Aaaand Action!

The next five blog post will be revealing, how you can upgrade your movie night. First of all, Törtchen - Made in Berlin will give you recipes for 5 snacks and I additionally will give you my Top 5 films for the perfect movie night.

As I am blogging about Berlin and publishing travel guides named BertaBerlin, I will only select movies which were filmed in Berlin. To create a arc of suspense, I will start from the very end of my Top 5.

Berlin is always one of the best gay travelers’ destination, but it’s not always easy to find the queer pulse in the German capital. Luckily travel writer Berta Heide (me) and Adam Groffman from TravelsofAdam.com did publish a very effective and easy-to-use QueerBerlin map. And here I give you 11 queer lovely spots in Berlin.

Other Nature

Self-described as a “feminist, queer-oriented, eco-friendly, vegan sex shop” Other Nature is a friendly and approachable sex shop with a variety of products. Stop in to browse their LGBT library (they also sell the QueerBerlin map) and take advantage of their free tea.

BERLIN, GERMANY — In advance of Berlin’s annual gay pride march (Christopher Street Day), award-winning gay travel writer Adam Groffman from TravelsofAdam.com and travel guide publisher Berta Luise Heide from walk-this-way.net published a QueerBerlin map. The travel guide (retail price: 5€) features recommended LGBT-friendly museums, shops, sights, restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs and more.

One of the best things about studying in the Full Stack Web Development program at SPICED Academy is its location, Berlin. There’s something for everyone in this big, beautiful city and to tell us all about it, SPICED recently invited Berta to conduct an interactive Intro to Berlin workshop for their brand new cohort of international students!

The workshop started with an interactive exercise on "what is a popular stereotype of Germany or your own country?". It was fun to listen to different perspectives from students and also learn a something about where they’re from.

When you read my blog you might assume that I studied gastronomy rather than philosophy. I know. But recently I visited the exhibition of Bernd Kolb, which made me think about philosophy again, especially the question: Who and what am I? This is the central theme of the BRAHMAN exhibition.

Bernd Kolb published special snapshots in his illustrated books ATMAN and BRAHMAN. The exhibition ATMAN 2016 in Berlin has already inspired many visitors and since June 2017 the Malzfabrik hosts another BRAHMAN exhibition.

You think city maps are outdated? You must be kidding: completely offline tourists and Berliners are lead to (secret) spots in Neukölln and soon in Kreuzberg with BertaBerlin treasure map in their hand.

When you think you have seen it all you should give BertaBerlin a try. With love for detail, Berta Heide has explored the Neukölln district and created a beautifully designed city map. 

Let us guide you
through Berlin

As an artist and a passionate explorer Leen fell in love with Berlin the first time she visited in 2003. She finally moved here from England in 2009, and has made it her home. Her first job here was as a tourguide of the city, which she have been doing since. It keeps her exploring and discovering - Berlin doesn’t let you get bored.

However her main focus has been the Arts, mainly working as an Artistic Director and Curator with various projects and spaces. A project that she started up and co-directed for a few years was US, a performative project exploring the diversity in gender and sexuality.

Still a hidden gem of Neukölln

I have walked along May am Ufer many times, but since entering this restaurant I have become a regular.

The restaurant, which Conny tenderly calls MAY, always has a relaxed atmosphere. Most of the guests live around the corner in Neukölln and stop by May am Ufer because they love the food and, of course, the wine and beer on tap. My favorite red wine is Nero d’Avola. Besides the food the restaurant is really nice to sit down and get a sense of Neukölln, as the audience is a cultural mix of international guests and established Berliners. Thomas and Conny cook everything fresh, offering vegetables mostly from local farmers and, as mentioned before, grandiose wine.

From the climbing hall up to the climbing tower, Berlin climbing fans do not have to go travel to the Alps to get their fix. Rain or shine, you can always find a climbing or bouldering spot in Berlin. Today I will give away the best climbing and bouldering spots of Berlin.

1. Bunker in Mitte

The bunker in Humboldthain was not completely destroyed due to its proximity to the city railway, so the northwest side was preserved and meanwhile became a mecca for climbers. All routes are technically demanding, finger-heavy and will keep the interest of ambitious climbers. Off it goes with 6 + UIAA grade.

