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.

Tips on how you might be able to leave your international bubble

Get off social media once in a while

Of course, it is important to stay connected to your family and friends, because they are curious about your life abroad and also want to make sure that you are okay. The good thing about social media is that we are so connected, sometimes we don’t even notice that we are away from our loved ones. This being said, when it takes us away from our life abroad too much, it can also become a problem. So, instead of liking pictures of the family dog every 5 seconds or be on a constant chat with your best friend at home, try to live more in the moment of your abroad experience.

 Join local sports classes

Sports is an excellent way to connect with all different sorts of people. The best way to get to know people fast are team sports, because you have to interact so much. The wide selection of sports classes that Freie Universität offers is a quick and comparatively cheap option to get active and meet fellow students from all different sorts of study fields. You do not have to rely on Freie Universität alone, but can also check out university sports classes at Humboldt Universität or Technische Universität Berlin. Another possibility is to take part in the numerous university sports events that are offered regularly by Freie Universität Berlin.

Go to a bar event

In a bar, it is obviously more likely to get to know people outside your „abroad cluster“, when you and your friends do not close yourselves off and reminisce about the great weekend you just had two weeks ago. To avoid the tendency of being exclusive, what about trying out a bar event, like a pub quiz or bingo night, which are generally more inclusive and you tend to get to know people more quickly. We recommend to check your favorite bar for events.

Or check out:

  • Bar Madame Claude (Kreuzberg), Lübbener Str. 19, 10997 Berlin – every Wednesday – no entry fee – Music Quiz “Guess the Song” (advantage: advanced German skills are not necessarily required). For updated program dates see their bar calendar.
  • Irish Pub Celtic Cottage (Steglitz), Markelstr. 13, 12163 Berlin – every Monday – 1€ entry fee – Irish Pub Quiz.
  • Bar Interface (Moabit), Perleberger Str. 17, 10559 Berlin – changing events.

Use meet up groups

Our modern world fortunately gives us the opportunity to connect with all different sorts of people with minimum effort and time constraints. In order to find likeminded people for all different sorts of activities and interests, you can take advantage of meet up groups that you can find online. What about joining a “Speak German while chilling in Berlin group” for instance?

Join a tandem

An easy way to improve your German and meet Germans at the same time is to join a tandem. The idea of a tandem is to meet with a German native speaker, preferably, at least once or twice a week. In casual conversations you both get the opportunity to practice the respective language. It is also a perfect way to leave the international bubble and maybe make a German lifelong friend.

 Volunteer

Volunteering is a wonderful way to meet new people, practice your German, and provide help to those in need. Obviously it is also a commitment and people will be depending on you so you should make sure that you have at least two hours per week that you can dedicate to volunteer work.

Try couch surfing

Couch surfing has become way more than just a cheap way to travel. The couch surfing community understands itself as an open and vibrant travel community, where everyone is able to learn from each other and dive deep into the culture of their hosts. The idea of couch surfing is that instead of using hotels, hostels, etc. when travelling, coach surfers look for locals who offer their couch/spare bed room for one or two nights and at best, have time to spend some time with their guests to show them around the city or join them for dinner, etc.

Of course, leaving your bubble requires an active part on your side. For sure,  this is not always easy or convinient, but certainly pays off at the end.

Drink at Velvet

We do not fall in love easily, but we did fall in love with Velvet, a small cocktail bar in the heart of Neukölln. This bar is located a little bit off the bar packed streets, but we would still suggest coming here early, as it gets crowded quickly. The menu changes on a regular basis, so we cannot recommend a specific drink, but are sure that whatever you will end up getting, will certainly challenge your taste buds in a very positive way (maybe you will never have a better cocktail in Berlin). Velvet believes in regionality, so instead of the standard pineapple, you’ll find local herbs, fruit and vegetables in your drink. Examples for some special ingredients are: mushrooms, black walnuts, plums, sorrel,… . Waiters are happy to help you with your choice and are eager to explain flavors and ingredients. The cocktails are quite pricy (around 10€+), but definitely worth it!

Velvet Bar: Wo die Ernte in den Cocktail wandert

Where? Ganghoferstraße 1, 12043 Berlin Neukölln
Opening hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 8pm - Close