Berliners – We Have to Save our Trees From the Heat!

Berliners – We Have to Save our Trees From the Heat!

photo: Matthias Arlund

The recent heat wave continues to be a living hell for all of Berlin. We can attempt to escape it by chilling by the lake or even getting out of town, but the merciless sun is not going anywhere. Although we humans might feel constantly drowning in sweat, the real ecological problem concerns the drought that is deeply affecting our trees. How can we save them?

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The Ur-Berliner Guide Curated by Born & Raised Berliners

The Ur-Berliner Guide Curated by Born & Raised Berliners

photos: Amanda Artiaga

There are so many reasons why we heart Berlin. In a fast-paced city like ours, it’s hard to keep track. People move in and out, places come and go. What one person loves about this city, might be completely unknown to others, and possibly gone before they even find out about it. Every city guide, every restaurant recommendation, list of cafés, clubs or bars can only give little indications and reflect someone else’s love for this city, but in the end why you love Berlin, is your own story.

Those who have been born and raised in Berlin, and, after all these years, still decide to call Berlin their home, have a genuine love story to tell. We asked some of these ‘Ur-Berliners’, with lifelong experience how they would spend a day in Berlin. The results are a collection of hidden gems and nostalgic places that never lose their charm. #whyiheartberlin

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An Urban Road Trip around the Southwest of Berlin

An Urban Road Trip around the Southwest of Berlin

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Sometimes when we follow our everyday life in our little neighborhoods traveling between a maximum of three districts from work, to the girlfriend, and back home, we completely forget how big Berlin actually is and how much there is to discover beyond our usual comfort zone. And as we need to soak up as much daylight as possible in the darker and colder season of the year we have all the more reason to go out and explore the city beyond the S-Bahn ring.

Thanks to the multiple comfortable car sharing services we have here in Berlin the ride to our next adventure is literally just around the corner. For our brand new tour we have teamed up with one of those services: DriveNow which has one of the biggest fleets of cars – you will find their BMW and MINI all over the city. You can either use the car for a short practical ride from A to B and pay by minute, or you can book the car for a package of 3, 6, 9 or 24 hours to make little trips to further places.

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Berlin Life Outside the Ring

Berlin Life Outside the Ring

“Where?” – It is often the reaction when I say where I live. And when I repeat “Botanischer Garten”, close to Dahlem, Rathaus Steglitz and Zehlendorf people are normally amazed and wonder why I chose to live in an area far away from the center, away from the parties and predominantly residential. Sure, it is not multicultural Kreuzberg or dynamic Friedrichshain, but it is a safe zone where colorful flowers blossom in the sidewalks and old ladies greet you with a smile. And if you think this is a lame reason then you should try the Johannisbeere flavor at Lauter Eis, the ice cream shop in Hortensienstraße. It gets me every time.

I am not going to lie and say this is the neighborhood I dreamt of living when I first moved back in October. In fact, I had a completely different idea of where I was going to live – I envisioned myself sharing a flat in Prenzlauer Berg with one or two roommates, in a relatively close area to my university. However, as I quickly learned, finding a house in Berlin is a nightmare. And it gets worse when you delay the problem because you are too busy counting flies on the wall. Often a temporary solution is to crash on friends’ sofas or stay at shady hostels, and until you find your castle you have to kiss some very unpleasant frogs.

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Exploring Berlin: Zehlendorf, Dahlem and Wannsee

Exploring Berlin: Zehlendorf, Dahlem and Wannsee

photo: I. Haas, Botanischer Garten

We know you’re city kids and you love Berlin for its cool districts, the freaky people, and the party next door. But how about a bit of recreation, silence and a nice trip with the family? For tourists it’s not necessarily the first meeting point, but Zehlendorf and neighboring Dahlem and Wannsee offer a lot of beautiful places that you should visit in your spare time. We created a small guide for your next trip to these charming districts – read more about it after the jump.

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