Frithjof Paulsen – FU-BEST BLOG

Insider tips in Berlin

Even true original Berliners can still discover something new in our city every day – the choice of fascinating sights, charming neighborhoods or beautiful nature is simply too great. That’s why we reached out to our colleagues and present to you – Berlin’s best kept secrets!

Futurium:

The Futurium lables itself the „house of futures“. Here, everything revolves around the question: How do we want to live? Visitors can discover many possible futures in the exhibition, discuss them together in the forum and try out their own ideas in the Futurium Lab – all free of charge.

https://futurium.de/en?page=1

Berliner Unterwelten:

The association „Berlin’s undergrounds“ explores, documents and maintains underground facilities in Berlin. They offer various guided tours to places normally out of sight, including bunkers and metro tunnels.

https://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/en/index.html

Britzer Garten:

Source: https://www.top10berlin.de/sites/top10berlin.de/files/styles/juicebox/public/location/slider/2015/04/27/britzer-seeterrassen_totale_foto_top10berlin_792x400_.jpg?itok=5I-zpZK3

Neukölln isn’t necessarily know for its well kept green spaces – but Britzer Garten doesn’t fit that image at all. This park is a true green treasure off the beaten track.

https://www.britzergarten.de/en/

Bergmannkiez:

The Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg is one of Berlin’s most beloved streets for shopping, eating, drinking and really experiencing what Berlin is all about. It’s surrounding kiez (small neighbourhood) is home to endless restaurants, locally-owned shops and picturesque corners.

https://goo.gl/maps/2xhT8UkXzBicfmX26

Botanischer Garten:

The Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum are home to more than 22,000 different plant species. You can go on a trip from Alpine vegetation to the tropics – all of that not too far from campus in Steglitz.

https://www.bo.berlin/en

Liepnitzsee:

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/19-09-28-Wandlitz-0865-0873.jpg/1200px-19-09-28-Wandlitz-0865-0873.jpg

The Liepnitzsee, just outside of Berlin’s border in Brandenburg, prides itself with being one of the cleanest in clearest lakes in the region. Not only in summer, this is an amazing getaway from the big city.

https://goo.gl/maps/JEb4o27nJoAtU3MTA

Pfaueninsel:

https://www.berlin.de/binaries/asset/image_assets/6285178/source/1646398788/624×468/

The Pfaueninsel „peacock island“ is located in the river Havel and is part of the UNESCO palaces and parks of Potsdam and Berlin. It’s a car free nature reserve, including many (you guessed it) trusting peacocks to feed.

https://www.spsg.de/en/palaces-gardens/object/peacock-island/

Zenner Biergarten und Weingarten:

Source: https://media04.berliner-woche.de/article/2021/06/10/4/364614_XXL.jpg?1623317875

Zenner offers a modern take on a classic German beer garden, all in a beautiful spot in Treptower Park. Combine having a drink outside in the sun with strolling along the river or visiting the Sovjet memorial a few minutes away.

https://goo.gl/maps/cZ8TU4ppYnFZBF9H9

Café am Neuen See:

Source: https://media.cntraveler.com/photos/5b96e0962f11297e77971dd6/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/Cafe%2525CC%252581-am-Neuen-See_07.13_77.jpg

Do you sometimes dream about what it would be like to study abroad not in Berlin but in Munich? The Café am Neuen See in the Tiergarten is probably the closest thing to an authentic Bavarian Biergarten in very much not-Bavarian Berlin (they also have really solid pizza).

https://goo.gl/maps/MuR3CbTeovEKVJpu5

Virtual Berlin: Museums, Science and Literature

Germany is known as the land of poets and thinkers throughout the world. It can boast a rich heritage of literature, art and science that is still thriving today – with Berlin at its very center.

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Altes_Museum%2C_Berlin_2012.jpg

Pergamon Museum:

Visiting a museum in Berlin without having to stand in line? Perfect! Many of Berlin’s museum are currently offering virtual tours via the Google Arts & Culture App (for Android and iOS), for example the Pergamon Museum with its magnificant altar. The museum has developed a virtual tour that lets you discover their most famous attraction in amazing detail.

Freie Universität Berlin: Open Lecture Halls:

For more than 30 years, your very own FU Berlin has been holding public lectures over a broad range of topics – and now online as well! The lectures on diverse topics are free to all, offer dialog and discussion and you are always invited to participate. These public lectures cover for example body politics in feminist comics or multinational Sovjet literature in Berlin.

Literaturhaus Berlin:

Do you want to dive into German literature? The Literaturhaus Berlin is a great place to start for opening a new chapter in mastering the German language. Their website offers many different online talks with authors, writers as well as an extensive archive of previous events.

