today’s city guide is all about berlin, germany. i spent some of the best years of my life in german classrooms (and met some of my closest friends there) so germany always holds a special place in my heart (and i will never forget the funny, dated pictures of “local teens” in my german books). so i was thrilled to hear from berlin local, rebeccah dean of shaufensterbabe. rebecca created a great guide to the city’s best, so i hope you’ll enjoy it! thank you again to rebecca for her hard work!
CLICK HERE for the full post!
When I first moved to Berlin from the San Francisco Bay Area I planned on staying a year to learn a bit of German, and then come back to the U.S. for graduate school. Ten years later I’m still here. I know so many expats with a similar story. Berlin has the habit of getting a grip on people and then never letting go. What can you do? The city is such an exciting place and, for its size, is also amazingly affordable. In even the hipper neighborhoods you can still find a studio for between 400 and 500 euros and a one bedroom for 600. Berlin is the perfect place for artists, designers and musicians who want to follow their creative vision but still have a higher standard of living than they would in most other big cities. Heck, everyone should move to Berlin. Or maybe not. If they did, they just might ruin it for the rest of us!
To truly get to know the city, you should get a good guide book. Personally, I recommend Time Out Berlin or, if you want one with an exclusively design and style focus, a Wallpaper City Guide
The Former West
Kreuzberg
Where in the world can Turkish families, hipsters, punks, urbanite families, students and organic food freaks all live peacefully side by side. The answer? In Berlin-Kreuzberg! Kreuzberg is where I live and, in my opinion, it is by far the coolest neighborhood in Berlin. The neighborhood is divided into four different sub-sections: Kreuzberg 61 and Graefe Kiez, which are heavier on the baby buggies and organic food, and SO36 and Wranglekiez, which have a younger crowd, more punks and urban grit.
Streets Worth a Stroll:
Bergmannstrasse (U-7 Gneisenaustrasse)
Bergmannstrasse in Kreuzberg 61 has unfortunately gotten a little bit touristy in the past few years. A lot of mediocre coffee bars have opened up and you’re likely to see at least a dozen people strolling around with a travel guide in hand on any given day. Still, the street is lively and still worth a peek. If you get tired of the crowds you can also go wandering in the quiet area around Chamisso Platz. So much of Berlin got destroyed during the war, but the buildings there are all still intact and are of a slightly different style than you normally see in Berlin.
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Holzapfel (Bergmannstrasse 25) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
I never considered knives to be objects of elegance and beauty until I walked into this shop. Holzapfel carries handcrafted knives, specializing in blades from Germany, France and Japan. They also have a second store in Berlin-Mitte.
Mai Sol (Bergmannstrasse 17) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
Mai Sol carries colorful, dramatic handmade clothing from an Argentinian fashion designer.
Kramari (Gneisenaustrasse 91) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
If you are looking for a cool, vintage lamp or a design classic, then Kramari is the place. They know the value of what they have, so you’re not likely to find a bargain but the selection is truly amazing.
Modulor (Gneisenaustrasse 43-45) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
Modulor is the place for art, design and crafting supplies. Take a walk down their aisles of colorful paper, felt and other materials and you are pretty much guaranteed to become inspired.
Blutgeschwister (Kreuzberg Strasse 31) U-7/U-6 Mehringdamm
Across from the green and hilly Viktoria Park you will find this boutique where they sell hip, retro inspired fashion.
< a href="http://www.paulknopf.de/">Knopf, Paul (Zossenerstrasse 10) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
I love this shop! Knopf means button in German and they carry thousands upon thousands of them. Most of the buttons are vintage, though some are handmade on location. I often use them to make jewelry or pimp an otherwise ho-hum dress or jacket. The staff is also insanely friendly and helpful.
Essen und Trinken
Soluna (Gneisenaustrasse 58) U-7 Südstern
If you ask any German what they miss most about home, inevitably they will answer “the bread.” German bread is at its very best at this bakery, where everything is baked by hand in a stone oven. They also sell some cheese and spreads as well as serve coffee.
