Unless you’ve been living in a hole, you know everyone is talking about Berlin. Berlin has everything; music, food, fashion and a great club scene! I spent 6 days in Berlin recently soaking up the city. Exploring amazing neighborhoods, eating fabulous food, and taking a peak back in time. Check out a few of my favorite spots to shop, eat, hang out and explore!
Welcome to what makes Berlin AMAZING! Group karaoke, and by group I mean thousands of people! Every Sunday in Mauerpark singers big and small, amazing and utterly terrible gather to belt out everything from the super obscure to the oh so popular (purple rain by a small German man with hilarious pronunciation was my favorite). And if this wasn’t good enough, next door to the amphitheater is one of the best markets I’ve ever seen. Amazing vintage, young designer and fabulous food as far as the eye can see.
Now this ones a bit more obvious but be sure to check out the section of the wall called The East Side Gallery. The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall.
Head to Mitte for some of the best shopping in Berlin. Fabulous boutiques for both men and women. The suit shown above is one my fiance found at Herr von Eden, a super cool, uber trendy Berlin suit shop. If your looking for something avant garde you are likely not to find in the US, come here.
After doing a bit of shopping you MUST, I mean must (if you love coffee as much as I do), head to The Barn. The beans are bought from micro-farmers, the espresso machines are made in Seattle, filter coffees are single origin, and adding sugar is frowned upon. This is one serious cup of coffee!
Next up, Checkpoint Charlie! Although the wall was opened in November 1989 and the checkpoint booth removed on June 22, 1990, the checkpoint remained an official crossing for foreigners and diplomats until German reunification during October 1990 when the guard house was removed. Today it is a must see in Berlin. Additionally I highly suggest going to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum across the street that is chalked FULL off history! By the time we had to leave I had only put a dent in all of the information there was to learn and wanted to soak up more!
From the corner of my eye I noticed what looked like a circus tent from the street. After taking a closer look we realized it was a fabulous covered arena of shops, restaurants and so much more called The Sony Center. It was the perfect place to take a little afternoon kuchen break. We found this adorable little restaurant at the entrance to the center and couldn’t resist going in from the solidly glass exterior with shelves of green.
You can not visit Berlin without taking an afternoon on Museum Island. My favorite museum was the Pergamon. The Pergamon houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Alter and the Market Gate of Miletus, all consisting of parts transported from Turkey.
Kapoor in Berlin! Though the show ended in November, Berlin is filled with amazing, cutting edge art. Kapoor filled a floor of the Martin-Gropius-Bau museum with 70 works of art, grand and small. At the center, dominating its glass-topped atrium, stands the new “Symphony for a Beloved Sun,” in which four conveyor belts protrude from the floor and walls, dumping red wax on the floor in front of a huge red disk.
In another room, every hour on the hour a cannon would shoot wax at high speeds at the wall. As the show continued on, the wax pilled high on the floor.
If you’re heading to Berlin make sure to spend some time in the amazing galleries and art exhibitions happening.
Make a trip to the neighborhood of Kreuzberg (where my brother and his wife live). It is one of the trendiest neighboorhoods in Berlin to hang out, grab a drink, do some fabulous vintage shopping and check out the famous Turkish Market for a bit of grocery shopping. In the picture above my fabulous entertaining maven sister-in-law Rachel is shopping for the dinner party she and my brother hosted for us while visiting.
Last but not least, while in Berlin convince friends/family (or what the heck, random friends you meet) to throw you a fabulous dinner party. Add one part fabulous food, one part amazing conversation and seven parts wine, shake and enjoy!
Next up, eating in Berlin, exploring an abandoned TB hospital and a bit of what I wore!
