Prenzlauer Vacations
The abode that pulsates during night in the old working-class area between Schönhauser Allee and Prenzlauer Allee. Significantly, more youngsters and families have moved here and the scene has grown here more rapidly than anywhere else in Berlin. At the moment Prenzlauer Berg is a hub of creative life.
Relax at Prenzlauer Berg!
A visitor will always find a mixed colorful scene in Anita Wronski or Kommandantur. Another good place to relax after hectic round is Café M.A.K., where you can spend evening lying on a sofa listening to the DJs. Santiago, with its good cheap cocktails. Pasternak or Gugelhof is special restaurant during November. The joint is good but quite expensive. Just a distance away from Gugelhof is Nostalghia, a Russian studio theatre with teas and red vodka. Go inside and you're in another world. The colorful little touches and the lively atmosphere take you deep into the Russian soul.
The AKBA Lounge in Sredzskistraße is quite different as it plays hit music. In front of AKBA is a bar, that is always jam packed with youngsters, as you move behind you will find the club room. All sorts of concerts are held in Knaack-Club and on weekends there are three different discos come to life as they jerk on pop to punk to house. Fans of harder sounds gravitate to Duncker in Dunckerstraße.
Significantly, the Pfefferberg is an old brewery with one of the most endearing beer gardens in the city. It endorses varied programme with lots of music from all over the world. Prenzlauer Berg is very much a beer garden Eldorado. Prater in Kastanienallee invites you to linger with its ideal mix of beer and culture. The Volksbühne's second theatre stage is also located here.
Getting Around
As soon as you think of Prenzlauer Berg, the first thing that comes to mind is the area around Kollwitzplatz and the water tower. But the old working-class district is much bigger than that, and various different scenes have now developed there.
Most of the endearing pubs and cafés are clubbed around Kollwitzplatz and Wasserturmplatz. A few years ago it was still an experimental area for adventurers and creative spirits, with an air of improvisation. Most of the houses have been reconstructed in terms of design as they simply glow with their freshly-painted turn-of-the-century beauty, charming and picturesque like a glossy advent calendar. Only a few still have peeling plaster façades and the remains of old shop signs and crumbling brickwork. It boost a young crowd dressed beautifully and they can be seen here both daytime and evenings.You can sip an elegant cocktail outside the Akba-Lounge in Sredzkistraße or in one of the many cafés and bars in Rykestraße, Kollwitzstraße or Husemannstraße. In winters, the people are a bit more choosy - as they come here for a coffee. The bizarre little Luxus Bar in Belforter Straße is an exception that only fills up late and where you can stay forever. Tandoor or Bahu in Rykestraße offer very cheap Indian delicacies.
Kollwitzstraße is quite famous as Little Italy and significantly most of the restaurants here are Italian, in all price categories. Belluno is a perfect combination of expensive and tasty food. Gugelhof is the right abode in this area for a big leisurely breakfast. At Wasserturmplatz, you have the option to taste a large variety of cuisines from different countries and cultures: Russian in Pasternak, Jewish food in Restaurant am Wasserturm or Spanish in Aragon in Diedenhöferstraße. Or you can simply pick up a falafel or shawarma and sit in the park above the tower with a view of Mitte district and a couple of boccia players in the background. In communist times this neighborhood was already something very special. Its cozy atmosphere is not only decisively cordoned off geographically by Prenzlauer Allee and Danziger Straße.
The Life here seems more pleasant as the people know each other. You might face a problem in understanding the language as they basically communicate in Berlin dialect everywhere. You won't find fashionable pubs here, but changes are in the offing: for instance, new shops and restaurants are setting up in Winsstraße.
Titanic is the fascinating sports avenue where you can try relaxed game of billiards. And if you wish to buy cult furniture and accessories from 60's and 70's, Anna Chron, in Marienburger Straße, is the best place as these products are available at much cheaper prices than in Mitte. In Immanuelkirchstraße you will find many Indian restaurant where you can eat tasty food at affordable prices. Tucked away in a backyard and oddly enough, right next to a fitness studio, is Blow-up, a cosy neighborhood cinema with worn-out velvet and good movies. The Filmtheater am Friedrichshain, close to the area's major park, is the best cinema halls with several screens that feature good films .
The Kulturbrauerei close by, between Schönhauser Allee and Danziger Straße, endorses parties and concerts that are embellished by art and culture, because galleries are moving in alongside the dance floors and people with a taste for melancholy and nostalgia can indulge themselves in the Russian studio theatre.
Another tourist spot near Kastanienallee is Mauerpark just below the Jahn Stadium. The park can hardly be described in terms of classical beauty, but it's still a very popular place for people to meet, read peacefully and lie in the sun.