Barcomi’s (Bergmannstrasse 21) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
On a street with so many lukewarm cafes it’s a good thing we have Barcomi’s. Run by the New Yorker Cynthia Barcomi, Barcomi’s offers great American baked goods like bagels, carrot cake and peanut butter cookies (the only place you can get them in the city that I know of.) They also have great, hand-roasted coffee and usually friendly service.
Marheineke Markthalle (Marheineke Platz) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
With its colorful fruit stands and organic meat counter, you might first think that the Markthalle is some sort of yuppie market but, in fact, a large range of people do their grocery shopping here (myself included.) They also have around a half a dozen food stands where you can get a nice hot lunch or early dinner.
Molinari & Co (Riemannstrasse 13) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
While most of the restaurants in Bergmannstrasse are uninspiring, Molinari is an exception. Located in quiet Riemannstrasse, Molinari has great coffee, good salads and pizza (though the pasta is sometimes if-y) and friendly service.
Van Doren (Blücherstrasse 17) U-7 Gneisenaustrasse
A hip- but also laid-back and friendly- cocktail bar that opened up around the corner from my apartment a few months ago, Van Doren has since become my favorite watering hole.
Oranienstrasse (U-1/U-8 Kottbusser Tor):
Oranienstrasse, or O-strasse, is the center of nightlife in Kreuzberg. Hip with a good dose of urban grit, the street is also very Turkish and has yet to have overly fallen prey to tourism as Bergmannstrasse has. It was also the center of former radically left-wing Berlin, many of the houses homes to squatters in the 70s and 80s. The political feeling has died down in recent years, but the place still has somewhat of an engaged hippie feel.
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Eichhörnchen (Oranienstrasse 187):
Eichhörnchen (which means squirrel in German) is a second-hand store that specializes in jewelry, kitchenware and smaller furniture from the 50s and 60s.
Union Sozialer Einrichtung (Oranienstrasse 26)
Attached to the Blindenanstalt (Center for the blind), in this shop you can buy hand-woven wicker items and hand-made brushes, ranging from the practical to the fanciful, which have all been made by the blind.
Museum der Dinge (Oranienstrasse 25)
In a dark, unassuming Hinterhof (courtyard) you will find the Museum der Dinge (Museum of Things). The museum itself has many interesting things, like a doll house Christmas tree from the 1920s or a ceramic bust of Kennedy from the 60s. They also have a gift shop where you can buy both national and international design objects.
Trend Mafia Market (Moritz Platz)
On the first Saturday of every month Trend Mafia is having a craft market in the Modulor House on Moritz Platz where local designers, artists and crafters sell their wares.
Lichtscheu (Köpernickerstrasse 154)
Gorgeous, colorful lamps and lampshades from a Spanish designer. I bought one for my living room and absolutely love it. Her lamps are for sale in shops like Stue in Mitte, but if you contact her at her studio here in Kreuzberg you can buy them for significantly less.
Essen und Trinken
Bateau Ivre (Oranienstrasse 18)
Known also as Der Franzose (The Frenchman), Bateau Ivre is a hip but laid back café where you can get wine, beer, coffee drinks and tapas to go along with them. This café is also the favorite hangout of the Turkish-German actor Birol Ünel, most famous for his performance in Gegen die Wand (Against the Wall).
Würgeengel (Dresdener Strasse 122) U-1/U-8 Kottbusser Tor
Although the crowd can definitely be a bit on the yuppie side, Würgeengel is an absolute must for anyone who likes a good martini. The bar is run in a former 19th century drugstore and still has a rather old fashioned, sumptuous feel to it. The cocktail list is long and full of drinks that pack a punch.
