The old bus station converted into a FIESTA
WHAT TO SEE
Sand
7,500 people fit here. Partying . We are located on the banks of the river Spree in an old industrial building that in 1927 was a bus terminal. Since before the fall of the wall, it ceased its 'conveyor' activity to become, years later, in one of the nerve centers of Berlin life . In the Arena festivals are held, exhibitions, plays are held, inside there is a club, a restaurant, a swimming pool in summer that becomes a sauna in winter, it has its own park (Fuhrpark) ... If you want, you can stay and live here.
Haus Schwarzenberg
It is fashionable to rebuke, deny and rebuke again what has been done with the most commercial areas of mitte . And this reaction is best understood when entering the market for Rosen and Hackenschen Höfe and see how such a mythical patio has been plasticized and colored. In the 90s they sold them the motorcycle that it was going to be a space for the dialogue of art and others. Consequence? Starbucks to cascoporro. Fortunately, his neighbor Haus Schwarzenberg yes, it was preserved as such under the excuse that it was a fossil of the Jewish past of the neighborhood. The contrast is sudden and radical : from the shine to the chipped stone, from the aluminum to the wooden bench, graffiti walls, the narrow alleys, a place where a German businessman hid entire families of Jews in his factory and that today maintains all the flavor of the most artistic Berlin .
But how does the business area of Berlin stay underground? It all started with the transfer of this space (empty since the fall of the wall) to a group of artists in 1995, the 'Dead Chickens'. Today the artists' studios are still maintained, making the alley a kind of Berlin underground art factory with regular collaborations (and exhibitions) of international artists . Within this 'little' alley there is also an independent cinema, a bar and three museums: Anne-Frank Zentrum (a review of the history of the famous Jewish girl); Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt (in honor of the businessman who hid and helped Jewish families during World War II in his factory, installed in this place and where you can still visit the secret room where they hid); Gedenkstatte Stille Helden (the story of the local Jews who lived in the vicinity of Haus Schwarzenberg and who tried to help other Jews escape Nazism).
The fossil of the Jewish past in the middle of Mitte
The fever of Photoautomats
That person who has 23351 applications on his mobile with which to take photos, montages and memes that he then uploads to his Instagram, loves to spend every afternoon he takes a walk with his €2 in the Photoautomats that invade the streets . This activity is part of a phenomenon that, taking advantage of drunken effusiveness, has soaked Berlin and foreign youth to the bone. Ode to photographic paper? Reinviction of the tangible and printed memory? Let's say that one more fashion that ends up being a wonderful trap where it is impossible not to fall.
raw
The ** RAW ** complex is no longer like it used to be, when it was only accessible through the back door of a kebab joint next to the train station in Warschauer Strasse . However, despite the proliferation of gambling dens and social associations, this icon of the most aggressive urban culture is preserved as an example of the most radical gentrification . An oasis next to the tracks that for now is not in danger. However, just in case, it is better to go to this open-air museum made for everyone.
RAW, the oasis in the midst of gentrification
Singuhr-Hoergalerie
Beyond the Neues Museum and far beyond the Pergamon museum is the Singhur-Hoergalerie in the district of Prenzlauer-Berg . These two old water reservoirs in the neighborhood in a circular shape are today two artistic installations that, more than the mere exhibition, encourage reflection on art itself . In the first room, Singuhr Sound Gallery , is currently the work of Max Eastley, 'Aeolian Circles'. Between the four concentric brick walls of the water reservoir, the artist has arranged various metallic and wooden elements that vibrate and sound due to the effect of the wind and also due to the effect of a harp that is located outside the building and whose vibration is transmit inside.
The second part is located above the first art installation, in another circular brick room. Equally cold, equally humid, dark and more industrial . The reflection here goes beyond sound: it is an exhibition on the luddism, the power of machines . On a circular platform there is a camera that always focuses on a mirror. All this together rotates 360 degrees without stopping. At one point in the turn we see ourselves reflected in the mirror. The automation of technology.
mauerpark
Sundays are from mauerpark . It is the perfect plan: music groups come to this park on Sundays loaded with their instruments to play outdoors and sell their records; families bring their coolers, umbrellas, grills... and set up the most professional picnic you have ever seen ; on the left side of the park you will find rows of thrift stores, it's your Flohmarkt , full of antique stalls, photos of old German families, polaroid machines, handmade jewelry, bicycles, clothes... everything and more. But what sets Mauerpark apart from any other park in Berlin is **their karaoke**: go ahead, get on the list, have a beer in this open-air amphitheater enjoying the rest of the performances, and give your chest when you listen. your name. If you've always wanted to act, this is your chance. And if not, too.
Mauerpark karaoke, do you dare?
Oberbaumbrucke
The bridge that unites the neighborhoods of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain (and unifies them into a single district) lends itself to being loved. It is picturesque, amazing and on its asphalt the famous war of poached vegetables is celebrated between the neighbors on both sides (let everyone know that they are from different neighborhoods, even if they are administratively together!). In addition, in its openings you can enjoy views that exemplify what Berlin is: great hotels like NHOW aside and anti-capitalist graffiti in another . But the bridge itself is also a canvas for less bombastic artists. If you pay a little attention, you will find beautiful paintings signed by stars like Alice Pasquini.
