Berlin
When one of our best friends moved to Berlin, we knew that sooner or later we will come to visit him. Andrea has never been to Berlin before. She loves techno music, art and good food, so for her Berlin was a must-do-trip. Berlin is incredibly cheap, provided you eat on the street, drink beer (not cocktails) and you stay in a hostel rather then a hotel. In that case you can experience Berlin on a budget. Berlin offers lot of fun activities and attractions. To visit all of the techno clubs in Berlin, would be our favorite choice. However, if you are not into electronic music, Berlin offers lot of exhibitions, galleries, museums, concerts and a free street art tour, which we highly recommend.
You can find more information here:
Free street art tour
If you like street art, join the alternative Berlin tour. Our guide Carl from Scotland who really loves this city and obviously knows a lot about the history and its underground subcultures. The tour started in the center, district Mitte. He showed us pieces from El Bocho, Sobre, Mr. Six and others. Then we moved on to the most "alternative" district, Kreuzberg. Since the tour we have looked at the city with different eyes, looking for art everywhere. We really appreciated that we were a small group about ten people and we didn't disturb people around, because every time we kept distance. We also got tips about good restaurants and clubs where to go. This was a free tour and the three hours passed quickly, however we were very satisfied and left a tip and so did the rest of our group.
East Side Gallery
This is the longest open air gallery in the world with the most bitter history. That wall used to divide the city in two parts, the western and the eastern communist world. Many people died trying to cross it. Some of those who managed to flee had to leave rest of their families behind. It is the longest piece of the original Berlin wall with 101 murals from artists from all over the world and of course it is for free. It's located in Mühlenstraße in Berlin Friedrichshain.
Techno clubs
We have visited three clubs in two days, but you can go nonstop from Friday till Monday and there are so many of them that you won't know what to choose. Of course you can use Residentadvisor but even better is to ask the locals for the most recent hot spots, because some of them are very touristy and that's not the best you can get. You can try to get to Berghain, but count on a 2 hours queue and strong possibility that the bouncers wont let you in. Don't go in large groups, and try to be of mixed gender, dressed preferably in dark clothes. Don't draw too much attention on you, by speaking loudly or by being obviously drunk. Very popular and good techno clubs in the city are ://about blank, Sysiphos, Kitkat or Watergate.
We started on Saturday midnight in Tresor and we were a bit too early, because the club was almost empty. On the other hand it was easy and quick to get in because there was no queue. Tresor is totally worth to see! Its dark, very charismatic and industrial. The void audio sound systems on both stages rocks.
Later that night we moved on to Griessmuehle, which was probably one of our best techno events ever. We stayed only for three hours but it was a total blast. The club was hosting dj's and producers from the Lobster Theremin label. We are not sure if it was just because we were lucky to listen to such high quality techno music or if the club is organizing high class events like this every week. It was simply amazing. The interior and exterior is supporting this raw dirty techno atmosphere. There were no lights, no strobos on the main stage, just a bit of light from the bar which intensified the atmosphere. Be careful on the toilets which are the worst we have ever seen:) You can also chill out in the sun outside by the river.
Sunday night all major clubs play mostly minimal techno or housy music. Since we are not the biggest fans of that, we decided to go to the club R19, which turned out to be a mistake. Please don't go there! Just if you like bad music, cyber techno or psytrance (I think it's the same) and you can deal with weird people. Anyway it was an experience.
Food
Monsieur Vuong, Alte Schoenhauser Str. 46
Super fast service and good quality food. The food came five minutes after we have ordered. You can choose from a daily menu or order a la carte and the prices are more then reasonable, from 5-10 EUR. We ordered chicken with mango and minced meat rolls with noodles and fresh vegetables. Both dishes and the home made lemonade were super fresh. The Pho soup was ok, we have had better though. The service was efficient and nice. For two daily menu dishes, the pho soup and two home made lemonades we paid 33 EUR.
Curry 36, Mehringdamm 36 und Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten
They claim that it is the best curry wurst in the city, The sauce was obviously home made and Andrea chose an organic sausage which was juicy and soft. For a middle sized sausage with fries we paid 3,50 EUR. Nice and cheap lunch. 10 meters from Curry 36 is probably one of the best places to eat kebab but prepare yourself to wait for at least 30 minutes, it is called Mustafa. We were standing by watching people getting their kebabs and they looked awesome, very fresh and in big sizes.
Burgermeister, Oberbaumstrasse 8
This is very nice and cheap fast food in the Kreuzberg district. I would appreciate a bigger portion of meat, but what can you ask for if you pay 4 EUR for a burger. The bun was delicious and obviously home made, the fries were also very good. Waiting in the queue, ordering and preparation time, all together it took max 20 minutes to get our food.
What movies to watch and what to listen before (or while) you go
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008). is a 2008 German film by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, and Johanna Wokalek. The film is based on the 1985 German best selling non-fiction book of the same name by Stefan Aust. It retells the story of the early years of the West German far-left militant group the Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction, or RAF) from 1967 to 1977. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The Lives of Others (German: Das Leben der Anderen) is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, about the monitoring of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police. It stars Ulrich Mühe (who died within a year of the film's release) as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his superior Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as Dreyman's lover, a prominent actress named Christa-Maria Sieland. The film was released in Germany on 23 March 2006. At the same time, the screenplay was published by Suhrkamp Verlag. The Lives of Others won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film had earlier won seven Deutscher Filmpreis awards—including those for best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor, and best supporting actor—after setting a new record with 11 nominations. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 64th Golden Globe Awards.
Run Lola Run (German: Lola rennt, literally "Lola runs" or "Lola is running") is a 1998 German thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain 100,000 Deutsche Mark in twenty minutes to save her boyfriend's life. The film's three scenarios are reminiscent of the 1981 Krzysztof Kieślowski film Blind Chance; following Kieślowski's death.
Good Bye, Lenin![1] is a 2003 German tragicomedy film. Directed by Wolfgang Becker, the cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon. Most scenes were shot at the Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin and around Plattenbauten near Alexanderplatz.
Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo is a 1981 German film directed by Ulrich Edel that portrays the drug scene in West Berlin in the 1970s, based on the non-fiction book of the same name written following tape recordings of teenage girl Christiane F. The movie immediately acquired cult status (which it still retains today) and features David Bowie as both himself and the soundtrack composer, which gave the movie a commercial boost. Both the movie and the book acquired cult status in Europe immediately after release, raising awareness of heroin addiction. The popularity of the movie was greatly boosted by David Bowie's participation as both himself (portrayed giving a concert early in the movie) and as the main contributor to the soundtrack. Bowie's music from his albums made in Berlin during 1976-77 is heavily featured throughout the picture, and as he was at the very peak of his popularity during the late 1970s-early 1980s, his presence helped boost the film's commercial success.
Ben Klock
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/benklock
https://soundcloud.com/ben-klock
Rødhåd
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/rodhad
https://soundcloud.com/rodhad
Marcel Dettman
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/marceldettmann
https://soundcloud.com/marceldettmann
Sven Vath
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/svenvath
https://soundcloud.com/hightension1053/sven-vath-live-time-warp-2015-mannheim-germany-06-04-2015
Motor city drum ensemble
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/mcde
https://soundcloud.com/platform/motor-city-drum-ensemble-dekmantel
Chris Liebing
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/chrisliebing
https://soundcloud.com/chris-liebing
Pan Pot
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/pan-pot
https://soundcloud.com/pan-pot
Ostgut ton
http://www.residentadvisor.net/record-label.aspx?id=803
https://soundcloud.com/ostgutton-official
Cassy
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/cassy
https://soundcloud.com/cassy-official-1
26 June 2015