Welcome to our official FU-BEST blog! Here we share everything exciting in and around Berlin with our current FU-BESTers. Of course, everyone else who is interested in getting a glimpse into the perks of being a student in Berlin is cordially invited to join us along the ride.
You’ll find tips for interesting lectures on and off campus, free time activities, event information, our favorite eating spots, and many other things that make Berlin unique.
Why not ditch your local supermarket that is only five minutes from your house and go on a shopping adventure to the Turkish market in Kreuzberg/Neukölln (even if not for your weekly grocery shopping, then at least for the experience). The Turkish market at Maybachufer is a mix of stalls selling a variety of different things, from household items to fabrics, to books, and of course, lots of, lots of food (including cooked lunch options). Most of the fruit and vegetable is unbelievably cheap in comparision to normal supermarkets. We remember times, where former roommates used to come home with 10 mangos for only 5€ (noone can eat this many mango though). It can get a little crowded, once local shoppers and curious tourists are all heading down the rather narrow path between the stalls. However, this just gives you the time to slow down your pace and immerse yourself into the numerous food options.
For those of you who need a break from the (at times overwhelming) bustle of Berlin and want to reconnect with nature, be sure to visit Domäne Dahlem!
Domäne Dahlem is an organic farm in a historic country estate with a blacksmith shop and an open-air museum for agricultural and food culture. So if you’re at all interested in what organic farming in Germany looks like, this is the place to go!
Domäne Dahlem is an organic farm in a historic country estate with a blacksmith shop and an open-air museum for agricultural and food culture. So if you’re at all interested in what organic farming in Germany looks like, this is the place to go!
At their traditional potato festival, you can harvest organic potatoes from the field yourself. Both modern and historical potato varieties with different cooking properties and very different tastes and appearances are grown here. You can harvest the popular „Linda“ yourself as well as rarities, e.g. „Bamberger Hörnchen“ and „Blauer Schwede“.
Experience and discover selected stands with handicrafts and specialities, ecological delicacies with and without potatoes from their organic gastronomy, live music and lots of hands-on activities.
Welcome to Germany! To help you settle, you will want to have a local phone number and mobile internet available. For that, you have two options. Either you are getting a mobile contract that binds you for usually 24 months, or you can get a flexible and more affordable prepaid SIM card in Germany and choose the phone plan most suitable to you.
Make sure to only get a Prepaid option, do not commit to any long-term binding contracts!
Prepaid SIM cards offer the best value for money when it comes to mobile communication in Germany. To help you make a choice and not feel overwhelmed by the chaotic offer of mobile phone plans out there, we have selected the best prepaid SIM card in Germany.
Lidl Connect
Lidl Connect is the prepaid mobile offer from the big German supermarket LIDL. It uses the Vodafone network lines and offers LTE internet speed. Lidl offers different plans. Its basic Smart S plan was recently awarded as the best Prepaid Tariff by the renowned magazines CHIP and Connect.
The Smart S plan offers unlimited phone calls and SMS within Germany and 3 GB LTE data. It costs 7,99 euros for 4 weeks. The biggest plan, Smart XL brings 12 GB data for 17,99. The card costs 9,99 euros; however, it comes with a balance of 10 euros. So basically, it is for free.
Once you activate your card, you can select the data plan you would like to choose on your Lidl online account. You can change the tariff whenever you want or add data packages when needed.
With Lidl, you can either manually wire money every 4 weeks to your account or activate an automatic recharge from your bank account or via Paypal of let’s say 10 euros, each time your balance drops below 10 euros.
Instead of ordering your SIM card online, we recommend to buy it at one of the many LIDLs across Berlin. Just ask for the LIDL Connect Starterpack at the counter.
Aldi Talk is the direct competitor of Lidl, not only in terms of the prepaid mobile phone offer but also with its core product, the supermarket. Aldi offers a very similar product as Lidl; however, the most significant difference is that Aldi uses the O2 network, which is the smallest network in Germany. The O2 reception in cities is excellent, whereas, if you spend a lot of time in rural areas, it is not a good choice for you.
The Paket S plan offers unlimited calls and texts and 3 GB LTE data. It costs 7,99 euros for 4 weeks. The biggest plan, Paket L brings 12 GB data for 17,99. The card also costs 9,99 euros; however, it is preloaded with a balance of 10 euros. So it is basically free as well.
When you compare mobile phone contracts, those using O2 are always cheaper than those using Vodafone or Telekom. Therefore Aldi offers the same product for the same price on a weaker and cheaper network.
