Image by Sarah Curth

Not far away from the crowded Simon-Dach-Straße (check the Simon-Dach-Strasse article), in one of the monumental looking buildings of Karl-Marx-Allee you’ll find a small bar called ČSR. 

ČSR is a classy, chic bar that you normally won’t expect in the more trashy, sloppy quarter of Friedrichshain. But don’t worry – there is no dresscode. In a cozy, dimmed atmosphere you will get served perfect quality cocktails, longdrinks and any drink you can imagine. The cocktail menu is quite long! 

Even on Saturdays around 22:00 you’ll find a place to sit and relax. Have a look at the majestic looking table lamps and watch the cars running down the magnificent avenue outside. Cheers!

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ČSR Bar | Bars | Cocktail € 8.00
Karl-Marx-Allee 96 | Friedrichshain | +493029044741
19:00 – open end daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

The old building which houses the c/o Gallery since 2000 is the ancient imperial post office. Especially at night the big illuminated entrance impresses the passerby.

Founded by a designer, a photographer and an architect the gallery became one of the biggest private art institutions in Berlin. This year the “International Forum For Visial Dialogues” celebrates its 10th year.

Temporary exhibitions present the artworks of upcoming and famous photographers. The specific of the location is that the showrooms and the halls aren’t renovated so the rooms contrast with the exhibit. Take a look at the bathrooms in the first floor where old and new design collides in a very interesting way. Antique Columns in the hall and an ornate tiled floor are special details which make this gallery so like-able. Currently the gallery celebrates its 10th year of existence.

Here you can find the English program of the current exhibitions.

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c/o Gallery | Art & culture | entrance € 8.00
Oranienburger Straße/Tucholskystraße | Mitte | +493028091925
11:00 – 20:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

Why should I eat Canadian Pizza in Berlin? This is what you might ask the first time you hear about Ron Telesky in Kreuzberg. The answer is easy: This place is different than common Italian pizza restaurants. Here you can get big, thin pizzas with every topping you can imagine: Fresh Pesto, candied walnut, mango, potato, feta sauce and many more. A special thing you should try is the hot maple syrup – but be aware, this is really hot!

The two German owners of Ron Telesky have learned their trade in Canada so they know how to get the Canadian feeling: inside a big moose head on the wall and a mural with a typical lake and mountains on it; outside you can sit either on trunks or in a Canadian canoe while having Dr Pepper Coke and Moosehead Beer. This is real Canadian lumberjack-luxury!

And if you live somewhere near this place you can also use the delivery-service which brings your pizza on a special bike.

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Ron Telesky | Snacks, Restaurants (Canadian pizza) | Piece of pizza € 2.00
Dieffenbachstraße 62 | Kreuzberg | +493061621111
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 15:00 – 22:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

The futuristic appearing building of the Bauhaus-Archiv is a real landmark in the urban landscape of Berlin. Combining two houses and a bridge on which you can walk “over” the house makes the museum a special playground of architecture. Planned by the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius in 1964 and built up in 1976-79 in a modified version the white building is a hidden eye-catcher on the bank of the Landwehrkanal.

The Archive/Museum attends to research and retrospection of Bauhaus architecture, art and design in the 20th century. It is the worldwide biggest collection of originals of the classical modernity. In a permanent exhibition which will be showed in December again, you can only see a part of the collection but the most interesting Bauhaus examples of architecture, furniture, ceramics, metal, photographs as well as artworks of the famous Bauhaus teachers Gropius, Itten, Klee, Feininger, Kandinsky, Albers, Schlemmer, Moholy-Nagy and van der Rohe.

Here you can find information in English about the permanent and the special exhibitions.

For a deposit of €10.00 you can rent an audio guide that explains the samples in your language. On wednesday, thursday and friday the entrance fee is one euro cheaper.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bauhaus-Archiv | Art & culture | Entry fee +/- € 7.00
Klingelhöfer Straße 14 | Tiergarten | +49302540020
Wed – Mon 10:00 – 17:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Schneeweiß

A restaurant designed completely in white – that was the idea of the two founders of “Schneeweiß” (which means snowwhite) 8 years ago. So Ralf Kern, originally musician and hobby cook and Dennis Ranogajec who organized events created together with a friends architect a space where a straight design comes together with a clear culinary concept.

Started as low budget project this restaurant turned out to be something special: Schneeweiß received the iF Design Award and was also nominated for the German Design Award. While creating the concept for this place the founders asked themselves: What fits to snow-white? The Alpes! So today the menu consists of alpine classics mixed and newly interpreted with modern Central European kitchen. So it seems more than a funny coincidence that the street in which Schneeweiß is situated is named after the Swiss high mountain pass Simplon Pass.

But be aware: This place has nothing in common with a traditional Après Ski cottage, fortunately! While sitting on the white side benches the huge chandelier in the middle of the dining room catches your eyes. In a hidden fireplace room you are invited to smoke your cigars and have some drinks after a frosty day outside.

Schneeweiß now resides for 5 years in a hidden corner of Friedrichshain. Situated between the hotspots Ostkreuz and Simon-Dach-Straße (check the Simon-Dach-Strasse article) one might think that not many people find their way to this beautiful place. But even on weekdays you should reserve your table before visiting.

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Schneeweiß | Bars, Restaurants (Alpine) | Starter € 8
Simplonstrasse 16 | Friedrichshain | +493029049704
Mon – Fri 18:00 – 01:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 01:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

Fashion for Nerds, fashion for brave hearts and fashion for fashion victims – there is no limit for craziness, colorfulness and extravagance.

