Berlin Keeps It Cool For Summer

I was excited to put my watch in a tray.

After not being able to book a flight and stand in a security queue for two years with confidence, I’m not ashamed to admit that the thought of a lukewarm meal in an airport restaurant filled me with glee. “Don't make us look bad, boys!” warned one of the cabin crew as I stepped off the plane. Initially taken aback, I realised that he’d just seen us enjoy a healthy amount of bottled Aperol Spritz on the flight, so his comment was fair given the circumstances.

Passport stamped, the first time getting it stamped going into the EU for me, Berlin was mine again and I was instantly annoyed. I had purchased one travel ticket for £8.80 that would get me from the airport to my hotel using any means of public transport I wanted to. Train, tram, bus, subway, jumping on the bonnet of a car, asking a tall stranger for a piggyback. All of these were all covered by my A+B Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe ticket. Trying to do the equivalent from any UK airport would be nowhere near as cheap or easy. Indeed, some airports at home are so keen for you to flush your finances into their duty-free counters that you actually cannot leave the airport when you land, you just walk around the check-in desks for a fortnight hoping you get a tan off of the Easy Jet logos.

In the city, late dinner with beer at Restauration 1840 hit the spot perfectly after our journey. It’s at this point I need to declare that I don’t drink beer or at least I didn’t, but the idea of having a Brezel Burger - Pretzel bun with Leberkäs, sweet mustard, Sauerkraut, fried onions, gherkin & fried egg, served with sweet potato fries with ketchup & mayonnaise - without a frothy beer the weight of a two year old was a world I just didn’t want to live in.

“It tastes like mouthwash.”

The smell of the city at night was filled with fresh kebab meat and cigarette smoke from people outside their local spätis, the shops that truely rule this place at night. Before a late night kebab is acceptable, it’s customary to find a bar with clientele much cooler than you could ever be. A quick glance down an alley off Rosenthaler Str reveals orange and yellow fabric fluttering in the night breeze, strips of film hanging from string next to walls covered in cinematic graffiti and a general vibe that says ‘this is far too cool for you Christopher’. Café Cinema is ideal for late night drinks and sampling some Berlin Air, literally. Berliner Luft is a popular peppermint schnapps that the bar staff recommended. I enquired what drink a visitor to the city should try and was pleased to be told ‘Berliner Luft'. Some people think it tastes like mouthwash but I think it's refreshing.

A full day of exploring the traditional touristy aspects of Berlin is still really fulfilling, this wasn’t my first time in the city but I was traveling with someone who’d never been before. From the Brandenburg Gate to Checkpoint Charlie. The DDR Museum and the Topography of Terror there’s a fully rounded daytime experience to be had in the city, My one tip about the DDR Museum would be to avoid going at peak time as it’s very popular with school groups and if there are a few groups in you’ll struggle to get a picture in the front seat of the The Trabant.

A view of communist Berlin from the The DDR Museum

Of the bigger sights, notable mentions go to the famous Berlin TV tower and Berlin Cathedral. As someone who spends a lot of time in Edinburgh, I know a lot about overpriced tourist traps, (While I'm here, if you’re looking to travel and spend a lot of money on an inaccurate Harry Potter tour #VisitEdinburgh). The TV tower can be a great experience, but on the day tickets are expensive. So, if you want to see the city from over 300m in the air, book in advance and always check if there are any offers on. For example, you can get 60% off if you visit in July.

A moment please, for the soft pretzel.

Something sadly lacking in Glasgow is the availability and abundance of soft pretzels in many forms. Scottish cuisine is catching wind however and slowly establishments are upgrading our burgers and hotdogs with pretzel buns. An act that for me can elevate a burger van quarter pounder to something transubstasied in order to praise our Lord. Now, I don’t want to tie myself in knots about this, but they’re everywhere in Berlin, as a chaser to a stein of beer, served filled with Schinken und Käse, or infused with rosemary. They're a flavourful experience that kept me going on the long sunny days walking around the streets of the city.

Aside from pretzel and kebab you can also find brunch in abundance as well as coffee, not just coffee but COFFEE. This hipster paradise is renowned for its coffee shops filled with cool people on laptops working away, while a cooler person makes them a coffee so perfect you’d feel bad for drinking it. St. Oberholz is a coffee shop and co-working space that takes up a few locations across the city and was a good stop before starting a day wandering around the city.

Since 2015, Father Carpenter has been the envy of the breakfast places in Berlin and it keeps its quality and customer service high. The Australian inspired venue has a terrace in the beautiful Blue Yard Hinterhof, perfect for summer mornings. The seasonal menu is creative and the coffee is regarded among the best in the city. The Benedict - w Pulled Pork, Chipotle, Poached Eggs, Hollandaise, Apple, Coriander on Sourdough Toast - was inspired.

“On a Tuesday!?”

You’re not stuck for queer spaces in this city, and long may that continue. Regardless of your flavour of queer or non-conformong, you’ll probably find a spot for you. Among others, this trip took me to the pink velvet lined walls of Rose's Bar in Kreuzberg. The quirky 80’s vibe was relaxed and the drinks poured with fun in mind. We asked the heavy handed (with the spirits that is) staff if they could recommend a club to go to once we were finished here and were met with “On a Tuesday!? Phew…” This was an encouraging sign.

Mulackstrasse is a an unassuming street at night but behind a set of imposing double doors is Betty F***, one of Mitte’s few remaing gay bars. This is an area where, over a century ago during the Wilhelmine period, the homosexuals of the time would meet in the bars and cafes and it’s also the home of The Schwules Museum, the world's first gay museum, dedicated to the history of the gay rights movement in Germany and gay topics in general, covering more than 200 years of history.

Kaleidoscopic, Berlin stays among the top tier of international destinations.

Photo by Leon Seibert on Unsplash