Once you activate your card, you can select the data plan you would like to choose on your Aldi account. You can change the plan online, whenever you want.
With Aldi, you can also manually wire money every 4 weeks to your account or activate an automatic recharge of let’s say 10 euros each time your balance drops below 10 euros.
Of course, you again have the option to buy a top-up balance card at an Aldi supermarket. You will find them at the cashier counter.
The Vodafone Germany prepaid sim card packages are called CallYa and they offer the following data packages valid for 4 weeks. Vodafone Germany has a very advanced 4G/5G network and their prepaid sim card deals are by far the best. For €20 you get 15 GB data + unlimited calling and texting in all of Europe.
Once you hold your card in hand, you need to activate it. Since July 2017, all prepaid SIM cards need to be registered in person or via VideoID, to prevent crime and misuse.
You will need your official ID card or passport and a German home address to register. Online is the fastest way and only takes a few minutes. However, not all passports are supported online. Should your nationality not be valid for online identification, you can go to your closest post office.
Once you activated the card, you can choose the tariff you like and your preferred top-up method in your online account.
If you ever find yourself at S+U Zoologischer Garten, it’s worth stopping by C/O Berlin, an exhibition space for photography and visual media. Located right next to Amerika-Haus on Hardenbergstraße, the nonprofit organization focuses on presenting works by respected artists as well as supporting emerging talents, and welcomes everyone to discover contemporary visual culture. As a place to exchange new ideas, C/O Berlin organizes Artist Talks, Panel Discussions, Film Screenings and guided tours, offering visitors a place to exchange thoughts on the exhibition program and engage in current debates on visual culture. Their upcoming exhibtion Queerness in Photography (Sep 17, 2022 – Jan 18, 2023) examines the representation of identity, gender, and sexuality in photography in three complementary exhibitions.
If you happen to find time during your first week here in Berlin, there’s two more amazing artists being exhibited at c/o until Sep 07, 2022.
Susan Meiselas
The exhibition Susan Meiselas . Mediations is the first retrospective in Germany of the Magnum photographer’s over 50-year oeuvre—from her early portraits of neighbors to intimate shots of strippers to her iconic photographs from crisis and war zones.
In her solo exhibition A Chance Encounter, Bieke Depoorter presents Agata and Michael, two series that begin with chance encounters. Personal relationships with the people featured in her photographs, which were developed over the course of several years, significantly influence Depoorter’s artistic practice.
Summer in Berlin means many things. It is also the time for outdoor cinemas (in German ‚Freiluftkinos‘). The season is from May to September, which means all Fall FU-BESTers will defnitely be able to catch a movie under the starlit sky.
To make your life a little easier, we have put together a list of the best outdoor cinema opportunities in Berlin.
Berlin’s oldest open air cinema is tucked away behind the Kunstquatier Bethanien, which makes for a very special atmosphere. The pro tip is to buy tickets beforehand online and come early, so that you can grab one of the sun loungers available and safe yourself the perfect spot on the grass in front of the screen. If you snooze, you will lose. So don’t be late. Most movies that are shown are originals.
This one is located in Volkspark with bench-style seating options. If you prefer to spread out, you can bring a blanket and sit on the grass. They mostly show dubbed movies, so pay attention to their program.
Rehberge is a lovely park in Wedding, which provides a very peaceful location for watching a movie. Probablyt the only thing you will hear whilst watching the movie will be the whistling of the trees around you. They have seats available for up to 1500 people. Again, pay special attention to their program to see which films are in English or German.
This is by far the open-air cinema with the most urban feel setting in this list. It is not as intimate as some of the other suggestions, but for those who want an opulent city view to come with their movie experience it is perfect. From indie films to blockbusters, this cinema shows originals with German subtitles.
Going back to a more cosy cinema experience, Freiluftkino Hasenheide comes to mind. It’s a charming open-air space with a sizable screen. The bench style seats can be a little hard on the bum though, so you might wanna bring your own blankets or cushion.
Last but not least, here is a tip for a free cinema experience. The Kulturfabrik, which usually serves as a concert hall, music venue, art house theatre, to name but a few things that are happening here, hosts free open-air movies in the courtyard, on Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm. Most of the films shown are in German.
Lehrter Str. 35, 10557 Berlin
Gereral-open-air-cinema-advice: Do not make the rooky mistake and be fooled by the warm weather. After the sun goes down it still gets pretty chilly, especially when you are sitting. Bring layers!