Möbel Olfe (Reichenbergerstrasse 177) U-1/U-8 Kottbusser Tor
If you grow tired of the yuppies in Würgeengel or are just longing for a younger, more edgy crowd then you can trot a few houses down over to Möbel Olfe. Run by the same people as Raststätte Gnadenbrot in Schöneberg, the bar is both modern and kitsch (complete with a weeping Virgin Mary) and has a well mixed gay and straight crowd.
The Area Around Lausitzer Platz (U-1 Görlitzer Park)
The streets around Lausitzer Platz are truly the best example of what Kreuzberg has to offer. When I was there a few weeks ago I saw a construction worker carrying his mid-morning beer, a hipster couple and a Turkish teenager all within five minutes of each other. Though mostly quiet and neighborhoody, this area definitely has plenty to offer the design-minded.
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Supermarche (Lausitzer Platz 11)
Small shop for hip handmade goods from local artists and crafters.
Filmposter.net (Pücklerstrasse 21)
Filmposter.net carries original film posters, some of which can also be ordered online.
Dederon Design (Muskauer Strasse 45)
Dederon Design carries handmade Einkaufstüte (totes and bags) made of vintage materials from the former GDR.
Essen und Trinken
Der goldene Hahn (Pücklerstrasse 20)
Der goldene Hahn (The Golden Rooster) is a hip, Italian restaurant and bar with great food, cool music (live DJ on the weekends) and, usually, Berlin-style bad service. You may have to tackle the waiter to order or pay, but the place is still worth a visit.
Hubertus Lounge (Eisenbahnstrasse 6)
A Retro-style cocktail lounge where they mix and mean White Russian.
Weltrestaurant Markthalle (Pücklerstrasse 34)
Weltrestaurant Markthalle is one of my favorite restaurants in Berlin. Though hip, the place is also laid back with incredibly friendly service (a true rarity in Berlin). It is also THE place to go for a great schnitzel.
Gräfe Kiez (U-7 )
Sandwiched between the grittier Neukölln/Kreuzberg 36 and the more yuppie Kreuzberg 61, Gräfe Kiez is the perfect solution for those who want a little of both worlds. Located directly on the Landwehrkanal, the neighborhood also offers both lots of water and green for those who might be missing them.
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Schubladen (Böckhstrasse 46) U-8 Schönleinstrasse
Amazing eco design furniture store where old drawers (Schubladen)are re-worked into new, sleek pieces.
Kado (Gräfestrasse 21) U-8 Schönleinstrasse
Anyone who has never considered licorice an object of design has got to check out this store. With licorice in hundreds of different shapes, flavors and colors, even if you hate the stuff they just might win you over.
Jean et Lili (Dieffenbachstrasse 38) U-8 Schönleinstrasse
Shop carrying whimsical objects and products for the home.
Essen und Trinken
Ankerklause (Kottbusser Damm 104) U-8 Schönleinstrasse
A former shipping dock, this bar has a terrace over-looking the water as well as a nautical theme. One of the best hang out bars in Berlin hands-down.
Mädchen ohne Arbitur (Körtestrasse 5) U-7 Südstern
Mädchen ohne Arbitur (Girls without a High School Education) has great food and a retro-glam-kitsch style, complete with red velvet walls.
Ron Telesky’s Canadian Pizza (Dieffenbachstrasse 62)
Though the pizza is a bit thin for my taste, this place is fun for its hipster, moose-loving vibe and exclusively English speaking staff. It is also the only place in Berlin (to my knowledge) where you can buy Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew.
Schöneberg
In the 80s, before the wall fell, Schöneberg was the hip location in West-Berlin. David Bowie and Iggy Pop lived in near-by Hauptstrasse, the artsy and design-minded congregated in Café M on Goltzstrasse, the gay scene thrived around Nollendorfplatz as it had since the days of Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories (this is still the area if you are in the market for leather chaps or man-on-man massage.) Once the borders opened, however, most of the hipsters started moving to the east to the then-uncharted neighborhoods of Prenzlauerberg and Mitte. But Schöneberg does still have something to offer. Here is a list of a few of its highlights.
