Monday 13 October 2014

48 hours in Berlin

I couldn't help not publishing this post I started writing quite a while ago. In the beginning of September, we took advantage of my parents' visit, and we made a short escape with my husband (without kids!) to our utmost favourite german city (actually one of our best worldwide) : BERLIN.


There are a lot of reasons why we have been lovestruck with Berlin. It is an easy going, vibrant, multicultural, magnet of creativity, metropolis with an impressive history, legendary nightlife, amazing culinary scene from all over the world and always something new to discover and experience. Foremost, it is affordable! Either hipster or not, I think Berlin might be the place you will feel you fit it, no matter what your style is.

Berlin is an open air contemporary art Gallery! Everywhere you glance, some artist has left his stamp

btw, El Bocho is such a talented street art artist! You may find his masterpieces around Berlin, just look around






Jony and I, both enjoy travelling off the beaten path. Therefore, we always try not to focus on the top attractions,  on the contrary we yearn to attend music or theater events, enjoy mixing with the locals and experience the city outside of the ordinary touristic guides. We spent more than 48 hours (3 nights actually), and I would love to share with you some of the places we enjoyed! 




Berlin is full of hidden gardens and alleys, where you may stumble upon the hippest places to hang around. Just enter a door and you will be surprised what you are up to discover!

The first night we stayed at our friends' house at Prenzlauer Berg and we hanged around in this, wonderful neighbourhood. If I ever move to Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg would be at the top of my list.



There is always something interesting at kulturbrauerei. Sometimes there are live concerts for free.

We had excellent dinner at Mao Tai and then some of the most strange cocktails at the very intimate bar Becketts (you'll need to ring the doorbell to enter). To mention that the barman came personally to ask me if I didn't enjoy my cocktail (it was too bitter for my taste) and in order to accomplish my wishes, he prepared another customised one just for me!





The city is best experienced on two wheels, so this is what we did, the next day; we rented a bicycle for 10 eur a day (there are also bike tours, which I would love to try once). We straddled around the center, known as Mitte, from Alexander Platz to Brandenburger gate and Potsdamer Platz (we did also visit DALI's exhibition, which I found so interesting!)

The crazy loud Alexanderplatz

Island of Museums


Often you will meet groups that meditate under the Gate of Peace .. I wanted to join, but my Jony is not so keen on such kind of activities, so we skipped..


Postdamer Platz

A view of Oranienburger Straße,(where our apartment was situated), a vivid street full of restaurants; we tried the Mirchi Singapore Restaurant, which was very tasty and cheap (as many restaurants in Berlin, you can eat good for 15 Eur x person)!

Wall remains at Charlie's Point

Ok, this sounds touristic, but it is fun! Take a pic at one of the oldest automatic photo booth (we bumbed into this one right after Charlies Point)


Jony at the West, me on the East Part 


The sun was shinning so we chilled out at the river bank (behind Hackescher Markt) to sip a cold beer! 

Me, at Charlottenburg before an orchestra concert 


Next day, after we visited the East Side Gallery (one of my best choices for Sunday morning promenade), where Artists from all over the world have left their mark on the remaining section of the Berlin Wall, we  strolled through our favourite boroughs, in terms of hipness and quirkiest goings on, Kreuzberg and Neukölln, where there is an enormous amount of lovely cafes, restaurants and bars, and we discovered some new places (thanks to our friends' suggestions that live permanently in Berlin):  







We stopped for cheap & huge however some of the most delicious burgers  in Berlin, at berlinburgerinternational and later on, we had our drinks at Tier bar and DAS GIFT. (unfortunately, I have no photos because my iphone ran out of battery by then (sadly, I forgot to take with me this great rechargeable battery)()

The last day we had our brunch at the amazing Anna Blumen Café (btw book by phone before you head off, cause the odds are that you are not going to find a place to sit), together with those naughty birds that were devouring our bread and cookies :)





Later, before driving back home, we stopped at the Outlet just 30 min. outside Berlin (fair prices for brand clothes). Oh how much I miss Berlin! I am looking forward to our next visit on Christmas holidays! It will be freezing, but as locals say, there is no bad period to visit Berlin, just take the right clothes with you!:) 

And in case you are interested to find more about Berlin, here are some great blogs definitely worth to be checked out, before you plan your visit to Berlin:
andberlin
BerlinFoodStories
BerlinFor all the Family
Berlin Reified
Berlin Unlike
FindingBerlin
FoodieinBerlin
Uberlin
sandrajuto
StillinBerlin
piecesofBerlin 
(here you may not find suggestions where to eat, go etc, but you can catch a glimpse in the private lives of random Berliners)


Have you ever been to Berlin? Do you have any recommendations for out of the ordinary, places to visit, things to do etc? I would be so grateful! 

