Germany´s capital is one of the World´s most attracting metropoles to tourists and foreigners who want to settle there. As a person who grew up in the South of Germany and who has lived many years in Berlin I can confirm that this city is special – all in all very different from the rest of my country. Even now, living a nomad life, I often go back to Berlin to enjoy its multicultural flair, its abundance of awesome food places, shops and bars, the lovely green areas where all Berliners love to hang out and its openness towards everyone – no matter how crazy you are 😉 

Whenever you plan a trip to Berlin, you should not miss the following 5 Must-DOs, suggested from a „local non-Berliner“, because you can only call yourself a true Berliner if you are born there 😉 

1. Berlin for foodies and artsies

There is no chance that you will not be overwhelmed by the city´s variety of restaurants, street food stands and artsy places. So where to start and where to end? Make your life easy and just go to Boxi on a Sunday morning. 

Boxi is what we call our Boxhagener Platz – a meeting point for all kind of people and one of the most lovely neighborhoods in the city. Around Boxi you will find plenty of places where you can enjoy a proper Sunday brunch, followed by a stroll on the Boxi flea market. It takes place every Sunday morning and awaits you with an endless variety of clothes, kitchen utensils and even furniture. Of course the food stands are not missing – if you still feel hungry after your brunch go have a try. 

If you go to Boxi on a Saturday morning, you will find a lovely weekly market offering everything from local organic products to all kinds of Turkish spreads, Italian sweets, Portuguese pastries, fresh pasta, beekeepers honey, homemade soaps, jam, tahini or date syrup, basically everything you can imagine and beyond that. There are many stands with beautiful handcrafted items. Kiezelfen is one of my favorite stands, selling handmade jewellery made out of Berlin´s flowers – a nice gift or souvenir for yourself. 

Whenever you feel like having a coffee break, don’t miss the little coffee roastery Blaue Bohne at Seumestraße. It is a bit hidden in a small side street, but it has been the locals´ favorite coffee shop in the area, so you can trust them 🙂 For Berlin that is a general recommendation: stroll through the little back roads, because every corner has something different to offer. You can find the best food places and shops in these small streets, don’t get lost on the big main roads. 

2. Berliners love water

The river bank of our Spree invites people to hang out and relax throughout the whole city. No matter if you go West or East, you will find an opportunity to cool down your feet in the water and enjoy a beer in the sunset – which is probably one of the locals´  favorite way to enjoy their after-work hours. 

It´s up to you if you want to do that in one of our biggest parks, the Treptower Park, or in fancy Mitte, surrounded by the stunning fusion of old and futuristic buildings of our Regierungsviertel, or if you prefer the relaxed vibes around the Landwehrkanal, where most of the young and forever-young people meet to sit at the waterfront enjoying their beers and pizzas, kebabs, falafels or whatever kind of street food. 

One of my favorite places around the canal are Maybachufer, Landwehrkanalufer and the famous bridge Admiralsbrücke, where people just sit on the street and play music – until the residents call the police to get rid of them. Well that´s Berlin…

3. Berlin got culture!

We do not only drink beer and hang out in parks, we also love culture! I would say, Berlin itself IS culture, but of course you can also go to specific cultural spots. There are plenty of museums you can choose from, we even got a whole island full of museums! For that, please go to Museumsinsel. 

If you prefer something more artsy and less touristic, I recommend you to visit one of our Kiezkinos (small local cinemas). They don’t play the Hollywood Blockbusters, but a fine selection of international arthouse movies in original language with English subtitles, which you will not find in the big cinemas. 

During winter time they are the best option to spend a cozy evening, because you will be sitting on these old and comfortable big seats and sofas with side tables – like back in the good old times. Order a glass of wine at the counter to make your experience perfect. My favorite local cinema is B-Ware Ladenkino close to Boxhagener Platz.

