Brownstoner in Berlin: Part 1
We landed in Berlin this morning at 8 a.m. and, since we couldn’t check into our hotel until noon, went straight to our friends’ apartment in Mitte off Prenzlauer Allee. It’s in a traditional six-story stucco-style building with wide floor planks and beautiful plaster ceiling moldings. The place has six large rooms off a central…
We landed in Berlin this morning at 8 a.m. and, since we couldn’t check into our hotel until noon, went straight to our friends’ apartment in Mitte off Prenzlauer Allee. It’s in a traditional six-story stucco-style building with wide floor planks and beautiful plaster ceiling moldings. The place has six large rooms off a central hallway with ten-foot ceilings for a total of, we’d guess, about 1,200 square feet. The rent? 675 euros. We’d appreciate recommendations for neighborhoods for us to explore over the next couple of days. Ideas? GMAP
Mein Gott, the man lands this morning in a city he’s never been in, makes a couple of observations on his blog, and people are upset that he isn’t up to date on his geopolitics. Some of you expect an awful lot from people.
We definietly welcome you to the stuy. you’ll get alot of space without soending alot of cheese
German unemployment rate is still 8.8 percent, on AVERAGE, and yes Berlin has one of the highest rates in Germany
. Of the companies listed in Germany’s benchmark DAX stock index not one is based in Berlin.
“Cheap rent: yes, and Berlin also has a huge unemployment problem and no industries to speak of. That means there’s a great expat scene of people marveling about the cheap rents, which creates a nice mix in the city.”
I think you are out of date.
“The sharp fall in German unemployment brought the number of jobseekers who have found work in the past year close to 1m, highlighting the robustness of growth in Europe’s largest economy, even as uncertainty about the US outlook increases.”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/675dde32-ddd3-11db-afa7-000b5df10621.html
How comforting it must be to assume new york is the only city that has things right.
Such beautiful windows/doors.
All of Mitte is very amenable and you could comfortably never leave and have a really nice time. But if you do wanna move out in wider circles,
Bergmann kiez (in Kreuzberg) is nice, as is Akazienstrasse in Schoeneberg. In VolksPark Friedrichshain there’s a nice beer garden and next door a nicer restaurant with a nice terrace (if it ever stops raining).
Also, drive down Karl Marx Allee: The Stalinist apartment blocks are something to see. (Less impressive inside though). Then turn right and swing through Boxhagener Platz to be reminded of Thompson Square Park. Take Warschauer strasse over the Oberbaum Brucke – which is a beautiful piece of masonry. Go to one of the ‘Beach Bars’ lining the Spree. Again, if it ever f’ing stops raining.
Another not terrible idea (it’ll take a little more than an hour) is to take the ‘Ring’ S-bahn all the way around.
Charlottenburg is like the upper east side and unless that is where you want to be, good to pass through – just so you can see it. The ‘Paris Bar’ might remind you of Odeon if you were at the Odeon in the early 90’s (and Odeon were smaller).
And going out to the lakes, and/or Potsdamm is a nice way to spend a day.
Eat schrippen, drink Berliner Kindl from the tap. Eat a Currywurst from ’61’ on Mehringdamm in Kreuzberg.
i didn’t intend a double post, I only hit the ‘post’ button once. Honest.
10:03:
Cheap rent: yes, and Berlin also has a huge unemployment problem and no industries to speak of. That means there’s a great expat scene of people marveling about the cheap rents, which creates a nice mix in the city.
Not everything was bombed. It’s just that in East Berlin the commies didn’t destroy everything in the name of modernization. like West Berlin did.
kreuzberg is cool as is prenzlauer berg. tiergarten is nice too.
I heard the weather wasn’t great right now, but if it gets sunny, explore one of the lakes outside of the city where people swim and hang out, or just park yourself on some nice terrace somewhere, where the Alte Schoenhauser Allee turns into something else north of a big intersection. You’ll find beautiful brick buildings anywhere in Mitte, but if you walk towards the Sophiesaele (Sophienstraße 18, 10178 Berlin-Mitte) alternative film theater and workshop spaces) you’ll find a lot of great Art Nouveau brickwork and terracotta details. Have fun and do the European, properly- enjoying-your-vacation thing, without checking back with Brooklyn too much.