Berlin Notes
Trip: September 2010
Transportation
· Public buses go from Tegel airport to several U-Bahn stations: Take Bus No. 128.
· Weekly public transportation ticket for A&B zones is easily the most cost effective deal.
Restaurants, Pubs & Bars Tried
· KaDeWa (Department Store near Europa Center) – 6th Floor is a Food Hall and restaurant and is renown
· Altes Europa (Mitte – Gipsstrasse 11) – classic old Europe style, smoky tavern, bistro-quality fare, very reasonably priced
· Best Turkish restaurants tend to be in Kreuzberg: Hasir, Adalbertstrasse, is the original in this chain, popular, cheap, good food
· Rosenthalerstrasse (Mitte) – buzzing with restaurants
· Torstrasse (Mitte) – a culinary boomlet of innovative, ingredient-based cooking in a stylish setting, including Toca Rouge, Torstrasse 195 – Pan-Asian, mainly Chinese, but with lots of creativity.
· Streets encompassing and radiating off Kollwitzplatz are humming with all kinds of restaurants, many with sidewalk tables in nice weather
· Sale e Tabacchi (Kochstrasse 18 – Kreuzberg) – excellent hang-out, moderate prices
· Lutter & Wegner (Charlottenstrasse 56 – Kreuzberg, near the Gendarmenmarkt) – The finest Wiener schnitzel anywhere, modestly priced.
· Gorgonzolaklub (Dresdenerstrasse, Kreuzberg) – inexpensive, Italian food
· Rogacki’s (Wilmersdorferstrasse 145/146, near intersection with Bismarckstrasse) – a sprawling food palace since 1928, a deli with stand-up tables (including outdoors). Always packed but an experience. Food cooked to order, inexpensive.
Restaurants, Pubs & Bars Recommended but not Tried
· Schneeweiss (Friedrichshain – Simplonstrasse 16) – excellent, not heavy, very reasonably priced)
· Leysieffer, Kurfürstendamm 218 – excellent for pastries, chocolates, teas, coffees
· Café Morgenland (Kreuzberg – Skalitzerstrasse 35) – one of a number of Kreuzberg spots with fabulous breakfast or brunch buffets at reasonable prices that will be the meal of the day. Advanced reservations (up to one week) may be necessary.
· Frida’s Schwester (Neue Schönhauser Strasse 11 – Prenzlauer Berg) – excellent Sunday brunch and other meals, all at very reasonable price.
· Dachkammer (Simon-Dach-Strasse 39 – Friedrichshain) – bar with wide selection of beers (bar is downstairs)
· Café Wintergarten (in the Literaturhaus, Fasanenstrasse – Charlottenburg) – coffee and pastries
· YamYam Berlin (Alte Schönhauser 6 – Mitte) – terrific Korean food at rock bottom prices.
· April (Winterfeldstrasse 56 – Kurfurstendamm) – inexpensive
· Café Oren (Oranienburger Strasse 28 – Scheunenviertel) – delicious old-fashioned deserts.
· Food stalls in several covered markets are some of the best places to eat:
o Wilmersdorfstrasse (Charlottenburg)
o Marheinkeplatz (Kreuzberg)
· Fassbender und Rausch (Charlottenstrasse 60 – Gendarmenmarkt, Kreuzberg) – finest chocolatier in Berlin, including retail and a café.
· Imbisse food stands throughout Berlin serves its most popular snack, currywurst – one of the best is W Imbiss (Kastanienalle 49, Mitte-Prenzlauer Berg)
· Chalottenburg district has some of the widest variety of reasonably priced ethnic restaurants from all over the world.
· Rudi Marie Café (Weichselstrasse 34 – Reuterkiez, near Kreuzberg) – inexpensive, simple food.
· Le Bateau Ivre (Oranienstrasse 18 – Kreuzberg) – café of dilapidated charm
· WKD Lebensmittel (Rochstrasse 2 – Mitte) – food store and café focusing on fresh produce, organic cheeses, and German wines.
