Flying from Bristol to Berlin for a short holiday by Tom Wickens
Posted on: 19 Mar 2018Continuing our new travel series looking at destinations with direct flights from Bristol, we've sent Tom Wickens over to Berlin for a 5 day holiday. Here's what he got up to!
On our first night we were greeted by a close friend who had moved to Berlin in September. After a days’ worth of travelling I’d requested that we be taken somewhere relaxed before beginning our five-day adventure properly the following day. We were taken to a former power station on Kopenicker Strasse, a collection of large warehouses built during the 60’s that had been converted into spaces for events and exhibitions. We saw a man approach the huge metallic door of the Kraftwerk building and swing it open before stepping into the coloured light, we eagerly followed suit.
Inside we found ourselves in an expansive dimly lit space that went on as far as the eye could see. Upstairs you could hear menacing sounds reverberating off the concrete walls. After purchasing our tickets for the large-scale light exhibition Skalar we made our way upstairs. We were met with a beautifully glowing light installation made from suspended discs hanging from the ceilings. For two hours we sat and watched in awe, testing out different angles and eventually lying down right beneath the discs for a fully immersive experience. The glowing UFO-like-entities changed colour and moved subtly up and down transforming perfectly in time with the music.
.jpg "Skalar Kraftwerk in Berlin")
Over the next few days we explored the remnants of Berlin’s past, firstly visiting the East Side Gallery. A collection of preserved murals painted directly onto a large stretch of a surviving portion of the Berlin Wall, the beautifully painted work is a reminder of the cities very recent turbulent history. We also paid visits to the Reichstag building and Brandenburg Gate, two of Berlin’s tourist hotspots situated in very close proximity to one another in Pariser Platz. It was unexpectedly quiet for a Saturday which made for a peaceful walk along the River Spree and through the Tiergarten park.
On the afternoon we made our way to the Topography of Terror, a permanent exhibition situated on the site of where many buildings during the Nazi regime previously stood. The exhibition goes into detail about the atrocities committed by the Nazis and the many victim groups affected during the time. By the end of it you feel you’ve been bludgeoned with bad news repeatedly but what you take away is an in-depth lesson about Europe’s most infamous political regime.
That evening we made our way to Yellow Sunshine Burger, a highly rated vegan fast food joint that specialises in faux meat burgers of all kinds. Being a Saturday night the atmosphere was one of excitement and indulgence. We were delighted with the portion sizes, huge burger buns filled to the brim with faux chicken, cheese and hot chilli plus a generous amount of chips stacked up on the side. With techno playing in the background and a buzz in the air I got a sense that this place was very popular among the vegan community in Berlin.
Next up was a visit to the House of World Cultures, the beautifully designed national centre for contemporary arts. We had pre-booked tickets to see one of the highlights of this year’s CTM Festival, a music and visual arts event held annually in the city. New York born producer James Ferraro was to debut his show Plague, a performance supplemented by the visual artistry of Nate Boyce. What played out was an excellent audio-visual spectacle based on a rouge artificial intelligence that gradually moved away from its tranquil beginnings into a vicious and terrifying combination of sound and visuals.
Leaving the venue bewildered and worried about the current state of mankind we decided it would be best to treat the trauma by indulging ourselves in the Berlin techno scene we had heard so much about. After some beers and a few shots at the laid-back Wrangle 36 we managed to get ourselves in the que to Wilde Renate, an apartment building turned club situated close to Treptower Park.
After a relaxing Sunday recovering from our Saturday night antics we headed to Brammibal Donuts on Monday morning. With bellies filled with coffee and donuts of the highest quality we made our way towards Berlin’s Game Science Centre. I would describe this place as a hybrid between a museum and an arcade, packed with futuristic technology all of which you can interact with. Notable highlights include Panoramical (an interactive album of musical landscapes that morph to your touch), a virtual reality clothing store, an augmented reality sandbox and a pair of Oculus Rift headsets with a collection of demo experiences to try out.
Next up on the itinerary was a food spot named The Bowl, some 5 minutes’ walk from the busy Warschauer Straße station. Here we were met with the restaurant co-owner who spoke to us about the history of the restaurant, the quality seasonal ingredients they used and the taste combinations that had been developed since its opening a few years ago.
The price for the bowls (€12 each) were more than justified with an array of nutritious ingredients each supplementing each other to create an explosion of taste. The portion sizes were very generous and left us with the strange sensation of being stuffed but at the same time extremely light and energetic.
After visiting a few of vintage shops in Neukoln we briefly caught our breath before making our way to a 7-o clock appointment at our next food stop. We had saved something very special for the last night of our trip. Kopps Restaurant situated on Linienstraße seemed to come out as the number one place to eat on most vegan & vegetarian lists for Berlin, we knew from the seasonal menu and pictures online we were in for something special.
We were served drinks by formally dressed waiting staff who created a relaxing atmosphere in a sophisticated restaurant. When the food arrived, we were informed in detail about the dishes set before us. We shared two main dishes the first being an elegantly presented combination of pointed white cabbage, potato, tomato, caraway seed and Japanese artichoke. The second was ‘the Winter Truffle’ which included Strozzapreti (hand-rolled pasta originating from Tuscany) served underneath pepper, spinach, sliced pear and walnut. Each dish was special and we agreed it was the best tasting vegan food each of us had ever had.
To top off a hectic but memorable stay in Berlin we met our friend for the last time before our departure. After watching Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest cinematic master piece Phantom Thread in Postdamer Platz we equalised our fine dining experience of Kopps with our last meal in Berlin, a delicious late-night falafel wrap and chips. We said goodbye to our friend and promised to return for a second time in the not too distant future.
There are currently 4 direct flights to Berlin from Bristol Airport operated by easyJet on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Additional one stop flights can be taken with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines most days.
Article by:
Originally from the Hampshire town of Winchester, Tom has lived in Bristol for four years. He decided it was a city worth staying in after graduating in Cyber Security at UWE last year. Tom has a passion for technology as well as keen interests in film, food, music, sports and photography. He spends a lot of his time engaging in the abundant offerings of a vibrant city at the forefront of British culture.
