Now I’ve written about how you should spend your first days in Berlin, but what about your nights?
Tired?
Wanna sleep?
Oh, come on!

If you just take a look at the rich offerings for the night of different pubs, clubs and concert halls all over the city, you will instatly get the feeling that every minute spent home is wasted – and so does apparently everyone, day by day. Except for Sundays and local holidays, you’ll find people overwhelming the streets, means of local transport and late-night open shops (a.k.a. Spätkauf, or Spätie) on the way to their evening programme – should that be a concert, theatre act, show, performance or just a beer with friends.

Although I didn’t really have the chance yet to exploit the possibilities of Berlins amazing nightlife, I already have some places I would recommend: first of all, there was this open-air beer garden we ended up one night, it was on Kastanienallee, and it’s called the Prater.. it’s hard to miss it. However, the whole allee is a great place at night, with people sitting in front of pubs and restaurants on the street.

The other great place to just simply sit on the street is Hackescher Markt, right near the river.

We’ve also been to some kind of house for different cultures, where there were several concerts of arabic and african world musicians, but since I was very new to Berlin, I can’t remember where it was… and there was this jazz pub as well, where one of our friends‘ band played a week ago, but the only thing I can recall that it was in Kreuzberg somewhere.. well, I’m not that good of a guide for an exciting evening in Berlin, am I?
What I know is that their music is worth a listening, because they were really great:
http://www.myspace.com/minamazemusic

All in all, the best place for an evening in Berlin for me so far happened to be our own kitchen… I know it’s the opposite of the post’s opening line, but still. We just moved in that day, and started talking and cooking, and playing music, and the hours just flew by. Here’s a photo proof from the middle of the night somewhen:

In fact, our french girl roommate’s mother is here for the weekend and right now she is cooking something delicious in the kitchen.. oh and I can hear something about a bottle of vine they brought from home. Sorry, I have to go now!

See you later,
Gabor

Since I’m a newcomer myself to this city with my last 2 weeks spent only here, if it comes to to write a short recommendation for other tourists what to visit here, we could say that I start with a bit of a handicap. On the other hand, I have the advantage of having fresh memories and impressions not shrouded by tipical tourist-guide lines, so I can share with you my favourite sights of Berlin.

First af all, I would recommend you to look around whereever you are, and go to the nearest park, just to get a taste of the feeling I felt on my first week here, seeing thousands of people, families and friends together enjoying simply being the closest to the nature possible in a town this big. If this park you found doesn’t happen to be near a lake or a river, than the next thing I recommend you to find one – that actually is!

Like the Müggelsee for example. It’s a very big lake in the B district of Berlin, which means you can get there by S-Bahn or by a simple tram as well, and I guarantee you won’t believe your eyes.
Now if you’re more curious what the city itself can show you, I would send you back to the central, basically to any of the streets that have a little more people than avarage… What for? To see the most interesting street musicians in Europe!

Solo-guitar players, saxophonists, trumpeters, different kinds of drummers, complete jazz bands playing on the street – as you can see, in Berlin nothing’s impossible! As far as I know, it’s hard to find someone here who can’t play any musical instrument at all… My favourite place, where you can find musicians even in the most unfriendly weather is the Mauerpark in Prezlauer Berg.
Of course, if you’d like to listen to professionals, there are lots of places to go as well. There’s a great thing that they invented here to get more people going to classical performances: the so-called Classic Card. If you haven’t turned 30 yet, you can get this card for only 15 Euros, and for one year, you can get even the best places at different performances related to classical music (opera, ballet, classical concerts etc.) at various spots in the city. For more information you should visit: http://www.classiccard.de

And finally, when you’re tired of culture.. well, you should have a drink at one of the many different pubs in Berlin! Since – of course – I haven’t been to many of them yet, I suggest you go into the closest one you can find. If it’s on the bank of one of the rivers or canals – even better!

And finally, if you are more into the calm, peaceful village-life, you can always take the S-Bahn to Potsdam or Spandau – two of the nice suburbian parts of Berlin with their own cultures and (world) heritages – they both worth a visit!

For now, that’s what I recommend – tell me when you’re finished!
Gabor