Streets Worth a Stroll:
Goltzstrasse and Winterfeldtstrasse (U-7 Eisenacherstrasse)
Though Goltzstrasse is much more buergerlich (middle-class) and yuppified than it was in its hipster heyday, there are still design and style treasures to be found here. The street is lined with many well-established cafes, second hand and antique stores and, at the end before you cross Pallas Strasse, there is also a row of Indian restaurants where you can get a decent cheap meal. Cross the street and head towards Winterfeldtplatz and then turn left onto Winterfeldtstrasse. Though definitely a bit on the chi chi side, Winterfeldtstrasse is home to the boutiques of several local fashion designers.
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Mimi Textile Antiquitaeten (Goltzstrasse 5)
This shop is an absolute must for any collectors of antique and vintage clothing. They stock men and women’s clothing and accessories between the years 1850 and 1950. Many of the pieces are absolutely beautiful (though not cheap) and in amazing condition. Browse through dresses from the 1920s hanging in an antique wardrobe and then wander to the back of the shop for more. They also design theatre costumes using original patterns which can be ordered upon request.
Chiton (Goltzstrasse 12)
If you are in the market for an elegant, one of a kind handcrafted wedding dress, then this is the place.
Winterfeldt Schokoladen (Winterfeldtstrasse 45- Moving on June 1st, 2009 to Goltzstrasse)
I had never really thought of chocolate as a design object until I entered this shop. They sell chocolate from all over the world in exquisitely designed packaging. There are also lots of free samples to satisfy any sweet tooth.
KaDeWe (Tauentzienstrasse 21-24) U-1 Wittenbergplatz
Although das Kaufhause des Westens (Department Store of the West) is in many ways just an upscale department store, the food section of the second to the top floor is itself alone worth a visit.
Essen und Trinken
Sorgenfrei (Goltzstrasse 18) U-7 Eisenacher Strasse
Sorgenfrei is a 1950s style café where the owners seek to make you feel wie bei Oma’s (like at grandma’s house.) They also have some vintage furniture for sale at reasonable prices.
La Cocotte (Vorbergstrasse 10) U-7 Eisenacher Strasse
Low-key French restaurant that specializes in dishes slow-cooked in iron cast Dutch ovens.
Green Door (Winterfeldtstrasse 50) U-2/U-3 Nollendorf Platz
Like everything on Winterfeldtstrasse, the Green Door cocktail lounge is a tad on the yuppie side. But the décor is truly groovy and the cocktails divine, so there is really no reason to start complaining, even if complaining is a popular national pastime.
Ixthys (Pallas Strasse 21) U-2/U-3 Nollendorf Platz
Amazing Korean restaurant where the food is hot, hot, hot. The walls are also covered with hand-written bible verses giving this place a quirky, holy-roller vibe.
Raststätte Gnadenbrot (Martin-Luther-Strasse 20a)
Raststätten are the restaurants they have at rest stops along the Autobahn. This restaurant, run by the same people as Möbel Olfe, bases its food and décor on the style of Raststätten in the 70s. Very kitsch, very cool and very cheap.
Die kleine Philharmonie (Courbiere Strasse 13)
This gay run café/bar is decorated completely in a 1930s-50s style complete with telephones in each table so you can give that cutie at table 17 a call.
Charlottenburg
A favorite with artists and Russian émigrés, Charlottenburg was the center of metropolitan life in the former West Berlin. Though conservative and mostly catering to an older crowd of grande dames with little lap dogs, Charlottenburg is worth a visit if for the marble apartment entrance halls and ornate elevators alone.
Streets Worth a Stroll
The area around Savinyplatz (S-Bahn Savignyplatz)
Though touristy in some places, there is definitely plenty here for those interested in art and design. To get a feel for this area, I suggest taking a stroll down both sides of Knesebeck and Grolmanstrasse (they both are intercepted by the busy Kant Strasse.) Mommsenstrasse (between Knesebeck and Wieland) is the best example of posh, old school West Berlin.
