10 sides to Berlin: part 1
To mark its arrival on bmi’s network, Berlin resident Kevin Braddock uncovers some of the many subcultures within the German capital in a special two-part feature
ART
Art Berlin: both institutional and indie art thrive in the creative capital of Europe
HAMBURGER BAHNHOF
Combining visiting exhibitions with permanent collections of contemporary art, the Hamburger Bahnhof (a renovated rail terminus) has been a key Berlin art destination since opening in 1996. Artists on show include Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Matthew Barney, Joseph Beuys, Wolfgang Tillmans and many others. Free entry on Thursday afternoons. 50-51 Invalidenstrasse, +49 (0)30 3978 3411, www.hamburgerbahnhof.de
PRO QM / DO YOU READ ME
Berlin’s gallery network is complemented by well-edited bookshops offering art, fashion, design and visual culture titles by the yard.
Pro QM skews towards art theory, while Do You Read Me’s stock is broad enough to satisfy any magazine junkie’s appetite. Pro QM, 48-50 Almstadtstrasse, +49 (0)30 2472 8520. www.pro-qm.de Do You Read Me, 28 Auguststrasse, +49 (0)30 6954 9695, www.doyoureadme.de
HAUNCH OF VENISON
The Berlin branch of the well-established London gallery is a recent opening, but has proved a hit on the local and international art circuit. Arrivals such as this increasingly prove the German capital’s muscle as an art destination. 46 Heidestrasse, +49 (0)30 3974 3963, www.haunchofvenison.com
AUGUSTSTRASSE
Known as ‘East Berlin’s art mile’, Auguststrasse offers more galleries than you can shake a paintbrush at, while nearby Brunnenstrasse and Oranienburger Strasse offer even more. Call into the Kunst-Werke café for a contemplative latte machiatto. 69 Auguststrasse, +49 (0)30 243 4590, www.kw-berlin.de
CIRCLECULTURE GALLERY
Specialising in urban art – think graffiti-inspired artists like Britain’s Banksy, whose work is available to buy – Circleculture has become popular with the city’s art crowd as well as the huge numbers of young hipsters flooding into the city to live, work and hang out. 11 Gipsstrasse, +49 (0)30 2758 178 86, www.circleculture-gallery.com
BIO
Bio Berlin: eat and drink healthily in Germany’s organic capital
STEAK & FRIENDS
Steak & Friends is fast establishing a reputation as the best steakhouse in Berlin. Organically certified steak starts at around €15, while the establishment also serves an impressive range of wines, including a number of organic bouquets. 10/11 Schönhauser Allee, +49 (0)30 6883 4837, www.steaksandfriends.de
LPG, KOLLWIZPLATZ
Berlin is hardly short on organic grocery outlets, and LPG is among the larger and more popular outlets in the gentrified Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood. Stock up on Bionade (organic pop), along with artisanal breads and around 18,000 organic product lines. 17 Kollwitztrasse, +49 (0)30 3229 71400, www.lpg-naturkost.de
HANS WURST
With an avant-garde edge not untypical to Berlin’s hostelries, Hans Wurst is a hip bistro offering a combination of vegan food with lo-fi music events, along with art by local bohemians on the walls. Enjoy Icelandic drum & bass while grazing a superb tofu salad. 2a Dunckerstrasse, Prenzlauer Berg, +49 (0)30 4171 7822, www.myspace.com/hanswurstvegancafe
YELLOW SUNSHINE
An extremely popular diner overlooking Gorlizter Park in the bohemian neighbourhood of Kreuzberg, Yellow Sunshine is cheap, ethical and a bio-certified destination for veggies, vegans and ethically minded individuals. 19 Wiener Strasse, +49 (0)30 6959 8720, www.yellow-sunshine.de
GOODIES
Caffeine and sweet stuff without the guilt? Head to Goodies in Friedrichshain, where staff offer a range of organic coffees, teas, hotties (chocolate, cider, punch, chai and the like) plus cakes and other cruelty-free treats. 69 Warschauerstrasse, +49 (0)151 5376 3801, www.goodies-berlin.de
VINTAGE
Vintage Berlin: go on a ‘klamotten’ mission to get designer looks at knockdown prices
DAS NEUE SCHWARZ
In Berlin visitors can shop for vintage threads without leaving their hotel rooms. Das Neue Schwarz (‘the new black’) offers second-hand designer garments along with shoes and other accessories unearthed from Berlin’s fashion past. Cheap prices make it a must-click. www.dasneueschwarz.de
FASTER PUSSYCAT
Deep in the heart of hipster Kreuzberg, Faster Pussycat offers retro and funky clothing, shoes, bags, accessories and wigs, plus original 1960s and ’70s stuff on sale in the back. 57 Mehringdamm, +49 (0)30 6950 6600, www.myspace.com/fasterpussycatberlin
KILLERBEAST