· Leo Bettini (Mulackstrasse 33 – Mitte) – Lunch spot, creative take on German standards
· Lindner (Rosenthalerstrasse 33 – Mitte) – Excellent bakery – pastries, cookies, whole-grain breads
· Schwarzwaldstuben (Tucholskystrasse 48) – a pub serving game, reasonable
· Cookies Cream (Behrenstrasse 55, Mitte) – high-hipster ambiance, moderately expensive
· Foodo(rama) (Bergmanstrasse, 94, Kreuzberg) – upscale German food, inexpensive to moderate
· Café Restaurant Neu (Oranienburgerstrasse 32, Mitte) – Elegant food in a redone 18th century stable, 4-course lunch for 18€ in 2010
· Soluna Brot und Öl (Gneisenaustrasse 58 – Kreuzberg) – bakery and café with the finest bread in Berlin and beyond. Closed Sundays.
· Café am Neuen See, Lichtensteiallee 1, one of several wonderful beer gardens in the Tiergarten
Favorite Museums
Large Museums
· Gemäldegalerie – One of the very finest old master painting collections anywhere in the world.
· Neue Nationalgalerie – designed by Mies van der Rohe, and containing an extremely fine collection of modern painting from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.
· Altes Museum – a beautifully exhibited collection of ancient Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art.
Small Museums
· Sammlung Berggruen – a superb private collection focusing on Picasso, Matisse, and Klee, but with fine works by other 20th century artists.
· Bröhan-Museum – Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Secessionist, and Art Deco.
· Museum Scharf-Gerstenberg – extensive collection of “fantasty” art from Piranesi in the 18th century to Surrealism in the 20th century.
NOTE: All three museums are next to each other or directly across the street from each other, and are right in front of Schloss Charlottenburg.
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Places, buildings, streets, etc., below already seen or experienced are shown in italics
Post-World War II Architecture / Pre-War Architecture
· Galeries Lafayette (Jean Nouvel)
· Daimler-Benz Center, Potsdamer Platz (Renzo Piano)
· Dome of the Reichstag (Norman Foster
· Hauptbahnhof, considered the “Grand Central Terminal of Europe”
· DZ Bank Building, Pariser Platz (Frank Gehry)
· Dutch Embassy (Rem Koolhaas) – near the Spree River, near the largest stretch of the Berlin Wall still standing
· Philharmonie (Hans Scharoun)
· State Library (Hans Scharoun)
· Apartment block near Olympic Stadium (Le Corbusier)
· Bauhaus Museum (Walter Gropius)
· Also note 20th century pre-War architecture:
o AEG Turbine Hall (Peter Behrens – 1909)
o Mosse Building, Jerusalmerstrasse 46-47 (Kreuzberg) (Erich Mendelsohn – 1921-23)
· Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtnis-Kirche, next to the “rotten tooth” in central Berlin, by Egon Eiermann (Bob Jones’s mentor)
(Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), Mies van der Rohe
· House of World Culture (on the Spree river beyond the Reichstag)
Neighborhoods and Streets to Walk
· Auguststrasse (Mitte) – a stretch of the street still looks like it did in the drab days of East Berlin but now filled with art galleries (one article says it has become “oversaturated” and no longer a “once-pioneering drag”).
· Brunnenstrasse (Mitte) – emerging as the newer emerging artists district, replacing Augustrasse.
· Luisen Kanal (Kreuzberg) – lovely restored linear park with beautiful Tara (Hindu) fountain terminating in large pond – begins at Oranienplatz
· Holzmarktstrasse (overlooking a canal on the Spree River) – old brick warehouses converted to top-notch galleries
· Hackescher Markt (Mitte) – lively energy
· Rosenthalerstrasse – after the initial stretch coming off Hackescher Markt, is alive with stylish new shops
· Pankow, and particularly Majakowskiring, with the stately villas of the former East German top brass
· Schöneberg – heavily gay. Exit at U-bahn station: Nollendorfplatz
· Nightlife:
o Along the Spree River in Kreuzberg: a lot of lively nightlife
o Oranienstrasse (Kreuzberg)
o Simon-Dach-Strasse (Friedrichshain)
· Muhlenstrasse 63 (Friedrichshain): The East Side Gallery, the longest extant section of the Berlin Wall, largely painted with murals by artists from all over the world relating to oppression and freedom.
· Strasse des 17 Juni – weekends in the part through the Tiergarten becomes a fascinating flea market (Flohmarkt) with all kinds of interesting Berlin types
· Prenzlauer Berg:
o Kollwitzplatz (Prenzlauer Berg) – center of life in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood.