Eastside Gallery
“Oh, how unoriginal!” some will say. What if I say that the last section of it is going to be moved towards the river, ending with a most enjoyable riverside walk? The project called middle spree for which the neighborhood of Friedrichshain is going to become the mecca of the entertainment world forces this move. So until such an aberration is consumed there is still time to enjoy the most artistic part of the wall and wonder why the hell they spend effort to indicate on the ground of the entire city where the wall passed through if at the slightest opportunity they move one of the parts that are still standing.
The bridge connecting Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain
WHERE TO EAT
Burger Meister
Kreuzberg is the neighborhood of fast food anti franchise . What in other places would be a contradiction here is rather a religion. It is difficult for a corner not to be populated by a kebab or a burger joint and for a young man to not walk down the street with a bottle of beer in his hand (let it be noted that here you can drink freely) and with a piece of meat surrounded by bread in the other. And since neon signs and girls on roller skates are frowned upon, the most common thing is to sit in the most picturesque hamburger restaurant. **Burger Meister is under the subway tracks at the Schelesisches Tor station** in what was once a public toilet. The cannibal flavor of its meat and the background music of the wagons provide the rest.
The hamburger under the tracks
Little cafes on Oderberges Strasse
This pretty street is just one example of the evolution of neighborhoods that were once a nest of creativity and enlightened alternativism . Those “stinky hippies” grew up, got together, had kids and… gentrified? Well no! Prenzlauer Berg is the district of cool parents and love of colorful chairs . Both mixtures shine on the terraces of Oderbergess Strasse , where you can have breakfast so comfortable, embracing the tranquility that what was presumed to be ephemeral has a long way to go. Because its stores (more exquisite, more select) continue to display graffiti by artists as renowned as The Bocho . Urban art does not conflict with the commercial.
Brunch at Pannierstrasse
Achtung! Kreuzberg, Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain already have a successor in the list-natural evolution of creative neighborhoods in Berlin. Neuköln and its cheap rents is the new place for young people who wake up with the Berlin dream. Although everything is shaking and in full swing, there is a surprising reality in Pannierstrasse: their brunch . This is the umpteenth custom associated with modernity that is normalized and democratized in Berlin. Morning coffee and butter heavens like the Melbourne Canteen , the Johann Rose , the Moreno, the Lupus or the Croissanterie attest to the love of Sunday mornings.
The delicacy of graffiti
LIVE AT NIGHT
Zur Wilden Renate
In the Friedrichshain neighborhood the night is something else. Y Zur Wilden Renate , the jewel in her crown. In this old house converted into a club, good weather afternoons are spent in its garden with a swimming pool, live concerts, a beach bar and a labyrinth. Yes. A maze. For 10 euros you can start the evening with a psychedelic trip entering Peristal Singum , the artistic installation of the Karmanoia group where you can enter to find yourself among murmurs, industrial sounds, dim lights and all kinds of environments with or without exit. Exploring them all or choosing the easy way is up to you. At the exit of the labyrinth, the rest of the house awaits you, three floors of rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms... that keep a large part of the original decoration. It's the ultimate party you've always wanted to throw at your grandma's huge house . And with craft beer from the house.
Welcome to the Renate universe
madame claude
How not to include a place like **Madame Claude** in an old Berlin guide? If everything that should be on the floor is on the ceiling! Even the grass in the garden. Taking a couple of steps in Madame Claude we realize that something strange is hiding inside. Who receives us? Laura Palmer, protagonist (absent) of Twin Peaks. We go down the stairs and soon something catches our attention: we are stepping on the ceiling and, if we look up, all the decoration of the house is above our heads . In the background, playing the electronics of a DJ. The upside down world of Madame Claude It will upset you at first. But everything will be solved with a couple of Pilsner Urquells.
The world upside down
Chalet
Kreuzberg is many things, but its Chalet is the height of the spirit of the most exclusive German raves . We set foot in an old chalet, specifically, one that is 150 years old, which reopened its doors last year in the context of the Berlin Fashion Week with a four days non-stop. That the clock does not stop and that the Chalet does not close . That is the philosophy of this house with a garden, perfect for the softest nights in the capital, and floors full of DJs and exhibitions. Art and techno in equal parts.
Kreuzberg's exclusive rave
katerholzig
Just where Mitte begins to lose its name, on the banks of a river with as much personality as the Spree opens the katerholzig . Her door is a funnel in the middle of a desolate panorama of metal fences and depressed lighting . Come on, post-apocalyptic but without Wall-E. But this is Berlin, don't be scared, it's normal. Later you pass a security checkpoint where it is best not to look like a foreigner and cross the border. From this moment nothing is normal. The concept is of happy pastiche , repurposing a sick (but safe) building for all kinds of street art. Everything has a place, so everything is respected. This collage does not deprive itself of anything: bar, flea market, riverfront seating and enviable views.
The KaterHolzig comes to inherit the spirit of the old Bar 25 , whose old location is on the other side of the river and to which the most nostalgic look with homesickness. Everything is wrapped in color and happiness. But the best part is that no one feels like a penguin at a cockatoo party. your restaurant katerschmaus It attracts the best diners in town thanks to a respectable menu and the privilege of being here. A check-in in life to brag about. After all, as his maxim says: “Berlin has no port, it has no factories, it only has creativity”.
a happy cake