Berlin: Non record related recommendations

[Striker]

I'm going to Berlin for a week on the 20th September, The city's pretty well covered in the diggers guide section but does anyone have any hints and tips for food & drink, things to do etc. I couldn't find a specific thread via search and Berlin changes pretty fast so I thought I'd start a new thread

I've been before but only for a few days, we have some friends over there but it'd be nice to hear your favourite things to do that don't involve scrabbling through boxes of records.

Breakfast spots, nice restaurants & bars, interesting architecture, even hotels (I haven't booked that yet)

cheap or not so cheap, what do you say VG+?

[Slim Jim]

Museum-wise I'd recommend the Topography of Terror, the Wannsee Conference House and the Stasi Museum. The latter is in German only but you still get the idea even if your German is fairly limited. The Wannsee Conference House is where Reinhard Heydrich and others drew up the plans for The Final Solution. It's now a permanent exhibition and the contrast of the beautiful lakeside villa with what went on there is striking. The thing about the Germans is they are very matter of fact and don't try and hide what went on between 1933-45 (unlike the Japanese whose views on WW2 are totally about denial). It'll take your breath away and make you think.

Galleries - there are tons of small, private galleries which will probably have more interesting stuff than the big guns on Museum Island. It's a shame Tacheles has gone but some judicious Googling will bring dividends.

If you're a footy fan, Hertha BSC are back in the Bundesliga big time and their home - the Olympic Stadium is pretty damn impressive, plus if it's hot the old swimming pool from the 1936 Olympics is till in use and will be great to cool off. Union Berlin are the cool team to follow and not just cos their name is pronounced 'onion'!! Cold War fans might fancy checking out Dynamo Berlin - although they've fallen a long way from the days when their Stasi patrons ensured they were the biggest team in the DDR.

Although public transport is excellent and great value for money, the city is incredibly flat and cycling is a cheap way of getting to know the city. As I say the city is pretty flat and the best ways of getting a panoramic view are either to pay to go up the Fernsehturm (TV tower that dominates the skyline) or you can go to the top of the hill in Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg - although it's a bit of a steep walk!!

There are tons of cheap places to eat if you avoid German food. Thai, Vietnamese etc but don't bother trying to find a decent curry as the Germans don't really do spicy food. If you're staying in Kreuzberg, the Marheineke Markthalle is a great way to eat cheaply if you're on a budget. Good cheap pizza can be had at Due Forni on Schonhauser Allee. Also kebabs in Berlin are nothing like the crap you get in this country so that's another way of eating cheaply. Check out UberSee on Paul Linke Ufer for top quality apple strudel. Hackbarth on Auguststrasse is a great bar that also does great cake (and great portions!!)

Bar-wise there are some great bars on and just off Kastanienallee, around Helmholtzplatz and in the LSD district (Lychener Str/Schliemann Str/Duncker Str) - all in Prenzlauerberg. Friedrichshain is chock full of great bars and two of my favourites are Scotch & Sofa on Kollwitzstrasse for the great furniture and décor and Haliflor on Schwedter Strasse which looks like it's barely changed since the DDR days. There are tons of bars around the Kottbusser Tor and Gorlitzer Bahnhof area plus Weserstrasse in Neukolln has tons of great bars as well.

Believe me - your liver will need arrest when you get back!!

Gig-wise/Clubwise - check out Roter Salon, based in the Volksbuhne (People's Theatre) or Auster Club on Puecklerstrasse.

[Striker]

Amazing, thanks Jim.

Did Topography of Terror last time, as you say with many of Berlin's wartime museums fascinating & sobering, had to limit our visits to places like that last time.

You better believe I'll be all over that Hackbarth cake.

[Cacapo]

...your favourite things to do that don't involve scrabbling through boxes of records.

I have thought about this. I can't think of anything that is somehow NRR. Sorry.

[Striker]

I have thought about this. I can't think of anything that is somehow NRR. Sorry.

Haha Cacapo's record addiction can not be called into question

I'm putting together some google map layers of all the tips I'm getting off people & googling & stuff

This ones for Record & Vintage shops, markets, eating, drinking & going out. this is still a work in progress.

I'm still putting together one for buildings/monuments, museums & galleries.

[Cacapo]

Im trying very hard.
If you decide to get a bike I've got some tips for parks and seas in and around berlin although mid september might be not be the time for this. I have never really experienced Berlin from a tourist perspective to be honest.
If you are interested in architecture I can recommend the furby house (on the Kreuzberg end of Friedrichstrasse) for a good laugh. If you care to see what Berlin Mitte was in the original 1990s go have a beer at Schokoladen (Acker/ Torstrasse) or Buchhandlung next to Renate Comiclibrary (Tucholskystrasse 32/34).
Stattbad Wedding (Gerichtstrasse 65) is a mixed venue/gallery/bar sort of thing in a former public swimming pool. Worth a visit if you happen to be in the North.
As stated above the Volksbühne is worth a visit too.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2365/...713945.jpg?v=0

(how do I insert pictures again?)

[Striker]

Thanks Cacapo, I heard there was some repairs going on at the Volksbuhne that people were nervous about, I'll go & have look.

I fly out tomorrow morning, I'll report back in a week.

Thanks everyone

[Cacapo]

Have fun. Avoid the U6.

[Rich Hero]

Thanks Cacapo, I heard there was some repairs going on at the Volksbuhne that people were nervous about, I'll go & have look.

I fly out tomorrow morning, I'll report back in a week.

Thanks everyone

There's an art fair on this weekend, which may be worth checking out.

We visited the DDR Museum on Monday, which is just next to Museum Island in the centre of town. It's small but absorbing and we spent longer there than we planned, which is probably a recommendation.

And we did the Berlin Sunday brunch thing at Pasternak in Prenzlauer Berg. Beside the more exotic dishes, I have never tasted such good broccoli. Again, that is a recommendation.

Enjoy, it's a wonderful city.

[Striker]

Have fun. Avoid the U6.

How come? Ghost stations?? or is it just busy & uncomfortable?

[Rich Hero]

This ones for Record & Vintage shops, markets, eating, drinking & going out. this is still a work in progress.

If you go to Satori (Wein Und Jazz), then there's another shop called Fashion Killers a few blocks up Wrangelstraße, on the same side of the street. And another that I forget the name of yet further up, towards Skalitzer Straße. But I'd suggest that the priority of visiting decreases, from Satori.

[Cacapo]

You'll be forced to walk from "Stadtmitte" to "Friedrichstrass" because of construction work. Incredibly busy and annoying walk.