Berlin... tips?
LoopDreams
1,195 Posts
I'm hitting up Berlin for 5 days next week w/ my wife. She'll be catching up with a bunch of friends and family which might give me a little time to do some exploring. The City Guide entries are pretty down on the whole wax finding scene wrt stores but if you had to choose one or two...? Are there any flea markets that might be cool?
Also any non record related suggestions would be mad appreciated: places to eat, things you must do, good shows that are on, etc... I'm stoked, haven't been across the pond inna while.
Also any non record related suggestions would be mad appreciated: places to eat, things you must do, good shows that are on, etc... I'm stoked, haven't been across the pond inna while.
Comments
When you're done, take a walk towards Frankfurter Tor down Karl Marx Allee and check out the amazing Kino International:
They usually let you walk in to have a drink up at the bar in the amazing 1st floor lobby. Maybe they even have a cool movie on http://www.kino-international.com
There is not a single record store in Berlin that is not a colossal waste of time. Fleamarkets used to be amazing but now are crap as well. Better take the S-Bahn out to Schlachtensee and rent a rowing boat: https://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=Marinesteig+6,+14129+Berlin,+Germany&hq=schlachtensee+ruderbootverleih&panel=1&fb=1&geocode=FU0qIAMdkYvJACkp7u9ooVmoRzFtsj6hbwxFFQ&cid=1532644921775665773&t=m&z=16
The place is famous for their giant catfish, every few years or so someone gets mangled by one of them:
Do not eat any Doener, they're all shit and sanitarily dubious (I usually love street food). Avoid the famed Currywurst, they're all shit.
Best food truck in the city with expert wine selection: https://www.facebook.com/Bunsmobile
If an evening of super traditional, North Italian home style cooking for 52,- Euro per person (8 course menu all drinks included) sounds like a good idea to you, I can't recommend this place strongly enough: www.hostaria.de
You have to make a reservation at least one day ahead. There's only one prix-fix menu, a vegetarian/pescatorian choice can be arranged for but must be ordered ahead when making the reservation. You HAVE TO be there at 7:00 cause they start serving the whole place all at once. Expect to eat, eat, eat and eat some more until way past 10 pm. I think they have to close the outdoors area at 10:30 now but I used to stumble out there way past midnight back in the good old days. Been going there since 1995, we had our wedding there and at least one visit is obligatory every time I get to be in town. I've taken loads of people there and everybody was blown away. Don't have more than a salad for lunch though and take it easy with the (home made) bread they serve with the appetizers. It is a lot of food.
Th place is very hard to find for the novice. Take a taxi to Mittenwalder Str. 6 (which can already be tricky, one side of the street is numbered up, the other one down) and then walk all the way through to the 2nd backyard of the building. There is no sign or anything. They used to have one but then they got tired of people walking in without reservation and ordering pizza and a beer or some shit.
truth is spoken here. But the really fucked up thing is that there are so many shops and record shopping seems to be a huge fashion trend.
holler at the piedpiper, he knows the deal.
We had a great time. The regular tourist stuff we did was all worth while.
Holocaust Museum is an unbelievable piece of architecture. I did not make it very far through the museum myself. I know the story well, and understood everything the architect was doing. It had it's intended effect on me.
The capitol dome was worth the hassle.
TV Tower is cool, old church and fountains right next to it as I recall.
As a tourist I appreciated that there was a Turkish sandwich shop if ever you got hungry. These are the Doeners Frank warned against. I found them yummy and cheap. Except breakfast at the hotel all our Berlin meals were fantastic, we ate at another Italian place I would recommend if I remembered it's name and had lunch at a fantastic Thai place that Piedpiper can lead you to.
We went to Frank's favorite restaurant Hostaria.
"Th place is very hard to find for the novice. Take a taxi to Mittenwalder Str. 6 (which can already be tricky, one side of the street is numbered up, the other one down) and then walk all the way through to the 2nd backyard of the building. There is no sign or anything."
He did not give us this^ warning. We had a wild experience getting there. Took the train. After asking directions several times someone finally hipped us to the fact that street #s can go both up and down in the East. The next block's numbers might not have any relation to the block you were just on. Plus we had no idea what 2nd backyard meant. After more adventures we arrived a minute after 7, were the last ones seated and everyone was already eating. Worth it.
On October 14, 2003, the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger published a few articles presenting as a scandal the fact that the Degussa company was involved in the construction of the memorial producing the anti-graffiti substance Protectosil used to cover the stelae, because the company had been involved in various ways in the National-Socialist persecution of the Jews. A subsidiary company of Degussa, Degesch, had even produced the Zyklon B gas used to poison people in the gas chambers.