28 comments:

  1. Το Βερολίνο είναι από τις πιο αγαπημένες μου ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις! Γενικότερα η Γερμανία μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ ως χώρα, και ως κράτος. Φιλιά :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I spent a week in Berlin in spring and I realize that I still haven't seen everything this great city has to offer. One of my favourites in Germany for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your pictures are awesome and tell a really good story of what Berlin is like. The art looks so cool! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. :))

    Tania
    http://inspiremyfancy.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful photos and post!!!
    Have a nice day!!! my g+ for you!!!:)))

    Besos, desde España, Marcela♥

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't been in Berlin, but your pictures are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never been, but your pictures make me want to go!

    xo, Yi-chia
    Always Maylee

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love that city, but I didn´t know of Anna Blumen Café, I will try it next time as it looks delicious ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've only been to Berlin once, exactly a year ago. I've always wanted to go. It's steeped in history which I've always been very interested in from when I was a young girl. We did the usual touristy stuff as it was the first time. I mainly focused on WW II historical sites and facts though as I'm very much into that period. Just doing the rounds of other European cities and will definitely revisit Berlin. Been thinking of moving there :) I did a 3 or 4-part series feature on Berlin last year; I'm sure there'll be plenty more to talk about next time. Thank you for taking me back there. Have a lovely week x

    ReplyDelete
  9. Eντυπωσιακή πόλη!!Υπέροχες φωτογραφίες Γεωργία μου!!
    Τί όμορφο καί ταιριαστό ζευγάρι πού είστε!!Πάντα όμορφα νά περνάτε!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you so much for Sharing this Post of my beloved Berlin. I was Lucky enough to live in Berlin for six month in Friedrichshain in 1995 as a Student. It was a special experience I'll never want to miss a second of!

    ReplyDelete
  11. what a great getaway.. love all the street art

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great photos love the place.
    http://retromaggie.blogspot.pt/

    ReplyDelete
  13. Αχ σταμάτα και ειμαι πεπεισμένη οτι το Βερολίνο ειναι η αγαπημενη μου πόλη... παρ οτι δεν εχω παει ποτέ :(

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ok, το αγαπώ το Βερολίνο και οι δυο μου επισκέψεις δεν ήταν αρκετές, πρέπει να ξανα πάω. Τέλειες οι φωτο σου , σχεδόν στα ίδια μέρη πήγαμε. Φιλιά!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your photos look great. I would love to visit Berlin.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thx :)
    http://retromaggie.blogspot.pt/

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have been to Berlin but it was a long time ago about 15 years ago, I loved it! And would love to go again.

    Allie of ALLIE NYC
    allienyc.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've never been, but from your pictures, I think I want to visit now. The street art is incredible! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Cute pics of you and your hubby.
    Lovely place and the artworks are amazing ♥

    http://momsturf.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely photos, it looks like you had a great time! I still haven't been to Berlin, but I've seen tons of photos and it really does look like a modern art museum the whole city with all the street art :) Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    xxx
    E from Helsinki, Finland
    http://dragonflyelisabeth.blogspot.fi/

    ReplyDelete
  21. Whoa! I've never been to Germany (minus the airport LOL! Does that count!) but it's on my list, especially Berlin. Like I said I've been to the airport so many times (since I was very little) and always fell in love with the place. Even though I never actually left it I've always felt something is waiting for me in that country. Weird right. But I had no idea Berlin was such an open art gallery. Your photos and post makes me itch to finally see this city.

    Sxx
    www.daringcoco.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. i've never actually been to berlin, but i'd really love to go! your trip sounds lovely and the photos are lovely too:-) x

    ReplyDelete
  23. I went to Berlin like 2 years ago, I loved it!
    xoxo



    www.letiziabarcelona.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Looks awesome and makes me want to visit!

    xo, Yi-chia
    Always Maylee

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello, I have just nominated you for a Liebster award. Look forward to seeing your answers :) http://ourseasidebaby.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/liebster-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  26. Berlin has been on my list for a while and this street art appeals to me too. I must make a note of these recommendations!

    ReplyDelete
  27. http://www.fashionbrandstore.com

    This is a really great idea! Thanks for sharing this so creative :)

    ReplyDelete