It’s an intriguing take on the fad for vintage: at Killerbeast customers bring in old articles of clothing and have them remade into highly original tailored outfits. Items can be returned in around four days and prices are reasonable. 31 Schlesische Strasse, +49 (0)30 9926 0319, www.killerbeast.de
FLOHMARKT AM MAUERPARK
Nowhere in Berlin matches the Mauerpark fleamarket for sheer abundance and variety of second-hand finds, from clothes to furniture to just about anything else. There are plenty of food and drink stops too, so make an afternoon of it – or a morning for the real bargains. Sundays, 63-64 Bernauer Strasse, +49 (0)176 2925 0021, www.mauerparkmarkt.de
LIL SHOP
An extension of Comme Des Garçons’ guerrilla store, Lil Shop sells vintage collections from both CDG and design chief Junya Watanabe’s own range, as well as specials from Japan. 184 Brunnenstrasse, +49 (0)30 2804 5338, www.lil-shop.com
OUTDOOR
Outdoor Berlin: wide open spaces and things to do under the sun
OLYMPIC STADIUM
They usually languish at the bottom of German football’s Bundesliga, but local side Hertha BSC have the advantage of the Olympic Stadium as their ground, a genuinely jaw-dropping structure built for the 1936 Olympics. Olympischer Platz, +49 (0)30 3068 8100, www.olympiastadion-berlin.de
VOLKSPARK AM WEINBERG
A short stroll from the shopping zones of Hackescher Markt, the Volkspark Am Weinberg offers an attractive sloping green space perfect for lounging during Berlin’s baking summers. Its Nola café is an essential hangout for sun-bathing hipsters. Brunnenstrasse (U-Bahn Rosenthaler Platz)
ARENA BADESCHIFF
It’s popular year-round with sunseeking Berliners but the Badeschiff leisure complex and open-air swimming pool on the Spree in Kreuzberg comes into its own during the summer – it’s where Berlin feels like the Med. 4 Eichenstrasse, +49 (0)30 533 2030, www.arena-berlin.de/badeschiff.aspx
MAUERPARK
Summer Sundays in Berlin mean hanging out in Mauerpark, where preserved stretches of the mauer (wall) still stand. This strip of green urban space could be Berlin’s answer to Glastonbury: there are plenty of jugglers and street-food sellers. The ad-hoc karaoke in the open-air theatre on Sundays is a more recently added attraction. (U-Bahn Eberswalder Strasse)
TURKISH MARKET, KREUZBERG
Kreuzberg’s Turkish market welcomes crowds from all over – expect an abundance of fresh fruit, veg, meat, fish and herbs, along with Turkish delicacies. Extend your visit with a walk along the Landwehr Kanal to the Spree. Maybach Ufer (U-Bahn Schönleinstasse), Tuesday and Friday
GDR
GDR Berlin: frissons of Berlin’s Communist past
THE FERNSEHTURM (TV TOWER)
The iconic Fernsehturm is one of Berlin’s best and most obvious attractions. A €10.50 ride to the top of its 207-metre-high observation gallery provides unparalleled views across the capital, and there’s a welcoming bar and restaurant up there too. Panoramastrasse, +49 (0)30 2475 7537, www.tv-turm.de
KMA 36
The austere Soviet architecture along Karl Mark Allee, running eastwards from Alexanderplatz, is resonant of Berlin under Communism and well worth a stroll. Drop into the beautiful 1960s pavilion housing bar KMA 36, where hip Berliners flock to socialise amid the remnants of totalitarian rule. 38 Karl Marx Allee, www.kma36.de
WOHNZIMMER
Stepping into this Prenzlauer Berg hotspot is like emerging into a scene from Stasi drama The Lives Of Others. A coolly conspiratorial joint thronging with recovered 1970s furniture and an attractively make-do-and-mend aesthetic, it’s a deeply convivial spot suited to armchair anarchists and aesthetes. 6 Lettestrasse, Prenzlauer Berg, +49 (0)30 4455 458, www.wohnzimmer-bar.de
KLUB DER REPUBLIK
Few Berlin nightspots can rival the Klub Der Republik for an authentic clubbing-under-curfew vibe: entry is free with a one euro donation to the DJ. For that you get a typically spartan, pine and formica interior with a bar and dancefloor plus fantastic late-night views through the floor-to-ceiling windows. 81 Pappelallee, +49 (0)30 8310 0173, www.myspace.com/klubderrepublik
DRINK CLUB COLA AND EAT A KETWURST
There’s an enduring affection for state-sponsored industrial foodstuffs from the Communist era. Club Cola was once the official cola drink of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, while the Ketwurst hot dog was the socialist-approved fast food of the day. Try Alain Snack on Schönhauser Allee for a taste of the past. www.club-cola.de
Part II
Next month, we explore five more sides to the city, including family Berlin and Berlin by bike