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Colorful yet elegant clothing from a local designer.
rung.napa (Knesebeckstrasse 27) S-Bahn Savigny Platz
A self-described concept store, rung.napa carries both clothing and vintage furniture in the spirit of simple yet elegant Scandinavian design.
Art Deco Monika Ziedler (Grolmannstrasse 51) S-Bahn Savigny Platz
This antique shop specializes in Art Deco and has some truly amazing pieces.
Stilwerk (Kantstrasse 17) S-Bahn Savigny Platz
Stilwerk is a shopping mall for designer goods.
dopo_domani (Kant Strasse 148) S-Bahn Savigny Platz
Shop for designer furniture and home furnishings.
Bücher Bogen (Direct at S-Bahn Savigny Platz)
With its brick arches and domed ceilings, the bookstore Bücher Bogen first gives you the slightly disorientating feeling of walking through the basement of a cathedral. Soon you will be distracted and drawn in by their amazing selection of books on art, design and architecture.
Essen
Lon-Men’s Noodle House (Kantstrasse 33) S-Bahn Savigny Platz
Surrounded by import/export shops and large (and also good) Chinese restaurants like Good Friends, Lon-Men’s Noodle House is a no-frills soup bar where you can also get hand-made dumplings.
Cafe Florian (Grolmanstrasse 52) S-Bahn Savigny Platz
While most of the restaurants around Savigny Platz serve luke-warm tourist fare, Café Florian is still a great place to get some good German food and maybe spot a few celebrities, especially during the Berlinale.
El Borriquito (Wieland Strasse 6) U-Bahn Savignyplatz
An authentic Spanish restaurant that has been serving up food, fun and folklore since 1972.
Paris Bar (Kantstrasse 152) U-1 Uhland Strasse
The legendary bar/restaurant used to be THE place for celebrities and artists to hang in former 80s West Berlin. Though it has gotten touristsy in the meantime, it is still well worth a visit, especially for the French Onion soup.
The Former East
Prenzlauerberg
After the wall fell, Prenzlauerberg was the place to be for artists and hipsters. In the past ten years it’s gotten more yuppie; you are in serious danger of getting your foot run over by one of the millions of baby buggies abound (Prenzlauerberg has the highest birthrate not only in Berlin, but in all of Germany.) Still, with its wide boulevards, gorgeously restored Altbau buildings and lovely shops, Prenzlauerberg is still well worth a visit.
Streets Worth a Stroll
Ryke Strasse (U-2 Senefelderstrasse)
Though this street is well known on the tourist-beat, it really is a beautiful place. With its wide-open spaces and trendy shops, Ryke Strasse gives a good feel for the best that Prenzlauerberg has to offer.
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Dreistar (Stargarderstrasse 56)
Located on Stargarderstrasse, in the part of Prenzlauerberg between Prenlauerallee and Schönhauserallee which generally boasts a younger crowd, Dreistar carries designer furniture, lamps and household goods.
Ambiete und Lebensart (Rykestrasse 52/Dunckerstrasse 5) U-2 Senefelder Strasse/U-2 Eberswalder Strasse
A furniture store specializing in Danish and Italian design with two locations in Prenzlauerberg, one in Rykestrasse and one in Dunckerstrasse.
Katalka (Raumerstrasse 21) U-2 Eberswalder Strasse
Both a shop and studio for colorful, handmade wooden toys and games.
Twinkle Twinkle (Kollwitzstrasse 52) U-2 Senefelder Platz
Twinkle Twinkle carries products for home and garden, most in a colorful retro/kitsch design. Some of their products are also handmade on location.
pushgalerie (Kollwitzstrasse 97) U-2 Senefelder Platz
A shop for innovative design products, some of which can also be purchased online.
Essen
Cafe Slörm (Danziger Strasse 53) U-2 Eberswalderstrasse
Espresso bar where you can also get a killer Chai.
