Berlin - whither should I go?

Pearsall

Prodigal Son
I'd be happy to give you some Berlin tips, Luka, if you want to send me a pm. I've been living here for three years now.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Josef k popped up for the first time in years the other day. He lives in Berlin, or used to.
 

Pearsall

Prodigal Son
What do you think of the city Pearsall?

I love it. One thing to note is that the hipster open-air adult theme park Berlin of popular imagination is actually a relatively small part of the city (although of course it's where the tourists go) - we live in a quieter residential part of Berlin on the edge of Wilmersdorf and Friedenau and we've found that the city offers a very very nice middle-class family lifestyle if that's your kind of thing (it is ours). Basically, Berlin offers a much nicer standard of living and less stress than, say, London.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Is it true there are laws that limit how much a landlord can charge to let a certain kind of property? And if so, is that specific to Berlin or does it apply all over the country?
 

Leo

Well-known member
curious to know how far along gentrification is in the "cool" (or once-cool) neighborhoods. is it still somewhat affordable/edgy/bohemian?
 

yyaldrin

in je ogen waait de wind
Is it true there are laws that limit how much a landlord can charge to let a certain kind of property? And if so, is that specific to Berlin or does it apply all over the country?

Nah it doesn't really work like that. Once a tenant leaves a flat, the landlord can only raise the rent with a maximum percentage (I believe it was 5 or 10) for the following tenant. Thing is that there are lots of ways to bypass this law, one is to renovate the flat. Landlords can also still decide to sell their property.
 

Pearsall

Prodigal Son
The other option is basically to just raise the price a lot and market it to foreigners, who might not know about those kinds of rules. There seems to be a trend of offering crazily priced (for Berlin) flats in English-language Facebook groups, as there are a lot of newcomers who compare the prices to London / Paris / New York and think they are reasonable, and don't know about limits to pricing.
 
Anything you're looking for in particular? Know where you'll be staying? Recently moved back from Berlin to Wisconsin, so just sad-venting all the things I miss:

Sites: Treptower park (incredible Soviet WWII memorial), Tempelhofer Feld, Oberbaumsbruecke (beautiful bridge connecting Kreuzberg & Friedrichshain)
Bars: Vagabund Brauerei (craft brewery in Wedding), KEITH (Neukoelln), Ä (and other bars on Weserstr. in Neukoelln), Hops&Barley (German brewpub), most shitty old Eckkneipen (corner bars)
Clubs: About:Blank, Salon zur Wilden Renate, Griessmuehle, Golden Gate (honestly I didn't go out enough...)
Food: Azzam (Neukoelln), Markthalle 9 (market hall in Kreuzberg), Turkish Market on Maybachufer (Tuesdays/Fridays in Neukoelln/Kreuzberg), Thai Park on weekends (open air Thai food market in Wilmersdorf), Ixthys (great Korean spot w/ oddly heavy Christian vibes in Schoeneberg), Safari (West African food stand in Wedding. my fav), Mustafa's (touristy Kebab stand, but the best in town imo)
 

benjybars

village elder.
Anything you're looking for in particular? Know where you'll be staying? Recently moved back from Berlin to Wisconsin, so just sad-venting all the things I miss:

Sites: Treptower park (incredible Soviet WWII memorial), Tempelhofer Feld, Oberbaumsbruecke (beautiful bridge connecting Kreuzberg & Friedrichshain)
Bars: Vagabund Brauerei (craft brewery in Wedding), KEITH (Neukoelln), Ä (and other bars on Weserstr. in Neukoelln), Hops&Barley (German brewpub), most shitty old Eckkneipen (corner bars)
Clubs: About:Blank, Salon zur Wilden Renate, Griessmuehle, Golden Gate (honestly I didn't go out enough...)
Food: Azzam (Neukoelln), Markthalle 9 (market hall in Kreuzberg), Turkish Market on Maybachufer (Tuesdays/Fridays in Neukoelln/Kreuzberg), Thai Park on weekends (open air Thai food market in Wilmersdorf), Ixthys (great Korean spot w/ oddly heavy Christian vibes in Schoeneberg), Safari (West African food stand in Wedding. my fav), Mustafa's (touristy Kebab stand, but the best in town imo)

cheers man that's very useful and much appreciated!

Don't suppose you've got any idea about the best way to rent bikes?
 

yyaldrin

in je ogen waait de wind
cheers man that's very useful and much appreciated!

Don't suppose you've got any idea about the best way to rent bikes?

the city has been flooded with these start-up rental bikes that you can unlock using an app. one of them went bankrupt lately i believe and they’re still all over the city, some have been “hacked“ by kids who are stunting on them. there’s something surrealistic about it, the way these bicycles are parked on the most random places - in bushes, on the middle of the road, in parks, etc. it feels like being in one of these open world videogames like grand theft auto where you can just take any vehicle from any place and dump it at the next place. https://global.handelsblatt.com/companies/german-bike-sharing-berlin-ofo-mobike-918266

alternatively you can just rent a bike at a regular bike-lending place, what part of the city will you be staying?
 

kevinoak

Active member
I suggest that you go to eastern Berlin, spend most of your time there...Alexanderplatz, Friedrichstrasse, (numerous interesting shops, esp on music, books, etc) Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte. even the neighborhood at S-Bahn station Jannowitzbrücke. I like Karlshorst and Köpenick, both historically interesting eastern districts. Use travel sites to have your trip more arranged.
 
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