cities i mention in the east: kreuzberg, prenzlauerberg, fredrickshain, waschauer, neuekolln,
cities i mention in the west: charlottenburg, wilmersdorf, schoneburg
first things first, “everything’s closed on sundays.”
No shops are open. But don’t fret, because Sunday is also flea market day. and Berlin’s Mauer Park is the place to be. They have everything there form amazing raw german honey, to bastard spicy sauce, vintage polaroid cameras, and even old school adidas sweaters. Best time to go is mid-morning to noon.
After filling your tote bags with cheap goods, plenty of cafes and brunch spots are fully alive on this ‘day of rest and relaxation.’ If a cafe/spot is marked with a ✿, it means it’s open on Sundays!
chill, grab a drink, spots
Café Cinema ✿, a really trully raw Berlin spot in the heart of Mitte/Hackescher Markt (my favorite neighborhood). A great place to grab a beer or a coffee with your friend to just chill and talk.
COMEBUY ✿, the best boba in Berlin. If you’re like me, with crazy high standards, then you might be a little disappointed, but it still hits the spot when you’re craving some of that milk tea. (I actually highly recommend the rose tea with basil seeds and aiyu jelly—super refreshing). There are locations in Mitte and Ku’Dam
Siedel & Nothaft Café ✿, a really cute spot close to Mauer Park, in Prenzlauerberg, they have great coffee and a killer spinach loaf cafe. The interior is really random, and feels like a crossover of millennial pink vibes but with the rawness of Berlin.
Cafe Dich Guchlich ✿, a fun spot that’s also by in Prenzlauerberg, with killer waffles! They have beautiful outdoor seating that’s perfect for some nice desert to just chit chat about life. I love their bourbon vanilla ice cream on a home made waffel, and their chocolate syrup is also home made so I highly recommend that as well!
THE BARN Cafe ✿, has multiple locations all over Berlin! It’s a chain of “third wave coffee” really similar to the coffee trend back home in California. Their coffee is great and they have a pretty bomb egg tart.
KlunkerKranich ✿, a beautiful rooftop biergarten in Neuekölln I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE. It’s the favorite spot of everyone on this trip with me. It’s got a beautiful view, affordable drinks, and just has a really great down to earth vibe.
kame Japanese Bakery, if you’ve seen my instagram at all you’ll recognize this place. They have killer matcha deserts! Matcha Tiramisu, Matcha French Toast, Matcha Cheesecake, and their most popular, Matcha Brownie. If you’re in a big group I’d had everyone order one of each and just taste all of them!!! so gooooDDDD!!!! Sadly not open on Sundays :( In the Charlottenburg/Wilmersdorf Area.
Jone’s Ice Cream ✿, my favorite ice cream spot in berlin. reminds me a lot of carmela or salt and straw (my loooves). they roll their own cones!!!! WHOOOO. highly recommend the cheesecake and matcha :) this is in Schoneburg!
Five Elephant Mitte, a really cute cafe in Mitte with great coffee and a NY cheesecake that I cannot stop thing about it was so good someone help me. ! ! ! !
FOOD
Burgermeister is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. And it’s probably one of the few good meals I’ve had here in Berlin. My favorite location is under the train in the far side of Kreuzberg. The mushroom burger is insane and the chili cheese fries are killer.
Wursterei is my favorite place to get the Berlin-famous-snack, currywurst! It always looks like Curry36 (it’s neighbor) is more poppin, but trust me this place is better. Ask for grilled onions and order with fries and eat at their outdoor eating. It’s so chill and so easy.
Schitzelei, is classic german food serving what they sound like, Schnitzel. When you order, make sure to ask for jam! It’s really amazing with the veal.
Angry Chicken ✿, if you’re from LA traveling Europe, you most probably miss korean fried chicken (or at least i do), and thank sweet baby hesus!!! Angry chicken serves crazy good korean wings and hope baked sweet potato chips along with it! It’s right in the heart of Kreuzberg.
Jules Verne, I had the best cheese plate of my life here. The service is great and it’s a lil on the boujee side but it’s probably one of my favorite spots in Berlin! Their bouillabaisse is soooo good, and also the lamb plate was delicious!!!!
House of Small Wonder ✿, a nice lil brunch spot that came from brooklyn! japanese food with a western approach. great food great vibes <3
A Never Ending Love Story ✿, a really great place to get a socal inspired breakfast! they have a really really good french toast (i think i’m going to eat that tomorrow morning because it was so good hmmmmmhmhmhm) and their scrambled eggs (any of them) are great! Right off Kanstraße in Charlottenburg.
Shiso Burger, fusion burgers with an strong korean influence. their fries are soo good, and i highly recommend the bugolgi burger! really great despite small portions :) This is in Mitte!
Coco Ramen ✿, the best ramen spot in Berlin! The tonkatsu is classic, and they do a pretty good job of it. They’re owned by their neighbor, KUCHI, which is a japanese sushi boutique. There’s usually a line of you go around peak hours, so if you really wanna try this place go at a weird time like 3-6pm :) I prefer the one in MItte :)
Restaurant Pasternak ✿, sunday brunch only!! also really close to mauer park, so it’s a perfect day plan!! Russian styled all you can eat brunch with a beautiful outdoor setting, half a block away from my favorite park in Prenzlauerberg!
Arirang ✿, the worst service ever tbh, but the korean food here is as good as it gets for Berlin, and it’s really close to a lot of other asian eats on Kanstraße in Charlottenburg!
