I’m excited about Social Media Week Berlin (24th – 28th September), for three good reasons: 1) social media is both my job and my private life – and the reason I can’t always tell the difference between the two; 2) this year’s schedule is full of even more awesome than last year’s (read my highlights here); 3) oh, and I was part of the Advisory Board responsible for putting it all together (see my biog and moody photo here). Here are my personal picks of what is shaping up to be a very special week here in Berlin. All events are free, and open to the public (although you do need to register), so I’ll see you down there!
MONDAY 24th SEPTEMBER
Social Media Week Official Opening Party @ Fluxbau (event info)
A no-brainer this one, with free drinks (the Nokia-sponsored Social Bar will give away beer, wine or long drinks, depending on which of three hashtags is most popular at the time), views of the Spree and a performance by an Italian band touring all the European Social Media Weeks: Gardens of Alibis woooooo. Friday’s closing party should be something special too – silent disco, anyone?
TUESDAY 25th SEPTEMBER
Network Awesome @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info)
No more information on this yet, but if it’s half as awesome as Network Awesome’s cleverly curated YouTube videos, it should be Fucking Awesome. Par example, here’s a collection of their head-bangingest, mind-fuckingest heavy metal videos:
Yellow – The Movie Screening @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info)
The cast and crew of this neo-Gallo horror shot right here in Berlin will explain how crowdfunding made it happen, before screening the gruesome short film itself. The movie’s been shown at Film 4 Fright Fest in London and other festivals, and is already picking up rave reviews. I’ll be down the front, hiding behind my box of popcorn.
WEDNESDAY 26th SEPTEMBER
Collaborative Consumption @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info)
People from companies such as Gidsy and Wimdu put their heads together to address the important business of using technology and human ingenuity to develop new ways of sharing, lending and exchanging time, skills and resources.
Beer Tasting @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info)
Need I say more?
I Wanna Dance with Somebody… in Chicago! @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info)
Berlin’s own Paulo Reachi (Tresor) goes up against a Chicago DJ as their sets are simultaneously broadcast in both cities. To get you warmed up, here’s a playlist from Reachi’s Airdrop Records, including the likes of Soul Clap.
THURSDAY 27th SEPTEMBER
Berlapthlon – The Berlin based Heptathlon @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info)
I’ll be taking a break from the day’s hardcore gaming/business content for the appallingly-named, but fun-sounding Berlapthlon. Don’t know if I’ll be taking part in what sounds like a silly sporting event to rival the Slowlympics, but I’ll certainly be there to witness the following activities:
1) Chess (10 minutes)
2) Table tennis
3) Find and eat a vegan currywurst
4) Swim in a lake
5) Bottle opening
6) Bottle collection
7) Get into Berghain
FRIDAY 28th SEPTEMBER
Tod und Social Media / Talking Death @ Design Akademie Berlin (event info / event info)
Both are in German, but I might test my language skills at the closing, and potentially most interesting, sessions of Social Media Week 2012. The first is a talk by Jörg Eisfeld-Reschke of ikosom.de, who is then joined by a journalist, founder and an academic for a discussion about what happens to us – on Facebook – after we die. After all that Deutsch and death, I’m going to need a drink!
For the full Berlin schedule, go to SocialMediaWeek.org. If you were curious about what’s happening ALL OVER THE WORLD on Social Media Week, check out these curated guides:
Social Impact
Food
Mobile
Fashion
Sports
Photography
Gaming
Crowdsourcing
Jobs & Job Seeking
D-I-Y and Arts
Global Curator Don Tapscott’s Guide
SMW Founders Ultimate Guide
With Wimdu, you can find the perfect place to stay in one of over 50,000 properties worldwide, or you can earn money by renting out your own property. This makes it a great place to find holiday apartments in Berlin, or in other destinations, if – like us – you’re trying to get out of the city!
Saint. Petersburg.
Once a brother, today?
The Galapagos Islands! By far the most amazing, unforgettable place I’ve been. Check out this article I just wrote for full details and photos: https://www.letsbewild.com/galapagos-islands/ (‘scuse the formatting they’ve just updated
Just came back from Lisbon.. my new love.. ♥
I loved this trip. I love this beautiful city of saudade… Love the miradouros (golden views). Magic in the night! Love the pastries. The beaches, the sunny weather, the Ginja… and most.. I love the people of Lisbon .. ♥
I’d suggest Lausanne in Switzerland. It is a vibrant university city mixed with the headquarters of large corporations and start ups making it a versatile place to visit.
You have beaches on Lake Geneva (or Lac Leman to the locals) where during the summer you can have barbeques, cycle/walk the shores for hours, sail, go jogging, or just relax in the sun looking across at the French side (which is just a short ferry ride away). In the evenings, you can hang out in the funky bars with their own breweries or get a hearty swiss meal to replenish yourselves after all the activities.
