This November I spent 8 days in Berlin for work. I don’t have a full guide for you because I clearly spent most of my time working and not exploring, but decided to still write down the Cafés, Shops and Restaurants I (re)discovered and share some of the photos I took with you in this post. Maybe it will inspire you to go (back) to Berlin!

Update: I’ve been back to Berlin again and I added a few new places to the list!

I was staying at Motel One between Alexanderplatz and Hacksche Markt in Berlin Mitte. Right across the street was a place called Spreegold where I enjoyed this wonderful avocado bread with a poached egg. They have lots of different breakfast options but also lunch and dinner.

This photo is from Markthalle Neun. It’s an old industry hall that’s now a food hall with stalls from all around the world: Asian, Italian, Turkish, Mexican… And they even have a vegan stall. Definitely worth a visit!
On Thursdays they have a Street Food Market and are open longer or you visit it for lunch any of the other days. On weekends you’ll have the best chance to see all the stalls being open!

On the weekend I stayed at my sister’s place in Neukölln. On Sunday morning I just strolled around to find a place where I could grab some breakfast and stumbled upon the Okay Café where I got a hot chocolate and an Omelette with Avocado and was the happiest person. The staff was amazingly friendly and the menu full of pancakes, different type of eggs and cake made it hard for me to decide.

This was at the East Side Gallery, a part of the Berlin Wall that’s been painted by artists in 1990 (and repainted in 2007). You can find a post about the Street Art I found around Berlin here.

Thanks to my colleagues I found the Café What do you fancy love? in Berlin Mitte. They have wonderful cakes and cookies, but also savory food. And super delicious juices!

This is the staircase at the Helmut Newton Foundation / Museum of Photography. The museum at Zoologischer Garten has changing photography exhibitions plus an ongoing exhibition about Helmut Newton showing his best pieces. Unfortunately you weren’t allowed to take any photos but it is definitely worth it, if you are a fan of photography.

For the summer, probably one of the best parts about Berlin is, that it has plenty of different parks – Görlitzer Park, Mauerpark, … the list probably never ends. It’s pretty busy there but I guess that’s just how it is in big cities when the weather’s great. So definitely get a beer at one of their Spätis and go enjoy Berlin’s parks!

What else?

• Check out Zeit für Brot, my absolute favourite bakery for a coffee around Mitte.
• If you are a fan of flea markets go to Mauerpark Flohmarkt. It’s happening every Sunday and you can find treasures such as furniture, clothes, jewelery and many more.
• And if you are around, go and have coffee, a sandwich or one of their delicous looking cakes at Café Krone. Make sure to bring some time because you might have to wait a little bit for a table.
• Mister Vuong is a Vietnamese place you should definitely try if you are into Asia food. But bring some time here as well.
• The cool thing about Berlin is that they have so many different cultures and therefore food from all around the world. Something I’ve never tried but fell in love with: Bibimami! Apparently Bibipapi is even better, but they only serve that after 5pm. So go check out Bibimix in Berlin Mitte if you want to try this popular Korean dish!
• Yumcha Heroes in Berlin Mitte, close to Rosenthaler Platz, had some of the best dumplings I’ve ever had – and they are not even that expensive.
• There’s a healthy place close to Weinmeister Straße (Berlin Mitte again) that blew me away with their Sweet Potato Glass Noodle Salad – Klub Kitchen.
• And because I’m addicted to Matcha, this Café has to be on the list: Mamecha. It’s a Café devoted to Matcha – you can get everything from sweets to plenty of different matcha drinks. Yum!
• 1990 Vegan Living is a (surprise!) vegan place in Friedrichshain. The great thing about it is, that their dishes come in small bowls, so you can easily try 2-3 different dishes. Definitely worth it, not only as a vegan!
• Broke+Schön is a place that stays true to its name: The clothes are affordable and still very beautiful! Definitely go check it out.
• Berlin has lots of great shops in general. Some of my (well-known) favourites include Monki, Weekday, COS, Made in Berlin and Pick & Weigh.
• Berlin Mitte, especially Alte Schönhauser Straße, has lots of great interior shops as well, for example Granit, one of my favourite shops from Scandinavia!

If you need a few more inspirations, here’s another guide to hidden (food and shopping) gems in Berlin.