing shoes and hit the dance floor. Conveniently located near Museum Island in Mitte.
Museum of Film and Television
Let me start by saying that, just like I don’t spend much time visiting major tourist sites when I visit, I also don’t spend much time visiting museums. However, I did visit 3 museums while I was in Berlin:
- The Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe.
- The Eastside Gallery Wall Museum (they give you a piece of the wall when you leave; and
- The Museum of Film and Television.
All of them were fascinating and worth a visit but I was especially blown away by the Museum of Film and Television. The Museum is dedicated to the collecting, preserving, developing, presenting and mediating the audiovisual history of Germany. In addition to the displays (which include costumes of Marlene Dietrich and the original Kabinet of Dr. Calegari), the museum offers a viewable inventory of over 25,000 films on video.
Especially interesting is the impact of the Nazi’s on the film industry in Germany, and it’s subsequent impact on the growth of Hollywood, as several of those involved in all aspects of movie making were exiled.
Mauerpark – Biggest flea market in Berlin AND outdoor Karaoke
The park was the original border strip along the Berlin Wall and as such was off-limits from 1961 to 1989. When the wall came down, after the reunification, the no-man’s land became a public park. The park was officially opened on 9 November 1994. The park is full of jogging and cycle trails and is surrounded by boutiques and coffee shops, but it really comes to life on Sundays.
The mother of all flea-markets takes place in Mauer Park on Sundays. Everything from gas masks to designer baby clothes can be found here. You can spend hours browsing the stalls. However, make sure you make time to check out the Open Air Karaoke held in the amphitheater beside the flea market. This battery powered karaoke event (carried in on a bicycle) has been running every Sunday since 2009. Hundreds attend the event and performers volunteer from the audience. You can expect to see (hear) everything from a drunken happy birthday tribute to practically professional renditions of popular songs. Words don’t do the event justice – just go!
Raw Gelande
How does one describe Raw Gelande in a way that does justice to it. It is a jumble of fabulous street art, including some very large murals by well-known international artists. It has restaurants and bars and a micro-brewery. It has a climbing wall – yes a climbing wall. Well, to be accurate it is a climbing bunker. It has the worlds smallest disco. It has an amazing Sunday market. On sunny days they turn the hill near the micro-brewery into a pseudo beach. There is an amphitheater with a large screen where people go to watch sporting events. Really it is impossible to describe accurately, it has to be experienced. Especially at night! Did I mention live music?
Built in 1867 as a train repair station, it closed in 1994. It was gradually taken over by an artsy, creative counter-culture and re-opened in it’s present incarnation in 1999. On the edge of Friedrichshain and across the Oberbaum bridge from Kreuzberg, it is a happening place. Always.
Just a few extra images for Raw. To see some of the murals and other art, check out the Street Art section of this blog.
Go Go Years 