Experienced tourists who come to Berlin not for the first time are already looking for an alternative to the “fresh” route. We decided to help you diversify your vacation and prepared an overview of interesting and atypical places in Berlin.
Excursion with Greeters
Many independent tourists today actively use the services of greeters, individual guides who are ready to take guests of their city along the most unusual routes. Greeter movement today covers more than 20 countries and 70 cities of the world. Berlin is one of them. The theme of the trip will depend only on the desires and interests of tourists. Some are interested in military Berlin, others are interested in the history of the Berlin Wall, others are interested in the history of festivals, etc.
Kurfürstendamm
A walk along the famous Berlin boulevard in the Charlottenburg district visually and mentally takes tourists to the pre-war period of the last century, when it was the focus of an emigre society. It was the time when Russian theatres, literary publishing houses and private clubs opened in Berlin.
German speech was almost inaudible on the boulevard, and the Berliners themselves called this place “Nepsky Prospekt”. Mensheviks and anarchists, eminent writers and famous bankers flooded the area at the beginning of the last century. There are many houses with name boards. They testify to the presence of Marina Tsvetaeva, Vladimir Nabokov and Andrei Bely in them, about the places where Mayakovsky's outrageous readings took place.
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg is today part of Pankow, the largest district in Berlin. Before the unification of Berlin, it was an independent administrative unit of the city, and after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, it became a hangout place for creative bohemia. Musicians, actors of all stripes gathered in this area and exhibition grounds were organized for artists, eminent and beginners. These quarters suffered little from military bombings and many houses survived, leaving buildings from different eras as a legacy to Berlin. Gothic, intertwined with modern and neoclassicism, will impress everyone.
From Kolwitzplatz to the Jewish Cemetery
You can start your walk from the Kollwitzplatz square (Kolwitzplatz) with a bronze monument to the pacifist artist Keta Kollwitz and move towards the Jewish cemetery with the grave of the impressionist artist Max Liebermann. Along the way, the oldest building will surprise you, on which you can read the inscription “death to capitalism”. This is a trace of a period in the history of the capital, when many empty houses were taken over by radical youth and turned into “free communes”.
Mauerpark Park
The famous public park Mauerpark is also saturated with the air of underground and freedom. It shocks the receptive tourist with the number of colorful freaks, hippies and punks, street mimes and musicians. And the cult establishments of the 90s, which have retained their names from the outrageous times of the 90s (Kruger, August Fengler and Club de Republic), still gather crowds of visitors in the evenings.
Unformatted Berlin – Friedrichshain district
It is no secret that every city has in its arsenal unadvertised places that are bypassed by the main flow of tourists. If there is interest in such walks, then a win-win option is the Friedrichshain area (Friedrichshain). Many people would like to visit Woodstock the European way, but, naturally, young people prefer to live in this place. Moreover, people come here from all over the world: they rent apartments first for a short time, then they come again, and some stay here forever.
Informal residents of individual quarters of Friedrichshain allow themselves to live according to special rules, or rather, without them. They arrange “days of disobedience” for themselves and their friendly neighbors under the motto: “If it's not forbidden, then it’s possible.” They create dance floors and bars from garbage, old furniture and metal waste, paint the walls of buildings and garages with graffiti. Therefore, the magic of attracting onlookers to this quarter is very great. The Friedrichshain district is known for the largest open-air graffiti gallery – a 1.5 km long section of the Berlin Wall left after the reunification. It is painted with graffiti masterpieces that can be viewed for hours.
But the original “face” of Friedrichshain can only be seen in the evening. By this time, local informals gather for parties, and live music sounds in the clubs. Trezor, Astra, Lido, Magnet, Fritzklub are the most famous hangouts in Friedrichshain.
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Area Kreuzberg
I must say that in Berlin graffiti is already commonplace and is found in almost all parts of the city. But the Kreuzberg district is a conglomerate of contradictions, flamboyance, whims, oppositions and multiculturalism. The place where the Berlin “rebels” and fighters against rising prices gather will be indicative. Their camp is set up at the foot of old buildings (5 floors high), on which the already well-known graffiti “Golden Chains of Capitalism” and “East – West” flaunt. The Spree embankment attracted radical youth with abandoned factories and empty houses, which they themselves took over and turned into unlicensed clubs and spontaneous galleries.
