After nearly a month in Berlin, we give you our Top 5 things of awesomeness.
1. LIQUID ROM
There’s no better reason to get naked with strangers in Berlin than a trip to Liquid Rom. For 25 Euros, you can spend a salubrious 4 hours in water therapy nirvana. Picture yourself floating in a darkened designer-dome-cave, soft coloured lighting with cool hypnotic sounds playing above AND below the heated water.
Take a break from the dome and relax yourself in one of the several sauna’s, steam rooms or outdoor plunge pool, while you nibble on a fresh rocket and fetta flatbread pizza. This is urban heaven.
We weren’t there at night, but the candles were being lit everywhere as we left – and with a closing time of midnight, this place turns into the cool night-club alternative that can only happen in Berlin. *In the interest of appendage privacy, this whole area was a no photo zone…hence the professional images!
2. STREET FOOD NIGHT MARKET
Thursdays in Berlin just got awesome. Welcome to Street Food Night at Markthalle Neun.
You walk into this old hall and you know you’ve just stumbled across the underworld of cool Berlin cuisine. We ate the most incredible vegan burger with the outrageously delicious avocado lime tart (pictured below with the pink topping), that we went back three times in the time that we were in Berlin!! Courtesy of the folks at Kitchensurfing, most of the chefs at the event involved don’t own, run or work in their own restaurants. Instead, they are the movers and shakers behind Berlin’s burgeoning pop-up restaurant and supper club scene that tends to operate under the radar. That doesn’t mean the city’s star chefs aren’t invited to the party. Quite the opposite, in fact. Street Food Thursday also gives highbrow chefs an opportunity to let their hair down for a night and cook for customers who wouldn’t normally get to sample Michelin star cuisine.
We loved how all the stalls had amazing signage out the front of their cool little boutique stands – except the Kiwi’s. Just a few laminated bits of paper with the word “PIE” and an all blacks flag… all class.
3. THE FLEA MARKET
You want a “real” Berlin experience? Head along to “the” flea market in Mauer Park on a Sunday. Hipsters, punks, goths, travellers, young and old – pouring in and over the treasures of this famous weekly gathering. You could arrive in Berlin; furnish your home, overhaul your wardrobe, kit the entire family out with bikes, buy a few trinkets for good luck and away you go…your home is ready retro style. But it’s not just about the market – the adjacent park overflows with daytime BBQ-ers, drinkers, party-ers and karaoke enthusiasts (at 3pm Bear-pit karaoke starts in the nearby amphitheatre). If its a hot day get there early – this bit of real estate draws the crowds galore.
4. CYCLING
If there was a bike heaven, it would be in Berlin. A curious thing you will notice about Berlin, is that there is no traffic. This is because most of the city believes in pedal power. Mountain bikes, BMX bikes, commuter bikes, vintage bikes, Fixie’s, Racing Road bikes – you name it, soon it will be racing past you on a designated bike lane (watch out fellow pedestrian). Wander down to the flea market and nab yourself a second-hand (perhaps stolen) push-bike for 40-80 Euro, or stroll along to Fat Tyre at Alexanderplatz and rent a comfortable cruiser for 10 euro for 24 hrs. Grab a map and go.
Really – there is nowhere you can’t go with a bike. And it’s so safe! Wide footpaths with a designated red-brick bike lane, bicycle traffic lights – oh! the joy. If you don’t bike it in Berlin, you’re missing the point.
5. TEMPELHOF
Which beings us to Tempelhof. Seriously. In what city can you ride on an Airport runway? In Berlin you can.
An urban airport that hasn’t been used for many years has been kept as public parklands. God love the Germans – no urban development in this prime location – just massive runways to be enjoyed by the bikers, walkers, kite-ers, BBQ-ers and kite board skateboarders.
It’s like a festival venue without the festival yet with a festive atmosphere. Very cool. So that’s it! There were so many more adventures, but we figured that a Top 5 would at least be a good conversation starter. If you have any questions, comment below!