A Postcard From Berlin

by Jim Gladstone
visitBerlin (Photo by Dirk Mathesius)

It can be hard to stay on top of Berlin’s robust and ribald queer scene, with new events and venues constantly popping up.

Visit Berlin (Photo by Dirk Mathesius)
Berlin Resources

INFORMATION
The most valuable central resource for both general and LGBTQ-specific travel planning, featuring
annotated links to individual lodgings, restaurants and attractions is Visit Berlin. www.visitberlin.de

LODGING
The Pink Pillow Collection. A network of nearly 60 certified queer-friendly lodgings in Berlin www.bit.ly/pinkpillowbe, which includes:

SO/Berlin Das Stue. Drakestrasse 1. Five-star luxury in a tranquil leafy park setting. Tel: 49 30 3117220. www.so-berlin-das-stue.com

The Student Hotel. Alexanderstrasse 40. Tel: 49 30 31198339. Modestly priced, attractive and modern with a youthful, international clientele. www.thestudenthotel.com

TOURS
BigBus Berlin. Two extensive hop on, hop off routes to all major tourist attraction. www.bigbustours.com. [RA: No phone]

Fork & Walk Tours. Tel: 49 173 9297290. Private and group culinary walking tours with expert guides, including vegan options. www.forkandwalktoursberlin.com/tours

Queer Tours Berlin. Tel: 49 173 9100442. Historical and cultural tours led by queer guides who provide LGBTQ-specific context. www.queerberlin.com

DINING
Brasserie Colette. Passauer Strasse 5. Tel: 49 30 21992174. Elegant French-accented bistro cuisine near popular gay bars and shopping. www.brasseriecolette.de

Clarchens Ballhaus. Auguststrasse 24. Tel: 49 30 555785440. Pretzels, wienerschitzel, pickels and meatballs, for lunch and supper like your German grandma made. www.claerchensball.haus

Coda Dessert Dining. Friedelstrasse 47. Oneof-a-kind fixed price pairings of avant-garde drinks and not-so-sweet desserts. Tel: 49 30 91496396. www.coda-berlin.com

Doyum. Admiralstrasse 36. Tel: 49 30 616656127 Phenomenal Turkish grill in the hip Kreuzberg neighborhood. www.doyum-restaurant.de

Fruhstuck 3000. Bülowstrasse 101 Tel: 49 30 43666659. Creative queer-owned breakfast and lunchery in Schoneberg gay village. www.fruestueck3000.com

Klinke. Dresdenner Strasse 119. Tel: 49 30 23521568. Ingenious transformation of traditional German cuisine into elevated small plates. www.klinkeberlin.com

Rogacki. Wilmersdorfer Strasse 145. Tel: 49 30 3438250 Legendary delicatessen with smoked fish that will hook you. www.rogacki.de

MEMORIALS & MUSEUMS
East Side Gallery. Muhlenstrasse 70. Street art showcase on standing remnants of the Berlin Wall. Tel: 49 30 213085-123

Pink Lemonade at Gropius Bau (Photo by Jim Gladstone)

Pink Lemonade at Gropius Bau (Photo by Jim Gladstone)

Gropius Bau. Niederkirchnerstrasse 7. Tel: 49 30 254860 Must-see modern art museum and performance space. www.gropiusbau.de

Jewish, Homosexual and Sinti-Roma Memorials. All in eastern Tiergarten Park area. www.stiftung-denkmal.de/en/memorials

Jewish Museum Berlin. Lindenstrasse 9. Tel: 49 30 25993300. One of the most popular museums in all of Germany; architect Daniel Liebeskind designed the stunning modern campus. www.jmberlin.de

 

Memorial to the First Homosexual Emancipation Movement. Magnus-Hirschfeld-Ufer. www.homo-denkmal.de

Schwules Museum. Lutzostrasse 73. Tel: 49 30 69599050. World’s first museum dedicated to LGBTQ culture and history. www.schwulesmuseum.de.

Stolpersteine. An emotionally powerful collection of individual “stumbling stone” memorials found throughout Berlin and elsewhere. www.stolpersteine.eu

Sunken Library. Bebelplatz, Unter der Linden. Contemporary art installation memorializing Nazi book burning. www.visitberlin.de/bebelplatz

Topography of Terror. Niederkirchnerstrasse 8. Tel: 49 30 25450950. On the site of the one-time Third Reich secret police headquarters, exhibitions on the SS and the Nazi regime. www.topographie.de

NIGHTLIFE
Bellboy. Mohrenstrasse 30. Tel: 49 30 20077070. Theatrical Israeli-owned cocktail bar and restaurant www.bellboybar.com

Berghain. Am Wriezener Banhof. No phone. Fortified citadel of electronic music and debauchery, with notorious entry policies. www.berghain.berlin

Chantal’s House of Shame. No phone. Suicide Circus, Revaler Strasse 99. Friday nights end on Monday mornings at this weekly queer dance party and exhibition of excess. www.facebook.com/chantalshouseofshame

Fragrances. Potsdamer Platz 3. Tel: 49 30 337775403. Pricy libations are matched with exotic perfumes in this swank Ritz-Carlton hideaway. www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/germany/berlin/

Gayhane. SO36 Club, Oranienstrasse 190. Tel: 49 30 61401306. An exuberant monthly dance party featuring Turkish and Arab club music. www.facebook.com/gayhane

Lab.Oratory. Am Wriezener Banhof. No phone The raunchiest gay men’s gathering spot in town. Be mindful of the night’s theme lest you wander into unwanted watersports. www.lab-oratory.de

Mobel Olfe. Reichenbergerstrasse 177. Tel: 49 30 23274690. This artsy queer bar in a former furniture shop has plenty of chairs to sit in. www.moebel-olfe.de

The Truffle Pig. Reuterstrasse 47. Tel: 01 74 1916697. A craft cocktail speakeasy in the edgy Neukolln district. www.trufflepigberlin.de

Prinznecht. Fuggerstrasse 33. Tel: 49 30 23627444. The best patio and happy hour scene in the gay village. www.prinzknechtberlin.de

Rose’s. Orienstrasse 187. 49 30 6156570. Pink and kitschy queer oasis in the heart ofKreuzberg barhopping. www.visitberline.de/en/roses

SchwuZ. Rollbergstrasse 26. Tel: 49 30 57702270. The largest most welcoming queer club in town has a cheerful demeanor that’s slightly surprising for Berlin. www.schwuz.de

Silver Future. Weserstrasse 206. 49 30 23900855. Young and punky nonbinary dive bar in Neukolln with inventive genderqueer drag shows. www.silverfuture.net

SHOPPING Boxer. Eisenacherstrasse 11. Tel: 49 30 21917220 Sleek and friendly Barcelona-born fetish gear and undy emporium. www.facebook.com/boxerber

Butcherei Lindinger. Motzstrasse 18. Tel: 49 30 20051391. Sexy leather that’s made to measure. www.butcherei.com

Eisenherz. Motzstrasse 23. Tel: 49 30 3139936. One of the world’s last great queer literary book stores.
www.prinz-eisenherz.buchkatalog.de

KaDeWe. Tauentzienstrasse 21. Tel: 49 30 21210. The Harrod’s of Berlin with high fashion and an eyepopping food hall. www.kadewe.com


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