Friday, July 17, 2009

Berlin Berlin!

I spent a really nice week in Berlin in the beginning of July. Weather was peachy and I hung out with my dear friends Julia and Anna, who both live in the city.

Since this was my third trip to Berlin, I didn't feel compelled to do all the touristy stuff anymore. So mostly it was just about hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere and the vibes of the place.

I stayed at Anna's who lives in Kreuzberg / Neukölln area. This is probably my favorite region of the city. Loads of cool little shops and boutiques, delicious eats in variety of nationalities, easy going atmosphere. It's so cool just stroll on the streets and spend some sunny hours by the channel in Urbanhafen. There is almost always somebody with guitar, playing nice tunes. Bring along a small picnic with you and you're all set for a nice afternoon.

Nice picnic could also take place on Kreuzberg hill. From there you can also see nice views over the city in all directions.

Facing north from Kreuzberg.

Lots of people are aware of this area, so if you yearn for more peace and quiet, the destination for you is by the Spree in Treptower Park in the east of the city (link in german, because of more photos). It's less crowded there, but equally nice. I spent a really cool day with Julia in this area, walking through this huge and very green park.

Eternal joyride?
One of the curiosities about Treptower is an abandoned amusement park in the middle of forest. Julia knew about it but hadn't never been there. So we set out to find it. This was a bit peculiar experience. -We we're by the water and saw this huge ferris wheel in the distance behind the trees, probably a kilometer away. We started to walk towards it and suddenly it vanished from the view. We walked closer and closer but it just wasn't there anymore. Then we reached the edge of the forest and, logically thinking, decided that the park has to be in there. We walked into the forest and started to follow this path.

After a while we finally come up to this fence, behind of which we can see some park gadgets all grown over with grass and shrubs. But the bloody wheel is nowhere in sight. We cooked up this storyline that would make a blockbuster horror movie: once in a lifetime you perhaps see this mirage-like ferris wheel in distance and if you try to find it, you'll end up into a forest never to be seen again. -A horror movie about this abandoned fun-park that traps people to eternal "joyride", cool huh?

Well, anyway, we were determined to find this ferris wheel. How can something that is more than 20-meters tall just disappear like that? Not possible. We walked along the fence and finally by one gate we met this guard, who instructed us some 200 meters more south. And there it finally was, the long lost wheel. But you still had to walk all the way up to the fence down there to see it behind the trees. But, yeah, it was a relief to finally find it, because we were already starting to think that we're just imagining things =)

Julia and the lost and found.

Sushi.
One of the things I absolutely love about Berlin, is the fact that you can find good Japanese food in ridiculous cheap prices. I really really love sushi and stuff and cannot afford it here in Switzerland. The prices are just outrageous in Basel. So the solution is to make it by myself or go elsewhere.

It's curious in Berlin, all the sushi joints seem to have an eternal happy hour. Generally daily 12-22 all the sushi is priced -50%. But in reality this extends through whole opening hours. And therefore one can get a meal containing miso-soup, tea and 3-6 nigiris and 6 makis for just 5 or 6 euros. My kind of city, indeed.

For the best quality sushi, head down to Aki Tatsu restaurant on Bergmannstrasse 93. Aki Tatsu is restaurant chain, so they are in several places in the city, but the Bergmannstrasse is definately the nicest and best quality. -Tested and proven opinion.

Other curiosities
Arena Bade Schiff is a place to go if youre not repelled of too many other sun-bathers on a restricted area. It is actually a floating swimming pool in the Spree. Go early and there might be a chance to place your towel down somewhere and even spread it out. I was there with Anna one afternoon. It was crowded, but nonetheless okay one-time-experience, because while we were there, a sort of gospel choir turned up. So, we had this entertainment of about twenty really skilled people floating in the swimming pool and singing =) (really well, I might add...)

In the evenings on the same area one can find a wide selection of nice restaurants by or on the water. Cool hang outs, definately. But these also seem to be the must-destinations in Berlin, so lots of people find their way there.

Mauerpark flea market in Prenzlauer Berg area every Sunday. This is a place to go even if you have no interest in flea markets. A big maze of booths and tables with all imaginable items for sale. Prices are reasonable and variety is great. My tip of the day would probably be the great selection of relitively cheap vinyl-albums and some cool designer items. Here I could spend a whole sunny day exploring the assortment and chilling out in one of restaurants.

Wall paintings and graffitis all over the city. -these I find very interesting. I could spend so much time just browsing these through the city. East Side Gallery is something special: a strip of the old Berlin Wall all covered up with wall art, paintings and, of course, messages of numerous visitors from all over the world.

Happy together in Kreuzberg. Cute.

Generally. In all the places I go, I enjoy just to walk around and see what's around me. Sometimes I find very cool and curious things, other occasions I amuse myself with funny sentences and / or mis-spellings of things. Some samples follow:

Bakery in Wedding: we bake. you king.
Okay, if they sa so...

Ladies rest room, quite literally, in Burger-King in Treptower:
Holder for paper bags for sanitary stuff.

Same place:
Toilet paper holder.
I don't even wanna know
what the designers were thinking.

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