residencyWeissensee

I bought my Cube bike from Fahrrad Flöckner am Alex. Ask for Erik.

Almost better than fleamarkets these days is little, local eBay Kleinanzeigan. Browse what people are trying to flog within a desired radius.

New and secondhand books in English abound at Saint George's Bookshop in Prenzlauerberg. Friendly, thorough and not extortionate.

Secondhand books (German in the front of the shop, English out the back) in Graefe-Kiez in Kreuzberg. Gems at bargain prices can be found here.

Art book nirvana (with a bargain table) can be experienced at the Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art museum too.

Craigslist also has lots of secondhand offerings, very random but treasures are hidden in there.

Hipster-central in Berlin can be found in what's called Graefe-Kiez. A 'Kiez' is a 'hood, a small local area. Graefestrasse runs through the centre of this one, and has guaranteed bearded, tight-panted, opshop-sunglassed, tattooed, single-geared cyclists aplenty. Check out the Führer's website for advice.

Training in Europe - is there anything better? One of the best journeys I've ever had was in a single cabin from Zurich to Berlin. Sigh. Book ahead for bargains on the Deutsche Bahn website. Click on the 'Saver Fare Finder' tab for the cheapest offers, and look at BahnCards too.

meinfernbus.de is a very cheap bus network, notorious for running late, but definitely makes almost all of Germany very accessible.

For the braver traveller, mitfahrgelegenheit.de is a carpooling site, also well known for taking longer than expected, but by far the cheapest, eco-est way around.

My Alexander Technique school is in Kreuzberg and by prior arrangement you can come as a guest for €20 (Mon-Thu 9am-1230pm).

alexander technique

The bike-sharing scheme here, Call A Bike, is run by Deutsche Bahn and is a ripoff. I have an account if you are desperate (ca €15 for 24 hours). Stupid website too.

suggestions: residencyweissensee AT gmail.com

copyright 2015 residencyWeissensee

Talixo is the online taxi booking service, and seems to work reliably.

ocelot, ‘not just another bookstore’ with a café too, in Brunnenstrasse.

Olivin Wellness Lounge and [Finnish-style] Sauna, Try to be in the sauna ‘on the hour’, for the ‘dousing of the coals’ steam ritual, performance art that can literally take your breath away