Summer in Berlin – 21 awesome things to do 2019

Berliners obviously have a soft spot for weird places, because since a pretty little café moved into a former cemetery hall in Kreuzberg, a second one has opened up in Neukölln. 21 gramm – if you’ve seen Alejandro González Iñárritus’ film, you’ll know what the name means – just moved into former cemetery ruins and offers an unbelievably nice atmosphere inside, and tasty breakfast dishes, wine and Flammkuchen on the outside terrace.

In winter we admittedly like to wind down our Sundays on the couch with Tatort and take away. But in the summertime we have a different favorite: every Sunday in Körnerpark in Neukölln there are free concerts at 6pm in front of the gallery. Grab your loved ones, a nice bottle of wine and something tasty and enjoy the tunes.

It seems that only a few people know that there’s a national park super near Berlin with lots of rare plant and animal species. We have no other explanation as to why this little bit of countryside isn’t visited by more people. You can walk through the thickets nearly undisturbed, go canoeing or go bird watching from the various observation towers. The landscape has everything: bodies of water, swamps and moors, forests and grasslands. You can get in sync with and relax in nature here and the only thing that might bother you is a beaver swimming in the river.

Surrounded by reeds and huge trees is the lake Wurlsee in Lychen, where you can go swimming as well as watch an incredible sunset. The best way is by rowboat (motor boats aren’t allowed). For fans of staying on dry land the shore offers an equally beautiful view. And if you go there with young ones you should make a stop at the Wurlsee campground where the water is particularly shallow and perfect for paddling in.

Green marble, imposing crown molding and colorful bowls – these three probably describe the new poké bowl restaurant Wild & Raw in Mitte best. The fresh bowls are put together along the long counter: there are six signature bowls and a DIY-menu. You have the option between raw salmon, tuna, cooked shrimps and tofu. In addition there’s fruit, vegetables, salad, homemade sauces and toppings such as nori seaweed, cress and cashews.

The new ice cream parlor Lecko Mio along Graefestraße is a pastel dream and reminds you of Wes Anderson. Nadja has fulfilled her dream of opening a café here, where Anna Durke once sold her gelato. Tasty flavors such as popcorn, green apple, berry sorbet or liquorice are served in homemade waffle cones. The ice cream is from her parents’ manufacture. Our highlight: the vegan spaghetti ice cream and the ice cream sundae. The creations change weekly. Also good and really tasty: espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The swimming spot at Bernsteinsee in Ruhlsdorf costs an entrance fee, but it’s well-kept of course. It has the bonus of having sanitary facilities and you won’t starve if you forgot your emergency pack lunch at home. You can find nice free swimming spots around here as well. Bernsteinsee lake is near Naturpark Barnim and easily reachable by public transport. Alternatively you could also combine the joys of swimming with a pretty bike tour there.

Did you already know there’s such a thing as a star park? No? Well the first one in Germany opened in Havelland. An area free of light pollution where the stars can be seen clearly. The little bivouac area Grütz is right in this area. Hardly any people live in Naturpark Westhavelland, and there’s no industry so it’s totally dark at night. You can rent telescopes and if you don’t have any amateur astronomy skills you can download an app in order to tell what you’re looking at. It’s less than an hour to travel the 13 kilometers from Rathenow to the bivouac site. Afterwards you can venture further into the Havelland to find your perfect spot for stargazing.

You can work out for free and in all weathers in Schöneberg at Rudoph-Wilde-Park – at "Schwitzen im Park". The trainers are qualified of course and make sure that you break a real sweat – no matter your fitness level. Sundays at 10:30 you can go for active games and an intense circuit training, and Tuesdays at 6pm and Fridays at 4:30pm you can give it your all at HIIT training. There’s also a weekly HIIT training Tuesdays at 6pm at Lietzenseepark in Charlottenburg.

On warm days you can take a break from shopping in the middle of town at the Sommergarten near Jannowitzbrücke. You can recover from the big city hustle and bustle for a moment with an immediate view of the Spree, sit on the beer trimmings, nap in the deckchairs or enjoy a cold beer and a Berliner Weiße on the steps. In the evenings it’s the perfect place to watch the sun setting over the water. Oh my...

