Image by Ciarán Fahey

Apparently the Irish drink more tea per capita than any other people in the world. As soon as I moved here I had to find where I would get my tea.

The Berliner Teesalon on Invalidenstraße proudly states that it has “tea specialities from all over the world”. And it does! This charming old-style Laden is home to over 250 types of tea including a whole shelf devoted to my own beloved Barry’s Tea! (I’m sipping it now as I type.)

It was only after I left Ireland that I realised there was more than one type of tea and the Berliner Teesalon seems to have all of them under one roof: black teas from India, white teas from China, green teas from Japan… Oolong, Pu Erh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, rooibos, Jasmine and flower teas – they’re all in tins and boxes which line the shelves in this veritable treasure trove of tea. Of course there are all sorts of tea implements available too, from teapots of all shapes and sizes to strainers and sieves to ensure the perfect cup.

To help tea aficionados with their choices, once every month or so customers are invited to try a selection of teas over a couple of hours for €12 (check website for dates). House-mixed teas in colourful tins prove very popular as gifts. “Es gibt nicht den Tee,” replied the woman when I asked which was the best. It just seems I’ll just have to try them all.

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Berliner Teesalon | Coffee & tea, Shopping | Barry’s Gold Blend (80 bags) € 7.25
Invalidenstraße 160 | Mitte | +493028040660
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 16:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

As city squares go, they don’t come much uglier than Alexanderplatz. Surrounded by a rash of imposing GDR-style unimaginative blocks, with perhaps Berlin’s ugliest fountain plonked in the middle, this is not the place to come for a romantic stroll. Much like the “Friendship Between Peoples Fountain” in fact, Alex looks terrible but means well.

Its real beauty engages on a more personal level thanks to the excitement of people milling around, the tourists and punks, the trams trundling through, and the tempting (even for vegetarians!) smell of roast Bratwurst which emanates thanks to the sausage sellers scattered around. Effectively the centre of a decentralised city, Alexanderplatz changes to suit the seasons and the whims of the people at any given time.

In November 1989, the largest demonstration before the fall of the Berlin Wall took place here and was pivotal to the fall of the East German regime. Its biggest gatherings these days occur at the various fairs and markets which call it home throughout the year. Glühwein-swilling at Christmas, chocolate-swilling at Easter, and beer-swilling any other time, there’s always something for swillers to swill!

Overlooked by the Fernsehturn, Alexanderplatz is also home to the funky World Time Clock, erected in 1969 and a popular meeting place for Berliners since. I presume this is so they know exactly how many minutes late you are. Germans don’t like to be left waiting as I’ve found out on numerous occasions, but thankfully for latecomers, Alex has plenty of distractions.

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Alexanderplatz | Art & culture, Relaxing, Shopping | Free
Alexanderplatz | Mitte
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

In an unassuming basement shop on Torstrasse you’ll find a small family run workshop that’s been turning out handmade comfy house shoes for generations.

In Germany – as in most civilized countries – it is customary to take your street shoes off when entering a home. And those bare, altbau parquet floors might be beautiful, but they won’t keep your feet warm. So, while it might feel like a geriatric thing to do, this winter get yourself a warm pair of felt slippers and you’ll be two steps away from that integration disaster you were in danger of becoming. Just wait, stay here long enough and you might even start bringing them with you when you visit a friend’s home. Then you really are German.

They come in a variety of colors and styles, though the orange plaid, backless version is the classic. And the price – around 10 euro – for handmade workmanship is unbeatable! Pick up a couple of pairs for the folks back home, they don’t need to know how cheap you are. Well, they probably already do…

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Jünemann’s Pantoffeleck | Shopping | Slippers from € 10.20
Torstrasse 39 | Mitte | +49304425337
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Herrmann Königs

“Prego signore!” is what I first heard at Gianni’s Pasta Bar – and of course ever on. Today I’m convinced that here is where Gianni brought his home – Italy.

This place is on one half a source for any Italian food you wanna buy (wine, pasta (-sauces), cheese, meat, marinated veggies, sweets, coffee, etc.). On the other half – and here comes my recommendation – I love it for the weekly changing lunch menu and the best coffee I found in town (and it’s more than reasonably priced – cappuccino € 1.60). Oh, and I should not forget to mention their yummy ciabattas (€ 2.60 – 3.30) in five different varieties which I prefer to take away.

But the actual star of the Pasta Bar are the lovely staff: Gianni Gillone – the always charming owner and workaholic and, of course, the very nice and friendly girls whom one quickly takes to one’s heart.

Being a regular here, I keep seeing new faces as well as many daily guests – and they can’t be wrong! It’s simply a great place to read newspaper or just to chat with friends.

I once took a couple of friends from Italy here. And they proved this place as “Italian”; they loved the coffee (that’s means something!) and liked the variety of Gianni’s goods.

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Gianni’s Pasta Bar | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Italian) | Pasta € 4.50
Schönhauser Allee 186A | Mitte | +493044323830
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 21:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Herrmann Koenigs

“For me Berliner backyards are like surprises. You never know what’s waiting for you behind the gate.”

