ICBRKR TRAVEL GUIDE: BERLIN
Berlin, confirmed by many, is one of the most exciting cities to live in. The city doesn’t know limits. Due to historical reasons, this rebellious, young, and rough city became the most welcoming place for anybody looking for a new home.
At any given time of the day, you will find it hard to recognize if a person just came out of a club or is going to work. The city is special in its art, love for music, liberalism and freedom.
In the end, wherever you end up in Berlin, my main advice would be to lose any expectations upon arrival and buckle up. This city is a ride!
-Bedeir R
Thank you ICBRKR members and Berliners - Pauline L and Bedeir R, for their insider recommendations. Connect with them in ICBRKR app when you travel to Berlin.
A few facts about Berlin
3.7 million inhabitants: Berlin is over 9 times the size of Paris, BUT it only has 1/5 of Paris’ density
1700 bridges & 180km waterways
1.3km the longest open air gallery in the world: East Side gallery
100+ co-working spaces
400,000+ Döner sold everyday and 70 million+ Curry Wurst every year
As rent/m2 is relatively low, it not only attracts young talents, but also startups seeking affordable office space. Therefore, most of the startups in the area are either younger than 2 years with limited funding or older than 4-5 years with a large number of employees, for example Zalando.
Housing used to be cheap but with the ever-increasing number of movers to the city, that is no longer the case. The Alternative attracts mostly expats or local Germans seeking a more international environment. You can barely hear German and if you try to order in German, you’ll most likely get answered in English.
INSIDER TIPS
The best time to visit Berlin is in the summer because of the nice weather
To get into BERGHAIN, the legendary club in Berlin, wear all black or dress as cool club kids. No preppy clothes, please. Or get on the guest list. Best hack is go through the gay club downstairs if you are a male.
Berlin has a strong public transport system, you can simply use Google Maps or Citymapper to check the best routes, or use the BVG (Berlin public system) app to buy tickets. In addition, with all the advanced mobility services, the options to get from one Kiez or around the same Kiez are ever increasing.
WHAT NOT TO MISS
Brandenburg Gate
BERGHAIN from DJ Mag
Tommy Weisbecker Haus by Various Artists
Berlin has one of the best street arts since Berlin is the most tagged ( “bombed” ) city in Europe. Do walk around to explore it. Check out here where to find these street arts.
Visit Hackesche Höfe and Haus SchwarzenbergSammlung Boros
Visit Sammlung Boros (art gallery). It used to be a Nazi bunker
Be a club kids and check out the legendary clubs like Kit Kat Club, Kater Blau, and Berghain
Check out Berlin art at the Berlin Wall (East Side gallery)
Insider tip: “ have lunch at Katerschmauss and walk from there down the road until the big bridge in Friedrichshain”A walk in the park - Tiergarten
Helmut Newton museum. The fashion photographer legend
Insider tip: “combine the museum with Tiergarten and drink at Monkey bar”Bondage shop lingerie shopping
Walk around in Mitte for little shops and cafes - Auguststrasse, Gipsstraße, RosenthalerStrasse...
For history and landmarks - visit Berlin Wall Memorial, Treptower Park,Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island, Reichstag Building, Reichstag Building, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and Pergamonmuseum
WHERE TO STAY
There are so many cool boutique and cool vibe. It’s hard to pick one when you visit Berlin.
Soho House Berlin. Photo from cntraveler.com
Michelberger Hotel. Photo by Zoe Spawton
Soho House Berlin (for Soho House members)
So/Berlin Das Stue (Spurge a little)
Mani by Amano Group (for the budget)
GORKI APARTMENTS (for apartment style and extended stay)
PATRICK HELLMANN SCHLOSSHOTEL (something opulent)
HOTEL DE ROME (to spurge)
Hotel Oderberger (for the bathhouse and pool designed by Pergamon Museum architect Ludwig Hoffmann)
Orania.Berlin (for nightlife location)
BERLIN by NEIGHBORHOOD
Just like any other city, Berlin has several neighborhoods with distinctive characteristics. However, in Berlin, every neighborhood (or as they call it in German, Kiez) could feel like an isolated city, and when you roll from one Kiez to another, you’d sense that everything changed. Unlike New York, where Chinatown has different demographics than SoHo, in Berlin the same people hang out in Mitte and Kreuzberg; they just behave and dress up (or down) differently. Unique!
There are 21 Kiez in Berlin, however, I’d regroup them into 4 categories as we feel them living here.
1. THE ALTERNATIVE (EAST/SOUTH)
Kreuzberg. Photo from commons.wikimedia.org
Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Neukölln are the 3 major alternative Kiez in Berlin (ranked in ascending order by how alternative they are). The Alternative is young, hip, dressed up fashionably in an unbranded way.
