Monday, August 2, 2010

Cool places in Berlin

The Berlin U-Bahn train type A3L92Image via Wikipedia
It took me a while to find out about alternative places in Berlin and even longer to discover really cool places, outside the tourist gridlines. So here they are - make a good use of them when you visit Berlin.

Squats: Almost in every part of the city there is also a squat. The most popular events are of course parties and VoKu (Volks Küche), a meal prepaired by volunteers that is usually quite cheap (2 or 3 Eur). Sometimes they also have international VoKu (e.g. traditional Norwegian food), vegan Voku etc. If you're into alternative and/or activist stuff, you'll feel right at home there. You will find most of the squats happening on the website Stressfaktor.

Chén Chè Teahouse is one of most recently discovered places, described as an oasis in the middle of the city. It really is, as this Vietnam Teahouse is hidden in the courtyard and beautifully decorated with plants. It feels like entering a secret garden. Is you are a tea person it's a must. They also have meals and delicious sweets. It's so nice that I even forgave them for telling me that dumplings were vegetarian. Anything that had a heartbeat can't be vegetarian, including fish and crabs.

Schwarze Kanal is a community of artists activists, living in trailers. It used to be situated by the river Spree (hence the name) and was moved this summer to it's current location near Treptower park. Occasionally they organise festivals and activities but mostly, live together and work on their projects. It's one the Berlin secrets that are not so easy to discover.

Krumme Lanke is a lake, just a but outside the city, the last station of underground line U3. Unlike Wansee or lakes around it, it's less turistic so it's possible to enjoy a nice swim or a picnic without feeling like you're on a festival.

Even after almost a year Sadhu is and remains my favorite restaurant. It is a Pakistani restaurant with delicious food and friendly staff that occasionally gives you something nice to drink on the house. Unlike other similar restaurant on that street, Sadhu is almost always full.

White trash is probably a dream of every rock fan - it's a fast food place with indie punk rock/rock music and concerts. Burgers are so big they come in two parts, served with fries. Additional plus: all burgers are available in veggie version and it tastes amazingly well. Also the menu is extremely amusing. Check for yourself.

Of course this are only some of the cool places I'd reccomend, so...to be continued.
P.S. Those of you, who prefer your burgers with meat - I heard that the best burgers in Berlin are @ Burgermeister.

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4 comments:

art list said...

hi great suggestions more welcome

Karmen said...

thnx

definitely working on it, tom :)

Nick Taylor said...

Hudo! Za pocekirat

Berlin places to visit said...

I am yearning to visit Berlin.