Wagner Cocktail Bistro moved into the Umspannwerk along Paul-Lincke-Ufer a while ago and is now the proud owner of one of the nicest terraces in Berlin. The culinary Italian delights range from Malfatti Cacio e Pepe to beef tartar to scallops to burrata. And for those of you who are thirsty, they have fabulous natural wines and nicely attuned cocktails. Perfect for a bit of liquid courage during a date.

Berliners love spontaneous raves. For everyone who isn't sure when and where they're happening there are some pretty amazing facebook groups such as "Liebe auf den 1. Tanz" or "Freiluft Rave". The boys and girls regularly organize cool raves at secret locations. Join the groups, rave along, but stay fair and keep the locations etc. secret, otherwise it will be over someday.

Summer is the best time to get comfortable in the meadows and lakes in and around Berlin, enjoy the day and finish it off with a barbecue. If you don't feel like organizing all the food for your barbecue evening yourself, you can get a tasty barbecue picnic basket filled at "Landkorb". From meat or vegan and vegetarian alternatives to barbecue sauces, salads and useful things like aluminum foil and bamboo cutlery – you can get all of it. Everything is organic and from the region.

If you buy strawberries, blueberries or raspberries at the supermarket in summer, you can almost always expect to get a few moldy or unappetizing ones. Since that can be quite irritating and it's also fun to stroll through the fields, go pick and gorge on strawberries, raspberries, red currants and blueberries yourself at Beerengarten Oranienburg from May until August. Afterwards you can have a break at their café or go home and bake a tasty cake. In total there are six different gardens around Berlin that are perfect for a nice summer outing.

The organic farmyard "Ökohof Brodowin" isn't a secret, not least because of their pretty amazing delivery service in Berlin, but is still one of the nicest farmyards in the area. In the open dairy you can watch cheese being made, you can buy groceries of Demeter quality in the farmyard shop, see all the farmyard nooks and crannies during a tour or take a break in the cloister café. If you want to be a bit more active you can borrow one of their picnic bikes with a full organic picnic basket and go snack comfortably in a field.

We love open air films! And the best thing about open air films isn't just that they're outside, but that you can also see films that aren't always in the regular film program. The best thing about Filmrauschpalast is that you can see the movies for free on Fridays and Saturdays. From current films like "Moonlight", to classics like "Men in Black" or the fantastic film "Raving Iran". And if you're not sure there's also a surprise movie. So come by and enjoy a film!

The Spreewald is actually always a good destination (and especially quick to get to from Berlin) when you need a bit of peace, green landscapes and fresh air. Every room at Strandhaus Spreewald has its own balcony or terrace, the spa area is open the entire year. The hotel also puts an emphasis on producing as little waste as possible and serves regional cuisine from its kitchen. Wonderful!

We’re all familiar with those huge boats, full of tourists, that glide along the Landwehr Canal past the Museumsinsel. And we all think that we’ll never take part in one of those boat tours, but secretly we would love to see Berlin from the water (just not on one of the tourist boats). And now you can with Berlin Liquide, where you can rent an entire boat including the skipper and take private, little tours with up to 15 people. You can even choose between different tours – a highlight is the Early-Bird-Tour where you can see Berlin during the early hours when everyone is still sleeping – or dancing.

Hotel Zoo in Charlottenburg is topped with one of the best rooftop bars of all time – not only is it really high up, it's also completely glass-paned so that you get a breathtaking 270° panorama view of the West. In addition to that you can treat yourself to an – admittedly not entirely cheap – cocktail while lounging on the comfortable furniture and listening to lounge music on the weekends. At some events they serve a mean BBQ as well.

13 kilometers of countryside, forest, meadows, little towns and tasty restaurants: If you’re nimble you should try hiking the Poetensteig in the Märkische Schweiz. You start in Buckow at the town center, go through the Schlosspark, along the lakes Schermützelsee, Großer Tornowsee and Kleiner Tornowsee, past the Pritzhagener Mühle (they have traditional German food) and the lake Großer Klobichsee and across the Dachsberg back to Buckow. You need about three hours for it in total, but plan with a bit more time in order to enjoy the views and the amazing air. And in order to stop for a bite to eat at the various restaurants, of course.

The atmosphere at Rummels Bucht along Paul-und-Paula-Ufer at the Rummelsburger lake feels like it's somewhere between a pirate's pub and a big city jungle. They have live music, a barbecue that everyone can use and a bar.