Schlagwort: Sports

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.

Make Berlin your active playground

(This account is written by a person who really likes sports) There are tons of sports opportunities in Berlin. The easiest way to take advantage of all of them (or let’s say a lot of them) is to have ‚the golden ticket‘, when it comes to doing sports in Berlin. Over the last year, I became a huge fan of the Urban Sports Club. A sports membership that allows you access to numerous gyms, yoga studios, swimming pools and other sports venues. I usually get bored easily and like to do a variety of different things. I love being flexible, not only of what kind of sports I do, but also when and where. Most venues do not require a sign-up in advance (a few exceptions apply), which gives you maximum flexibility.

How it works: as soon as you sign up online, you download an app. The app lists all USC partners in and around Berlin. You can filter by activity, venue, time, radius and area or just scroll through all the listings. Once you have found an activity, all that is left for you to do is to show up at the place and log in via a QR code. Done.

During a normal week, I would do a high intensity training with a group outside or inside, visit a standard gym and do weights, and go to a late-night yoga class. Granted, most standard gyms provide all these options under one roof. I guess it depends on what you are looking for and what is most important to you. I personally don’t always like the atmosphere in gyms and also don’t like to be bound to just one place. Especially, when it comes to yoga, I much rather go to a good smelling yoga studio than a sweaty gym (there are some pretty cool yoga locations in Berlin, especially in Kreuzberg).

Also good to know: you can pause and cancel your membership monthly.

(Although this reads like a paid ad, it’s not. I am just a big fan of the concept).

Climb up Humboldthain

(This account is written by a former „Weddinger“) The Volkspark Humboldthain (named after explorer and scientist Alexander von Humboldt) was one of my favorite spots when I was living in Wedding a couple of years ago. It is a cute little park opposite the U- and S-Bahn station ‚Gesundbrunnen‘. There is a rose garden and several spots to chill and hang out (including a swimming pool that is open in the summer months), but the highlight is the climb up to the Flak Tower. You can chose between walking or mastering the narrow stairs (also a perfect training spot for runners). Up there you have a great panorama view of Berlin. The Flak Tower is a seven story bunker originally built under Hitler’s orders to protect Berlin from aerial attacks during the Second World War (tours are provided by the Berlin Underground Association).

Where? Brunnenstraße 100, 13357 Berlin. Opposite the S-Bahn station ‚Gesundbrunnen‘

 

Visit Tempelhofer Feld – Winter Edition –

One of our favorite spots in Berlin is Tempelhofer Feld, a former airport that has been transformed into a green recreational area, where Berliners come together to do sports, have a picnic, go for a walk or enjoy amazing sunsets. Additionally, it provides space for up to 7000 migrants and has become one of Germany’s largest refugee camps.

As winter is approaching, obviously, it is too chilly to lie in the grass, but this doesn’t mean that the Feld should be ignored during the winter months. Here are some activities that are definitely winterproof.

1) As long as the Feld is not fully covered in snow, you can still do sports: go for a run (there are special markings on the ground for runners and skaters to train), play basketball, soccer or table tennis.

2) Fly a kite (winds can get quite strong).

3) Speaking of wind: be adventurous and book a kiteboarding lesson.

4) Put on a warm hat, rent a longboard and head down the former airport’s runway (straight into the sunset).

5) …whilst on the topic: dress warmly and watch the sunset.

6) Enjoy wildlife: Tempelhofer Feld is quite the bird sanctuary and 2 nature reservation areas have been created to help wildlife.

6) Book a guided tour and explore the area’s rich history: Tempelhof Airport is one of only two Nazi-built buildings to survive in Berlin (the second is Olympiastadion).

7) Get informed about the Feld’s refugee camp.

Where? Main entrance Tempelhofer Damm/S,U-Bahn Tempelhof, side entrance Tempelhofer Damm/U-Bahn Paradestraße; main entrance Clumbiadamm/Lilienthalstraße, side entrance Columbiadamm/Golßenstraße; main entrance Oderstraße/Herrfurthstraße, 5 more side entrances at Oderstraße
Opening Hours: January and December: 7:30am - 5pm
February and November: 7am - 6pm
March: 6am - 7pm
April and September: 6am - 8:30pm
May and August: 6am - 9:30pm
June and July: 6am - 10:30pm
October: 7am - 7pm

[After closing hours the park can be exited via revolving doors at the main entrances].