Museum für Naturkunde – #fürNatur digital:

The Museum für Naturkunde is Berlin’s largest natural history museum. Normally, you can admire dinosaur skeletons in the museum’s grand exhibition halls. But also during these times, you can discover the exibitions with more than 30 millions objects online, for instance by online guided tours or various podcast formats.

Virtual Berlin: Theater and Music

Berlin is Germany’s unrivalled center of all things theater and music. Even though the stages of theaters, operas and music venues remain closed for the time being, some of Berlin’s most famous artistic institutions have offered virtual alternatives until their doors finally open again.

Source: https://d24z4d3zypmncx.cloudfront.net/BlogPosts/top-mic-placement-tips-for-theater/images/top-mic-placement-tips-for-theater_header.jpg

Berliner Ensemble: BE at home:

The Berliner Ensemble, founded by none other than Bertolt Brecht, is one of Berlin’s and Germany’s top theater addresses. Their digital offers at “BE at home” include on demand recordings of panel discussions and lectures, audiowalks, podcasts, streams of historic Brecht-productions, backstage impressions… more than enough content to get you through these times!

Dringeblieben:

Dringeblieben is a collaboration of various cultural institutions across Germany bringing you streams and other digital formats directly to your home. Along with it: the Maxim-Gorki-Theater and the Deutsches Theater. No need to get lucky to get hold of theater tickets – you can just hit play!

Berliner Philharmoniker: Digital Concert Hall:

The Berliner Philharmoniker are one of the world’s best orchestras – and in their digital concert hall you can get a front row seat for free! The playlist includes various performances, conducted by the philharmonic’s chief conductor, Kirill Petrenko. Listen to pieces by van Beethoven, Mahler and Tschaikowsky as well as an interview with Petrenko.

Schaubühne Online:

The Schaubühne is the place to be in Berlin when it comes to contemporary theater. As they remain closed at least until Easter, they have launched Schaubühne Online. Every couple of days you can get free, exclusive access to recordings of plays by famed theater director Thomas Ostermeier, documentaries or panel discussions.

United We Stream:

Berlin’s clubs define the pulse of the city but were also hit hardest by the Corona crisis. “United We Stream“ aims to bring the clubs’ music and atmosphere into your home while supporting the clubs, artists and organizers at the same time. Discover different livestreams by world-renowned DJs from some of Berlin’s most legendary clubs, such as Watergate, Griessmühle or Sisyphos.

Virtual Berlin: History

In Berlin, you can find history on every corner. On the Museum Island you can feel the 19th century of the imperial era, at Alexanderplatz you can take yourself back to the time of the GDR and at the Brandenburg Gate, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the German reunification come alive. Throughout the city, bullet holes in buildings and Stolpersteine on the sidewalks remind us of the atrocities of World War II. Even in times of social distancing and lockdowns, these online resources help you to experience the past of Germany’s capital.

Source: https://c.pxhere.com/photos/ae/4d/berlin_brandenburg_gate_quadriga_building_goal-748077.jpg!d

Berlin History App:

The Berlin History App was developed by the City Museum Berlin and offers various participatory tools to discover Berlin’s fascinating historical heritage. It serves as a virtual museum by letting you browse through before-and-after-images, old maps, videos, audio-tours, interviews as well as the special online exhibition “Berlin 1945”… you can easily spend hours on this app!

Berlin 1928 und heute / Berlin aus der Luft 1953 und heute:

Two of Berlin’s daily newspapers, the Tagesspiegel and the Berliner Morgenpost, have developed two interactive maps that let you discover what the city used to look like in 1928 and 1953. Looking back almost 100 years, many parts of Berlin looked entirely different and can hardly be recognized nowadays. Also in 1953, areas that are now home to and high-towering skyscrapers and lively neighborhoods lay completely barren marked by the war just years before. Take the virtual tour and be amazed by how much the city has changed!

Pastvu:

Pastvu is an online photo database of historical photographs from around the world. For Berlin alone, there are thousands of photos from the last centuries to discover – all marked on a map with the exact location and sorted by color and era. You want to see how the Berlin Palace looked like 100 years ago or which buildings used to stand at Checkpoint Charlie? With Pastvu you can take a little trip back in time and not only check out what important Berlin monuments looked like in the past but also what everyday life on the streets felt like.

Deutsches Historisches Museum:

Germany’s national history museum, the Deutsches Historisches Museum, has digitized many of its exhibitions – completely free and accessible to all. Browse through some of the museum’s recent exhibitions, such as “Koloniale Geschichte(n)” about Germany’s colonies or “Facing Beethoven“ about portraits of one of Germany’s most famous musicians.