You can wander around Geneva (30min train) for maybe an afternoon but then get out and journey into the mountains for hiking, rafting, or any other kind of outdoor sport/activity you can think of. Visiting nearby towns/villages like Vevey, Lutry, or Montreux will give you a taste of the local wine in the vineyards themselves and still on the lake with views of the mountain ranges on all sides. It really is one of the most beautiful places that I’ve been and lived in. And despite the stereotype of mountain areas, it is very versatile for activities.
Oh and if you still get a hankering for skiing you can get a train to one of the glaciers that still serve as ski resorts even during the summer months!
Can you tell that I miss it?
With the weather today, have to suggest somewhere with sunshine & swimming: Polignano a Mare, Italy!
When we went a few years ago it was filled with real Italians, had waters in which we could literally see the tropical fish at our feet, cliff diving, and has magic focaccia. We still dream about that beach.
I’m pretty sure you guys would love Vancouver! Beaches, great restaurants, Whistler nearby, a sense of calm everywhere.
Joburg was a good suggestion, too, but I think you’d like Cape Town better! I love both, but Cape Town has the beach….!
Hello James, hello Zoë,
go to Monaco. Monaco-Ville is the only city in the state but it can offer lots of things to do. It’s very simple: small, cosy and unusual!
Tschüss, T.
I fell in love with Porto last year. Beautiful city, lots of thing to do, it’s close to the beach (we went there to take a surf course in the south of Porto). And it’s pretty cheap, even the touristy areas are still affordable. I absolutely love the people there, super friendly and open minded (at least those we met). Only the port wine I didn’t like so much. ????
Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Part new, part gorgeous old city where it is easy to get lost in tiny maze like streets up and down uneven stairs, searching for hidden shaded courtyards between. When they say ‘drinks with a view’ they mean ocean for as far as you can see. Really nice beaches (I’m from Australia and I think they are wonderful), friendly locals and WARM weather.
Fun also includes sailing to any number of islands hopping on and off with drinks and a barbequed fish lunch for less than a night out (even in Berlin).
If your are feeling adventurous, sea kayaking is a bit of a thing there.
Scotland Scotland Scotland! Cheap to get to with Easyjet. Edinburgh and Glasgow are exploding with culture and fine things to do and eat. There are so many tiny wonderful cheesemakers, weavers, stonecarvers, and other craftsmen waiting to be visited as you wend your way around the countryside gasping at the gorgeous views. (I can be more concrete if you do make plans!)
Wow, lots of good suggestions! I love Schottland (lived in Edinburgh for six months) but never made it out of the Stadts. Hoots man, what a good call!
Iceland. Black beaches and 24h sunlight in summer so you need no streetlights for the paradigm of debauchery that is a Reykjavik pubcrawl.
Go to Tallinn! Right now it’s in a phase of Soviet meets hipster (in the best sense): awesome art, beer, and music on the backdrop of the remains of the USSR. The currency exchange is also in your favor!
Go to Bilbao — before it’s too late! (Tourism is only going to continue growing there.) Be sure to visit for one of the Guggenheim’s Art After Dark events, enjoy some traditional Basque pintxos (or a full meal…the food is great), and don’t trip over the fact that everyone is speaking Euskara, not Castilian Spanish.
Go to Brela Croatia as It’s one of Croatia’s best beaches with crystalline water lapping at coves that stretch for 6km. And the beaches are sandy! (the sand is more like gravel but it’s easy on your feet)
Each cove of Brela Beach is like a private hideaway, fringed by pine trees and invisible to any road and all but a few hotels.
Even the town of Brela is a delight with its subtropical greenery and appealing mixture of old and new houses.
Small wonder that Brela is a top sight and that Forbes magazine rated Brela Beach as the 6th best beach in the world and the best beach in Europe
Sarajevo and the Bosnian countryside! Sarajevo is that perfect mix of East and West, with mosques, churches, and synagogues all on the same street, a crumbling old town with friendly locals and so much personality, shopping to rival Istanbul’s grand bazaar (but so much cheaper), and a really intense history. Just outside the city are gorgeous mountain landscapes with emerald green lakes, even greener forests, and fairy tale ruins galore. I went here in spring of 2006 and am shocked to find that it is still under the radar and rarely visited six years later…
Go to Portugal. Lisbon. Walk the streets, eat the Pasteis de Belem, follow the endless beaches to your own private oasis and relax. Listen to the heart wrenchingly emotional Fado and fall in love with each other over and over again.
You can thank me later.
Great suggestion! In fact, we’ve had it twice!
If we forced you to make a second choice (we are), what would it be?
The Lisbon suggestion is from the same person. There was a malfunction and I post it again !!
Thought you should know.
P.
Got it, thanks! But someone else also suggested Lisbon… popular destination!
