überlin

Rumour has it that this weekend is your last chance to visit Spreepark Plänterwald! The former theme park’s future has been in question ever since its owners abandoned it to set up another failed amusement park in Peru, and then were caught trying to smuggle cocaine back hidden in their Flying Carpet ride. (True story. The documentary Achterbahn, which we borrowed from Dave andberlin, tells the full, fascinating tale.) And now, in a sign of the times, Spreepark is set to be auctioned off, although, this being Berlin, the closing date keeps shifting. Having said that, if you don’t visit before July 3rd, you might never get the chance.

And visit you should. Although we’re sure that taking the tour doesn’t come close to the thrill of breaking into the park, which used to be the only way to get in, Spreepark Plänterwald is still an unmissable, uniquely Berlin place. Apart from your fellow visitors and the odd security guard, the theme park still feels very much vacant – the big wheel still eerily turns, creakily blown by the wind, the only warnings about the parts that aren’t safe to walk on come from the guide’s mouth. It’s worth risking his wrath by sneaking away from the group, so that you can discover for yourself the lion’s mouth through which the rainbow-coloured roller coaster used to travel, or take a quiet walk through the graveyard of toppled dinosaur statues.

If you’re in Berlin this weekend, make sure you book a spot on what could be the last tour of Spreepark Plänterwald. You can find details, in German, here – hope you make it!

Photos by Zoë Noble Photography.

I love the fact that writing a blog about our lives in Berlin means we get the chance to meet likeminded people, who are passionate about following their dreams and setting up something special in Berlin.

Alex and Joe from MAR-DEN fit that bill perfectly, opening a vintage furniture pop-up store in their beautiful Berlin Wohnung. The couple source furniture and objects they would love to have in their home, each piece of which has a unique charm and a story to tell. Alex’s background as a set designer back in the UK means that she lives and breathes interiors, picking pieces that are “both functional and beautiful.” She believes that furnishing one’s home should be fun, and explains that MAR-DEN’s goal is “to help people step away from buying new, mass-produced items which can lack personality.”

I really love this ethos and James and I most certainly could do with a little help in that department. Moving to a new country with only two suitcases and two cats (not inside the cases, don’t worry!) meant that the daunting task of filling an unfurnished flat – which in Germany couldn’t be meant any more literally – seemed completely overwhelming. We practically lived in IKEA for those first few months, stocking up on weirdly-named household items like nobody’s business. After nearly two and a half years in Berlin, we now feel settled enough to start investing in some items that we really love, and say something about us as well.

Walking into the MAR-DEN apartment I pretty much fell in love with everything, which I guess is going to happen when the pieces are lovingly hand-picked, and restored by a professional set designer! Sadly the pop-up shop is only open until June 30th before everything gets shipped back to their UK store, so I urge you to check it out soon. Joe and Alex dream of coming back to Berlin to set up a permanent store as they, like us, have been bitten by the Berlin bug. I really hope they do, as not only do I love hearing about people following their dreams to Berlin, but our Wohnung could sure use their help ????

Photos by Zoë Noble Photography.

If anyone ever asks where we could see ourselves living, if we weren’t in Berlin, our answer is always: Barcelona. Fortunately for us, the team behind the popular Neukölln tapas bar Gaston have opened up a new restaurant nearby, which brings Catalonian cuisine to (nearly!) our doorstep. Feliu is a charming, rustic restaurant next to AKA on Pflügerstrasse, which serves up  a contemporary twist on classic Mediterranean food, in warm, candlelit surroundings.

We were treated to a selection from their seasonal menu, starting with roasted aubergine in miso vinaigrette and manchego cured cheese, and mouth-watering red tuna tataki with fresh green and white asparagus and wasabi mayonnaise. The centrepiece of the meal, and the pride of Feliu’s menu, was the seafood fideuà – a Catalan version of paella which substitutes vermicelli noodles for rice, and features some of the most sumptuous shellfish we’ve ever tasted in Berlin. (Speaking of paella, some Sundays are paella day – follow Feliu on Facebook to find out when.) We recommend visiting Feliu in summer, while the (sometimes!) sunny weather matches the fresh Mediterranean flavours on offer at this welcoming, delightful restaurant.