The shop in the stylish heart of Mitte answers the question where all the clothes from the last 3 decades went. Made in Berlin is one of three secondhand shops (Colours: Bergmannstr. 102; Garage (see the Garage article): Ahornstr. 2) which offers selected and definitely trend-setting clothes for girls and boys. On two floors you will find fancy accessories like hats and shoes, strange dresses, cute shirts and blouses and many more things letting hearts of fashion addicted bloom.

As a special for bargain hunters: Every Tuesday from 12:00 – 15:00 you get 20 % discount on everything.

By the way don’t be put off by the shop’s fusty smell. I don’t know why secondhand always has the same unpleasant smell. But be sure in this fashion paradise the visual will detract your nose!

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Made in Berlin | Shopping | Shirts from € 5.00
Neue Schönhauser Straße 19 | Mitte | +493021230601
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

At first sight you could never imagine that this temple of glass houses a whole gallery. But beneath the ground on which it stands, you’ll find big, wide showrooms housing Berlin’s best collection of modern art. Designed by Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe, the house was opened in 1968 and stands as an icon of classical modernity. The impressive glass-steel façade of the cubic building represents van der Rohe’s idea of a universal space.

The collection of the Neue Nationalgalerie focuses on Cubism, Expressionism, Bauhaus and Surrealism. But the permanent exhibition cannot be seen throughout the whole year because the museum primarily presents special temporary exhibitions like the “Met in Berlin” (an exhibit from 2007 where the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York loaned its most beautiful French impressionist paintings).

The upper hall is often used as a showroom for larger art installations. In the outside area some sculptures can also be seen. There is also a beautiful outdoor sculpture garden, though unfortunately access is only available by special request.

On the Neue Nationalgalerie website you can find the current programme. Everyone under 18 years gets free entry to all national museums in Berlin. Students have to pay 5 Euro admission.

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Neue Nationalgalerie | Art & culture | Admission € 10.00
Potsdamer Straße 50 | Tiergarten | +49302662651
Tue – Wed, Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Thu 10:00 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 11:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

Anyone who says that photos of naked women are always pornographic has never seen the art works of the photographer Helmut Newton.

Several months before his death in 2004, the artist founded the Helmut Newton Foundation, which now cares for his work and owns two floors of the old Landwehrkasino next to Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten. Newton spent his first 18 years in Berlin before he left in 1938 to go to Australia. Later on he started to work for Vogue and became a successful photographer who was one of the first to establish eroticism in fashion photography.

Since 2004 the Helmut Newton Museum has been displaying Newton’s private collection, which contains many of his cameras, personal belongings, a rebuilt workroom, memorabilia, videos, but most of all: his photos. The most impressive ones can be seen in the entrance hall: large format photos of the first naked women Newton took pictures of. In a second part of the museum, temporary exhibitions from the Museum of Photography are always worth seeing.

For the current exhibition have a look on their English website.

For anyone who still wants to see more of Helmut Newton, there is a Newton Bar in Mitte (Charlottenstraße 57) here you can see the largest Newton photo displayed on private property.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Helmut Newton Museum | Art & culture | Admission € 8.00
Jebensstraße 2 | Charlottenburg | +493031864856
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 18:00, Thu 10:00 – 22:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

The beach at the lake Weißer See in the district Weißensee seems to be one of the last oases in the concrete jungle of Berlin and is situated only 20 minutes by tram M4 from Alexanderplatz.

It looks like a park from the outside, and as soon as you enter the green forest you will find a circular lake, which seems totally isolated from the outside world. Even in Winter it’s a really nice place to have some hot drinks while watching the sunset.

The beach is open every season and the access is free in autumn and winter.

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Beach at Weißen See | Relaxing | Free
Seeweg | Outer – North&East | +49309253241
Autumn – Spring 11:00 – open end daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sarah Curth

On weekends you can party everywhere else, but Thursday night belongs to Sage Club. For some people it’s their after-work relaxing zone, for others it’s better than Saturday because the club gets crowded early. Every Thursday Sage Club, located inside the U-Bahnhof Heinrich-Heine-Straße, turns into a music fest for finest Indie rock, Alternative and Metal. But not only DJs reign this three floor venue. So the main floor is dedicated to live upcoming bands.

The interior of the Sage is reminiscent of a dominatrix studio. Every Friday and Saturday the club hosts KitKat, a techno-party that’s geared for anyone who dresses up in leather, latex, glitter, glamour and extravagant clothes. But of course this special interior fits well for Rock’n'Roll too.

The special attraction of the Sage Club is the swimming pool in the smoking/lounge area. Unfortunately a sign forbids you to get in but the view into the deep blue water helps you come down after excessive dancing.

Make sure to get to the club before 22:00 for free entry (and don’t be put off by a possible long queue), after 22:00 you have to pay €6 to get in.

If you need some great food on the next day keep in mind that Sage has also a restaurant. It doesn’t remind you at all on the dirty Rock Club. This place is rather chic, stylish and quite expensive – a hanseatic dream in white. But have a look at the Sage restaurant website and be sure to book before you come.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Sage Club | Bars, Music, Restaurants | after 22:00 € 6.00
Köpenicker Straße 76 | Mitte | +49302789830
Thu 19:00 – open end

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin