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These 10 apps are essential for making the most of Berlin

The Local Germany
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These 10 apps are essential for making the most of Berlin
The Foodora app in use. Photo: DPA

The German capital is a weird and wonderful place full of surprise and adventure. These ten apps will help you make the most of it.

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1. Durst

Berlin is all about the late nights, so it’s just as well the city has plenty of small shops that stay open until the early hours. If you run out of beer or cigarettes at 3am, the party doesn’t have to be over, thanks to Spätkauf stores.

Spätis are all over the city. But how to find them? Luckily an app has been created for that.

The Durst Spätifinder provides you with a map of your neighbourhood, or the neighbourhood you’ve stumbled into, with Spätis marked by little beer bottles - what else?

SEE ALSO: 23 things you never knew about Berlin

The window of a Berlin Späti. Photo: DPA 

2. Street Art Archive

Some love it, others hate it. But street art and graffiti are part and parcel of Berlin. For those with an enthusiasm for the spray can, this app is an ideal tool.

It provides a map of Berlin complete with recommended street art walking tours, walls where spraying is legal, and buildings with some of the most famous street art facades in the city.

More still, it will direct you to spray shops, galleries that contain original street art, and cafes and restaurants that have embraced the city's grubby graffiti ethos.

MUST READ: Six soothing day trips to escape the bustle of Berlin

3. Foodora

Given that it's hard to walk out your front door without stumbling into a restaurant in some parts of Berlin, you need to be pretty lazy to resort to this bicycle delivery service.

But we all have those days when the hangover has chained us to the sofa (and judging by the amount of Foodora cyclists peddling in Berlin, we're not just talking about Sundays).

There is a good list of restaurants attached to this Berlin-based startup, and unlike rival Deliveroo, you can be sure they are paying their cyclists a steady wage.

A Foodora cyclist. Photo: DPA

4. Mealsaver

Environmentally conscious and not a keen cook?

Mealsaver allows you to get discounted food from restaurants that have not been able to sell everything that day, cutting down on their waste.

You just have to turn up at your chosen restaurant close to its closing time and take your pick of what they have to offer. Some food outlets even let you choose your own portion size, which in turn cuts down on food you might waste from portions which are too large.

The company told The Local that users save on average 50 percent on the original price of the meal.

SEE ALSO: Berlin's six coolest attractions you've never heard of

5. Jaspr

If you've had a massive clean out and you're not sure what to do with all your old books or whatever it is you have been hoarding over the years, this trading app is the answer. 

This Berlin startup allows you to contact people in your local area to trade either items, services or skills, from old vinyl records to French lessons and dog-sitting. 

It's an easy and cost-effective way to learn something new, or to find someone who can help you move house. 

6. Babbel

With Babbel there will be no excuses for getting tongue-tied when someone speaks to you in German. 

The app focuses on teaching you basic interactions in your chosen language and seeks to help you remember what you have learned in the long-term by identifying your personal learning style. 

According to its website, the app is very effective, with 73 percent of users indicating that they’d be able to have a short, simple conversation in their new language within five hours of using Babbel.

Photo: DPA

7. Lovoo

Another quick way to improve your German would be to get yourself a German partner, a venture for which Lovoo would be useful. 

As well as facilitating casual meet-ups or helping you find the love of your life, this app can also be useful simply for making friends. 

Be warned though, the company has been in trouble with the law. In 2016 prosecutors raided their offices on suspicion that they had been duping customers by creating fake profiles.

8. Meetup

Tracking down people with similar interests to your own can be tricky, but Meetup gets rid of that problem by allowing you to contact people, establish groups and organize events in your local area with like-minded folks. 

Whether you want to have a jam session with other people who play the guitar or create a reading group, Meetup can direct you to locals who want to do the same. 

9. BVG 

Getting out and about to socialize is tricky if you don't know how to get there!

BVG, the Berlin transport company, has put together an app to help you speedily plan your journey on the city's transport system, buy tickets and even rent cars via car sharing company car2go. 

With the help of this app, Berlin will be your oyster. 

A BVG underground train. Photo: DPA 

10. Berlin-Vegan

Though Berlin is pretty vegan friendly, it can still be tricky to pinpoint exactly where to enjoy a vegan meal. 

This app has links to over 170 restaurants, fast food outlets and ice cream parlours, more than 100 cafes that offer beverages with soy milk, 230 bakeries, and a further 100 supermarkets and pharmacies that stock vegan products.

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