In summer times, specifically from May to September, Berlin awaits you with a numerous variety of open air cinemas. We call them Freiluftkino. You find them mainly in the big parks throughout the whole city. My favorite one is Freiluftkino Insel on the Insel der Jugend, a small cozy island in our lovely Treptower Park. Grab a drink and get comfy in the sun chairs. Don’t forget to bring a jacket if it gets chilly later in the night, because, well Berlin is not known for its tropical hot nights 😉 

4. Immerse yourself in the Berlin Lifestyle 

You are wondering why Berliners always walk around with beers in their hands? Well, that´s our lifestyle. We love walking and we love beer. So why not combine it? 

If you are looking for the best route to walk and join the „Berliners pilgrimage“ so to say, you could try this: 

Start at Admiralsbrücke, get a beer from a Späti (local shop) around there and walk along the canal towards Maybachufer. If you are feeling hungry you might drop in at Ammazza che Pizza, if not, keep going, there will be more food options on the way. After that pizza place you should start turning down south towards Reuterplatz. If you haven’t eaten yet – grab a falafel sandwich at Sahara Imbiss, but only if you are a peanut sauce lover 🙂 

Keep walking down south to Reuterkiez and explore the area. Don’t forget to get another beer if yours is already empty (the local shops also have non-alcoholic beer and other fancy beverages!). 

You can pay a visit to the park Hasenheide before heading further south to Schillerkiez. Once you got enough impressions of Schillerkiez, turn West to end up at Tempelhofer Feld for sunset. The former airport ground is one of our favorite leisure places in the city. It´s a vast field which offers plenty of space for walking, running, cycling, skateboarding, inline skating or simply relaxing in the grass. I have seen stunning sunsets there – make sure you´ll be on time!

5. Enjoy Berlin´s famous nightlife

Berlin is one of those cities which never sleeps. Take the last energy you have left from your crazy Berlin day and explore the city´s nightlife. You can start your night in of the bars, which you find in abundance in every Kiez (small neighborhood). If you like lively places, I can recommend Holzmarkt25, which is a big playground for adults facing the Spree river and awaiting you with different food options and – of course – beer and other drinks. 

If you would rather go to a small and cozy bar, maybe our Speakeasy bars are a good option for you. They offer high quality drinks and a nice atmosphere where you don´t have to shout to each other, but can actually talk. My favorite is the Truffle Pig, a hidden gem with excellent cocktails. You find it inside of the bar Kauz & Kiebitz, but you need to be brave enough to push the fire alarm button in front of the toilets and go through a mirror! Have in mind that seats are limited. 

If you still have energy left afterwards, you should check the clubs! Berlin is famous for its techno parties, but there are many alternative clubs for other music genres as well. It´s hard to recommend a club, but if I had to choose, Sysiphos and Berghain would be the favorites for techno and Gretchen for everything else. If you already feel tired, no problem at all! You can go to bed, which you can easily book via Tryvium, and then go clubbing on Saturday and Sunday morning 🙂 Maybe after that brunch at Boxi?

When you go for a trip, there might be a couple of things to consider and prepare before heading off. If you are one of those people who struggle with all the pre-trip to-dos, you can follow these five tips, which will help you to be nicely prepared for your next adventure. As a nomad, I got the chance to improve my trip preparation procedure with every journey. Here I will show you what works best for me.

1. Make a checklist

Checklists help to get the chaos out of your head. Especially in these pandemic times you will need to double check for country entry requirements and local regulations. Make sure not to oversee a detail to have a smooth start. Do you need a visa? Are your travel vaccines complete? Is your passport still valid? Do you have international health insurance? Maybe your medical kit needs an update. Create a packing list to make sure you won’t forget anything. 

If you are traveling for a longer period you might need to organize some things at home, e.g. sub renting or canceling your flat, get rid of unnecessary stuff etc. Go step by step through your checklist to stay calm and focused.

