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 Berlin, eternal Bauhaus More than fifteen years after the fall of the Wall, Berlin is still constantly changing. While classic heritage, such as the Reichstag, has been given a new lease of life in many cases, the very best architects from the world over are coming here to give free rein to their creativity.
| Tourism and Gastronomy Epicurean Berlin - restaurants, cafes, bistros and markets By Georges Rouzeau Trendy or traditional, German or Turkish, Thai or Italian, Berlin cuisine caters to an infinite range of tastes. It is also a city of cafes and stalls where you can grab a bite to eat at any time of the day or night.
A crossroads at the heart of Europe, Berlin is an international city where you can find cuisine from all over the world. It has, nevertheless, kept its traditional gastronomy, which gives pride of place to meat (like everywhere else in Germany), and pork in particular. The valiant pig is consumed in the form of sausages, cold meatballs, pieces of loin, belly and knuckle, served with vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and potatoes. If you had to choose just one local dish, go for the classic Eisbein mit Sauerkraut (knuckle of pork with sauerkraut). Very often, eating in Berlin consists of having a snack in a little open-air stall (Imbiss). There you can sample the famous Currywurst (sliced sausage with curry sauce), Bockwurst (short thick sausage, boiled) or Wiener Wurst (long Vienna sausage, boiled). They are all served with chips. Berlin is also the undisputed capital of the döner kebab, a sandwich made with pitta bread, fine strips of grilled meat, salad, and yoghurt and garlic sauce. It is actually in this city that it was supposedly invented by a young Turkish immigrant, Mehmed Aygün. The döner is the time-honoured snack for people leaving techno clubs.
Good restaurants With respect to gastronomy, since reunification the city has attracted creative young chefs who started out in other cities or abroad. They draw a clientele consisting of politicians, journalists, artists and businessmen from the world over. In an exceptional setting an old neo-Gothic red-brick brewery dating from 1895 the Maxwell restaurant uses only fresh produce from Brandenburg. Frequented notably by the singer Lou Reed, the place exhibits astonishing works by the enfant terrible of British contemporary art, Damien Hirst. For Italian food fans, Bocca di Bacco serves excellent cuisine, with notably a very good calf's liver ŕ la vénitienne. The Michelin Guide of course gives many other addresses. It remains for us to point out that Berlin restaurants, whatever their standard, offer extraordinary value for money. A dish of pasta costs €5 in a pizzeria and you can have a whole meal for €15.
Cafes and bistros The Cafe Zapata is set in the Tacheles building, in Oranienburger Strasse. It was in this dilapidated squat that part of Berlin's alternative scene was born. Built in 1909, the Tacheles was part of the Friedrichstrassen-Passage complex designed by architect Franz Ahrens. These galleries linked Oranienburger Strasse to the famous Friedrichstrasse and were along with the Kaisergalerie of Unter den Linden / Friedrichstrasse among the most illustrious shopping arcades in Berlin. This legendary place hosts many concerts. The Cafe Am Neuen See is a real corner of paradise. This Biergarten (beer garden), set by a lake, is tucked away at the heart of central Berlin's green belt, the Tiergarten. Drinks, some food (pizzas, pretzels), and pleasant service. Kastanienallee Our favourite street for going out in the evening! Right at the heart of Prenzlauer Berg, an old East German working-class district relatively spared by the war, this is the haunt of students and artists. Countless tiny bars (Berliners like intimate places) with terrace tables lit by candles at night, lending many places the magic of Chinese shadow theatre. Our two favourites were Zu mir oder Zu Dir, with superb 1970s decor steeped in orangey light, and Visite ma tente, a Francophile bar Berlin-style, whose very name is delightful. Markets Berliners are mad about open-air markets. At the heart of the districts and villages (Berlin is a large conglomeration of small villages), in the Tiergarten, on the banks of the Spree and around churches, there are markets everywhere. Some specialise in food, others in second-hand goods (Berlin is paradise for flea-market fans), flowers or clothes. Since the fall of the Wall, small producers from the surrounding area have also been coming to sell their fresh or prepared produce here: a chance to discover specialities to snack on, such as Spreewald gherkins. Trödelmarkt Museuminsel: here you will find everyday objects, old books and all kinds of old things from the defunct GDR. Long live "Ostalgia"! Türkenmarkt: THE Turkish market of Berlin, a veritable exotic institution that transports you to the heart of Istanbul. Flohmarkt Strasse des 17 Juni: Berlin's biggest antiques market. Very popular with tourists, the prices are higher here than elsewhere. This classic flea market is nonetheless a great 1 km-long (over half a mile) stroll through the greenery of the Tiergarten.
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