Good Friends, as good as chinese food gets in Berlin. It’s the best one here. Definitely nothing compared to home (The SGV), but it hits the spot when you crave some dim sum or plum honey short rib. mmmhmmm this is in Charlottenburg where there are many good asian spots :)
Lon Mens Noodle House, another spot in Charlottenburg with pretty authentic asian food! This place specialized in Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup <3 ____<3
Crazy Bastard Sauce! Is a restaurant pop up in Neuekölln that served chicken and duck burgers to showcase the companies famous sauces! If you don’t have the energy to find the burgers, they have a stand at Mauer Park to try and purchase their famous dips!
Monsieur Vuong, one of the best Vietnamese spots in Berlin. Kinda on the boujee side and also the flavors are more from the Northern part of Vietnam (there are lots of great viet places in berlin, the are the majority population of asians especially on the east).
SSSShops!!! There are definitely a few shops that I feel are so special to berlin, i highly recommend stopping by these for some cute purchases!
Tukadu, my new favorite jewelery shop in this whole entire world!! They have an insane collection of beads, puffs, trinkets, EVERYTHING, and you cn customize your own necklaces, keychains, or earrings and they make it for you! Also their premade options are also super dope!!! In Mitte/ Hackescher Mart area :)
Carhartt WIP, carhartt is a US workwear brand, but a few years ago started a streetwear brand called carhart Work In Progress! Their stuff is really great, and they have huge s
Carhartt WIP, carhartt is a US workwear brand, but a few years ago started a streetwear brand called carhart Work In Progress! Their stuff is really great, and they have huge sales every summer! Berlin is the only city with womens options! There’s a womens and a mens shop in Mitte! There’s also a combined store in Bikini Berlin
Bikini Berlin, really artsy cute store which is actually part of my studio! There are some super cool shops in there like Artek, or Promobo! They also have a KILLER dark chocolate sorbeto at Spirit Coffee, and it’s really nice to grab a cone and sit by the window to watch the monkeys! (It’s right next to the zoo). They also have a great natural foods kiosk there, called FunkYou, and their stuff is great too!
Do You Read Me?! My favorite book store here in Berlin! Ridiculously great selection of books! In the heart of Mitte <3
Pro Qm is just like Do You Read Me, but a little bigger, also a great selection! This one is off Rosa-Luxemboug
Memorials/Museums
Neues Museum/Museum Island, my god the architecture in here is insane!!! It’s a beautiful museum, and could take hours to really go through. If you don’t have time, I’d still just walk around Museum Island :) Right across from Hackesher Makt!
Spy Museum, right in Potsdammer Platz, lets you experience some of the paranoia from the DDR when the walls were still up. There are some crazy cool experiences about spy gadgets and it’s easy to feel like you’re in a movie!
Museum of Kommunication, this museum of communication is really really fun! There’s lot of activities and so much history o__o it’s insane!
Jewish Museum Berlin, coming here was part of a class, but I would have come anyway. There are some really insane spaces in there that just move you in ways I can’t explain. Highly recommend this.
Berlin Wall Memorial, a beautiful place to learn about the reality of the wall that split Germany. There’s a lot of information about tunnels, people, security and more! If you want to see more wall, and the street art that’s been done on it, I would look at if in Waschauer (Across from the Mercedez Benz Arena). The painting on those walls are very well known an protected!
C/O Berlin, they always have great photography exhibitions going on. Joseph Koudelka is showing right now and he is !!! amaze !!! Right across from the Museum of Fotographie.
Museum of Fotographie, really huge amazing photography museum! Highly recommend is. It’s right next to the Zoologischer Garten :)
DA CLUBS
So clubbing/events/going out in Berlin is pretty different from the usual typical night life everywhere else. Here in Berlin, parties don’t really start ‘till 1AM. and they usually don’t end ‘till around 7-11AM. Also if your friend group is more than two people, make sure to split up. It’s harder to get into places if it’s more than 2-3 of you at once. Berliners are weird. Also don’t wear heals and vegas clothing, Berliners hate that.
Club Der Visioänre, is one of my favorite spots to hear some good beats while getting a drink by the water with in a really cool environment. It’s really easy to get in. It’s really great to just chill, talk, meet people, and watch the sun come up. :)
Suicide Circus, one of the more cool Techno spots here in Berlin. Not too hard to get into, Make sure you know who’s playing. It’s a really great space with into dancefloor with one headliner, and the other headliner place outside under the trees for you to watch the sun rise.
Prince Charles, MY FAVORITE VENUE, i super love this spot because the bar is in an ex-swimming poor which is just such a cool vibe with an intimate dancing area! Also I got to see 143′s first European event with sosupersam so it was DOPEEEEE. In the ever so cool, Kreuzberg behind my favorite supply store, Modulor!
Some other cool ones I haven’t been to but heard a lot about were Sisyphos, Watergate, and of course the famous Berghain, Tresor,
other great spots
Teufelzberg, if you love grafitti, you have to come here. The work done on these old buildings are insane. I highly recommend booking a tour, because there’s just so much information and art to take in. Also it’s the tallest point in Berlin, even though it artificial.
Tempelhof, the very famous Berlin Airport! I highly recommend taking a tour here because of it’s ridiculous amount of history. This Airport played large role in keeping Berliners going during the cold war. Also this building SCREAMS hitler, and 3rd reich, and it’s great to learn about. If you don’t have time for the tour, visit the park! :) It’s also beautiful. Also german refugees are staying in camps there.
Monbijou Park, Beautiful park across from Museum Island, perfect for grabbing a cold club mater and chilling around.
Wasserturm. probably the most precious piece of land i’ve encountered here in Berlin. It’s a hidden park that also it’s also kinda like a lil hill? It’s hidden behind the trees that surround it, but it’s the perfect palce to pick up a doner kebab or durum, and just snack on it while watching locals walk their dogs. it’s beautiful :)
