OH Berlin

Berlin has a reputation for having some of the best nightlife on the planet. Faced with the challenge of reviewing some of the clubs in the city we set off into the night and the early hours, it was thirsty work at times with the occasional distraction along the way but we soldiered on in our research. Here´s a little of what we found out.

Berghain is a monster.  A night out this Leviathan is like achieving a clubbers badge of honour. Intense, hard, dark, pounding. OK it has reputation for being hard to get into sometimes and the massive queues but stroll along on a Sunday afternoon and viola no queues. Have to also mention the bar and club staff who are usually super friendly.

Probably says a lot that most Berliners party at Berghain on Sunday and another club the tiny Duncker in Prenzlauer Berg also has its best night on Sundays. Sunday partying arguably has a more relaxed feel to it in most cities – away from the forced ´must have fun´ Fri/Sat crowd.  Anyway back to Duncker, great 80s and new wave music, intimate private party feel generated by typically what seems like only around 40 people in the venue.

Read Party Hard – Ten Berlin Clubs Worth Checking Out at the Oh-Berlin blog.

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It´s easy to sometimes to think of boat trips as being just for tourists but seeing Berlin by boat really offers up a new experience and way of looking at and admiring the city.

For starters it´s hard to ignore the fact that Berlin has many waterways running through it. Canals, rivers and lakes all provide lots of opportunities to have fun on the water.

Scheduled and regular boat trips in Berlin run from March through to October.

If you are new to the city or have limited time the city centre boat trips, which take in all the major sights of historical significance, are perfect to while away an hour particularly when the sun is shining.

If you want to make more of a day off it, on the East Side Tour you´ll see the East Side Gallery from a unique perspective on the Spree along with the Molecule Man or alternatively head for Wannsee and take the popular Seven Lake cruise.  Enjoy two hours on the idyllic Havelseen lakes, over Kleinen Wannsee, Pohlesee, Stölpchensee, Griebnitzsee, Glienicker Lake, Jungfernsee and along the Havel back to Wannsee.

If you live in Berlin and have friends visiting you why not suggest a boat tour and even join them?

Read the full article on boat trips at the Oh Berlin blog.

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In April we welcomed guest blogger Sherry Ott to Berlin. Sherry was on the last leg of her four city Go with Oh Spring tour which had seen her previously visit Rome, Venice and Vienna.

Obviously, during her time here in Berlin, we made sure not to leave Sherry’s side. Armed with countless tips and suggestions for activities, all of which we had collected previously on our Facebook Page and on Twitter, we set out on our big adventure.

The first day of Sherry’s two week-long stay fell on a Sunday, which meant we could head out refreshed, on April 1st, to the Mauerpark flea market, located within easy walking distance (a mere 15 minutes) of our vacation apartment on Kastanienallee.

On her second day, we sent Sherry, together with Oh-Berlin intern Sav, on a Berlin bike tour (interlink with all in one bike tour) for “beginners.” The All In One Bike Tour from Fat Tire Bike Tours is the perfect way to gather first impressions of the city.

After taking time to process her initial impressions of the city, Sherry decided to revisit and explore several of the sites she had seen the day before on her bike tour.

The Holocaust Memorial had an especially strong impact on her, not only through its interesting design, but also (of course) with what it represents. Some of her very best photos were taken here.

Read about Sherry´s full 14 Days in Berlin – A voyage of discovery in words and pictures at the Oh-Berlin blog

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This week we caught up with author Lucia Jay Von Seldeneck who has written a successful book  111 Orte in Berlin die man gesehen haben muss about 111 places to visit in Berlin.

Native Berliner Lucia´s book is not your typical guidebook but more an amalgam of personal favourite places and those found while exploring less popular parts of Berlin in the researching of the book. Lucia told us of one place in the book that she discovered by chance.

´we were at this quiet place in Heelersdorf, Brandenburg which initially we thought what are we going to find here? And then they took us to the roof of a church where they had discovered a kind of grave memorial for dead children – an old eighteenth century tradition. Essentially the burial ritual was to celebrate children getting married (in the afterlife) and so not being alone. It was in many churches in Brandenburg but today this is the last example and not many people are aware of this tradition. It was unexpected to find this. It was in a little church, very odd and very hidden´ said Lucia.

Read the full interview with Lucia at Oh Berlin blog

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Whether it is coffee, cake, a beer or a snack Berlin has an abundance of great cafes. We were going to do some in-depth research scouring the whole city looking for the best places, endless and vigorous in our pursuit of the perfect café. In the end we just asked our friends to suggest their favourite and then we checked them out for ourselves.

What did we find out?

Well, the cheesecake at Five Elephant on Reichenberger Strasse could possibly be the best cheesecake in Berlin. Made from Philadelphia cheese and an old family recipe it seemed to be literally flying off the cake stand on a recent weekend visit. It’s a lot lighter than the New York variety and evaporates in your mouth like a magic trick.

The biggest breakfast seen served outside of America at Café Einstein on Kurfürstenstraße.  The Café Einstein Frühstück for two seemed to be designed for two hundred.

Probably some of the nicest staff around at Factory Girl in Friedrichshain serving amazing little deserts called magnolias and home-made lemonade.

Read our full article on five Berlin cafes we tried and liked at Oh-Berlin blog

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