WHERE TO EAT
Restaurants and bars look run down but provide amazing food with strong representation of organic and vegan food. Here is a list of places not to miss in The Alternative:
Friedrichshain: Michelberger Hotel (great vibe and great brunch spot), 1990 Vegan Living, Rembrandt Burger and Milja & Schafa
Kreuzberg: Goldener Hahn Tresen, Long March Canteen (modern Chinese), Cocolo (best ramen in Berlin), Katerschmauss (Kater Bau's restaurant. German food and great lunch spot by the river), Prinzessingarten (city farm to table), Café Mugrabi (Mediterranean, great lunch spot by Gorlizer Park), Markthalle Neun (street food market with stands from all over the world - every Thursday evening they have the major market from 6-9pm),Tadim, Zola Pizza, ORA, Kimchi Princess, Freischwimmer, Luzia Cool Bar, Shishi (Isreali food)
Neukölln: Roamers (breakfast & brunch), Beuster (French), Dr. To (Asian), Jaja Wine, Bottega N. 6, Beuster, Geist im Glas, Hallman & Klee
WHERE TO HANG OUT
Kater blau
Parties go on from Thursday to Wednesday, non-stop or with few hours break every 3 days. The Alternative is home to the most renowned clubs in Berlin:
Friedrichshain: Berghain(need us to say more?) Urban Spree (great day drinking place after walking around here to explore street arts)
Kreuzberg: Katerblau, (home of some of our favorite Berlin djs like Mira and Mimi Love), Das Hotel (fun spot with alternative rock music and turn into a wild night), Madame Claude (experimental music bar), Holzmarkt (great happy hour spot)
Neukölln: Sisyphos, Klunkerkranich (weekdays spot with great electronic music)
2. THE STAR KIDS (MIDDLE)
Mitte
Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte are home to the middle and upper-middle (Mitte-l) class. Retired bankers, consultants and corporate employees (couple of years experience) or previously/currently working in the fashion industry, in their late 20s-early 30s, who sought a lifestyle change and opted-out of the standard career progression in Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg.
The Star Kids are a little older than The Alternative and mostly enjoy a bit of disposable income either inherited or saved from their previous life.
Startups in The Star Kids are between 2-4 years old, have raised a few million and have up to 40 employees on average.
WHERE TO EAT
Restaurants could appear in better condition and higher food quality, but the main difference is the price is 20-30% more expensive. The area around Torstrasse is quite lively with multiple options for food and drinks. Additionally, The Star Kids are home to Soho House. Here are some of my favorite restaurants & bars:
Prenzlauer Berg: Restaurant Herr Rossi, Restaurant Mrs Robinson, Restaurant Umami, PAPPA E CICCIA, La Bigoudène, Sorsi e Morsi Wine Bar
Mitte: Katz Orange (German), Frea (Vegan), Yafo (Isreali, must make reservation), Daluma (healthy food), Klub Kitchen (healthy lunch).Muret La Barba, PeterPaul, To The Bone, Yafo, Neue Odessa Bar, My Bar ICI
WHERE TO HANG OUT
The Kiez used to host the best parties in Berlin 20 years ago. Now clubs aren’t the main signature of the Kiez, they mostly run on their historical fame. On Thursday night, you can have the rare occasion to go to a hip-hop night at Kitty Cheng or Bravo Bar. For the past 1.5 years, a group of my friends and I started a new party series to revive the party scene in Mitte called Nachtzeit, with the motto #MakeMitteGreatAgain ♠
3. THE LAWYERS (WEST)
Charlottenburg. Photo by Berlin.de
Charlottenburg, Schöneberg and west of Berlin are the upper class of Berlin, alongside the original Berliner (living in Berlin for more than 15 years). The Lawyers Kiez is the closest you know to cities, where you have malls, banks, corporate offices and families. The Lawyers are the Munich of Berlin, where it is accepted (and encouraged) to wear suits and pull out a Gucci belt without being judged. The Lawyers seek a higher quality and fancier lifestyle than The Alternative & Star Kids. There is your highest chance to get a response in German, as well as meet a true-born Berliner, whose parents moved or lived West of the Berlin Wall.
WHERE TO EAT
Restaurants look like where your parents would take you for dinner, bathrooms are clean and the service is professional. That obviously comes at a price. However, we all seek that treat at least every now and then. So if you are looking for a cozy, fancy experience, here is a list of restaurants & bars to go to:
Augusta Berlin
Charlottenburg: Monkey bar (sueper chic rooftop bar), 893 Ryōtei Japanese Restaurant, Repke Spätzlerei & Flammkuchen
Schöneberg: La Cantine d'Augusta, La Pequena Habana, Mister Hu Bar, Panama
WHERE TO HANG OUT
The clubs at The Lawyer (you guessed it right), are Lawyer clubs. Here is where you can get Grey Goose bottle services with 10 people lighting up candles:
West Berlin: Bar Zentral, Monkey Bar
4. THE FAR (FAR)
photo by Martin U Waltz
Lichtenburg, Stieglitz, Spandau, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, and Reinickendorf are just far. Nobody lives there!