Online - November 06, 2004

Willkommen, Bienvenue, Stranger

DailyCandy Goes to Berlin

You’ve done Paris. Done Italy (city and country). What next for the wanderlust-stricken? Berlin, baby! Here, ten excellent reasons to go.

1. The Reconstruction Show: The big-shot architects of the world are having a field day tearing up the town. Most impressive? Norman Foster’s Reichstag Dome, Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum, and Debis-Haus’s Daimler Chrysler Building in Renzo Piano’s Potsdamer Platz.

2. Vespa-Friendly Traffic: Scooters rule the streets. Rent one and zip around like the locals.

3. Really Cheap Beer: Hey, you’re in Germany, where the imports are domestics. Becks and Hefeweizen are only about three or four bucks. Throw a few back in the hip Eastern Berlin nabes. Cozy up to the bar at the Prater Biergarten (Kastanienalle 7-9) in Prenzlauer Berg and don’t miss the Astro Bar in Friedrichschain.

4. Better Food Than You’d Expect: Go to Margaux (Unter den Linden 78) for fancy (wines, avant-garde French). Go to Pan Asia (Rosenthaler Strasse 38) for scene. Cure all late-night munchies at the ubiquitous doner kebab stands. (Don’t ask. Just eat. And don’t call us in the morning.)

5. Ostalgie: Nostalgia for the bad old days of Eastern Germany is showing up in films, art shows, and shops. See the ultimate GDR spot, the Palace of the Republic, before it’s torn down to re-create the Kaiser’s kingdom.

6. H&M in Potsdamer Platz’s Arkaden Mall: Yeah, yeah. We know. Who doesn’t have an H&M? But the one in Potsdamer Platz has a much, much better selection than its American counterparts.

7. Mitte Art Galleries: This neighborhood traded squatters for yuppies but remains an art mecca. Galleries line the first and second floors along Auguststrasse, but DNA Gallery and Kunst-Werke (whose courtyard is home to the great Cafe Bravo) are not to be missed.

8. Charm, Now and Then: Can’t swing a room at the old-fashioned Adlon or the swank Grand Hyatt (yes, really)? Stay at the mod Art’otel in Mitte.

9. Telecafe in the Alexanderplatz TV Tower: East Berlin’s most famous landmark is well worth the seven-euro fee for the outstanding views, if not the whiff of communist service and ambience.

10. Quiet Corners: There’s no cityscape more stunning than the intersection of Ludwigskirche Strasse and Fasanen Strasse in leafy West Berlin. Find a cozy café or just find a charming bench.

Now soak it all in. ‘Cause you’ll be going home sooner than you know it.

  Big Cities, Charmer, Foodies, Scenesters