Prinzessinnengarten

Nomadisch Grün (Nomadic Green) launched Prinzessinnengärten (Princess gardens) as a pilot project in the summer of 2009 at Moritzplatz in Berlin Kreuzberg, a site which had been a wasteland for over half a century. Along with friends, fans, activists and neighbours, the group cleared away rubbish, built transportable organic vegetable plots and reaped the first fruits of their labour.

Worthy to visit it during summer or spring. In winter tent to be closed most of  the times. Check the website to get more info about the openning hours and alternatives activities and workshops.

Best time to visit: Spring and summer.
Official site:  http://prinzessinnengarten.net

Address: Prinzenstrasse 35 – 38 / Prinzesinnenstrasse 15
How to Get there: U8: Moritzplatz

Couchsurfing

Since  I'm in Berlin, this has been one of the main source of free activities. Random people creates activities free to join, based on their own interests.
Activities like: frisbee playing, volleyball, soccer, pub crawls, Spati crawls, movies, BBQ, visit to abandoned places, ....


Fully reccommended to people who likes to do stuff but does not know people in Berlin yet.
Feel free to create your own activities too.
More Information:  http://www.couchsurfing.org/search/activity/in/current

Brown Bears

One of the most surprising things in Berlin is how huge rooms are. Recently I was living in a massive 30 sq meters room with high ceilings. Another story is to build a 30sq meter enclosure and fit 2 bears in there.

 I'm not familiar with the story of this 2 brown bears but finding them enclosed in the middle of Berlin is quite sad. 

 

Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6llnischer_Park#B.C3.A4renzwinger
Address: Rungestraße 3-7 (Köllnischen Park), 10179 Berlín
Best time to visit: All year round.
How to Get there:  U8: Heirich-Heine-Straße ; U2: Märkisches Museum

Brandenburg Tor

I guess that there is no other image more representative of Berlin. This triumphal gate has a lot of stories to tell. Really worth to visit and recommended to combine it with many other activities in the area

 

Official Website: http://www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/brandenburger-tor/
Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate

Address: Pariser Platz  10117 Berlin
Best time to visit: All year round. Any time of the day.
How to Get there:  S1,S2,U55: Brandenburg Tor

Deutscher Bundestag Dome

The roof terrace and dome of the Reichstag Building can be visited, and offer spectacular views of the parliamentary and government district and Berlin’s sights.



Admission is free; advance registration required.

 

Online registration and date request: https://visite.bundestag.de/BAPWeb/pages/createBookingRequest.jsf?lang=en
Official Website: http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kupp.html
Address: Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin
Best time to visit: All year round.
Opening Hours:  Daily from 8.00 to 23.00
How to Get there:  S1,S2,U55: Brandenburg Tor ; U55: Bundestag

Volkspark Friedrichshain

Beautiful park located in the former East Berlin. Great place for jogging, cycling, skating, volleyball Beach playing, walking and even rock climbing.

Actually the rock climbing place are few small stones, good enough to improve your technique. Do not expect anything fancy. There is also a Beach Volleyball area, but I think it's only available during summer time. There is a Tennis pitch but not sure if it's private.

There is a pretty funny Propaganda looking statue, apparently being a Monument to the Spanish Civil war. The shinier colour fist makes the statue more impressive. Check also for the Fairy Tale Fountain. 

 

Address: Volkspark Friedrichshain, 10243 Berlin
Best time to visit: All times, all year long
How to Get there:  Tram: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, 20

                             Busses: 100, 142, 200, 257, 340
                             U 5 till Strausberger Platz
                             S 4, 8, 85 till Landsberger Allee
                             (10 minutes walking distance in all cases)

Wikipedia Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkspark_Friedrichshain
Official Berlin Information Site: http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/umwelt/berlin_move/en/laufstrecken/laufstrecke11.shtml

East Side Gallery

This is one of the MUST places in Berlin. Around 1.5 km of the original Berlin Wall are here. Nice to walk around there at any time of the day. Week ends tent to be more busy, nights are almost empty.

The wall has been painted by artist from all over the world. Some of the pains are cheesy, some satirical and some funny. 

 

Adress:  Mühlenstraße 6, 10243, Berlin
Best time to visit: All year round. Any time of the day. It's also good to visit it at night time
How to Get there:  U1, M10,S7,75,S5,S3: Warshauer Str
Wikipedia Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side_Gallery
Official site: http://www.eastsidegallery-berlin.de/

Deutsche Guggenheim (Monday Free)

Deutsche Guggenheim has free entry every Monday. Some of the exhibitions might not be available, but still worthy to visit this museum.

