Been there, haven’t done that – 5 things you shouldn’t miss in Berlin

All good stuff. But today it’s the turn of the German capital, right?

You got it. Berlin has so much to see and do, both sides of the former wall. Regular readers will know I lived there for a couple of years, and have taken some pictures to show how much the city has changed since 1990. You should also have a look at this article on Ostalgie and how to cure it before you go and get hung up on all that Trabi love. But if you also want to do something a little less off the tourist trail, read on…

5 things in Berlin your friends won’t have heard about *

* er, I’d be fairly confident betting that they haven’t, anyway.

Katteschmaus

Image (c) Suddeutsche Zeitung

Located right on the banks of the River Spree in Kopernick on the outskirts of Mitte you’ll find the former soap factory, squat and now ubercool entertainment sport KaterHolzig. The compound contains a club, rooftop café and a gem of a restaurant in Katerschmaus. If you arrive at night finding the latter can be an adventure, but don’t give up. You’ll find clues in the graffiti-covered industrial ruins that lead you through an ‘adults-only playground’ past art installations, wooden shacks, a ship in the middle of a dance floor, beds, couches, beach huts, huge leather sofas, homemade furniture and old vending machines until you climb the stairs and open the door to the restaurant itself.

Image (c) Berlin.Unlike

You’ll be greeted by the sound of happy guests enjoying themselves and a visual as well as gastronomic feast. The grungy appearance of both the locale and staff (tattoos and piercings are clearly obligatory) contrast with both the excellent food and attentive service.

The seasonally-inspired menu changes on a weekly basis and usually features provincial specialities as starters and main courses. The desserts are worth the journey alone and the wines are well-chosen to accompany the food. This “cat’s feast” is ver popular; I was lucky to grab the last table and reservations are definitely advised.

Image (c) Angelikabooks.com

Make sure you give this place a try for an unusually successful combination of Berlin alternative and gourmet food in a highly unique setting. Rumours are that the building will close for renovations in a couple of years so don’t hang about either.

Katerschmaus – KaterHolzig, Michaelkirchstr. 23, 10179 Berlin. Reservations 030 51 05 21 34. Open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 1900.

U and S Bahn Jannowitzbrucke. Check website for details: http://www.katerholzig.de/restaurant/

Schlangenberger Strasse

The motorway disappearing under the apartment complex – image (c) Andy Higgs, Grown-up Travel Guide

Berlin’s mayor at the time famously said that “if the devil wants to do harm to this city, he will make sure that another Schlange is built”. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for this slightly nuts architectural experiment, but it certainly remains a revolutionary slice of town planning. It is the only example of its kind in the world – an apartment complex built on top of a motorway in the 1970s. Others were planned, but perhaps due to the reaction to “the snake” and its huge budget overrun never got off the drawing board.

Yes, the autobahn is in that tunnel there, halfway through the complex - image (c) Andy Higgs, Grown-up Travel Guide

The scale of the project becomes clear when you visit this part of Wilmersdorf in western Berlin. 1064 apartments sit on top of 600 meters of motorway. The sound and vibration proofing are so efficient – well this is Germany – that even when standing directly underneath the motorway all that can be heard is a low drumming sound – and for the residents above there is only silence.

And out it comes the other side, after some 600 meters under the 1046 apartments - image (c) Andy Higgs, Grown-up Travel Guide

The Schlangenbader Straße property remains the largest connected residential complex in Europe and is well worth a visit. Berlin offers many architectural curiosities and another, more central one can be found at Pallasstrasse – see the photo and brief description here.

Schlangenbader Strasse, Wilmersdorf, Berlin. U-Bahn Breitenbachplatz