Berlin Brats Alumni Association Newsletter 1 Berlin Brats Alumni Association Newsletter April 2019 Volume 15, Issue 2 FOODIE ISSUE 2 Berlin Brats Alumni Association Newsletter Berlin Brats Alumni Association Newsletter 3 Berlin’s social tradition of “Kafee und Kuch- en” welcomes in spring Cafés drowsy in the sun Trendy coffee shops Taking a break for coffee and cake, rays of spring sun, the city awakens to beer gardens for years. While Berlin has many etarian and vegan dishes and amazing and intimate atmosphere. During the or Kaffee und Kuchen, is a beloved new life. Café chairs and tables sud- No wonder, as it is ro- traditional cafés serv- coffee. Its laid-back energy plays out in day, serves up a simple menu of cof- social ritual in German culture. It’s denly stand on all squares and streets. mantically situated on ing German specialities, its menu, with a selection of ‘dope ass fee, cold drinks, and cake, while the common to spend a morning leisurely Some are particularly beautiful, lie the shore of a small lake recently there has been toast’ and ‘sweet ass toast’ (Berlin’s best candle-lit evenings promise cocktails, breakfasting, or an afternoon in one quietly without thundering traffic, in the middle of the Tier- a new wave of of coffee avocado toast) and tasty sweet options, beer, and wine. If lucky, you may find of Berlin’s cosy cafés playing chess, have a large terrace, and a beautiful garten. If you like, you can houses offering a fresh take on like peanut butter and banana bread. their indoor treehouse free. reading a book, and catching up with view - and especially, delicious cake. rent a boat and row out onto the afternoon break. Much of the menu is sourced locally. friends. We have put together 10 cafés for you the water. Others sit under Berlin’s coffee houses incorporate The interior walls are covered in local Berlin has a rich café culture – a to sit outside and enjoy the sun. And big trees, eat cake, and later in elements of German afternoon coffee- art, and it has very welcoming staff. long-standing custom. With the first if it rains afterall: inside, the cafés are the evening, pizza when it gets dark and-cake culture alongside more Five Elephant Mitte nice, too. and the candles are lit on the tables. contemporary components from the A beloved Berlin coffee roastery, third- Café am Engelbecken For me, a visit to a café is simply part third-wave coffee scene. Ultra hip, wave café, and proud home of the best The classic in Kreuzberg: the Café am of a summer in Berlin. Mitte. coffee-focused joints, café-bar hybrids, cheesecake in the city. Starting out in Engelbecken is located directly on the Betty’n’Caty and cool, casual cafés are among the Kreuzberg, it expanded and opened a waterfront. For me, spring starts the Chic and stylishly furnished with lov- trendiest in the city and span across new café in Mitte. Cosy, modern, and moment when I have breakfast outside ingly selected antiques, Betty’n’Caty is Berlin’s 12 boroughs. Here is the crème cool, they serve up its signature coffee, on the terrace for the first time of the the favourite café of so many people de la crème of trendy coffee cafés in cheesecake, and other delectable treats, year, drink my coffee with milk, and from the neighbourhood. And I also Berlin. but get packed during lunchtime, so blink in the sun. Michaelkirchplatz, like to sit outside and enjoy the incred- Bonanza Roastery head over early and taste some of the centre. ibly tasty cakes or breakfasts while life Bonanza’s first shop and café opened finest treats and coffee in the city. Café Weyers in the neighbourhood passes me by. in Prenzlauer Berg nearly a decade Woodfire Bakery Café Weyers is located directly on Pankow. ago. Now they’ve upped the ante by Housed in the trendy Hotel Bikini Ber- Ludwigkirchplatz, where the whole Café Mint launching their huge roastery and lin, a sleek, trendy café in western Ber- neighbourhood meets in summer. English cake specialties, scones with artisan-style café in Kreuzberg. The lin. Perfumed with the smell of freshly So we enjoy the delicious breakfast, clotted cream - my Anglophile heart sun-drenched shop boasts a huge baked breads and pastries, it promises a cheesecake, or simply an aperitif beats faster. In the Café Mint in the range of third-wave filter and espresso- amazing baked goods, sandwiches, when the sun slowly disappears behind greenhouse in the Pankow Botanical style coffee and beans. The menu is an and snacks, paired perfectly with their the church. It is particularly popular Park, you can enjoy fine tea and tasty artisanal-coffee lover’s dream. Tucked coffee, made with beans from local