Location: Unter den Linden 13/15, 0117 Berlin
Official Website: http://www.deutsche-guggenheim.de/index_en.php
Opening Hours: Daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
http://www.deutsche-guggenheim.de/vi_opening_hours_full.php

Abandoned Ice Factory

Another beautiful abandon spot in Berlin facing the river and with great views from the top.

The old Ice fabric is quite centrical and make a nice visit for a couple of hours. There is still some machinery left and the roof top is a good place to enjoy a beer during a sunny day.

Accessing to the factory is quite easy from the east side or from the front gate. Ground is rock solid but there is some broken glass and no protection in some of the stairs.



I ended up in this place by following the instructions and articles of this blog:
http://www.abandonedberlin.com/2011/11/frozen-out-abandoned-ice-factory.html

Take your time reading the article in that blog if you are interested in the history and more details of the place.

Consider creating and event in the couchsurfing web site or other similar service if you wanna recruit people to come along.

 

Address: Köpenicker Straße 40/41, 10179 Berlin, Germany.
S Bahn: Ostnanhof
U8: Heinrich Heine Str.

Abandoned Berlin Blog site: http://www.abandonedberlin.com/2011/11/frozen-out-abandoned-ice-factory.html

Berlin Wall Documentation Center

This is one of the 2 main places where you can find big areas of the original Berlin.
You can just wonder around the open air exhibition with some audio documented posts and some information.

The place is best visit during the day hours and it can be easily combined with a  visit to the Mauer Park, and Mauer Park Flee Market.

There is also an exhibition center, check opening hours below, but I did not make it in and I'm not sure if they charge or not.

For more historical information about the site and the Wall check wikipedia and the official website of the exhibition center.
Personally I think that this is an interesting well documented sightseeing place but if you are just interested in the wall, head towards the East Side Gallery.

 

Address: 
Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer
Bernauer Straße 111/119, 13355 Berlin
S Bahn: Northbanhof
Tram : M10
Bus: 245, 247

Opening Hours:

Open-Air Exhibition and Memorial Grounds
All year round Monday - Sunday 8:00am - 10:00pm
Visitor Center and Documentation Center
April - October      =>  Tuesday - Sunday 9:30am - 7:00pm
November - March => Tuesday - Sunday 9:30am - 6:00pm

Official site: http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/
For location map, see link below.

Don Xuan - Little Vietnam

Little Vietnam:
This is just a bunch of industrials hangars where you can find any kind of Asian accessory, cheap shinning useless gifts and the biggest Asian supermarkets in all Berlin. Get you hair cut or your nails painted by dubious skills masters.
Unexpectedly a friend brought me to this place. This is not exactly a tourist attraction, but, from my point of view, deserves to be mention here.
Cool place to visit or the best spot to get Asian vegetables, fruits,... or just to get cheap shinning accessories for Carnival.

Best time to visit: Not sure of the opening hours.
How to Get there: As far as I remember I got there by tram M8 or M6 (I will update in the future)
Address: Herzbergstraße 128, Berlin Lichtenberg,
Official site: http://www.dongxuan-berlin.de/

Max Plank Science Gallery

This is a pretty cool small free exhibition from the Max Plank Institute. Good spot to browse trough science studies and innovation, presented in sleek touchscreen pannels and cool infographics.
Definetely worthy to spend half an hour there.

Official site: http://www.max-planck-science-gallery.de/?lang=en
Opening Hours: Mo-Mi, Fr: 10 - 18; Do: 10 - 20;Sa-So: Closed
Address: Markgrafenstraße 37 10117 Berlin (see link below to Google maps)

Abandoned Brewery (Bärenquell Brauerei)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best time to visit:

Getting there:

What
Bärenquell Brauerei, abandoned brewery.

Where
Schnellerstraße 137, Schöneweide, 12439 Berlin, Germany.

How to get there
The S8 towards Grünau will drop you off at S-Bahnhof Schöneweide. It's a 650 metre walk from there. Or cycle through Treptower Park if the weather's nice, maybe stopping if you dare at Spreepark enroute, and just keep the river on your left until you find yourself on Schnellerstraße with the brewery on your right. Here's a map so you won't get lost.

Getting in
It's very easy. A low window just in front of the main entrance on your right practically invites visitors, while the convenient crate underneath is sheer luxury!

When to go
Anytime really, although there could be weirdos and shady types here at night. Nightime is always spookier, but you will obviously see more during the day and some of the street art is well worth checking out.

Difficulty rating
2/10 Piss easy. The biggest difficulty is getting here which isn't that hard at all. As with anywhere where betreten is verboten, watch out for passing Idioten who have nothing better to do than ring the police at the slightest hint of anything illegal going on.

Who to bring
Like-minded explorers.