Der Bunker

Volkspark Humboldthain

Brunnenstraße

13357 Berlin

U8, S1, S2, S25, S41, S42 Gesundbrunnen

In Berlin, you often find skateparks and skate spots where you least expect them.

For skateboarders, the city is not just a place to live, but a sprawling playground to skate all kinds of different, seemingly random spots. Of course, skateparks are also a social hub: a welcome place to skate, meet friends and let the good times roll.

For people without a home - things we take for granted - become a struggle. With the homeless, the perspective changes: Streets, parks and places become everyday living space. As a privileged person who can travel the world and live in Berlin, I am very grateful for my life and do not take everything for granted. Uwe, Klaus and Dieter guide you through Berlin, and let you discover new details about the city.

The three querstadtein tours focus on another perception of Berlin. Former homeless guide you through their neighborhood and inform you about homelessness to impart delicate subjects in a light way. I absolutely recommend you to visit one of their monthly tours. Here is an overview:

I would especially recommend a trip to Potsdam this Saturday since it seems the sun may make a grand return. Here you find some suggestions.

Potsdam is best known for its impressive palaces, castles and parks, which were the residence of the Prussian kings and the German Kaiser, until 1918.

You will find great architect out of pomp and splendour. As Potsdam offers a breathtaking panorama of history, I would like to invite and show you a unique way of getting to know one of Europe's most splendid royal cities, close by Berlin.

If you play once,
you always play

Escape Berlin is the biggest live Escape Game of Europe. True to the motto Think BIG their scenarios are played well-spaced and faithfully. To look behind the scenes, I asked Christoph, the cofounder of Escape Berlin, a few questions.

For even more infos about Escape Berlin you can check their website: www.Escape-Game.org.

Finally the 67th Berlinale is coming: 9th of February until the 19th of February Berlin will be topsy-turvy, as bystanders and movie stars from all over the world are visiting the city.

But the Berlinale is not only about movie stars, it’s about small stories on big screens. The best thing to do is, to check out the films in Competition. Blockbusters you can always catch in regular rotation during the year.

Now here are some tips, how you can score tickets for the Berlinale with the least amount of frustration.

There are as many city guides and folding maps for Berlin as there are drug dealers in Görlitzer Park. Not only will you often find the same information, but as a tourist or even Berlin newbie you are overwhelmed by the quantity of options, distances in between and, in general, left wondering: How can I find out what I will like if all the reviews on Google and Yelp are similar?

Berta Luise Heide has elegantly solved all these problems with her Pocket Guides BertaBerlin: As a Berliner and "Auskennerin" she takes visitors by the hand and guides them, with her folding map, to the places she herself likes to go – hidden jewels included. Therefore, she suggests three different city walks through Berlin, which combine sightseeing, restaurants, cafes and shopping options. Perfect for anybody who is in town only briefly or recently arrived.

Berliner

Celebrating New Year, or Silvester, as its known in Germany, means to eat a lot of jelly donuts a.k.a. Berliner. If you want to bring some German flair into your house, you have to watch a British comedy sketch called Dinner for One, while eating the jelly donuts.

Feuerzangenbowle

Among the many drinks which I might consume on New Year, Feuerzangenbowle is my favorite. For Feuerzangenbowle you have to heat up wine with cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel. Then put a conical piece of sugar soaked in rum above the wine and lit it. The sugar caramelizes and melts into the hot wine, creating a drink which is not only delicious but exciting to watch in the making. Nevertheless, midnight is celebrated with a glass of sparkling wine in Berlin.

Single travelers in Berlin often have a recurrent problem: Where do I put my luggage, if I briefly leave my table in a cafe or even my shared room in a hostel? This is a legitimate question. The number of thefts during travel increases and thieves become more shifty. In 2015 40.399 pickpocketings were reported to the police in Berlin. Most crimes were reported by the Alexanderplatz. Since 2013 the number of the cases has even doubled in Berlin.

