Insider tips from the editor
"Fat B, home on the Spree, in the summer you're doing well and in the winter it hurts. Mama Berlin - bricks and gasoline - we love your scent when we go around the houses."
This and other songs about Berlin show how contrasting the German capital is. Berlin is as rich in history as hardly any other metropolis. Berlin's diverse past has shaped Berlin - old Berliners and tourists love the underground parties as well as the elegant galleries, the graffiti-strewn demolition houses and the chic designer shops.
What exactly makes up the lifestyle and appeal of Berlin, you can not describe. You have to see, feel and smell Berlin to understand why it is so cool and sexy.
Come with me on a short trip to Berlin. Discover the corners away from Siegessäule and Ku'damm!
The best travel time for Berlin:
In Berlin, the weather is always a little bit different than in the rest of Germany. In summer it is a bit hotter, a bit colder in winter and slightly wetter in autumn. But every season has its charms in Berlin: the fashion-interested visit in January or July, the "Fashion Week" in Berlin, the passionate in-park chillers hang in the summer in the city, friends of mass events are on New Year's Eve the full Berlin drone, year-round culture freaks, party-crazy and sightseeing fans get their money.
Berlin is always different - with every visit, in every mood, in every season.
Staying overnight in Berlin:
Anyone who does not have a boyfriend or relative in Berlin, as everyone else does, can fall back on the fanciest, shabbiest and most interesting places to stay. They are in pretty much every travel guide. I can only recommend two really great and different accommodations. On the one hand, this is the stylish "Soho Haus" in Talstraße 1 in Berlin-Mitte. Hotel and Spa are actually a private club. Pure may only, who is really hip and recommended. But if you are a hotel guest and book a room from 150 euros per night, you can use all the amenities of the house: the cool rooftop terrace, the trendy restaurant and the divine spa, the "Cowshed", with the nicest staff ever - which is rather rare in Berlin can be found. More information: www.sohohouseberlin.com
It's a completely different experience at the "Hüttenpalast" in KreuzKölln. Here are real motorhomes from the 60s and 70s. They are standing in a factory hall, all equipped with cuddly, new beds and teasing benches and small tables - in front of the campsite. Quite befitting, there are shared bathrooms - separated by men and women. However, when you see the bedchamber furnished with so much love, you can overlook it and the fact that you should not have noisy sex there. One night costs for two people with breakfast only 60 euros. More information: www.huettenpalast.de
Shopping in Berlin:
If you do not want to go into the one million shops of Ku'Damm, you will find just as many small designer shops and larger flagship stores of Berlin labels in Berlin. Worth a visit is the store of "Kaviar Gauche" in the Linienstraße 44 in Berlin-Mitte, even if you only want to look chic wedding dresses . The designers Alexandra Fischer-Roehler and Johanna Kühl also have stunningly beautiful pieces for the women who like it feminine and cool. You just have to treat yourself! More information: www.kaviargauche.com
Also in the Mulackstraße 7 in Mitte the shopping heart beats higher: Here Leyla Piedayesh has her label "Lala Berlin" accommodated. This is all about cool knitwear with the Berlin feeling. More information: www.lalaberlin.com
If you're into fairy tales and do not want to dig deep into your wallet, Lucid 2l is the place for you. Here, Luis Gunsch and Stefan Münzenmaier make fashion for girlish women who are fans of the 50s to 70s. At Christinenstraße 26 in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, you will find what you are looking for. More information: www.lucid2l.net
Berlin fans can then take the right clothes home with them. And I'm not talking about snoring "I love Berlin" shirts, but skirts with the TV tower or shirts with the Oberbaum Bridge - just the beautiful sights on high-quality fabrics. Absolutely drop by! More information: www.icke-berlin.de
Sightseeing in Berlin:
Sure, the standards have to be at a first or second visit to Berlin: TV tower high, off through the Brandenburg Gate, once around the Victory Column and into the Reichstag dome . Of course, the great museums of the Museum Island must not be missing, but you must also look at the not so sensational at first sight sights. For example, the Mauerpark in Berlin: The former border strip on the Bernauer Straße is not very nice, but here is the busiest. The flea market on Saturday is worth a visit. There is music every day of the week from everywhere - drums, guitars & Co. give the Mauerpark its atmosphere. More information: www.mauerpark.de
Going out in Berlin:
If you want to be in every bar and pub in Berlin, you must have felt 100 years old in Berlin's nightlife. To narrow down the selection, here are my tips: cool cocktails on an even cooler roof terrace, there are in the "Amano Bar" in Mitte. On a balmy summer night, the view over the city is always worthwhile, but the bar on the ground floor of the hotel of the same name has a lot of Stylo atmosphere even in the rain. More information: www.hotel-amano.com
If you do not want to be too hip in the evening, the Berliner goes into the "White Trash": Cool beer, delicious burgers and live music show you the chilled side of Berlin. More info: www.whitetrashfastfood.com
