Concert in a former crematorium
In the popular district of Wedding (north of Berlin), Silent Green is a haven of peace. A flowered alley leads to the left to an old cemetery, to the right to artists’ studios, and straight to a former crematorium which has become a popular cultural place for Berliners! Under the octagonal dome of the funeral home, the acoustics are exceptional.
People come to listen to a concert after eating in the adjoining café or in the garden adjoining the cemetery. In particular, families of Russian exiles cremated at the crematorium are buried there, just like the first victim of the Berlin Wall, Ida Siekmann.
PHOTO ANNE PÉLOUAS, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
You can admire Art Nouveau style buildings in the Wedding district.
On a guided bicycle tour with Art Berlin, you can further explore the Wedding district, with its contrasting architecture: Art Nouveau building with beautiful ceramic bricks in Pankstrasse; Luisenbad library, in former 18th century public bathse century ; dance workshops at UFER Studios where Berlin’s first trams were repaired; imposing district court, dating from 1890…
Visit the Silent Green website (in English)
Visit the Art Berlin website (in English)
Moving “Palace of Tears”
PHOTO ANNE PÉLOUAS, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The Tränenpalast Museum
Berlin is renowned for its many exceptional museum institutions, the main ones of which are grouped together on “Museum Island”, in the central Mitte district. A little away from its big brothers, the Tränenpalast museum (the Palace of Tears) occupies, near the Friedrichstrasse station and the Spree river, a building from the 1960s which was the border post for controlling the crossings of the GDR towards West Berlin at the time of the Berlin Wall.
The permanent and free exhibition – Experiences at the borders: the daily life of the division of Germany – reveals numerous testimonies, archive documents (photos, films, etc.) and some 600 objects telling the detailed story of the life of East Berliners at the time when the wall was erected. It also presents spy reports written by agents of the Stasi (East German State Security).
Visit the Tränenpalast museum website (in English)
Sleeping in a prison
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PHOTO MARKUS GRÖTEKE/ARCHITECTURESH, PROVIDED BY HOTEL WILMINA
The entrance to the Wilmina Hotel
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PHOTO PATRICIA PARINEJAD, PROVIDED BY HOTEL WILMINA
The heavy steel doors have been preserved.
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PHOTO ROBERT RIEGER, PROVIDED BY THE WILMINA HOTEL
Bright rooms replace the old cells.
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In Kantstrasse, in the Charlottenburg district (west of Berlin), a discreet entrance opens onto a historical treasure: a complex comprising a court and a women’s prison, transformed into a charming hotel. A member of Design Hotels, the Wilmina Hotel Berlin exudes tranquility just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of the city. At the end of an abundantly flowered courtyard stands a listed building from the 19the century, in red bricks and with barred windows.
Inside, 44 rooms and suites have replaced the cells whose heavy steel doors the architects have retained. This legacy of their dark past is balanced by the openness, in the rooms as in the corridors and the loungespaces where natural light enters in full.
The old court has become a cultural place. There is also the Lovis restaurant, where chef Sophia Rudolph, standard-bearer of contemporary and gourmet German cuisine, serves.
Visit the Wilmina Hotel Berlin website (in English)
Karaoke at Mauerpark
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PHOTO CHRIS MARTIN, PROVIDED BY VISIT BERLIN
The Mauerpark
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY VISIT BERLIN
The Mauerpark flea market on Sundays
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On Sundays, many stores are closed in Berlin. To find some excitement, go by tram or bike to the north-east of the city, in the Prenzlauerberg district. The Mauerpark is known for still housing a piece of the Berlin Wall, the concrete of which is skillfully tagged.
On Sunday, there is a gigantic flea market where Berliners of all origins rub shoulders with tourists navigating between the aisles lined with stalls selling used clothing, antiques and crafts, not to mention the street food vendors. Throughout the summer, people flock to the park’s open-air amphitheater on Sunday mornings. Its rather bohemian and friendly atmosphere is enhanced by the karaoke show that is presented there and in which everyone who likes to sing can participate. Even the wrong notes are applauded by the audience!
Street food and art
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY VISIT BERLIN
The Buergermeister is installed… in old public toilets!
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY VISIT BERLIN
The vegan donuts at Brammibal’s Donuts are worth the detour.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY VISIT BERLIN
Cafe Bonanza
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In the “street food” series, this address in the Friedrichshain district (east of Berlin) surprises us at first glance. Former public toilets, attractively painted green and listed as a historic monument, house the Burgermeister fast food establishment near the Schlesisches Tor metro station. We eat outside!
PHOTO JOSEFINE KÖHN-HASKINS, PROVIDED BY VISIT BERLIN
During your walks, you can admire impressive works of street art.
Further east, in the most Turkish district of Berlin, some may prefer an appetizing kebab, in a crusty bread well garnished with chicken, salad and tomatoes. As you take a walk, decorated with large street art murals, you can then stop at the Bonanza Cafe, a friendly roasting house frequented by locals, in Adalbertstrasse. Sweet tooths will head to the Landwehr Canal to order a decadent (and vegan) dessert or two from Brammibal’s Donuts on Maybachufer Street.
Visit the Fork and Walk Tours Berlin website (in English)
Visit the Visit Berlin website (in English)
Part of the costs for this report were paid by the German National Tourist Office and Visit Berlin, who had no control over its content.