At first these articles did not receive much attention, until the board of trustees managing the construction discussed this situation on October 23 and, after turbulent and controversial discussions, decided to stop construction immediately until a decision was made. Primarily it was representatives of the Jewish community who had called for an end to Degussa's involvement, while the politicians on the board, including Wolfgang Thierse, did not want to stop construction and incur further expense. They also said it would be impossible to exclude all German companies involved in the Nazi crimes, because ÔÇö as Thierse put it ÔÇö "the past intrudes into our society".[15] Lea Rosh, who also advocated excluding Degussa, replied that "Zyklon B is obviously the limit."[16]
In the discussions that followed, several facts emerged. For one, it transpired that it was not by coincidence that the involvement of Degussa had been publicized in Switzerland, because another company that had bid to produce the anti-graffiti substance was located there. Further, the foundation managing the construction, as well as Lea Rosh, had known about Degussa's involvement for at least a year but had not done anything to stop it. Rosh then claimed she had not known about the connections between Degussa and Degesch.
It also transpired that another Degussa subsidiary, Woerman Bauchemie GmbH, had already poured the foundation for the stelae. A problem with excluding Degussa from the project was that many of the stelae had already been covered with Degussa's product. These would have to be destroyed if another company were to be used instead. The resulting cost would be about Ôé¼2.34 million. In the course of the discussions about what to do, which lasted until November 13, most of the Jewish organizations including the Central Council of Jews in Germany spoke out against working with Degussa, while the architect Peter Eisenman, for one, supported it.[17]
On November 13, the decision was made to continue working with the company, and was subsequently heavily criticized. German-Jewish journalist, author, and TV personality Henryk M. Broder said that "the Jews don't need this memorial, and they are not prepared to declare a pig sty kosher.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Murdered_Jews_of_Europe#Degussa_controversy
https://www.facebook.com/therecordloftberlin
https://hardwax.com/ (Rhythm & Sound affiliated. Lots of techno etc. Also a quality reggae selection if you're looking for new releases and represses)
http://www.spacehall.de/ (Great for techno/bass/dubstep etc.)
https://oye-records.com/ (house/disco/bass/techno etc.)
http://www.imren-grill.de/
You're sure stuff wasn't just "sour"?
Considering how literally dirt cheap they sell this crap, the meat just can't be any good, it just can't. Not for no reason does no year go by without another D├Âner meat scandal.
My favorite road side food ever was roasted cane rat in Sierra Leone and some sort of dumpling with heavily fermented shrimp sauce in Vietnam but I wouldn't touch a D├Âner with a very, very long stick and wearing a hazmat suit.
My dismissive comment was targeted at 2nd hand record stores. Oye is a very nice store store and Hardwax a Berlin club music legend. My wrong... I was commenting from the perspective of digging for vintage Euro/Kraut raer which you will find at a much better selection at a much better price any given week on ebay than at any of the used record stores in Berlin. Any vintage vintage US records are priced to make Shuga look like a good deal.
http://record-shops.org/berlin/friedrichshain/o-ton/#.U4-y3S_1--o
It's not exactly cheap and the owner knows what he's got, but (despite what I've read online) he was cool with me.
Cosign on the record shops... shit was kinda bad first time I went a few years ago and was far more grim last year when I returned. For no good reason either. I would have been happy buying good German or Euro rock and jazz at collectors prices - the equivalent of what I would sell them for in my own overpriced vinyls shop. But no. Good luck finding something in good shape at anything resembling even top popsike price.
I actually found a great shop in Potsdam, if you happen to be out there for the day. A lot of good funk, soul, jazz and rock at fair (not cheap) prices. Occasional slip-thrus and actual rarities which could not be said of most other shops I saw.
I had some great Doener across the city and did not suffer for it. Drank heavily in Kreuzberg and had fun family times in Prenzlauerberg. City is very easily navigable.
Check Wintenfelderplatz for a nice food market... in Prenzlauerberg the Prater beergarden is a favorite for me (also near several record shops should you want to waste some time). I'm sure there are smaller venues but it's a huge beautiful space with great beer and food.
Found a tiny place on the Mitte/Prenzlauerberg border called Il Santo - an Italian joint on a small cul-de-sac called Elisabethkirchestrasse, right off Brunnenstrasse which is near many cool galleries, high end clothing boutiques and shit like that.
Bauhaus Archive was sick, walked through the zoological garden drinking beers after.
My first visit I had very good record luck in Friedrichshain but didn't get back there last time around.
I love Berlin.. a great city.
Is Stachenblochen aka Stefan on here?
Meat qualitiy is excellent at this joint, I'm quite picky. Actually the Kebab meat is more spiced like Schawarma than Sauerbraten, which has some similarities. The meat is marinated with lemon juice, seasoned with cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, cloves, mint & garlic, which makes it quite delicious.
http://feed-magazin.de/du-kaufst-sowieso-nichts-geh-und-weniger-drogen-nehmen-franz-josef-berlin-schallplatten-3/
Foodwise, there are plenty of great options nowadays - depending on what you are willing to spend, of course.
I have been to hostaria twice and it┬┤s fine, but it really isn┬┤t something extraordinarily great IMO. A recent phenomenom is streetfoodthursday (http://www.markthalleneun.de/street-food-thursday), which takes place every Thursday evening in Markthalle 9 with a bunch of stalls offering various snacks. A personal favourite is hotspot (http://www.restaurant-hotspot.de/), a Chinese Restaurant that received a prize for the best wine list in Germany in 2013 (!). Another well-known all-time favourite, especially for lunch, is Monsieur Vuong (http://www.monsieurvuong.de/). This place somehow started the Asia-Fusion style in Berlin and is still going strong today. It┬┤s easily accessible and affordable.