with parents, whose children can play snacks. The perfect refreshment after away in a courtyard, this high-ceil- roasters. on the playground or skate and play a walk through the park or the park inged spot is a must-try in Berlin. Silo football on the pitch. Charlottenburg- Barnim Naturpark. House of Small Wonder Brings a bit of Australian charm to Wilmersdorf. Pankow. An Instagram-worthy café incorpo- Friedrichshain. It’s known as one of the Buchkantine Teehaus im Englischen Garten rating Japanese influences with fresh, best and most popular coffee spots in The café Buchkantine in Moabit is an And another café with English flair is flavourful comfort food. The menu Berlin, beloved for its locally roasted unbeatable mix of bookstore and café. the Teehaus im Englischen Garten. On uses organic, locally sourced ingredi- coffee and huge, mouth-watering In summer, I like to sit on the large the terrace overlooking the rose bor- ents to create an exciting mix of classic breakfast menu. Friendly service, deli- terrace under the tree, look at the ders, I enjoy the teatime with scones brunch specials and Japanese fusion cious coffee, and delectable food keep Spree, and read the book I just bought. and tea. Every Sunday in the summer, dishes. This quirky, warm, and or- locals and tourists coming back to this The breakfasts are called “Das große cool concerts take place on the open- ganic concept can also be felt through crowd-pleaser. Gatsby” or “Adieu Tristesse” to go with air stage - and without admission fee. House of Small Wonder’s interior, as No Fire No Glory the reading, and the coffee can also Mitte. plants hang from the ceiling and light A speciality coffee and brunch ha- come from the French Press if desired. Café Stockholm green tones fill the space. The ultimate ven in leafy Prenzlauer Berg. A local Mitte. This time it isn’t England. This is Swe- brunch spot. hotspot, this café made third-wave Hofcafé Mutter Fourage den. Fine cinnamon snails and other DoubleEye coffee cool in the area, with a minimal, The cosy Hofcafé in Wannsee looks as delicious Swedish delicacies, such as Cosy, charming and cool; a Schöne- modern interior and a coffee-centric if time has stood still. The tables and apple tart or chocolate cake, are on the berg favourite, bringing a multina- menu. The team is passionate about chairs stand on hunchbacked cobble- menu at Café Stockholm. This is how tional selection of coffee to Berlin. The coffee, great service, and tasty food. stone pavement in the rustic court- you can dream of your next holiday in atmosphere is relaxed, but don’t be Wholesome and generous, head here yard. Besides delicious cakes, the café a red log cabin by the lake. Pankow. fooled, the passionate staff know their for a cup of coffee or brunch. also serves a delicious breakfast with Anna Blume coffee and will serve up a perfectly Café Mano freshly baked rolls. And afterward, The café has become almost as well- poured brew. A popular summer spot, A quirky and cosy café-bar located in I stock up at the corner shop “Feine known and popular as the legend- the small café has ample outdoor seat- the always-cool Kreuzberg. With an Kost.” Steglitz-Zehlendorf. ary poem by Kurt Schwitters. Anna ing. assortment of old-school tables and Café am Neuen See Blume fans enjoy the finest antipasti Two Planets comfortable chairs arranged across The Café am Neuen See has been one for breakfast and homemade cakes. A casual yet cool café, serving up veg- three small rooms, it has an informal of the city’s most popular cafés and Pankow. 4 Berlin Brats Alumni Association Newsletter Berlin Brats Alumni Association Newsletter 5 Airlift veterans recall their experiences Great was the man, and dark, today from Berlin. Forever,” he said. For covered with coal dust, Charles the former soldiers, returning to Berlin Childs recalls. The American was very emotional. pilot had just taken his first flight “It’s touching how grateful the people to Tempelhof during the Airlift, here are still,” said Johnny Macia from behind Soviet blockades, under California. The 85-year-old was a me- difficult weather conditions. But chanic at the air bridge. “People say we he wasn’t nervous until he had are heroes. But we just did our jobs.” already landed safely. Mercedes Wild, a Berliner, sees the Three years earlier, he had story a little differently. “We owe these dropped bombs; now he flew people our lives; without them, we into town to supply West Berlin would have starved,” says the 73-year- Articles on these three pages excerpted planes will be returning to Germa- be coming to Germany from South with coal. He climbed out of the old.