Hans Wurst (Dunckerstrasse 2a)U-2 Eberswalderstrasse
A bohemian, vegan cafe with a lot of heart that will have you questioning whether you could do without meat and dairy products after all.
Meierei (Kollwitzstrasse 42) U-2 Senefelder Platz
The place to be if you’re seeking a little bit of Switzerland in Berlin.
Gugelhof (Knaackstrasse 37) U-2 Senefelder Platz
Great restaurant with food from the Alsace region. Clinton ate here when he was in town which is but one of their claims to fame.
Sian (Rykestrasse 36) U-2 Senefelder Platz
Great Vietnamese restaurant with a laid-back atmosphere where they offer seasonal dishes and homemade teas.
Lass uns Freunde bleiben (Choriner Strasse 12) U-2 Senefelder Strasse
Lass uns Freunde bleiben (Let’s stay friends) is a friendly little bistro that provides the perfect breakfast nook.
Saphire Bar (Boetzowstrasse 31)S-Bahn Greifswalderstrasse
A sleek and chic cocktail lounge in Prenzlauerberg’s very cool, yet laid back Boetzow Kiez.
Mitte
Mitte is the mecca in East Berlin for the design-minded. Though it is not as beautiful as neighboring Prenzlauerberg, it is far heavier on child-less hipsters and Trendsklaven (fashion victims) than on middle-aged families.
Streets Worth a Stroll
August Strasse (U-6 Oranienburgerstrasse)
Bordering on the far-too-touristy Oranienburgerstrasse, August Strasse is lined with galleries and small bars and is well worth a visit.
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Pro qm (Almstadtstrasse 48-50) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
Book store which specializes in art, architecture and design. Some titles are in English.
Lucid21 (Christenenstrasse 26) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
Hip, retro inspired fashion from a local Berlin designer.
Stue (Torstrasse 70) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
A shop with gorgeously restored Danish design pieces in fashionable
Torstrasse.
Helena Ahonen (Fehrbelliner Strasse 56) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
Amazing, colorful, one-of-a-kind hats, handmade in Berlin. The shop also carries barrettes and other hair accessories.
Iris Hamelberg (Almstadtstrasse 35) U-2 Rose-Luxemburg-Platz
I am completely in love with this woman’s ceramic work. Her vases, plates and lamps are elegant yet simple and useful and are all white, usually with a splash of color mixed in.
Panama (Tucholskystrasse 45) S-Bahn Oranienburger Strasse
Panama is a studio for hand-printed textiles. Custom orders are also possible.
Essen
Themroc (Tor Strasse 183) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
French-inspired cuisine with a daily menu in a former GDR snackbar
White Trash Fast Food (Schönhauser Allee 6-7) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
White Trash Fast Food is THE hipster burger joint/club in the city. I highly recommend the Elvis Burger together with Fuck You French Fries.
Nola’s Am Weinberg (Veteranenstrasse 9) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
Designed in the style of a Swiss chalet, this restaurant is the place to share a great fondue. They also have a large terrace overlooking a pond to help with the picturesque feel.
Kim Bar (Brunnenstrasse 10) U-8 Rosenthaler Platz
A minimalist cocktail bar with a DJ booth, Kim Bar is a great place to get in touch with the definition of Mitte coolness.
Tadschikische Teestube (Am Festungsgraben 1) U/S-Bahn Friedrichstrasse
Fashioned in the traditonal style of a tea house in Tadjikistan, this is the place for some oriental, yet still Soviet, style. They carry 25 types of tea and Russian snacks to go along with it. You may want to make a reservation to make sure you can sit at one of the long tables with cushions, because the normal bistro-style tables just aren’t the same.
Schwarzwaldstuben (Tucholskystrasse 48) S-Bahn Oranienburgerstrasse
Popular restaurant serving scrumptious dishes from the Black Forest region of Swabia.
