8 Reasons Berlin Is So Cool, It Hurts

You know how they say life is unfair ’cos some people just seem to have it all? Well, Berlin is unfair, ’cos it has it all. It’s a city that gives every ilk of tourist what they want. History buff? Berlin’s got history, in spades. From the time of the 18th Century Prussian Kings to the Nazis and the devastation of the First World War, from the rise and then the storied and triumphant fall of the Berlin Wall, the history is rich, multi-layered, and deliciously unique. For arts and culture aficionados, a popular saying is that there are more museums here than there are rainy days. From the must-see Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe to the classics at Museum Island, and the bizarre Currywurst Museum or the popular Spy Museum (guess there were a lot of spies around here), it’s a treasure trove of culture on display. A big foodie? You’d be surprised that beyond the sausages and beer, Berlin is a gastronomic melting pot with authentic eats from a smorgasbord of different cultures (Turkish, Japanese, Vegan, Fusion — you name it), complete with a thriving street food scene which jostles for attention with Michelin-star restos.

Of course, every city worth its tourist salt has museums and amazing cuisine, but Berlin’s distinctive history has given it a special gritty flavour which can be found nowhere else. It’s evident in the street art (both the commissioned wall murals and the more, um, freestyle and no less interesting graffiti art) and the boho, I’m-cooler-than-you vibe radiating through the streets and people of Berlin. It’s in the underground techno clubs and the way public drinking is just totally legit and a way of life. It’s in Mauerpark and its Sunday flea market and insanely popular open mic karaoke (an absolute must-go — such good vibes!). It’s a city so rich, so unfairly full of everything, that other cities shrug their shoulders in despair. As for us tourists? We are the lucky ones.

Pic: Wall and peace: East Side Gallery is the most popular of the Berlin Wall sites. It’s an open air art gallery where artists have been commissioned to paint murals on what’s left of the Berlin Wall.

Every city has an interesting back story, but Berlin has been blessed, or cursed, depending on how you see it, with multiple layers of history. The 18th Century palaces and battles and the monuments documenting Nazi atrocities are worth the trip already, but by and large, everyone comes to Berlin to see The Great Wall, or rather, the remnants of it. Parts of the Berlin Wall, which divided the city into East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, are scattered throughout the city, and while it’s fun to do your own good wall hunting via guidebooks and Google Map, what really adds a human dimension is getting a guide to literally walk you through it. Art:Berlin conducts insider walking tours and our guide, the youthful-looking Bernd Gutberlet, 51, took this group of Southeast Asian journalists on a traipse through East and West Germany, and what happened the day the Wall came down. Bernd lived in West Berlin and when the Wall was built, he could travel to Communist East Berlin to visit his pals, but they couldn’t do the same without being shot. His fascinating personal anecdotes (“My friend was an East German, and she was a dental assistant back then ’cos she couldn’t study to be a dentist in East Germany. Two weeks after the Wall came down, she applied to study dentistry, and now she is my dentist”) along with historical snippets of the events of 1989 made for an eye-opening and mind-expanding afternoon.

More info about art:Berlin at https://www.artberlin-online.de/en/.

Pic: Not Charlie’s angels: At Checkpoint Charlie, a popular tourist spot, they pretend Berlin is still divided into East and West Berlin, and fake guards will pose with tourists for a fee.

Less colourful than the East Side Gallery and Checkpoint Charlie district is this area near the Berlin Wall Memorial called the Death Strip, where back in the day, you can be shot for venturing too close to the wall. With art:Berlin guide Bernd Gutberlet, who grew up in West Berlin and experienced the fall of the wall, and regaled us with fascinating tales of life before and after the fall.