Photos by Zoë Noble Photography.

We’re a little late to this party, and no doubt to old to be here anyway, but we’ve decided that this is *the* sound of Berlin summer. Lila Wolken (Purple Clouds) is a collaboration between Yasha, Miss Platnum – who sang on Modeselektor’s “Berlin” anthem – and MC Marteria, an EP that hit number one in the German charts, and spawned a sun-soaked video and the summer banger “Kreuzberg am Meer.” Bask in it! ☀

We’re super-excited to be helping to launch the inspiring new initiative Give Something Back to Berlin this Friday. One year after getting the feeling of “let’s do something – let’s get involved”, the GSBTB team are finally ready for their official launch – and we’d love you all to join us for a little celebration!

Give Something Back to Berlin is a platform connecting new Berliners with social initiatives. It’s about mixing, learning and sharing; about breaking down barriers between “us” and “them”; and about giving back to the city that we love. Through an online platform people can easily donate some of their time and skills to a local initiative that helps improve the city and the lives of the people that live here. One part Berlin DIY creativity, one part social engagement and one part social media makes a great equation for exciting collaborations! You can hear us talk about the project in this video, and read an interview with the GSBTB founders Anders and Annamaria by clicking on their little faces below ????

To celebrate the launch of the Give Something Back to Berlin website and the official start of the project, GSBTB and überlin want to invite you for a unpretentious release at the beautiful Agora co-working space in Neukölln this Friday! There will be free drinks and Korean sushi in the garden, followed by a short introduction to the project, before we open up the doors for the eclectic Agora Collect Festival.

Swing by to celebrate the many ways of giving something back – because this is just the start! Every skill and idea that we share will help develop Give Something Back to Berlin into an inspiring initiative that really works for the city! The only thing we know for sure, is that – Berlin being Berlin – this is the start of something really exciting ????

Give Something Back to Berlin Launch Drinks
Friday 21st June at Agora Collective, from 5pm
FREE ENTRY
Event details on Facebook

If you can’t wait until Friday to find out more, check out the check out the GSBTB website givesomethingbacktoberlin.com, and follow Give Something Back To Berlin on Facebook.

By Mike T West.

Oh my days! This is the start of an epic week filled with dirty sonic noise here at überlin. We’re DJing at the WASTED RITA AFTER PARTY in Neukölln this Friday and seeing Queens Of The EFFIN’ Stone Age… IN A CASTLE!!?! But daddy always taught us to eat our mains before dessert so here’s some hate-pie from Finland, Rotten Sound.

Dead Remains. Corporate Fuck. Abusement Park. No it’s not a night out at Matrix, but just a selection of songs that Finnish grindcore godfathers Rotten Sound will be playing this Thursday at Magnet. They join fellow extreme pioneers Converge (who we barely survived last year at SO36), in support of their new EP, a five minute acoustic meditation on holistic living in a folk stylee…

YEAHSHIT!

(This stuff charts well in Finland…)

Now celebrating their twentieth year, Rotten Sound have released eight studio albums, seven EPs and guest-starred on three episodes of Two And A Half Men. Now only two of their original members remain, guitarist Mika Aalto and vocalist Mika Aalto Keijo Niinimaa or “Q” & “G” to their fans. Previous band members have included “K”, “J” and “H” which is surely only a couple of vowels short of an amazing high Scrabble score.

Rotten Sound and Converge are playing at Magnet this Donnerstag from 8pm (doors at 7pm). Tickets can be picked up at all the usual places. See you in “Das Pit”.

“The search for pleasure is the search for happiness.” While this introduction, and the rest of the copy on Princess Cheesecake’s  website might seem oddly suggestive, that’s just because you haven’t sampled their wares. Ever since we happened upon this beautiful boutique bakery on Mitte’s Tucholskystrasse, and tasted a tiny selection of from their epic cheesecake counter, we have found ourselves dreaming about their sumptuous creations. I went with the grapefruit and dark chocolate, and Zoë picked the passion fruit – and we were both jealous of each other’s choices! If you want to taste the best cheesecake in Berlin and great coffee, in crisp, cute surroundings, you need Princess Cheesecake in your life.