Okay! Well I would say go to Stockholm but you have been there….so go to Seville, Spain. Listen to Flamenco and eat churros w/ chocolate. It is damn hot there but Spring is a great time to visit. I know a lot of professional Flamenco guitarists there so I can introduce you to quite an interesting scene
Why not try LYON?
Lyon is offering you everything. This beautiful old town is under the personal protection of UNESCO;-), thanks to the traboules you can even run through the city in the rain for hours, without getting wet or being seen fleeing from the Interpol, if you did something bad ;-). But you don’t need to be afraid of criminals, ’cause the interpol is positioned at Lyon.
In addition, you will drink the most amazing wine in Lyon, because the surrounding area is one of the worlds best wine regions.
On the beach you can lie there as well, not by the sea – but the beautiful Rhône. And then the beautiful nature around Lyon …. your possibilities are endless …. !!! …..
Johannesburg, South Africa. Edgy. Gritty. Not as boring as Cape Town. Constantly changing. Not as scary as people who haven’t been there may say. Extremely friendly locals. Good weather. A large number of original 1920s-1960s Art Deco to Modernist skysrapers (even an early Helmut Jahn). City centre shopping is about African textiles, muti magician stuff and weird Chinese imports; in the suburbs it’s big malls. The best place for live music in Africa. Excellent museums: Apartheid, Soweto, the Origins Centre about early homonids and rock art, and the brilliant Wits Art Gallery opening soon. Some fantastic new developments in the CBD such as Arts on Main (William Kentridge’s studio, the Bioscope cinema, Sunday arts and food market), and 70 Juta (lomo shop, fashion, galleries, Saturday food market). Oh, and you can see lions etc on a daytrip to Pilanesberg park too.
Morocco -Marrakech, Casablanca and Agadir- is the place to go. Warm and sunny, excellent food, friendly people and a combination of mountains, sand dunes, beaches and mysterious inner city labyrinth-like markets. The best places to stay are Riyads -houses a 100 years old now refurbished to be hotels or apartments. Only 3 hours away from Berlin -with direct flights to Casablanca! Happy travels!
Definitely Istanbul! The city is magical. It has an beautiful energy and a perfect balance of old and new. It has everything you could possibly want: history & culture (Haghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, etc), great food (kanafeh…mmmm), incredible art (both old and new), stunning scenery, good shopping (from the grand bazaar to wonderful new designers like Burce Bekrek) and wonderfully warm people.
Kraków …before the footballers wreck it in june.
OMAN! beautiful country with a glimpse of 1001 nights… and I can teach you how NOT to fall off a camel… which I did… twice…
Lisbon
Lisboa is awesome; cheap, an artistic hub,the architecture, the small alleys packed with bystanders, the fado music, great cuisine, their pastries are better. Huge US-like beaches, the city is built on four hills so if you visit the cafe at some terraces you will be overwhelmed by the amazing view of the city.
Try looking some pics on flickr !!
Well summer is all about sun, music, drinks and art, right ?
I would say Lisbon; is quite cheap, beautiful, you will love the architecture, the Bairo Alto with its small alleys, retro bar and cheap shops. Huge US-like beaches – it is the Atlantic after all-, quite good cuisine, their pastries are better. If you end up there, you should definitely find bars at big terraces viewing the entire landscape. The city is build at four hills or something like that.
flickr is full of amazing pics
go to budapest! the best place to go for a spa weekend break – and who doesnt love hairy hungarians+thermal baths? lol
Athens. It is ugly, noisy and busy. There is a beach, great food and rude locals. What more could you want?! Or then I`ll see you in Brussels in april?
If you want to go far away, I suggest Mongolia – but starting in May (otherwise the tours don’t run and it’s cold). The people are amazing, it’s inexpensive, the landscape is phenomenal (makes for some crazy pictures). If need be, there’s still the opportunity for lying in the sand (the Gobi desert), and drinking (lots of vodka). The capital Ulaanbataar is a strange mix of crumbling soviet magnificence and western flash.
If you want to stay close, head to Romania. The architecture is beautiful, the train rides are creepy, and it has a sort of crumbling glory. It’s inexpensive and out of the way enough that people still wonder what you’re doing there.
Not very many beaches (especially not white) but marvellous: Santorini (greek islands).
City recommendation is defenitely Dresden.
def Check out Hong Kong, it has it all, there is sleak high end and rough original tradition, its exciting- and there are beaches for day trips nearby and if u get bored you can dive back into the sizzling cityscape. the shopping is beyond anything and what you might spend on flights can be saved on cheap high class accomodation. overall HK best choice ever.
Go to Crete and enjoy warm weather and sun all year long..direct flights from Berlin at the end of March… ????
Try closer to home Cologne or Hamburg Dresden might be good for a mini break without the airport hassle!!!