2. Inform yourself about your next destination

You don’t want to stress too much about all that bureaucratic to-dos but you also want to feel the excitement of your next adventure waiting for you. Go get yourself a travel guide or browse through blogs and websites to catch a glimpse of the country you want to travel to. Maybe you will find out that you have to improve your packing list, because of the weather conditions or religion. If you plan to visit religious sites you shouldn’t forget clothing that covers your shoulders and legs. If you know people who already traveled to the destination you are planning to head to, talk to them and get precious first hand travel advice. 

When researching about a country, get yourself at least briefly informed about culture, history and geographics. If you are very motivated, you also could learn a couple of words of the national language to have a smooth start and get closer to the local people. Believe me, locals appreciate every single word you can say in their own language and you will have a much deeper experience and understanding of the culture. 

3. Stop traveling without packing cubes

Seriously, who doesn’t know that overwhelming chaos of clothes and other stuff in backpacks or suitcases? This is just extremely annoying and can be solved in such an easy way: get yourself packing cubes. I can truly say that they have improved my travel quality significantly.

You can organize your stuff very well and don’t even need to unpack it – you can just use the packing cubes as a wardrobe where your clothes will be stored without wrinkles. No need to roll them, just put them in as if it was a shelf.

When you arrive at your destination, you only need to get the cubes out of your backpack, forget about unpacking every single item – very practical when you change your destination a lot. This year, I managed to live completely out of my suitcase, I never unpacked it, because the cubes organized everything so nicely. You can order them online or get them e.g. at Decathlon. 

4. Go minimalistic

Do you really need all the stuff you are planning to carry around? We tend to overpack, especially women. Yes, I know that, I did that, too. But you will be very surprised, they have shampoo and conditioner in other countries, too 😉 Especially when it comes to cosmetics, I try to take as little as possible with me, because I can get everything locally. Of course, we will have to use another brand or product, but honestly, local people managed to live with that as well 😉 It’s a chance to try something new. Save weight in your luggage and leave the bottles at home. 

If you are traveling around a lot, it’s worth taking shampoo/shower gel bars with you. They are less heavy and quite convenient. I myself love the German product Duschbrocken – a combination of shower gel and shampoo in a bar. I also sometimes use it to wash my clothes and for shaving. Generally, I am a big fan of multi-purpose products in my luggage. 

When I pack, I ask myself: what do I need this product for? How often will I use it? If after months of traveling you find something in your luggage that you never used – kick it out. 
When it comes to clothes, you might also reduce what you take from home. Believe me, you will appreciate having some extra space in your luggage to bring back local things that you bought at a market for example. I personally like using merino shirts, because you can wear them for at least 1 week without washing and they serve for many occasions – be it hiking, working out or just for casual occasions. Using this natural fiber, you need to pack way less. Also, it dries very quickly when you wash it. You can get basic merino shirts at Decathlon, or if you want it more stylish and you are willing to pay more, check out Icebreaker.

5. Schedule your first days of arrival

Even if you like to be as flexible as possible, I can recommend you to have a plan for your first days of arrival to settle in, get used to the climate and maybe a different time zone, as well as to digest the first new impressions. 

Book your accommodation in advance, e.g. via Tryvium, save the address and contact data, make screenshots of your booking and inform yourself about the local transport system. If you travel to countries where you can’t necessarily rely on airport shuttles or an underground system, I suggest downloading transportation apps like Grab, which common in many South Asian countries. Using these apps you avoid unwanted charges as a tourist and you don’t have the struggle to find a taxi, bus or tuk tuk on the road, while you are all sweaty, loaded with your luggage and tired from the journey. 
Have a look at the city on Google Maps and pin your personal “wanna-go” places, so you can book an accommodation next to these places and avoid driving around. You can use Google pins smartly for your whole trip, e.g. star what you have liked, heart your very favorite places or flag the restaurants you still want to try out.

Even after traveling for years now, I follow those 5 steps before every new trip. It makes my travel much smoother and more enjoyable. And yes it´s some work to do – but it has always been worth it. I am sure, the more you travel, the more it becomes automatic and you develop your own preferences. Let me know about your trip preparation routine!

LET´S GO TRAVEL!