§ Best day to go is Saturday when a wonderful farmer’s market, including food stands and music and crafts spreads around several sides of the square.
o Schönhauser Allee 23-25 (Prenzlauer Berg) – the old Jewish cemetery, vandalized by the Nazis, with many famous German-Jews buried here, much remains.
o Interesting streets:
§ Knaackstrasse – look for the tower with unusual pie-shaped apartments;
§ Danzigerstrasse – north of the street is more traditional, south, a lively gastronomic area
§ Stargarderstrasse – has a small town feel
§ Oderbergerstrasse – Wall Park is a memorial to the wall and those who died attempting to get across it.
o Kulturbrauerei (Culture Brewery) – a bustling complex, in a former brewery, of movie theaters, restaurants, recording studios, etc.
o Pfefferberg – also a former factory with restaurant, sauna, etc.
· Reuterkiez – an extension of Kreuzberg that has become popular as rents have gone up in Kreuzberg. The very lively Turkish market springs to life on Tuesday and Friday along the south bank of the Landwehrkanal, 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.
· Landwehr Kanal – explore along the length of this major canal.
· Heidestrasse (near Hauptbahnhof) – absolutely chock-a-block with contemporary art galleries – see particularly Heidestrasse 50, a complex of galleries.
Museums, Monuments, etc. – Off-the-beaten Track
· Red Army Memorial to the Battle of Berlin (Soviet World War II Memorial) in Treptower Park – a very extensive, but quite moving memorial, even if in “Socialist realism” style (as is true of many war memorials).
· DDR Museum (gives a sense of life in the Communist zone)
· Me Collectors Room Berlin (Auguststrasse 68 - Mitte) – a private contemporary art collection, located next to the KW Institute for Contemporary Art
· Hamburger Bahnhof – contemporary art museum
· Kunst-Werke (Auguststrasse 69 – Mitte) – Sister institution to P.S. 1 in New York, architecturally striking café
Excursions – Outer Districts & Outskirts of Berlin
· Wannsee – Pfaueninsel is a one-minute ferry ride and contains the miniature palace built by Friedrich Wilhem II (although the ferry tariff is quite pricey for such a short trip)
o Max Liebermann Villa
o House of the Wannsee Conference
· Onkel-Toms Siedlung – A “siedlung” or estate of 1920’s apartment buildings designed by several of the foremost functionalist architects in Germany of that time. Take U-bahn to Station Onkel-Tom Hütte
· Sudwestkorso – lined with many pre-war apartment buildings, a leafy boulevard
· Grünewald – a huge park created by the Prussian emperors, with hiking, biking trails and lakes (the loveliest being Schlachtensee and Krümme Lanke, with the Fischerhütte, an idyllic biergarten, between them)
Excursions – Further Afield
· Potsdam – Schlosspark (including palaces and other associated buildings)
· Sachsenhausen – former concentration camp, now a memorial
· Marwitz – Hedwig Bollhagen Ceramics Studio
· Spreewald (Spree River Forest), a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve site, centered around Burg, with a deep underground hot spring, and recently-designated Kurortroute (Spa route) that winds through this region of Brandenburg state.
Miscellaneous Activities & Events
· Markets:
o Kollwitzplatz (Prenzlauer Berg), Thursday, 12:00 – 7:00 p.m., Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. – this is probably the best known eco-market in Berlin: lively, with musicians, take out food, farmer’s market stalls.
o Chamissoplatz, daily 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
o Boxhagener Platz, Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
o Lausitzer Platz, Friday, 12:00 – 6:30 p.m.
o Marheineke Halle (Bergmanstrasse, Kreuzberg)
· Excursions on the Spree River
o Boat rides (Reederei Riedel or Exclusiv Yachtcharter & Schifffahrts)
o Rowboat rental (Rent-a-Boat, at entrance to Abtei Bridge in Treptower Park)
Leipzig / Dresden Notes
Transportation
· Dresden offers a cost-effective two-day pass for museums and unlimited public transportation
Lodging
· A&O is a combination hotel/hostel chain found in many German cities, including Leipzig and Dresden. It tends to be located within walking distance of each city’s main railroad station. Prices are generally reasonable but are based on occupancy, and can rise steeply if the hotel is close to capacity. Breakfast is separate but is a generous buffet, 4€ extra.
Tourist Office
· Leipzig: Next to the Museum des Bildenden Künste. Will arrange hotel reservations.
· Dresden: In one corner of the Philharmonic Hall building at one side of the Altes Markt