Berlin, Germany City Guide

In June 2017, my husband and I embarked on a three-week long backpacking trip of western Europe. In my first post of this series, I go through all the details about preparing for this trip from  itinerary, budget, packing, riding the train, lodging, and other common questions I’m asked. Now, I’ll take you through a detailed “City Guide” of every city we visited, and my top recommendations of where to eat and drink, where to stay, and what to see when you’re in Berlin, Germany.

Before I dive into the details about what we saw and did in Berlin, a little background on the travel style Curtis and I enjoy. Our favorite way to travel is to get immersed in local culture. We like to eat unique foods and people-watch. On the flip side, we don’t like to do much in the way of touring — I can’t stand waiting in line or crowded attractions. We also like to be outdoors, so one of our favorite things to do is just stroll along the city and see the sights. Our travel style is low-key, affordable, and cultural. So you’ll find a lot of these types of travel recommendations in our city guides. If that’s the type of travel you like, too, read on!

Where to Eat and Drink in Berlin, Germany

Do me a favor: when you go to Berlin, plan your trip not around what you want to see, but what you want to eat and drink. I’ve never eaten such varied and consistently good food as we did in Berlin. It’s such a multicultural city and we treated Berlin as a food tour of the world.

First and foremost, you must promise me you will eat at  Mustafas Gemüse Kebap. Berlin is known for döner kebap, which is a magical blend of Turkish and German street-food. You can find multiple places selling döner kebap on every block– we probably ate it six different times.

But the best, by far, is Mustafas Gemüse Kebap. I swear, I still dream of it six months later.

This little food stand is located in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin (our favorite Berlin ‘hood). The stand is small, and a line will form. We eased the wait by popping into a convenience store for a few bottled beers. I promise you, this döner kebap is worth the wait.

It is the freshest you will find. The toasted pita has a perfect texture, there is a great variety fresh vegetables, and they sprinkle a pile of Feta cheese on top. If you’re going to have döner kebap, wait for the one from Mustafa’s.

Another Kreuzberg neighborhood favorite is Korean fried chicken place, Angry Chicken. Go here for affordable, authentically spiced Korean chicken wings and awesome fries. The sauce spiciness range is named in a cute way, too, from “friendly” to “furious.” It’s a really colorful and fun restaurant — very Instagram-able.

We also recommend two craft breweries in Berlin:

–Hopfenreich – They tout themselves as the first craft beer brewery in Berlin proper. They serve 22 “novelty” and seasonal craft beers on tap. In Berlin’s worldly way, beers from all over the world are featured.

–Vagabund Brauerei– This taproom/brewery was started by three American expatriates it feels like a true expat bar. As two Americans travelling abroad for so long, we found it really unique to find a bar where everyone was speaking English. I don’t want to make this place sound inauthentic, it’s not touristy and the beer is great, but it is truly an expatriate bar where English-speakers go to enjoy craft beer. When we were there, everyone at the taproom seemed like a “regular,” and they were welcoming to us, too.

A few honorable mentions in the Kreuzberg and Wedding neighborhoods:

• Burgermeister — Burgers are under $6 USD
• Pamfilya – more good Turkish food
• Cafe Instanbul for falafel in Wedding

Where to Stay

We were in Berlin twice. The first time we found an amazing last minute Hotels.com deal on the Hotel Angleterre, which is mere steps from Checkpoint Charlie. The second time around, we found an AirBnb in the Wedding neighborhood. If you’re going to AirBnb, I recommend looking in Kreuzberg or Wedding. These were the arty, hipster, multicultural neighborhoods where we spent most of our time.

Where to Sight-See

Prepare to walk a lot in Berlin — at least if you follow our recommendations! We walked 10-15 miles every day we were there.

You should, of course, see Checkpoint Charlie.  See this before you go see Eastside Gallery (the sections of the Berlin Wall that are still standing) so you have the historical context for the modern-day monument/gallery. At Checkpoint Charlie there is a free outdoor gallery that gives good historical context if you need a refresher.

–Explore the Tiergarten, Berlin’s massive inner-city park. Inside you’ll find famous monuments: the Bradenburg Gate, Reichstag, and Berlin Victory Column. It’s also just a pretty place to stroll around.

– Explore the city streets of Mitte, or central Berlin. I recommend the outdoor flea markets that are popular in Mitte.

-Wander the gardens & parks. Berlin gardens and parks are unlike any other. In some ways, they seem unkempt and wild, but I love that the city has just let natural, native plants grow untamed and people still come to play, sit, and enjoy the parks.

– Visit the Eastside Gallery– to see the largest pieces of the Berlin Wall still standing. Berlin has turned this monument into a beautiful “memorial for freedom,” and in the 1990s, artists painted the wall with striking tributes about what that word “freedom” means to them.

I hope you enjoyed this guide to the best affordable, multicultural food and delicious craft beer in Berlin. For more general tips about backpacking western Europe, head back over to the travel section of my blog. For more City Guides, including what we did in Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria — press on! -Emily