überlin

Sascha Funke, one of Berlin’s leading techno DJs and producers, unveiled his new project earlier this year. Called Saschienne, it’s a collaboration with his fiancée, French musician and dancer Julienne Dessagne. Together they’ve composed a new album for Sascha’s Kompakt home called Unknown, and in the spirit of just that, Pulse Radio asked the pair to run down their five favourite secret spots to hang out in their home city of Berlin.

Konnopke Imbiss, Schoenhauser Allee 44B, (under the S-Bahn bridge), Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
A legend. You can’t understand anything about Berlin if you don’t go there. The finest German gastronomy highlight: the Berliner Currywurst. A piece of sausage with curry sauce on top of it. But the delicacy doesn’t stop here, you have the choice between having your sausage with or without skin. We highly recommend the version without. If you don’t want to look like a tourist, just say at the counter with your best German accent “ohne Darm”. Don’t be scared, Konnopke looks at first like a poor restaurant you normally find off the motorway…but believe us, after that you’ll be able to say “Ich bin ein Berliner”.

Visite ma Tente, Christinenstr. 24, Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
As a Franco-German couple we sometimes have to make some compromises after the Currywurst… And when there’s some need for authentic French wine and cheese, Visite ma Tente is the place to go to. A nice atmosphere which goes beyond the smell of garlic and baguettes. Just a nice and simple bar where French people can also take their cigarette inside and talk very loud!

Food market on Zionskirchplatz, Berlin Mitte
Probably the smallest food market in the world! One butcher, one baker, one cheese stand, and a couple for vegetables. But everything you need to prepare a nice dinner. The market takes place every Thursday and we go there every week. In summer, you can buy some flowers too and there’s even a woman who sells her handmade hats from now and then. Our favourite remains the Lebanese man who sells delicious falafels. The church behind the markt (Zionskirche) makes the whole experience even more peaceful. Berlin just how we like it!

Happy Shop, Torstrasse 67, Berlin Mitte
For a few months, we could see from the backyard of our flat a construction area, wondering what kind of ugly supermarkt would come and ruin our view… eventually, the story turned into a happy end when we realised that the Happy Shop was born! A shop with a happy selection of clothes, accessories, and a few other objects that you don’t see everywhere else in Berlin. Even if you don’t buy anything, you feel happy to just have a look around!

Bookshop “Walther Koenig”, Burgstraße 27, Berlin Mitte
Located next to Berlin’s famous Isle of Museums, this bookshop has a huge selection of art books, sometimes available in different languages. We can spend hours in there. You can find some nice books about Berlin which have nothing to do with all the boring tourist stuff you see in most other shops. A lot of beautiful photography books. And many more. At the moment you can also find hundreds of beautiful books about Gerhard Richter whose exhibition is now at Neue Nationalgallerie (a must as well!).

Unknown by Saschienne is out now on Kompakt. This article was originally published on Pulse Radio.

We’re always on the lookout for the best Berlin song, and local boys Modeselektor may have released their hometown’s ultimate anthem. “Berlin”, a Miss Platnum collabo from last year’s Monkeytown album, has been given a new lease of life thanks to this awesome animated video from one of the band’s biggest fans. This clip full of Berlin icons (the TV Tower, kebabs, ravers) started when graphic designer François Chalet contacted Modeselektor with the crazy dream of persuading them to perform at his wedding. We’ll let him tell the rest…

We want to get married, and we want Modeselektor to play there … They’ll NEVER come and play at a wedding … And we wouldn’t be able to afford them … Weeks later I emailed Monkeytown Records in order to prove to Meike, my future wife, that this idea will always stay an idea … One day later at the phone – Monkeytown: “You contacted us at the perfect moment – we urgently need a good video because someone flaked on us!” One Skype conversation with Modeselektor … 3 weeks of hard work and little sleep … cardboard everywhere … lots of computer crashes and … Modeselektor will play at our wedding – hurray!

Monkeytown by Modeselektor is out now on Monkeytown Records.

Jacket: Acne | Jumper: COS | Skirt: Zara | Shoes: L’ Autre Chose | Rings: Weekday and ASOS | Bracelet: COS

3 Schwestern (“Three Sisters”) is probably the best place to eat when your parents are in town. Last time we went there (with my in-laws), we saw another couple we knew hosting one of their fathers – and they told us that some mutual friends had taken their parents there earlier that week. Located in Kunstquarter Bethanien, the former hospital where we once caught a Chicks on Speed retrospective, 3 Schwestern serves up tasty, traditional German cuisine – and occasionally live rock n’ roll – in a charming historical setting. If you want to know more about the background of the restaurant, read this excellent Slow Travel Berlin review, or just ask Zoë’s dad, who consumed a leaflet about its history along with his potato dumplings. See you there – with your parents, natürlich!

“Phew, what’s that smell?”
“Oh that. It’s just James.”

While I’m used to hearing these words, pretty soon they won’t have the same negative connotations – because luxury fragrance brand Frau Tonis Parfum have invited us to create an überlin perfume!

We have no idea what we’re doing, so we hope it doesn’t end up like those episodes of The Apprentice when they develop a deodorant that ends up burning people’s skin off or something. As the “recipe” of our special scent will be available to buy (as long as we don’t burn down the lab) we thought it would be wise to do some market research. So here’s your chance to get involved with the R&D of a new, high-end, hopefully sweet-smelling brand.

EDIT: We’ve closed our survey after an enthusiastic, but not particularly fragrant, response. Below are the results:

Our favourite thing to do in Berlin just got favouriter! The nerds behind Loxx Miniature Railway are forever adding new bits to their tiny version of Berlin, but this time they’ve surpassed themselves. They’ve added a mini Bundestag with a stage in front, from which some of the most iconic speeches in Berlin’s history are delivered. Press a button and up pops JFK to declare “Ich bin ein Berliner”, or Reagan to roar, “Tear down this wall!” The coolest touch is a set of working miniature cameras, which transmit the scene to a screen just over the “road”. If this awesome detail isn’t enough for you, check out the photos from our first visit to Loxx Miniature Railway.