Kulturbraurei- We went to the Easter party here last Sunday. The name kind of gives it away, I guess. Its an old brewery converted into a cinema, restaurant, a club, yoga studio, concert hall etc. The club part was really cool (Soda) with a ton of different rooms and DJs. It's a very cool place and I definitely want to go back and check it out!
The Zionskirche- I tell everyone I love this bit of Berlin. P'burg might not be the coolest place to be(in fact I'm told its really not) but its just so nice when it's sunny and you can sit in any one of the many cafes around and read. Technically the Zionskirche is in Mitte, as you go up the hill into Prenzlauerberg. We stopped for a coffee at Kapelle(below) and decided we'd venture inside. It was beautiful! For the princely sum of a euro, you can also climb the church tower, which was very much worth it. Just hop off the U8 at Rosenthaler Platz and it's a 5 minute walk up the hill or you can the tram one stop up(Zionskirchplatz)
Flea markets- They seem to be a Berliner Sunday activity and I love them. I've been to the markets at Boxhagener Platz(which has loads of brunch places lining the square), the famous Mauermarkt, the Nowkoelln market and the market at Arkonaplatz. All are lovely in their own way and I manage to buy some really cool and inexpensive things. A full link of all the markets in Berlin is here: Flohmärkte in Berlin - Berlin.de
Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer-we were wandering around near Nordbahnhof and unexpectedly came across this memorial to the Berlin Wall, complete with pieces of the Wall. The memorial commemorates those who tried to cross the Wall and died in their attempts. Its easy to forget how much this city has been through but around every corner is some little reminder.
More cool cafes and bars-Kapelle is the cafe we found at Zionskirchplatz. It has such a good list of hot chocolates and the guacamole with our nachos was incredible. They also do Flammkuchen, which looked really yummy. In fact, everything did. Will definitely pay a another visit.
W Imbiss is somewhere I found by accident. It is teeny and sits not far from Zionskirchplatz. It does pizza naan, although sadly I didn't get to have one there. They make the naan fresh to order and it smelt so good. My food was good, a somewhat Indian flavoured quesdilla and good value. Moreover, the staff were so nice! Pizza naan is next on my wanted list. They even do masala dosa....
An einem Sonntag im August is a bar where our programme's monthly meetup was held. It was really nice to have a drink as the decor is very cool and the service was surprisingly swift for such a busy bar. Prices were reasonable and its smack bang next to the M1 tram stop and Eberswalder St. Ubahn. We then moved on to Oberholz, a cafe/bar next to Rosenthaler Platz Ubahn. It was a bit more chilled out, with lots of people on their laptops or sitting on high lifeguards chairs outside just chatting. It had a lot of space and was beautifully decorated.
I also completed two other essential things I needed to do:
Mustafas- The famous Mehringdamm kebab shack ALWAYS has a line whenever I pass it, even at 3pm on a Monday afternoon. Everyone says its amazing, so we decided to wait it out. After 50 minutes of queuing, I finally had my kebab. It was SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. They make each one fresh, marinade and roast the veg and squeeze fresh lemon on each kebab. However, I do think 50 minutes was a bit excessive, particularly when there are so many good kebabs to be had on my doorstep(my Gemuseteller at Beussel Grill was actually really nice).
A haircut- I was petrified about getting a haircut here because my hair is somewhat tricky and I obviously speak next to no German. I picked one of the city's many 'cut n go' places, where you pay for a wash and a cut, no styling. You style it yourself in the salon, using whatever products and appliances you want. I went to the Friedrichshain branch of HaarWerkStatt, where for 12 euros I got a wash and cut. Although I had to wait a loooong time(they dont take appointments), my hairdresser was so nice(despite having more than 20 people to go behind me) and took the time to chat to me properly and show me how to style my hair properly. She (and all the other staff, from my hour long observation) really knew what she was doing too, despite how quickly the haircut was done.
Next week I'm hoping to check out Tempelhof Airport, so will hopefully have some more pictures to post then!
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