Somewhere to be
I love traditional Berlin pub names. They always begin with zu, like you’re taking a mental leap to somewhere: zum Nussbaum (to the nut tree), zur Glühlampe (to the lightbulb), zur fetten Ecke (to the … fat corner). Their names make it sound like you’re being transported to a very special place, just by stepping over the threshold into a smokey, candle-lit grotto. Getting … Continue reading The Secret Beer Garden: Zur Laube
Yes, we know. Berlin is hard to leave.
Many have moved here from other continents with good intentions: “Ooo, no more than a couple of hours to Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden? Hell yeah! Backpacking, here I-” and then they’re called out to the latest vernissage with free tea tastings followed by beer yoga (google it if you doubt me).
But there’s more to life than Spätis and Mauerpark. Sometimes we tend to forget that Berlin, half a day away from Cologne and Munich, is almost sitting on the Polish border. This makes it a mere three hours from Poznan: the cutest cafe town I’ve ever been to.
Now, what are your excuses? Time? Poznan can be done in a day, and you can easily work on the train. Money? A train ticket can cost 40-50 euros last minute without a Bahncard25 (i.e. 25% discount), and there are some buses that go there. Plus it’s 1 euro to 4 zloty, so your spending money is quadrupled. I probably spent no more than twenty euros for two and a half meals and a handful of hot drinks.
An old piano workshop has become my new concert favourite.
Hi, my name is [yeah, not so fast internet] and I like classical music; but I know squat all about it. It’s pretty, it’s soothing, it even makes me feel a bit clever until I’m asked what the name of the piece is I’m listening to. The answer the poor, sophisticated soul will get is probably: “Uhhh… abbreviation, number, some foreign words?!” At least, this was the limited extent of my relationship to classical music for some time. Until Piano Salon Christophori walked into my life. Continue reading “Piano for the people”
Berliners: don’t get too high and mighty about the TV Tower
Family resemblance?
After spending a total of 17 months in the city, I finally condescended to do the number one Berlin tourist activity: I went up the TV Tower.
There are more reasons that Berliners could give you for not going up the TV Tower than there are steps in the oversized thing: expensive ticket prices, expensive restaurant and bar menu, constantly busy with all the wrong people, you have to book miles in advance, there are so many other cheaper places to get a panorama of the city, it’s always there anyway so what’s the rush, etc. etc. with a few more snobby remarks for an extra bit of Berlin-born-and-bred superiority. Even Berliners-by-choice like me are so keen to be a part of the ‘authentic’ Berlin club, we’ll start saying these things without having ever set foot inside. Continue reading “Stooping to the steep”
The 3rd of October is a very important day.
Would you believe that there was a near sheer drop just outside this frame?
And by that I mean, I was sitting outside, basking in evening sunshine, actually grateful for a cold marble table under my arms, and checking our little old thermometer in disbelief – autumn isn’t normally defined as a balmy 20-degree day where I come from.
This must be fate: many moons ago, I went on a stroll with a friend to Teufelsberg in the ‘last’ days of summer. The very next week, it was already cold enough to be wearing two layers of knitwear. The weather gods decreed: thou shalt not blog about doing outdoorsy things. I thought my Grunewald post’s days were numbered.
But the Indian summer god of Berlin has been vicious to the mean Siberian winter gods of Berlin. They let their guard down for a week and – DING! – scorching sunshine. Well, almost. Good enough to give me a second chance to tell you: get yo’ ass over to Grunewald before those Siberian gods come back. Continue reading “Get out while you still can”
In a city where new discoveries are old hat, it’s hard to believe that finding a hidden gem is still possible.
No prizes for finding the amusing detail in this idyllic scene.
Let’s be honest: the secret hideaways of Berlin are fast becoming common knowledge. The infamous abandoned TB clinics and theme parks are regularly frequented by intrepid explorers; hipster cafes are impossibly full for the Berlin Sunday brunchtime; and if you find yourself haggling for an authentic vintage satchel at a flea market, you will probably have to engage in physical combat with your neighbours. More or less.
But finding something new doesn’t need to be this way; it doesn’t have to involve anything illegal, it doesn’t need to be covered in graffiti, and it doesn’t have to be in the East of Berlin, either. Not that I have anything against those qualities (well, maybe the first) – I love the East as much as any Expat. But in my opinion, consciously avoiding the West on those soul-searching flaneurs is a big mistake. If you really want to be different, stop thinking about what the mainstream is up to and think about what you (yes, you!) have not yet done. Continue reading “It never gets old”
Blah Blah Berlin 