The manifestation of freedom near the ruins of the wall at one time attracted the attention of David Bowie, Helmut Newton and Nick Cave. The image of the cult capital of electronic music Berlin secured in the 90s. And today, the townspeople take the organization of nightlife very seriously.
Flea markets
A Sunday walk through the flea markets is an opportunity to look deep into city life, to find out how Berliners live. The intimate world that opens up in curious things put up for sale reflects not only the interests and passions of the townspeople, but also the pages of the history of Berlin. Here they are called Flohmarkt, and are mainly concentrated in the three central districts – Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. The main, or even the most impressive, can be called the Mauerpark. In addition to the special atmosphere of the avant-garde, expressed in the freedom of action, the variety of street cuisine, impromptu concerts, this place houses a market that undoubtedly surprises with the variety of surprises for sale.
It seems that everything is here, from interior items to historical artifacts. Passing from merchant to merchant, from tent to tent, sorting through second-hand finds and vintage clothes, small interior joys of the past century and ceramics, hardly anyone manages to spend less than half a day here. If the goal of the walk is a few “fleas”, then you need to look at your watch more often.
Nearby is another market – Arkonaplatz. For the sake of an excursion, you can not stay here for a long time, since mainly locals trade in this place. They do not like to bargain, and the assortment consists of old unnecessary things: dishes, household appliances, posters and paintings, jewelry. It is impossible to make a route through the flea markets of Berlin, bypassing the Friedrichshain district.
Near the Warschauerstraße underground station, the former warehouses that now thrive in alternative clubs and cafés attract more than just young people. In the streets between them there are several small markets where you can find unique household items, avant-garde clothing and bold costume jewelry. When going for interesting purchases, you need to remember that in addition to comfortable shoes, you will need cash, since in such places, including cafes and bars, it is impossible to pay with a bank card.
Famous beer halls in Berlin with a century of history
Beer gardens in Schöneberg
Connoisseurs of entertainment with beer, even having seen the Oktoberfest in Munich, today can travel around the beer establishments in Berlin, which are in no way inferior to the Bavarian ones. Moreover, there are bars here that have kept their traditions for more than a century. Most of the old beer houses are concentrated in the Schöneberg area, and you can get around them quickly enough, having tasted a mug in each. Here you can sit at the same table with the native Berliners, regulars of these bars, try not only beer, but also fruit liqueurs with a 100-year-old recipe.
To the last instance
Zur Letzten Instanz occupies a special place among the “beer business cards” of Berlin. A beer garden with a centuries-old history is located near Alexanderplatz on a small street of Weisenstraße. This restaurant was opened in 1621, and it received its current name “At the Last Resort” at the beginning of the last century. There are two versions of the appearance of such an unusual name among Berliners.
One of them says that the peasants, who disagreed with the decisions of the court (court sessions were held a stone's throw from the pub), found a compromise here over a glass of beer. Another version is the neighborhood with the old Berlin cemetery.
The walls of this institution keep the memory of many celebrities who sat here with a glass of beer: Napoleon, Charlie Chaplin and Wilhelm Raabe. The shots from the movie novel about the Soviet intelligence officer, where Stirlitz and Pastor Schlag have dinner at Zum groben Gottlieb, were filmed in this restaurant. Only the name has been changed. In the film, he was referred to as “Rough Gottlieb's”.
Today, the atmosphere typical of German beer restaurants of the 18th century has been preserved here. The interior is unusual. This is a rustic-style tavern with dark walls and subdued lights, divided into two halls. The historical entourage is complemented by the names of dishes with legal terminology: “Speech of the Prosecutor”, “Support for libel”, “Evidence”, “Lawyer's Breakfast”. Despite the sufficient capacity (the restaurant can accommodate up to 180 visitors) and democratic prices, it is difficult to get here. Therefore, when planning lunch or dinner at a table at the Zur Letzten Instanz, you need to book your seats in advance.
Thematic walks around Berlin allow not only to expand your knowledge of famous sights, but also give you the opportunity to feel the rhythm of the life of the citizens and feel the spirit of the city from the inside. You can merge with the crowd and even imagine yourself for some time as a real Berliner, a resident of the modern capital of a united Germany.