Exploring Berlin: Our Favorites in the West

Exploring Berlin: Our Favorites in the West

Writing the different city guides for our ongoing series Exploring Berlin has been a true pleasure in the past months. It’s something that we haven’t done so much in the past, but have been really getting into especially within the last year. We love how it makes us explore parts of Berlin that we haven’t been so focused on before and to always look out for the new things popping up. We have also enjoyed the feedback that we get from you guys that add their personal favorites to our themed or district guides and most of all we love to read the comments how these guides have helped you find you way around in Berlin.

When Citadines asked us to compile one of our Berlin guides for their Travel Capsule campaign we were of course happy to do so. The Travel Capsule is an interactive experiences in Paris and London that combines the physical with the digital. In both cities, the brand will set up a studio in big train stations which is a recreation of a Citadines apart‘hotel. In this studio visitors will be able to travel to either Berlin, London or Paris via a big interactive screen where they will get special recommendations for each city curated by local bloggers. This is were we come in: We chose 20 places in Berlin in different categories including culture, food, business and shopping that will be shown on an interactive video map inside the Travel Capsules giving the visitor a digital tour of the town while snacking on specialties from each respective country. If they are lucky they can also win trips and hotel nights in one of those cities such as Berlin where the Citadines apart’hotel is located at Olivaer Platz right in the heart of Charlottenburg.

We want to share a part of this guide with you today and selected 10 places that are in the West of Berlin including Tiergarten, Charlottenburg and Schöneberg – those districts that we have neglected far too long and that we particularly enjoy to discover these days. Have a look at our selection after the jump!

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A Guide to Bikini Berlin & The New West

A Guide to Bikini Berlin & The New West

Bikini Berlin

Today we want to take a closer look at the Bikini Berlin and the areas around it with all its little gems and treasures. Since the opening of the mall last year a lot has happened in the good old West and all of a sudden everyone was speaking of a renaissance of West Berlin. A couple of high profile hotels opened in the area, new restaurants popped up, a new luxury cinema, the C/O Gallery finally re-opened after its move away from Mitte. And these are just a few of the new developments of the City West. It was about time that we explored this area and compile a little guide for you of the new West Berlin with the Bikini Berlin at its core. Enjoy our selection after the jump!

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Dabbawalla – Schöneberg’s New Ayurvedic Deli

Dabbawalla – Schöneberg’s New Ayurvedic Deli

Ayurveda is a term based on thousands of years of holy Indian scripture that translates to “the knowledge of life.” It is a holistic science of health with a focus on the maintenance of a balanced state of being. Our bodies contain three doshas, which are biological energies that express patterns in our physical, emotional and mental characteristics. There’s no doubt about the food and drinks we ingest affecting our doshas, and now a new lunch spot in Schöneberg is serving up delicious Thalis with the right combination of herbs and spices to balance our Ayurvedic constitutions. Check out their fresh new concept and menu after the jump!

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Brooklyn Street Art goes Berlin

Brooklyn Street Art goes Berlin

Dain

The street art initiative Urban Nation in Schöneberg is setting up for their next big show of art in public. Person of Interest is the title and it’s put together by a group of notable Brooklyn-based street artists from different styles and techniques who are creating portraits in tribute of Berlin, its creative scene and connection to New York. The works are gonna be on display at the Urban Nation headquarters at the windows and fassade of Bülowstr. 7 and 97 starting this Saturday (March 14, 2015). The show runs until June 15. After the jump we gathered some previous works of the participating artists to give you a taste of what to expect. Enjoy!

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Exploring Berlin: A Wellness & Beauty Guide

Exploring Berlin: A Wellness & Beauty Guide

A lot of the big cities of this world are known for their fast pace and stressfulness – not so Berlin. Here we like a more calm and relaxed lifestyle and we like to use every opportunity to come down and forget about our daily grind. Maybe it’s also because we have some amazing options in terms of wellness places that makes us so relaxed. In this spirit, we want to introduce some of our favourite destinations of beauty and wellness in Berlin. With these yoga studios, spas, gardens, salons and holistic retreats, you can easily escape the busy metropolis for a while, clear your mind and find tranquility. Click on to see our suggestions on where you can go to unwind and pamper yourself! read more…

A Guide to the Best Indian Food in Berlin

A Guide to the Best Indian Food in Berlin

If there is one thing about the restaurant scene in Berlin that I love it’s the amazing variety of Asian cuisine in town. I think I have never visited a city with more good Asian restaurants (outside of Asia of course) than Berlin. One of the most popular choices of Asian cuisine for the Berliners must be Indian. In some districts you get the feeling that literally every block has its own Indian restaurant. To be honest the huge amount of Indian places has also caused a mixed reputation for Indian cuisine in Berlin because apparently there are a lot of mediocre and bad ones. But those should not overshadow those places that have truely amazing Indian food. And to give you a helping hand in the big world of Indian food in Berlin, we have compiled a guide with our favorites and some of the most popular and loved Indian restaurants in Berlin. And in case this guide wets your appetite so much that you can’t wait to indulge into this food as soon as possible (as it did for me while writing this article) how about ordering in?