 If the luggage or wallet gets stolen, it often takes weeks to replace all documents and it might be necessary to shift the departure. This is why the fear travels with many travelers. Who leaves his table briefly, worries about his luggage left behind - or drags it along. And - another important fact - only who does not let the luggage or ist bag out of sight, will receive a payment of the insurance (if you have one). All other will be defined as robbed because of "careless action" and get nothing.

I was born in Berlin just 33 years ago and grew up moving several times around Germany. Even after living in South Africa, Canada and Peru, I was drawn back to my birthplace. Having lived in many neighbourhoods of Berlin, I decided five years ago that Neukölln is my gem. I work as an Online Marketing Manager and since 2015 also as a PR Advisor. In 2016 I founded the company WALK THIS WAY- a visitors guide map with my travel guide BertaBerlin and wrote my Blog www.walk-this-way.net.

How did you come up with BertaBerlin?

When I was traveling in Milan rummaging through seemingly endless guides in an attempt to plan the perfect weekend, I sparked this idea, and perhaps a solution to this dizzying process for guests back home: a minimalist guide, like a folding map, for Neukölln and Berlin. Just a few months later, my first travel guide, BertaBerlin, was born.

As a German, I focus on efficiency. Yet, efficiency can be deceptive. I'm a Berliner, and I've lived in Berlin for almost my whole life. When I studied in university, I biked to school everyday. When I started working, I also biked from Neukölln to Spandau each day.

To navigate, I used Google Maps. Google calculated the shortest route from Neukölln to Spandau. But on one particular day, I had to visit a friend on my way back home and took a different route. I remember being surprised - surprised at finding a quiet, very peaceful street opposite from the street I took every day to work.

If you are in Neukölln you have to visit the Cafe Katies Blue Cat. It is one of my favorite cafes. The homemade pastries of the cafe are baked in their kitchen. So Olivia and Ngoc make sure that only the best ingredients are used and their guests get the pastries fresh out of the oven.

In autumn they offer Canadian Butter Tarts on the weekend. So you better be early to get some. I fell in love with the Espresso-Chai-Coffee-Cake too. And if you cannot eat them all, you can buy the cakes to go. So for people like me, Katies Blue Cat is a dream come true.

If you want to try to bake at home, you can find a lot of recipies for sour dough, raisin bread and more on Olivias blog too.

Escape Berlin is Europe's biggest Live Game and as it is in Berlin, why not dragging friends into this adventure? I never played a Live Game before, so I was very clueless and curious.

Here is the Live Game explanation in short, for people like me who are new to this kind of game:

You will be guided in a room, have to search for clues and solve the puzzles. Normally you have to escape the room, but not always escape it within the set time (for example 60 minutes). 

Author: Katrin Lehr

Blog: www.viel-unterwegs.de

In the past few years the capital has turned its head once again. Neukölln it is, as was before Prenzlauer Berg.

What more a reason to visit such a borough, and why look further when one knows a Berliner who has unveiled a fresh and fabulous folding map for frolicking around the neighbourhood and beyond: BertaBerlin.

Might I introduce Berta:

33, Berliner, resident of Neukölln,

publisher of BertaBerlin.

One of my most remarkable bike trips this year was along the Berlin Wall Path. Today, this former death strip is a 160 kilometer cycle path which takes you through the DDR border installations and traces the history of a divided Berlin.

From my home in Sonnenallee (between Treptow in the former East and Neukölln in the former West) passing the Brandenburg Gate and out to the rural Staaken – there are vivid historical reminders interwoven with the scenic beauty of Berlin.

 In most segments the bikeway runs on the former Duty Way (in West Berlin) or on the Kolonnenweg which was used by the DDR border troops, so the traces of the border installations are apparent as well as memorial sites.

100 meters from all the falafel stalls on Karl Marx Street, I found a secret garden named Comenius Garden. If you are searching for a break from the urban landscape of Berlin, you can find it in this hidden Garden in Neukölln. You'll find fruit trees and a small pond here. You can even take some blackberries, quinces, plums and more.

You enter the Garden Comenius through a gate. The Garden itself is locked, but there is a bell which you can use to open the gate. A bell and a garden plan have been attached to the fence. Once a month, from spring to autumn, you can participate in guided tours on the botanical and historical aspects of the Comenius Garden.