Here at Teatime, we get a lot of inspiration from the things we've seen and done. It's not about looking at what your contemporaries are up to (although we love to support people's exciting endeavours), mostly because you should be part of the zeitgeist, not trailing along behind it. Plus we don't think it's cool to re-hash other people's ideas. (You can see more about our thought process here).
Our big ideas come from more abstract, non-event related stuff; particular favourites are World of Interiors (for daydreaming about what you'd get up to in the amazing spaces), performances at Sadlers Wells (for powerful non-verbal communication) and travel. So every Thursday we're going to focus on our inspirations around the world: places we've been and places we dream of going to.
To kick off our series we're going to talk about some of our favourite spots in Berlin.
// 1. Where to stay.....
Budget: The Michelberger
If you're looking for somewhere affordable but cool to stay, you can't go wrong with the Michelberger. We especially recommend the Loft rooms, which feature a fun bunk-bed style mezzanine. It's well located (especially if you're travelling via Schoenefeld airport), the staff are friendly and helpful and there are live bands in the bar at the weekend.
Luxury: Soho House
We should declare a little bias here: we do work with Soho House on Edible Cinema, and we regularly enjoy the London based Soho House venues. But we do think that you'd have to be completely out of your mind not to acknowledge that Soho House Berlin is a wonderful place to stay. Not only is it one of the most affordable SH venues (if you book in advance rooms start from 133 Euro a night) it also has the best facilities. As an SH guest you have access to the bar/restaurant, whose menus are typically affordable, you also get to use the rooftop pool, the immaculate gym and the hamam. Plus of course the staff are a dream and the level of service impeccable. It's a bit of a treat, but if you're after a little R&R we wholeheartedly recommend it.
// 2. Things to see and do.....
Badeschiff Summer
Badeschiff WinterThe Badeschiff is our go-to place in Berlin. It's a series of piers extending out into the river, which house a pool and sun deck in the summer and a pool, saunas and bar in the winter. It's insanely cheap - 4 Euro for a day - and a singularly wonderful experience. We first went in the winter and enjoyed the liberating experience of rubbing ourselves down with snow post-sauna and swimming naked in the outdoor section of the pool while snow fell over Berlin. Really quite remarkable...
The Treptower fleamarket halls are in the same place (Arena complex) as the Badeschiff, but where the Badeschiff is super relaxing, the fleamarket is unflinchingly weird. Totally worth looking at, but not particularly easy going: it rather reminds you of the junkyard in Labyrinth.
When we have a day off in a strange city, we do two things: take an open top bus tour and visit the zoo. We know zoos aren't strictly ethical but we do love looking at the animals, and that's why we've been to the Tierpark no less than three times. The first time was the best because it was completely unrenovated with a dusty gift shop full of stock from the 1980s and the screenprinted entry tickets. The next time we went back it had been (boringly) made over but we still love it's strange, slightly forgotten-about feeling (largely due to it starting out as a private estate with menagerie) and some of the strange logic of it's design (the aquarium is a series of fish tanks in the cafeteria). Well worth an afternoon of poking around if you have the time and inclination.
// 3. Going out.....
Now, most people will tell you to go to Berghain or White Trash Fast Food and they're probably right. You'll see cool people in a cool place and have a good time. But if we're allowed to choose the destination for the evening we go straight past all the cool places to the glow in the dark mini golf. Yes, that's right: GLOW IN THE DARK MINI GOLF. Never has a more exciting sentence been strung together. Only a crazy person would try to top that. So we're going to finish up with this gem: Schwarzlicht minigolf. Feast your eyes on this lot...
