Curious things to do in Berlin
Author: Amber-Louise Large
Berlin’s more than a bit quirky. In Germany’s capital, flea markets pop up in techno clubs and contemporary art galleries double as canal-side bars. This city is the type of place where abandoned airport runways become skateboard tracks and tiny discos operate out of telephone booths. Once you’ve seen the important historic sights and ticked off the classic tourist list, get to know Berlin’s curious side at these alternative spots.
If you enjoyed the view from the Reichstag dome, spend sunset at Klunkerkranich.
On the top floor of a car park in Neukolln you’ll find Klunkerkranich: a rooftop bar filled with benches, flower boxes and avant-garde sculptures. This urban and artsy space is also home to a vegan sandwich joint, a living room where artists jam and an upper level electronic club. It’s all oh-so-very Berlin: never one thing, never boring. Make like a local and sit outdoors with a pilsner in hand as the sunset stains the sky pink. You’ll get a great view of the city, with the needle-like TV Tower looming tall above it all.
Top tip: Klunkerkranich tends to close in January and February for a winter break, so check it’s open for the season before you go.
If you’ve already been to Berlin’s main museums, take a tour of Tempelhof Airport.
Book a tour of disused Tempelhof Airport to stand in an echoing baggage claim room surrounded by abandoned check-in desks. Your tour guide will explain the many lives of the airport, including its part in the 1948 airlift when necessities were flown in for Berliners cut off from the rest of the world. In the surrounding park Tempelhofer Feld – the largest inner-city open space in the world – you might spot kites reaching for the same sky that planes once cut through and skateboarders gliding along deserted runways.
Top tip: You can also book tickets to go up the old air traffic control tower. There’s a rooftop terrace and an exhibit on ‘100 years of Tempelhof Airport’.
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If you don’t have time to line up for a techno club, pop into a teledisko.
As a city with no official closing time and endless doner spots to grab after-club grub from, Berlin raves strong. Clubs like Berghain are known for drawing long lines of hopefuls who might wait for hours just be turned away at the door. There are, however, little spots around the city where you’re guaranteed entry: the telediskos. These ‘smallest diskos in the world’ are clubs in old phone booths. Enter, choose a song, party under disco lights and then go about your day. Time-efficient and totally worth it.
Top tip: Choose the photo option for a printed snap of your mini rave and remember: the blurrier the photo the better the dancing.
Once you’ve tried currywurst and doner, how about a burger in a public toilet?
You’ll want to tuck into classic currywurst and doner kebabs in Berlin, but leave room for a meal at Burgermeister. The chain’s original location is an old public toilet beneath the platforms of Schlesisches Tor subway station. Inside, the sound of rumbling trains and grumbling stomachs mixes with the sizzle of homemade patties and perfectly melty cheese. Although you’ll find Burgermeisters all over Berlin nowadays, you should go to the original so you can say you had one of the best fast-food burgers of your life in a loo.
Top tip: Don’t overlook dessert. Burgermeister’s cookies are baked fresh every morning.
If you loved the street art at East Side Gallery, visit Haus Schwarzenberg.
Follow the alleyway next to Cafe Cinema in Mitte and look for red and yellow flags fluttering above coffee-clutching creatives. You’ll be hard pressed to find an inch of blank space in this courtyard – murals, graffiti, stickers and snippets of poetry are plastered all over the walls, fighting for space alongside clamouring greenery. Explore the surrounding buildings piled with studios and galleries before grabbing a drink at the arthouse cinema and bar. There’s even a ‘monster cabinet’ machine theatre (yes, it’s about as bizarre as it sounds).
Top tip: Pop into Neurotitan Gallery and Artshop to buy a print from a local artist.
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