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Shop Berlin Designers at the LNFA Store at Bikini

Shop Berlin Designers at the LNFA Store at Bikini

If you are looking for a place to get some fashion from Berlin designers there is one address that you absolutely need to visit: The two LNFA concept stores at the Bikini Berlin. LNFA is short for Live Networking for Fashion and Art and actually started as an event series. But as things go in Berlin one thing leads to another and suddenly you find yourself opening a shop in a brand new concept mall. You have to give the owner Sevil Uguz a lot of credit for really making a big effort to promote local designers the way she does, beside her shops she is also going to host a whole string of runway shows and events during Berlin Fashion Week next week.

But let’s get back to the shops. When the Bikini opened last year so did the first LNFA store that brought together a lot of young labels of different styles. The concept was so successful, probably because there was no other store like this in town, that they opened yet another one right next door with a selection of designers that is a bit more premium than the ones from the first store. A lot of our favorite designers are represented here, including Esther Perbandt, Marina Hoermanseder, Sopopular, Barre Noir, IVANMAN, Vektor, Tata Christiane, DYN and so many more it’s impossible to name them all. During next week’s Berlin Fashion Week there are going to be lots of specials and events where you can meet the designers themselves. Stay tuned to their Facebook page to find out more. After the jump some impressions of both stores as well as the details.

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What Bar Type are you? – A Bar & Cocktail Guide for Berlin

What Bar Type are you? – A Bar & Cocktail Guide for Berlin

Monkey Bar, 25h Hotel

One of the things that’s awesome about Berlin is the fact that it has something for every taste. This applies not just to the art galleries that range from big snobby ones to small playful ones, or the theater culture that has big name actors on huge stages on the one side and experimental pieces in improvised settings on the other. It is also something that you will notice in terms of nightlife. There is basically a party for every type of crowd and for every taste in music. The same goes for the bars and this is something I want to explore today.

What bar type are you? You like the classic ones with the best cocktails in the city? Or are you all about friendly and cosy atmosphere? Or do you like to have an awesome view over the city while sipping on your long drink? In our new comprehensive Bar Guide for Berlin we tried to split up the bar scene of Berlin by different types and give you some recommendation for every taste and occasion.

To save you from having to study the drinks menu for 10 minutes in every bar before you know what to order we consulted the cocktail archive of theBar.com and selected a few suitable drinks for each of our bar types. This website comes in handy when you are looking the right cocktail for you as you can search by occasion, spirit or ingredient and also have a look at the recipes that range from cocktail classics to new trendy drinks. Very practical! But now enjoy our bar and cocktail guide after the jump!

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Berlin Art: Project M/4 Review – Open Air Gallery & Pop-Up Show

Berlin Art: Project M/4 Review – Open Air Gallery & Pop-Up Show

photos: Henrik Haven

Since Saturday Schöneberg’s Bülowstraße offers some real eye candy for lovers of urban art: Urban Nation invited 10 artists from around the globe to utilize the shop windows and facade of a large house that is mostly unoccupied. The result is an outdoor gallery with incredible works by artists like Alexis Diaz (aka La Pandilla), Glenn Barr, Nosego, the Lowbros, Word to Mother, C215 and many more. This is already the forth manifestation of “Project M/”, a temporary art project. And there is even more art to be found just across the street at the Urban Nation office (No. 97): The pop-up show “LAX/TXL” opened on Saturday as well with works of the 11 artists of Project M/4 PLUS a roster of more than 50 additional artists. The exhibition is opened until mid July and also Project M/4 will remain installed until at least then. More information and also the artists at work and their final works can bee adored after the jump! read more…

Indulging in Chocolate in Schöneberg

Indulging in Chocolate in Schöneberg

photo: Gene Glover

Our new guest author Anabel will share her Berlin discoveries with you every once in a while. Follow her stroll through the  concrete jungle.

Around Christmas time this city is known to be almost void of people: most Berliners-by-choice are drawn out of the urban scapes. The few souls remaining can, for once, feel like Will Smith in “I Am Legend.” Without the zombies, of course – but with tons of golden lametta.

“Suddenly the city feels like a small, cozy village,” remarked a friend the other day; she’s a Berliner born and raised. “That’s when, after a year of silence, you call each other and say: Hey, want to get out?” Well, and then? “And then you hop outside and walk through the deserted streets together.”
What a wonderful idea. I’ll do that, too! Berlin – just for myself. But – as usual – I’ll need a mission: With peace of mind I’ll casually stroll along Schöneberg’s secret chocolate mile! Three chocolate stores and me – all by myself. Could there be a nicer Christmas gift to myself? I want to wallow in a thousand tiny colourful chocolate bits!
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