Even Berliners who live here find the city ever-changing. It’s been almost 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the city is still working on rebuilding and integrating its two halves. East Berlin has Stalinist buildings that look more, well, Communist, which have taken on new life as office buildings or for other uses, while even older pre-war buildings, with some still bearing the marks of war, have been similarly repurposed, sometimes into colourful museums or cafés. Churches and palaces which were bombed have been rebuilt, or are still being rebuilt, and there is construction everywhere you go. Nowhere is the old meets new aesthetic more evident than in the Reichstag, the home of the German parliament. It’s a historical building with origins in the 1890s, which was destroyed in a fire, then bombed during World War II, but which was majestically reconstructed in 1999, complete with an awesomely modern glass dome, which is so popular with visitors for its contemporary shininess and 360-degree views of the cityscape that it’s now the second most visited attraction in Germany (after the Cologne Cathedral), with pre-registration for entry booked up weeks in advance.

Bookings to the Reichstag Dome can be made here: https://www.bundestag.de/en/.

Pic: Rising from the ashes: The Reichstag and its glass dome is one of the most popular tourist sites in Germany.

I only found out that this place was called Haus Schwarzenberg after we stumbled into it by accident. Even when other members of our party asked how to find it after, we could only tell them it was in a small alley near Hackescher Markt. For a place that is so cool, so immensely Instagrammable, so edgy, there is, strangely, very little about it online. Which is part of the beauty of it, I guess. Once you walk in, the alley gives way to a courtyard surrounded by very old buildings exploding with wall murals and posters. The buildings are Nazi-era, which were apparently abandoned, squatted in, graffiti-ed like mad and now, enjoyed by scores of locals and visitors (many of whom seem to have found this place by chance like we have). Take an Instagram or 10, admire the chaotic beauty of the wall art and murals, then grab a drink or a film at Kino Central & Open Air Kino Mitte, an indie open-air cinema which screens indie movies. Sometimes, there are silent movies with live music, which sounds damn awesome.

Rosenthaler Strasse 39, www.kino-central.de.

Pic: Graffiti alley: This courtyard near Hackescher Markt is a must-visit for its colourful murals and gritty boho vibes.

Admire beautiful wall murals such as this one of Anne Frank.

Instagram fiends will find plenty of spots to take pics at here.

A cute story about Tim Raue, a Michelin two-star restaurant in Berlin’s hip Kreuzberg neighbourhood: When we walked into the establishment, a plaque on the wall (actually, it was a repurposed piece of the Berlin Wall, legit) said “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2017 – No. 48.” When we stumbled out, sated, and our hearts, souls and stomachs filled with wonder and Tim Raue’s wasabi langoustine, which is essentially lobster marinated with wasabi mayo, among other amazing treats there’s no point telling you about, ’cos you would just hate me as I got to try them and you didn’t (yet), the number outside the restaurant had changed to “No. 37.” In the span of our meal, we had gone from eating at the 48th best restaurant in the world to the 37th best. How is that for amazing? Even more amazing, Singapore is actually close to chef Tim Raue’s heart — if you haven’t guessed by now, wasabi lougoustine is wasabi prawn, a stable in Chinese restaurants in Singapore. Tim was influenced by a trip to Singapore in the Noughties, and proceeded to create award-winning fusion Asian food. A must-try in Berlin, if you can get a table.

Bookings and more info at https://tim-raue.com/en/.

Pic: Michelin man: Outside Tim Raue, the newly-crowned 37th best restaurant in the world.

Delicate Asian fusion cuisine at the two-Michelin star restaurant.

Pic courtesy of Tim Raue.

Over at Markthaller Neun, or Market Hall Nine, stuffing your face is serious business, especially on Thursdays, when the historic restored market hosts Street Food Thursday from 5 to 10pm. German cheese sandwiches or British pies? Thai dumplings or Mexican tacos? Fresh oysters or vegan tofu burgers? Wine or beer? You’re ridiculously spoilt for choice. To help you make sense of it, go on a food tour with Fork & Walk, where you may meet friendly local Dov Selbyn, who will talk you through the street food stalls, walk you through the gritty streets of Kreuzberg and point out graffiti tags, and perhaps buy you German Schnapps from a convenience stall and encourage you to drink it while walking on the streets (eh, we don’t get to do this in Singapore, so we had to do it, of course).

