18th - 22nd Feb 2016
Berlin - We revisit the City - This time it's colder, it's darker, and we go underground.
Berlin is quickly becoming one of our favourite short-stay City break destinations. Our friends have an apartment in Neukölln, we are lucky enough to go stay and explore. Thank you Mark and Chris ;-)... We filled our time like this:
Thursday 18th - We stayed the night of Wednesday the 17th in Greenwich.. We have a day in London on the 18th and head to Gatwick to board our 6:05 connection to Berlin Schonfeld. Great flight and we are soon on our way into the City with our chums Mark and Chris. We grab a quick Pizza in Neukölln before heading down to the apartment. Few drinkies and off to bed.
Friday 19th - A bright-ish day greats us as we awake and start our first full day in Berlin. Mark and Chris have planned a busy, exciting day and we can't wait to get exploring. First up, an alternative tour of the City. A few hours to explore the underground sub-cultures and vibrant street art scene of this diverse City. We start at Alaxanderplatz and take in many interesting sites. Highlights include YAAM, a colourful African Art Market and creative space. Next up the house of Osman Kalin (Baumhaus an der Mauer)... This site has become the must-see-cool-place... his story is pretty cool too. After many other interesting stops and stories we end up at at Urban Spree, THE alternative party and Art space that is forever evolving. We tip our guide, who has been brilliant, and very interesting. We also found out that our guides Sister had been out with Jordan, the brother of Chris while back at home. Small world!! Next up a trip to the Dong Xuan Vietnamese centre. We look around the many units of Asian fashion and fancy goods before enjoying a fab meal in one of the restaurants... The hot ginger and chili are perfect for warming us up... they prove very medicinal for Dave as he is fighting a cold. We take the opportunity to nip back the apartment and recharge before heading out into the night. We head up to the Pfefferberg Theatre to enjoy some traditional German entertainment. The Baroque show is a mish-mash of physical comedy, clowning, acrobatics and circus acts. We enjoy the show and have a good chuckle. We round the evening off with a few drinks before heading back to rest.
Saturday 20th - We wave goodbye to our wonderful hosts (Mark and Chris) as this morning they have an early start to travel back to Manchester. Dave and I prepare for another day exploring. It's a little damp as we head towards our first stop, the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum. This wonderful, collection of charcoal sketches, prints and sculptures is very moving and well worth a visit. We are craving coffee, we head back towards the me collectors room. We were here in the summer last year and really enjoyed the collection of contemporary art, the coffee, the cake and the general vibe. We walk back towards Alexanderplatz to pick up some food in the massive department store... Next up, rest!... we head back to the apartment and enjoy a multi-wave snacking menu as we feast on a Schlager music spectacular... It's a fantastic fest of upbeat euro style singalong party music... What a great surprise, and what an entertaining way to spend the eve.
Sunday 21st - another damp day greets us as we get up and go... Today is a day of contrasts. First off, we head up to Flohmarkt im Mauerpark, one of Berlins biggest flea markets. We choose this one as the selection of crafts, street food and vintage brick-a-brack is second to none... It's a good selection with a happy Sunday market vibe. We grab a coffee down the road before heading to Museum Island for a culture fix. We have to make a choice between five amazing museums, we decide on the Neues Museum. Completely restored and re imagined by David Chipperfield, this gem reopened its doors to the public in 2009. This museum is fascinating, Egyptian and prehistoric objects are beautifully displayed in the shabby, yet functional halls. The star exhibit is the bust of Nefertiti, a stunning painted stucco-coated limestone bust. This place is very special and should be in the top five of any visitors list of things to see. We now make our way back to Pfefferberg where we find a great bar and take the time to talk over our exploits while enjoying a few beers. Later we head back to the apartment to chill.
Monday 22nd - We head home after another fascinating and fun stay in BERLIN...
Berlin is quickly becoming one of our favourite short-stay City break destinations. Our friends have an apartment in Neukölln, we are lucky enough to go stay and explore. Thank you Mark and Chris ;-)... We filled our time like this:
Friday 19th - A bright-ish day greats us as we awake and start our first full day in Berlin. Mark and Chris have planned a busy, exciting day and we can't wait to get exploring. First up, an alternative tour of the City. A few hours to explore the underground sub-cultures and vibrant street art scene of this diverse City. We start at Alaxanderplatz and take in many interesting sites. Highlights include YAAM, a colourful African Art Market and creative space. Next up the house of Osman Kalin (Baumhaus an der Mauer)... This site has become the must-see-cool-place... his story is pretty cool too. After many other interesting stops and stories we end up at at Urban Spree, THE alternative party and Art space that is forever evolving. We tip our guide, who has been brilliant, and very interesting. We also found out that our guides Sister had been out with Jordan, the brother of Chris while back at home. Small world!! Next up a trip to the Dong Xuan Vietnamese centre. We look around the many units of Asian fashion and fancy goods before enjoying a fab meal in one of the restaurants... The hot ginger and chili are perfect for warming us up... they prove very medicinal for Dave as he is fighting a cold. We take the opportunity to nip back the apartment and recharge before heading out into the night. We head up to the Pfefferberg Theatre to enjoy some traditional German entertainment. The Baroque show is a mish-mash of physical comedy, clowning, acrobatics and circus acts. We enjoy the show and have a good chuckle. We round the evening off with a few drinks before heading back to rest.
Epic Street Art at YAAM
The House of Osman
Queens at Urban Spree
Saturday 20th - We wave goodbye to our wonderful hosts (Mark and Chris) as this morning they have an early start to travel back to Manchester. Dave and I prepare for another day exploring. It's a little damp as we head towards our first stop, the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum. This wonderful, collection of charcoal sketches, prints and sculptures is very moving and well worth a visit. We are craving coffee, we head back towards the me collectors room. We were here in the summer last year and really enjoyed the collection of contemporary art, the coffee, the cake and the general vibe. We walk back towards Alexanderplatz to pick up some food in the massive department store... Next up, rest!... we head back to the apartment and enjoy a multi-wave snacking menu as we feast on a Schlager music spectacular... It's a fantastic fest of upbeat euro style singalong party music... What a great surprise, and what an entertaining way to spend the eve.
Sunday 21st - another damp day greets us as we get up and go... Today is a day of contrasts. First off, we head up to Flohmarkt im Mauerpark, one of Berlins biggest flea markets. We choose this one as the selection of crafts, street food and vintage brick-a-brack is second to none... It's a good selection with a happy Sunday market vibe. We grab a coffee down the road before heading to Museum Island for a culture fix. We have to make a choice between five amazing museums, we decide on the Neues Museum. Completely restored and re imagined by David Chipperfield, this gem reopened its doors to the public in 2009. This museum is fascinating, Egyptian and prehistoric objects are beautifully displayed in the shabby, yet functional halls. The star exhibit is the bust of Nefertiti, a stunning painted stucco-coated limestone bust. This place is very special and should be in the top five of any visitors list of things to see. We now make our way back to Pfefferberg where we find a great bar and take the time to talk over our exploits while enjoying a few beers. Later we head back to the apartment to chill.
Monday 22nd - We head home after another fascinating and fun stay in BERLIN...
10 out of 10!