Clärchens Ballhaus (August Strasse 24) S-Bahn Oranienburgerstrasse
A bar, restaurant and club all in one, Clärchens Ballhaus is located in an old, elegant yet run-down ballroom. The crowd is amazingly mixed both in style and age, with some old-timers ripping up the dance floor in tuxedos and full length ball gowns.
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain is the place for youngster hipsters in their early to mid-20s. More gritty and less beautiful than Prenzlauerberg, younger and less culturally mixed than SO36, the neighborhood also boasts an colorful nightlife.
Streets Worth a Stroll
The Area around Boxhagener Platz (U-1/S-Bahn Warschauer Strasse)
While Simon Dach Strasse has gotten a bit touristy and must be avoided at all costs on the weekends when the hooligan tourists come for the cheap, flat rate drinking, there are still lots of really great shops and cafes to discover around Boxhagener Platz.
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Genauso.und.anders (Krossener Strasse 27) U-1/S-Bahn Warschauer Strasse
A design workshop where they have regular exhibitions.
Big Brobot (Kopernikus Strasse 19) U-1/S-Bahn Warschauer Strasse
Big Brobot is the place in town to find hand-made monsters and other wares in the style of geek chic.
Berlinomat (Frankfurter Allee 89) U-5 Frankfurter Tor
Berlinomat is a shop for local designer goods. You can also buy many of their products online.
f95 (Frankfurter Allee 95-97) U-5 Frankfurter Tor
A self-named “Concept Lifestyle Store“, this is the place to buy a hip, new outfit and the candle, dvd, perfume and chocolates that go along with it.
Essen und Trinken
Datscha (Gabriel-Marx-Strasse 1) U-1/S-Bahn Warschauer Strasse
Although I’ve heard the service is lousy, this Russian cafe restaurant is worth it for the retro, Soviet-style design alone.
Schneeweiss (Simplonstrasse 16) U-1/S-Bahn Warschauer Strasse
Schneeweiss means snow white and everything in this alpine cuisine restaurant is as white as the purest drift of snow.
Frittiersalon (Boxhagener Strasse 104) U-1/S-Bahn Warschauer Strasse
Great, hipster burger place with organic meat and fries.
Cupcake (Krossener Strasse 12) U-5 Frankfurter Tor
When I first moved to Berlin, muffins were still exotic and no one had ever even heard of cupcakes. Around two years ago the sweet little temptations finally made their way across the ocean and this Friedrichshain bakery is the place to get them.
Trescabezas (Boxhagener Strase 74) U-5 Frankfurter Tor
A coffee bar that takes their espresso seriously.
CSA Bar (Karl-Marx-Allee 96) U-5 Weberweise
Located in the old offices of Czech Airlines, this ueber-hip cocktail lounge draws a sophisticated, arty crowd.
Online Only
Colorful, kitschy accessories made from vintage material. Smil products are available in some stores around Berlin, but you can also order them directly online.
Hoko Hoko is an online design shop that specializes in products from designers located in German-speaking countries.
An online marketplace for handmade products, DaWanda is Berlin’s answer to Etsy.
Flea Markets
Though there are always flea markets mentioned in any Berlin travel guide, most of the ones listed are touristy and not the place to go if you are looking for something unique or at a bargain. The good news is, on the weekend there are hundreds of flea markets all over the city to choose from. A guide to Berlin’s flea markets (in German) can be found here.
Personally, I recommend these three:
Boxhagener Platz, Saturdays from 8 to 1:30 (U-5 Frankfurter Tor)
The Boxhagener Platz flea market is a hipster hang out with plenty of professional sellers hawking their wares, but also a lot of regular people selling old clothes, books and shoes garage sale style.
Arkona Platz, Sundays from 10 to 5
A large flea market in Mitte, slightly off the beaten path, where many treasures can be found.
Hermann-Ehlers-Platz, Sunday from 8 to 4 (U-9/S-Bahn Rathaus Steglitz)
Located in suburban Steglitz, this large flea market has the benefit of no (or at least very few) tourists. I’ve made some great finds here.