What to bring
Beer! Ironic as it may sound, it is essential to bring beer. Looking at all those happy bears enjoying their giant pitchers will have your tongue hanging oit of your head. And that exploring is thirsty work! Bring a torch too, and a camera if you want to take arty pictures.

Dangers
Watch out for weirdos and squatters. There were definitely signs of habitation in some of the outhouses although they weren't what you would call luxurious. I'm sure most weirdos and squatters are harmless, but caution is nevertheless advised. But then, this is Berlin, you'll be used to all that by now.

More wonderfull pictures of the Bärenquell Brauerei can be found by clicking on More wonderful pictures of the Bärenquell Brauerei can be found.

More Information:

Article at Abandonberlin web blog:http://www.abandonedberlin.com/2010/08/barenquell-brauerei-brewery-abandoned.html 

Best time to visit:How to Get there:More InformationOfficial site

Kids hospital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best time to visit:

Getting there:

What
Abandoned children’s hospital and previously Germany’s biggest women’s gynaecology hospital for births, the care of newborns, premature nippers etc. By that, I mean the clinic was the biggest of its type in Germany, not that it was only for Germany’s biggest women. Ditto the hospital, it was abandoned. It wasn’t a hospital for abandoned children.

Where
Mariendorfer Weg 28 (older buildings) and Mariendorfer Weg 41, 48 (you guessed it, newer ones), Berlin 12051, Deutschland.

How to get there
Hermannstraße‎ U+S-Bahnhof (Or is it S+U Bahnhof?) is quite close, on the U8, which links up with Alexanderplatz, and the Ring Bahn which is handy for everywhere else. A map you say? Why, of course.

Getting in
Pretty damn easy, which is why the place is infested with homeless as that chatty old woman told us. “There are holes all over the place. There’s no way they can keep them out.” I guess that goes for explorers too. I walked around the block and pulled back the fence at the corner on Eschersheimer Straße.
We’ve an old mattress going if anyone wants to move in. You’ll have to pick it up yourselves though. I’m not bringing a fucking mattress down to Neukölln on me bike...

When to go
Any time really. I went during the day so I could see things, but it’s probably a lot scarier at night, creeping around with the hospital creeps....

Difficulty rating
2/10. Easy to get in, easy to get out, accessible by public transport; what more can you ask for?

Who to bring
This isn’t really a place for romance, but you might want to bring a companion as back-up in case there are any unpleasant encounters with the inhabitants.

What to bring
Camera, beer, a large stick.

Dangers
The aforementioned inhabitants

More Information:

Article at Abandonberlin web blog: http://www.abandonedberlin.com/2012/01/lost-hope-abandoned-childrens-hospital.html

Tempelhofer Airport

 Not Many cities can claim that they've turned an old unused airport into a massive Park in the middle of a City.

Tempelhof Airport (check Wikipedia article to know more about it) was closed in 2008 and the space was made free for people to walk, play football, windsurf, kitesurf, barbecue, .... even gardening.

This is a perfect place to spend the day biking, running, doing wind sports, or just laying down in the grass.

The landing strips still have the paintings on and some of the traffic signs and road names are preserved.

There are also couple of planes exhibited.

 

I'm not sure if there is a way to get closer to them, but both models that I've seen are behind a fence. 

Random people seem to gather there for soccer games, specially on the week ends.
Apparently there park starts getting busier and more interesting during spring ans summer.

There is a BBQ area but I did not check it yet. I might update this post by summer when I can personally check that out.

Wind sport lovers will find this place awesome. Grab anything that creates wind resistance plug it into a board with wheels and here you go, you got a land version of any famous wind activity such as windsurfing and kytesurfing. 

Its amazing to see the people on the picture below performing up to 1.5 meters, or maybe more, jumps with this equipment and falling into hard ground.

 

 Inline skating, biking,... just name it and it can be done there. The landing strip are fully available for any sport and there are massive patches of grass for the ones who prefer soft ground for running, jumping, ....

There is also a funny garden on the side closest to Neukoln. Apparently locals created they own patches of garden to grow some stuff. All the garden and furniture is made from recycled materials and  second hand furniture. Very original. Looking forward to walk through during spring time when flowers bloom. 

Best time to visit:

You can visit the park all year long but best timing is spring and summer. Keep in mind that the park closes at night. The schedules changes depending on the months. The official website shows the opening hours.

Getting there:

There are several access points to the Park.See map below. You can get off at any of the following U Bahn and S Bahn Stations. 

U6: Paradestr

U6, S41,S42: Tempelhof 

U8: Leinestr

More Information:

Official site: http://www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Tempelhof_Airport
Address: Tempelhof Airport (THF), Mühlenstraße 15-17, 12247 Berlin (see Google Maps Link below)