BERLIN
Left: Stairs at the Urban Nation Museum by artist Ben Eine
BERLIN GERMANY Mitt e Fotografiska Reichstag BERLIN Teufelsberg Grunewald Neukölln 1 mile Kreuzberg
GETTING THERE & AROUND Take the train from London St Pancras to Berlin Hauptbahnhof via Brussels and Cologne.
raileurope.com Average journey time: 9h. British Airways flies direct to Berlin Brandenburg from Heathrow and London City. EasyJet flies direct from several airports.
ba.com
easyjet.com Average flight time: 2h. While a single district can be explored on foot, you’ll need public transport to travel widely. Buy a Berlin Card (from €25/£21 for two days) for unlimited S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram and bus services. One-day travel cards from €9.90 (£8.50).
berlin-welcomecard.de bvg.de
3.30PM A RIVERSIDE DRINK AT HOLZMARKT Is the sun out? If it is, the next stop is Holzmarkt, a short walk from Ostbahnhof station. This hub of bars, businesses and restaurants is one of the few spots beside the river Spree where you can have a drink with the water lapping at your feet. Come for an unexpected city-centre combination of willow trees and peeping coots, stay for a spot of browsing. Rafi ness und Tristesse upcycles olive oil cans into furniture, Die Backpfeife is a bakery serving cinnamon rolls, pretzels and sourdough sandwiches, Blackf sk is the place to consider a souvenir Berlin tattoo.
holzmarkt.com
4.30PM SHOPPING IN NEUKÖLLN You’re heading to arty Neukölln for dinner, so why not check out its small, independent shops and boutiques fi rst? Bürknerstrasse has several, such as
Kolla.Berlin. Co-owned by painter Dennis Pahl, it specialises in soft, loose-necked sweaters and reversible hooded minidresses. Nearby, Scusi Vintage sells a selection of retro Italian clothing and Yes Studio has kitschy candles and stylish glassware. If you’re here on Tuesday or Saturday you can also spoil your appetite by snacking your way along the Turkish market on Maybachufer street, which runs until 6.30pm.
visitberlin.de
140
NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
7.30PM DINNER AT JAJA WEIN Weserstrasse is Neukölln’s friendly and understated nightlife hub, and well worth a look. But fi rst, take a detour to welcoming and unpretentious Jaja Wein nearby. Here, chef and former artist Hannes Broecker serves a short menu of vegetable-heavy dishes using local ingredients. Textures and techniques are spot-on in dishes such as celeriac tortellini with black trumpet mushrooms and an unctuous egg-yolk sauce. Alternatively, try Café Botanico on nearby Richardstrasse, a German-Italian haunt that grows its own produce for its irresistibly fresh pasta dishes.
jajawein.de cafe-botanico.de
10PM DRINKS AT PAOLO PINKEL Jaja Wein’s irresistible list of natural wines is highly likely to stretch your dinner later into the night than you originally intended, but if you have the energy and feel like going on afterwards, Paolo Pinkel is your best bet, only 150m away. Sprawling along both Weichselstrasse and Karl-Marx-Strasse, it’s an unpretentious, mood-lit and well-mannered nightlife hub comprising three kitchens, a buzzing cocktail bar and a small dance fl oor, which stays open at the weekends until 5am. You’ll probably fi nd yourself dancing there after a spicy Thai cocktail or two.
paolopinkel.berlin
WHEN TO GO Winter can be cold, with the average temperature as low as -2C in January. By May, things start to feel more upbeat, with blossom on the trees, though in July and August days can be hot — averaging around 25C. One of the best times is October, when the trees are in their full autumnal finery.
WHERE TO STAY 25Hours Bikini Berlin, Charlottenburg. From €135 (£116), B&B.
25hours-hotels.com Arte Luise Kunsthotel, Mitte. From €119 (£102), room only.
luise-berlin.com Oriana Hotel, Kreuzberg. From €157.60 (£135), room only.
orania.berlin
MORE INFO
visitberlin.de
HOW TO DO IT Kirker has three nights at NH Collection Berlin Mitte Friedrichstrasse from £678 per person, B&B, including flights and transfers.
kirkerholidays.com Group tours of the Teufelsberg start from €15 (£13); Neukölln with Tobi Allers costs from €15 (£13).
teufelsberg-berlin.de berlinkultour.de
Weserstrasse
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180