Regarding good shows - plenty of opera and theatre is available and much of it worth seeing. Schaub├╝hne (http://www.schaubuehne.de/) is on a roll right now and often offers shows with subtitles. Next week might be sunny and warm though, just stay outside! I.e. the former airport Tempelhof, which is now a giant park or any of the other bigger green areas in the city centre.
Get in touch if you need more specific ideas and I am happy to meet as well if we find time.
I said "traditional, North Italian home style cooking". The food is super solid and can on occasion be fantastic like when they have their stuffed quail for example. What makes the place so special in my opinion is the experience of sitting down for 3+ hours, eat , drink and have a good time. You won't be rushed to eat, pay and get up to make room for the net group of diners etc. The free self-refills of wine (you take your pitcher and walk over to the barrel) are a great feature albeit the wine is very basic Italian country wine (never once gave me a headache though). I don't think there's anything like it in the entire city, I've actually never been to a similar place outside of Italy and it's just a great experience, for a romantic date as well as with a group of friends. Especially when you're 8-10 and take up one of the big tables. But yeah, I'm totally biased as I've been going there for 20 years now. The place is also still run by the very same people which is another huge plus in my book. Also, when I first went there in '94 the culinary situation in Berlin was so bleak that I felt like I had died and gone to heaven, I was almost moved to tears, no shit.
I think this is where Piedpiper took us. Cosign the Cosign.
I fully agree! It┬┤s a very special place and I don┬┤t want to question that at all.
For a short term trip to Berlin it really wouldn┬┤t be among my top 10 though. One of the great things in Berlin in recent years is the strong development in the foodie &restaurant; business. There is so much to discover and it┬┤s usually an excellent value for money ratio.
You can have another co-sign for Monsieur Vuong from me, and Jonny's suggestion of checking out Winterfeldtplatz Market is a good one for foodies if you happen to be here for the Saturday. It's much quieter with a lot fewer stalls on the Wednesday, but wandering around the market for a while on a sunny Saturday when it's busy is one of my favourite things to do. There are a grip of nice bars and cafes nearby as well.
As for the d├Âner situation, I'm a vegetarian so I can't offer much of a contribution. It took me a while to get used to the fact that d├Âners aren't considered "dirty food" in Berlin the way they are in the UK. Frank obviously knows the city better than me, so I'm not about to teach my granny to suck eggs here, but I would say that the d├Âner establishments over here are cleaner, better-maintained and serve up fresher, better-tasting food than just about any kebab joint I've come across in London. In fact, the quality of the food is pretty good across the city, I've found. A favourite spot of mine is Rosa Caleta on Muskauer Strasse in Kreuzberg, around the corner from the Markthalle that piedpiper mentions. It's a sort of "Jamaican fusion" spot, which sounds a bit poncy, but it's not at all. The food is good, the vibe is relaxed and the staff are nice (it's run by a couple of very camp Brooklyn-born Jamaicans), but it does get busier towards the weekend.
If you arrive after Sunday, you'll be too late for most of Karneval der Kulturen, but on the 11th KRS is playing at the new Yaam (which has just relocated up Stralauer Allee to where Maria used to be) and Mobb Deep are at Astra on the 16th. It sounds like you might be here for the start of the World Cup, though; that should be good fun, even if you're not much interested in football. We'd been out here a year when the Euro 2012 tournament was on and the city was bubbling. In our hood alone, every bar and restaurant on the main drag had TV screens out on the street showing the games, and the atmosphere was great all over the city. Sergio Mendes and Ed Motta are doing shows on consecutive nights over the semi-final weekend, but that isn't until next month. Also the David Bowie exhibition at the Martin-Gropius-Bau has just opened, in the event that interests you. I haven't been yet, but there are a number of Berlin-specific exhibits on show that weren't in the V&A run.
The weather should be great next week too (comfortably in the 80s), and Berlin's beautiful in the summer. Have fun
Yes.
And wrt Franz and Josef... he pissed me off so much with his "GETTTOUTTTAMYSTOREYOURNOTAREALCOLLECTORYOURJUSTLOOKINGFORCHEAPRECORDS" rant that terminated with him physically pushing me off the premises that I felt compelled to go back the next day. He was shocked to see me, saying no-one ever returns post rant and then proceeded to chat my ear off as I dug for a while. He even had tears in his eyes as he showed me a carefully curated compilation of some of the best stuff written about his complete assholeness on the internet over the years. Apparently a buddy put it together for his birthday... I ended up getting some good stuff for a remarkably fair price. WTF I guess you just need to call his bluff. Found diddly squat in most of the other shops.
Can't recommend the city enough: the parks, the people, architecture, the food etc.... and the women the women the women (Copenhagen was top drawer in that department too)