Saschienne’s Secret Berlin
by James Glazebrook
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.