More info at https://www.visitberlin.de/en/markthalle-neun-market-hall-nine and https://www.forkandwalktoursberlin.com/.

Pic: To market, to market: Street Food Thursday at Markthaller Neun is a Berlin food institution.

Find a seat or walk and eat. It’s all part of the street food experience.

Currywurst is a must-eat in Berlin. Try the popular Curry 36 in Kreuzberg.

And by different perspective, I mean the one where you’re fearing for your life, everyone is driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, and you’re trying not to fall over on a bicycle. I mean, try it. The rush of adrenaline, the wind in your face, the rain in your hair, it will make you feel alive. While trying to stay alive. Kidding. Berlin on Bike, a bike tour company who will take you on all kinds of different bicycle tours around Berlin, know what they’re doing. An experienced guide will take you on the roads (there are dedicated bike lanes and all the drivers are very respectful of cyclists — it’s a form of transport for many Berliners) and through amazing green parks, while making photo stops and regaling you with fascinating anecdotes of life in Berlin. And at the end of it all, you get to cycle on a disused airport runway, take in the views, and marvel at how Berliners have elected not to tear down an old airport as they want to preserve their history and wild open spaces. It’s something that would be unheard of in Singapore. Racing down a tarmac? Worth the aching thighs. One of my best experiences on this trip.

Berlin on Bike, https://berlinonbike.de/en.

Pic: Biker chic: Tired of walking or taking the U-bahn? Explore Berlin on two wheels with Berlin on Bike.

Race on an old airport runway and take amazing pics like this.

On Sundays, Mauerpark, which means Wall Park, as it’s surrounded by part of what’s left of the Berlin Wall, comes alive with a flea market and an uber-popular open mic karaoke, which has evolved into a Berlin institution.

Does beer taste better when you’re on vacation? Probably. Or is it ’cos the Germans invented bier? (Did they?) It’s also due to the fact that if you’re at the right place, the beer is freshly brewed probably like five minutes ago and tastes so zingingly pure, you’d think you’ve died and gone to hops heaven. And the right place is definitely BRLO Brwhouse Kitchen, a creative establishment housed in 38 up-cycled shipping containers which elevates the art of craft beer and food pairing by serving up a food menu which is famed for its — gasp — vegetables. Beer and veggies?! It works, people. But don’t worry, there’s also meat, and it’s also good. Better if you’re there on a night when the German World Cup team won their match (which we were; too bad about the rest of the World Cup, though).

More info at http://www.brlo-brwhouse.de/en/brlo-brwhouse-en/.

Pic: Hello, my bier: Beer tasting at BRLO. Fresh AF.

Innovative vegetable dishes at BRLO Brwhouse Kitchen you never thought would go with beer, but do. Don't worry, the meat dishes are awesome too.

For a pishy-poshy break from the grit and grind of Berlin, take an easy day trip to Potsdam, an hour’s bus ride away. This historic city was spared the worst of the war, and remains genteel, green and much more like the elegant European cities beloved by tourists, meaning there are lots of charming streets, nice churches and of course, a palace. The Sansoucci Palace is the centerpiece of Potsdam, and its name, sans soucci, means without a care. The 12-room summer residence (modest by royal standards) of Frederick the Great, the famed Prussian King Frederick II, is surrounded by cherry trees and grape vines, and is where Old Fred came to drink wine, entertain guests and escape from the pressures of running an empire. Each room is beautifully preserved and a fantastic audio guide will take you back to the days of courtly yore.

Pic: No worries, mate: Sansoucci Palace is a great day trip from Berlin, where you can forget your cares and enjoy nature and a trip into a gilded past.

For more info, go to https://www.visitberlin.de/en/sanssouci-palace and https://www.potsdam-tourism.com.

This trip was made possible by Scoot, Visit Berlin and German National Tourist Board.

We stayed at the Capri by Fraser (highly recommended; check out https://berlin.capribyfraser.com/en). Scoot flies direct to Berlin four times a week, and is the low-cost carrier’s third long-haul destination, after Athens and Honolulu. Prices to Berlin start from $299, one-way.