You Can Get a Rapid Corona Test at KitKatClub Starting this Week

You Can Get a Rapid Corona Test at KitKatClub Starting this Week

photo: KitKatClub. 

According to a Facebook and Instagram post, the legendary Berlin fetish club KitKat will be offering rapid corona tests starting this Friday the 4th of December for only 25 euros. Rapid corona tests are basically impossible to get in Berlin and COVID tests usually cost around 150 euros. In line with the club’s hedonistic reputation, the post asked guests to “come naked and wild,” but quickly amended that admitting that although it would be funny, a line of naked people around the block would probably lead to legal action against the club because of suspected illegal parties. The post indicated that KitKat thought rapid tests would be extremely important for the reopening of nightlife despite a vaccine on the horizon. All the tests will be administered by medical professionals.

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Berlin Autumn Dreams: A Walk in the English Garden at Tiergarten

Berlin Autumn Dreams: A Walk in the English Garden at Tiergarten

Would you believe that even after 20 years in a city you would still be able to discover something you’ve never seen before? I am very confident in my knowledge about Berlin, but this weekend I was again surprised to stumble onto something that has always been there, but I never came by nor heard of it. I’m talking about the English Garden in Tiergarten. I know this park is very big and there are probably many things in it, that many of you might not have discovered yet, but I’ve been there so many times, how on earth did I miss this incredibly charming garden?

I’m glad that I discovered it now, with the beautiful colors of Autumn making it look even more magical. I think I haven’t been to an enchanting place like that in quite some time! It felt almost like in a completely different part of the world. And there are a few things to find there: A cafe and restaurant called Teehaus that looks quite nice, a classical flower garden, a part that looks a bit like a botanical garden with lots of different bushes and plants, a big pond with a mystical weeping willow tree.

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11 Exciting New Restaurants in Berlin to Try Out This Year

11 Exciting New Restaurants in Berlin to Try Out This Year

KINK. photo: Robert Rieger. 

An annual selection of new restaurant openings is a staple of iHeartBerlin. Unsurprisingly, this year our list is a bit delayed and doesn’t showcase quite as many places as usual. But even in spite of all the challenges brought on by the pandemic, there are some new restaurant openings to celebrate and support. 

Every single one of the eleven restaurants listed below offers something different. You’ll find such diverse offerings as Nepalese dumplings, Neapolitan pizza, Vietnamese rice porridge, or Swedish meatballs, along with many vegan versions available! Most of the places are relatively affordable, but make no mistake: those looking to elevate their restaurant experience should not be disappointed. 

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Dancing Without Clubs: Where Berlin Ravers Party Without the Clubs

Dancing Without Clubs: Where Berlin Ravers Party Without the Clubs

The clubs of Berlin have reopened with new, Corona-friendly daytime concepts but one key element is missing: dancing. This has forced Berliners to deconstruct the idea of clubbing and ask themselves what they were searching for in clubs before and where they can find it now.

At the risk of stating the obvious, dancing is a big part of club culture. It is fun, it is a way to enjoy the music, and it is refreshing not to sit straight and hold a conversation all the time while being intoxicated. Consequently, the lockdown gave new life to the recently somewhat neglected illegal rave culture. The second part of this series investigates the illegal, private, and spontaneous dance parties that have been popping up all over the city and the controversies surrounding them.

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Clubs without Dancing: What Berlin’s Clubs are Doing Without Raves

Clubs without Dancing: What Berlin’s Clubs are Doing Without Raves

Halle, photo: Roman März.

There are many other reasons to come to Berlin apart from the clubs but they are definitely among the most popular ones. Techno has its roots in Detroit and the Afrofuturism movement but both the name and the current widespread popularity have to do with what it evolved into in Berlin.

While these parties are still relatively underground in many cities, Berlin has embraced rave culture and built a special relationship with its clubs and their audience. Berghain has already secured legal status as a cultural institution, and other clubs are fighting for the same. Club tourists are also valued by the city’s government as a major contribution to the economy.

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The 6 Absolute Favorite Lakes Around Berlin

The 6 Absolute Favorite Lakes Around Berlin

For me, the success of the Berlin summer is measured by the number of lake visits that I managed. I’ve come to learn to take immediate advantage of good weather no matter if I have time or not, because you never know how many good lake days you gonna get. This year has been not great. Not been to the lake at all. So I have a lot of catching up to do in the remaining weeks of the summer. Let’s hope for some good weather, right?

We already published a big lake guide a while ago which you can find here. For this year we decided to make a smaller, updated version for you guys that reflects a bit more which lakes we personally actually frequent. Enjoy!

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Dreaming in Quarantine: Wilden Renate’s Overmorrow Installation

Dreaming in Quarantine: Wilden Renate’s Overmorrow Installation

Wilden Renate’s Overmorrow is an immersive walkthrough art experience created by over 40 artists, from well-known collectives like Bad Bruises and TrashEra to newcomers. The installations, performances, and exhibitions occupy most of the indoor spaces of Wilde Renate, and offer about 1 hour of exploration in dark, morphing spaces.

The audience enters in groups of two, with 5-minute intervals, which is about the time allocated to each room, and makes their way through the 17 interwoven “Positions.” The Positions range from exhibitions of oil paintings through interactive installations to performances, and are loosely tied together by the themes of isolation and future. They often overlap, reflect on each other, and can be seen or heard in advance, which adds to the dreamlike nature of the journey.

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A Tel Aviv Double Pack in Berlin: Shani and her Restaurants Yafo & Shishi

A Tel Aviv Double Pack in Berlin: Shani and her Restaurants Yafo & Shishi

photos: Roger Sabaté.

One of the most rewarding parts of running iHeartBerlin is getting to know some of the most interesting people in Berlin. Throughout the years I was able to connect and make friends with talented designers, musicians, artists, as well as entrepreneurs, event makers and creative people with fantastic projects. They all contributed greatly to what makes iHeartBerlin unique and inspiring to so many others. And I am glad to be able to support them with my platform and connect them with collaborators and audiences.

For our interview series iHeartBerliner we sat together with one of those inspiring people of Berlin: Shani Ahiel, owner of Shishi and Yafo. We talked with her about running two restaurants in a male-dominated gastronomic scene, about life in Berlin as an Israeli and so much more. Shani shared with us her experience of building up a business in a foreign city, how life here feels like compared to Tel Aviv and what interesting encounters she made because of her restaurants. Enjoy the video below!

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Dose of Pleasure: Raving and Dancing at a Safe Distance Tempelhofer Feld

Dose of Pleasure: Raving and Dancing at a Safe Distance Tempelhofer Feld

Summer is slowly awakening Berlin from the long winter sleep and many people miss the long nights out with their friends in their favorite clubs. While many clubs are now proposing outdoor beer garden concepts, this might not be the perfect solution for the passionate raver and dancer among us. 

It’s not a surprise that the amount of illegal raves at Hasenheide and in the forests surrounding the city has increased dramatically over the last weeks. Many might not feel comfortable with the idea of throwing themselves into a big crowd of strangers. Others can’t suppress their desire anymore for a night out with music and dancing. It feels a bit twisted that something so natural like dancing together has to be postponed to an unknown future. Yet the Pandemic is not over and the international development of numbers shows that the world is still in a fragile state. 

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