Hey girl hey! I’m here to share my travel experiences with you. I grew up in a small village in the south of the
Netherlands, which has always been too small for me. On my nineteenth I went London for an internship where I lived in a hostel. I was so fascinated by all the people I met who where traveling the world, I wanted to be just like them. Now -10 years later- I’ve been to over 40 countries and currently looking for a new home in South America. My biggest dream is to start my own hostel. In this blog I will tell you about my adventures in Berlin! – XOXO Kris
Berlin, Germany: Berlin Baby
After I graduated, I found a job in Berlin. And I have seen nothing like it. It is an amazing city to live in! Berlin has everything you need from a city. It is like a raw unpolished city, with lots of parks, art and it’s THE place if you are a techno head. Which I am definitely not. What I loved most about Berlin is that everyone can be themselves, if you want to wear nothing but a pink wig and sunglasses no one will bat an eye. If you want to be or see crazy come to Berlin. You won’t we disappointed.
The best time to travel to Berlin in definitely summer. One of the reasons why I left Berlin, is because I needed more sun in my life. Writing this is making me a little homesick, because Berlin is just so amazing during the summer. Let me tell you what you can’t miss in Berlin (according to me 😉 ). My ultimate favorite place to spend my Sundays is Mauerpark. When you roll out of the club on Sunday morning, don’t sleep if off in your bed. Pack a blanket and go to Mauerpark. This is right next to a flee market where you can buy the most delicious food for a few euro’s. It’s a mix between locals, tourist, artists, bands and performers. You can listen to a band, watch what looks like a circus act or… sing karaoke! Another park that will blow your tastebuds is Thaipark. Asian cooks bring their portable kitchen to the park and you can buy a dish for 2 – 4 euros. You can enjoy a cocktail or a beer, everything is available. It’s not really legal nor regulated, it looks like Asia in Berlin.
After work I would go and chill in Monbijou park, right at the river with a view of Berlin’s most beautiful buildings. You should also visit Volkspark Friederichshain. Here you should take some drinks and food with you. A lot of people hang out here so you’ll most likely find someone playing really loud music. Last but definitely not least, we have Tempelhofer Feld, an old airport. This park is enormous and because of the landing strips you will see a lot of runners, cyclist and skaters making the best use of the pavement. I would call it the perfect picnic destination.
There are many beautiful lakes in and around Berlin. Schlachtensee is really nice! I lived close to Weisser See, so I went there most of the times. There are nice parks around the water, but no perfect places to sit directly besides the water (only some small spots). If you’re not really keen on lakes, there are some pools/clubs in Berlin. Badeschiff is my favorite. It is basically a pool floating in the river with a beach bar, how cool! Prices are a bit high and you can’t bring any food or drinks inside, you pay around 5,50 to get in.
Haubentaucher is a pool/club it’s a bit fancy. People don’t really come there to swim, more to look at each other. But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun! You can get your tan on, sip on a cocktail, look at ripped bodies and take a cooling dip in the pool. Entrance is around 10, depending on events.
Speaking of events, Berlin has so much going on! My favorite event is Hip Hop and Burgers. This takes place on a Saturday afternoon in Prince Charles. The best burgers places have a food stand where you can buy their delicious burgers. After you tried them all -deff not possible- you vote which burger was best. The atmosphere is amazing! Eat a burger, have a beer, chill, relax and around 9pm you can start dancing!
If you have never seen a burlesque show, Berlin is the perfect place. The burlesque scene is quite big in Berlin. I can’t tell you where to go because I went to an event that is not a regular show, but surely you can find something online. The show I went to was lots of fun! In front of the stage there was a dining table, the food was served on an almost naked girl wearing the food as a dress. During dinner some beautiful ladies made our eyes pop out with some amazing sensual dance moves.
Party hardy! If you want, you can go out on Friday and come home on Monday! Some clubs don’t close during the weekend. I often bumped into people going to a club when I went to work in the morning. I’ll start off with the techo/house scene, because Berlin is the capital of techno. The most popular club is Berghain. I never went, because I don’t want to stand in line for four hours and then get rejected. If you really want to go, the best time is on a Sunday morning. I guess it helps if you look fucked up and not really interested. This goes for almost any club, the queuing is insane! Clubs like to make you queue up and if you look too excited to get in, they reject you. Go to Sisyphos, Kater blau, Wilden Renate and About Blank. Most of these clubs have a great outside area where you can chill. And if you want to get freaky, go to Kit Kat. Check what they have going on before you go and dress accordingly, this might mean a leather harness..
And now for the people like me who don’t like techo too much. The posh hip hop clubs are Bricks and Avenue. You can find a more relaxed vibe at St. Georg, Price Charles. For pre-drinks, go to YAAM. They have an amazing outside area! The club is not super travalas friendly, unless you liked to get humped and hit on every 3 seconds.
My all time favorite bar area is Holzmarkt, amazing vibes and lot of people just chilling. You can get food or drinks from different bars. It’s like a hip hippie picnic market. Another bar/club area that is unlike anything else is RAW (let the name speak for itself). And of course we can not skip a biergarten in Berlin, PRATER is a good one, and while you’re there you should take a stroll trough the KulturBrauerei.
Neighborhoods in Berlin: if you fancy a walk, these are the best area’s. Get off at Hackerschemarkt, take a look at the beautiful park and then walk to Kino Central, so you don’t miss out on the cool small streets. Take a stroll trough Mitte which is filled with landmarks, Prenzlauer Berg (aka pregnancy hill), Neukölln super multi culti, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg creative and diverse.
After all these Wonderfull things to do in Berlin, a small devotion to things you should not do. Do not fall asleep in the U-bhan, you will get robbed. Do not go to checkpoint Charlie, it’s all fake and filled with tourist, you WILL be disappointed. Don’t stare at people even if they are naked in the club. The best thing about Berlin, is that you can be who you want without judgement. Alexanderplatz is not the safest at night, they even installed small police station because there was to much crime and harassment.
So, if you planned a weekend in Berlin, think again: stay a week, a month or a year. You won’t get bored of this city. I never got bored of Berlin, only of the weather. Thinking about it I wish I was there, laying in the park with my friends an a Gösser in my hand.
|
Top 3 Activities |
|
|---|---|
|
Mauerpark |
  |
|
Holtzmarkt |
  |
|
Clubbing |
|
|
Top 3 Restaurants |
|
|
Burgermeister |
  |
|
Kimchi princess |
|
|
from Hanoi with love |
|
|
Nightlife |
|
|
Price Charles |
|
|
Kater blau |
|
|
Sisyphos |
|
|
Travalas Friendly |
  |
Favorite travel quote
‘Never stop doing things for the first time’