On one hand the way apartment buildings were built during the so called “Gründerzeit” (time around 1870-1914) produced the typical apartment blocks in Berlin, now known as “Altbauten” (old buildings) or “Mietskasernen” (tenements). On the other hand it gave Berlin those backyards everywhere.

In a particular area called “Scheunenviertel” (Barn Quarter) you can find a couple of very interesting “Hinterhöfe” where life seems to be hidden. Enjoy theatres, cinemas, galleries, museums, shops, cafes, bars, restaurants and other surprises there!

Except for “Hackesche Höfe“, now a tourist magnet and the most prominent complex of backyards, tourists and even Berliners don’t visit them. That is very unfortunate. And you will understand that if you go out to discover the following backyards: – Backyard of Haus Schwarzenberg (see the Haus Schwarzenberg article)- Heckmannhöfe (see the Heckmanhoefe article)- Hackesche Höfe: a complex of 8 backyards Rosenthaler Straße 40/41 & Sophienstraße 6- Kunsthof, contains very nice hospitality and quality galleries Oranienburger Strasse 27- Sophie-Gips-Höfe, contains the Hoffmann Collection (see the Hoffmann collection article) Sophienstraße 21- Rosenhöfe, Rosenthaler Strasse 36- Panasia/Gallerie Cicero, Rosenthaler Strasse 38

Also, I’d like to encourage you to keep your eyes open for many other backyards in this area and not to be shy to enter them. With a bit of luck you can find real jewels of cultural & night life in them!

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Berliner backyards | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Theaters, Restaurants
Different locations | Mitte
Various opening times

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Herrmann Koenigs

Located next to the New Jewish Synagogue, the trio of backyards (see the Backyard article) “Heckmannhoefe” are really worth discovering.

Entering from Oranienburger Strasse, the first backyard contains a little bookshop and a candy-making shop in the basement, the “Bonbonmacherei” where you can watch Katja and Hjalmar produce traditional sweets with antique equipments.

In the second backyard, the main one of the three, you’ll see why this is certainly one of the nicest backyards complexes in Scheunenviertel. It houses a little theater, boutiques, cafes, restaurants and even a hairdresser’s shop. The surrounding ivy clad buildings invite you to take a seat on a bench next to a lovely little fountain.

In the third backyard which you can also enter from Auguststrasse there isn’t that much special stuff going on – except for the impression you’ll get when you see how residents have improved their homes with a nice little gazebo structure in their own backyard – that is the real Berliner backyard culture (see the Backyard article)!

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Heckmannhoefe | Art & culture, Relaxing, Shopping, Theaters
Oranienburger Strasse 32 | Mitte
Daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Herrmann Koenigs

One could say there are two cafes/bars, two shops, a gallery, a cinema, a museum…But that wouldn’t be enough to describe the importance of Haus Schwarzenberg. For getting a proper feeling of the cultural Berlin you have to go there.

Here is where Otto Weidt saved lives of deaf and blind Jewish workers from Holocaust in his broom and brush workshop. Find out more about this historical place in the “Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt“.

The memorial “Stille Helden” honors and commemorates those people who, like Otto Weidt, risked their own lives to rescue prosecuted Jewish people from assured death.

Go further through to the second backyard. Here’s the lovely cinema “Central” (see this article). Also, you have the café “Kaschemme” which is “turned” into a bar and renamed “Eschschloraque” at 20:00 (see the Eschschloraque article), a place with an alien-like decoration and really friendly staff.

Above the “Eschschloraque” is the “Neurotitan” – an extremely unique shop and gallery that sells, supports and exhibits all kinds of works of local artists, be it paintings/drawings, CDs/records or t-shirts/tops, books or other stuff.

Other places in Haus Schwarzenberg that are also worth going to are the “Anne-Frank-Zentrum” – an exhibition about the life of the Jewish girl whose diary became so famous and the lovely “Café Cinema” (see the Café Cinema article).

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Haus Schwarzenberg | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Music, Shopping
Rosenthaler Strasse 39 | Mitte
Daily

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 Natalia Irina Roman

Note: The Cafe has just changed locations in the same neighbourhood. Longer opening hours at the new venue

Once you are in Buchkantine, a café just a street away from the river, you will wonder: how come not all cafes have books, or how come not all bookstores serve coffee? The books are new, and in case something is missing, one can order new titles from one day to the next. The bulk is in German but there are also a few English titles.

There is Wireless Internet available for free, on request, and the music covers jazz and relaxed tones. They also show detective films every Sunday between 20:00 and 22:00. The people from Buchkantine are friendly and have a great sense of humor too. Some of their passwords for the Wireless used to be: I want to stay alone with my sandwich or the horse doesn’t eat cucumbers.

The mixture of books, music and drinks is a good choice for a relaxed afternoon or simply for a search for new books or new inspiration. While writing this text, I’m sitting at one of their tables and I observe with curiosity my neighbour – a middle aged man, alone with his laptop, longer hair, looking at the people sitting around as if they would suddenly become characters in his novel. One thing is sure, now he certainly has become a character in my article.

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Buchkantine | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping | Tea € 2.20
Dortmunder Straße 1 | Mitte | +493094883728
09:00 – 22:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin