Natalia Irina Roman

I dropped by Bflat, for the first time, by coincidence on a lazy Wednesday evening. I set down in a corner and leaned on one of the big windows. While I was happily entertained by a Hefeweizen (in case you don’t know, make sure you will get to know this type of German beer), I started wondering whether the piano and saxophone players were improvising or not. It was pretty good jazz. The answer came two minutes later when somebody from the audience asked the piano player for his seat and got it.

I go back to Bflat every now and then, on Wednesdays, when they have their free entrance jam sessions, starting with 9pm. Bflat is close to Hackescher Markt, has a mixed public and great acoustics.

Tip: They charge around 10 Euro for concerts during other evenings.

Subway platform. Crowded. Around seven pm, Tuesday. It seems that everybody is trying to squeeze in here. It might even be true, when one of those rainy Berlin days. We’re at the U2 station Stadtmitte. It’s a busy one, with two arteries – the U2 platform and the U6, bound together by a seemingly never ending tunnel.

Between the U2 platform and the tunnel there is an in situ stage, created by musicians who stop there from time to time. Accordion. Saxophone. Electric Piano. Violin. Or three guitars. The great acoustic embraces the distracted passer byes and sometimes, awakens them from their daily routine. Not sure what makes the acoustic so great – the walls or the need for this embrace.

This article is not meant to bring you to Stadtmitte. It’s meant to be remembered when one happens to be there spontaneously. And when you do remember it, smile and stop for six minutes. To listen.

CUE is a mobile and open platform where one can improvise, meet other artists or just have a drink and watch the work of others. Interdisciplinary jam session is an improvisation of video, sound, light and performance. Imagine visuals projected over a musician playing the saxophone and an actress performing a pantomime. One is free to add to the composition. Every square of the location can become a stage. And it does.

These improvisations take place every first Friday of the month and the location differs: during summer CUE happens also outdoors, but this is an exception. Generally, one can count on an indoor location, with some video equipment and many visual artists, actors, and musicians. Best is to bring your own equipment and to be spontaneous.

Some time ago CUE took place a couple of times in Tacheles (check the Tacheles article) as well, the graffiti art house in Oranienburgerstr. The platform could not have been a better choice, the whole art house is an improvisation of its own.

If you are curious, take a look at the CUE website for a video featuring the mixture of music, visuals and people. Keep in mind that CUE is a jam session, and like all improvisations, it can always be different.

Tip: make sure to check their website, the events are irregular.

I discovered Doors by chance. Walking on Knaackstraße, I noticed ivy growing over a small bar. Almost could not read its name, but somehow the open dark room drew me in. We left it only after 3 o’clock in the night. Doors stays a classic.

The ivy crowds the facade of the bar – I wonder whether it’s a sign of age, if it grew together with the place. Maybe the ivy is meant to hide the place, keep it for the right people. Doors is a small bar packed with posters. Expect AC / DC kind of music, candle light and customers with mixed ages, starting at 20:00 every day.

Tip: Doors is a smoking bar.

Morgenrot is one of the many cafes in Kastanienallee. It has a few tables outside and self service. The atmosphere is relaxed and intimate around the small wooden tables.

What makes Morgenrot a special stop?

-One can borrow from the bar a one chess-set-lacking-a-pawn.

-One can have wonderful vegetarian brunches (until 15:00) for customer-decided-prices between 4 and 8 Euro (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays)

Additionally, the cafe hosts cultural and political discussions – it’s an open space which welcomes and supports such initiatives. This openness, the affordable prices, the great breakfasts and the vicinity to the Volksbuehne im Prater theatre (see the Volksbuehne article) make it a stop worth while.