cooking!!

Traveling on a budget? Book a cheap bed in Berlin  at EastSeven and join in on one of the dinnerparties!
Although Berlin is not too expensive when it comes to eating out, still it is always nice to
safe money when you are traveling on a budget.
For over a year already, we started with the concept of free dinner parties. At first, only on
Mondays. A short description on how it works.  Everyone who is staying at the hostel can sign up for the dinner.  Also, if you love cooking too, you
can join in, which is always a lot of fun! Our cooks usually start preparing the dinner around 6pm, so just come to the kitchen and have a look what is going on.

During the dinner party we have special prices for drinks at the reception, meaning happy
hour for all our fantastic beers, not for one hour but at least for four hours.

fun

The idea of cooking and eating togehter was to help travelers, not only to safe some
money, but also to get in touch with fellow travelers. Not seldom do people get together
after the dinner for a night of clubbing.
After the great succes of our Monday dinner parties we started cooking for our guests on Wednesdays as well!

What´s next? Maybe wel will be organizing more of these events in future we will keep you posted here!! Enjoy your stay in Berlin.

pasta!

On Mondays and Wednesdays it´s FREE DINNER PARTY at EastSeven

This is thé opportunity for you to meet other travelers and share your travel-experiences while enjoying a nice cheap dinner!

We started with our ´free food on mondays´ about two years ago. And now, as we see how fun these evenings are, we decided to do another free food event on wednesdays!

Here is in short how it works:

• Sign up at the reception till Monday 15h00
• Meet us in the lounge at 19h00
• You´re welcome to help us
• Feel free to bring your own extra ingredients
• We sell drinks at the reception

The big plus is, you get free food and  in the meantime you can get in touch with others.  During the free dinner there is always a happy hour for beer at the reception. We serve some of germanies finest beers, like Augustiner and Berliner Kindl. And than after eating & drinking you can start exploring the vivid prenzlauer berg neighbourhood. Ask your fellow travelers to join you or go on one of the many pub crawls Berlin has to offer.

For more input and information on what to do in Berlin don´t hesitate and ask our friendly staff at the reception. Also check our online staff-recommendations. Here you´ll find recommendations from all the receptionists and it gives you an insight in how the spend there time and what they like to do in Berlin.

That´s all for now, enjoy your stay in Berlin and I hope to welcome you soon to the EastSeven Berlin Hostel.

wintertime party time @ East7

If you are staying at the EastSeven Berlin Hostel on monday the 13th….make sure you don´t miss out on the free dinner & movie-party!!!!
Every Monday the EastSeven Berlin Hostel cooks for her guests. The food is simple, but good (and for free), the atmosphere is friendly and the night still young…
Here is how it works:
Every Monday:
Free vegetarian Meal
Starts: 19h00
• Sign up at the reception till Monday 15h00
• Meet us in the lounge at 19h00
• You´re welcome to help us
• Feel free to bring your own extra ingredients
• We sell drinks at the reception

And on monday the 13th we have a special movie event as well!!

Florian Augustin is coming to the hostel to present his movie: Jakarta Berlin – An Inspiration to Low Carbon Travelling

Six people left Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 21st to embark on a journey all the way to Berlin, Germany. 108 hitchhiking rides, trains, buses, ferries through a total of 14 countries and only one rule:

No flying.

This independent documentary captures a two months and seven days adventurous journey on 87 minutes of thrilling film that shows my perspective of ecologic travelling. Maybe you may start loving this planet the way I do and accompany me along the path of trying to reduce the weight we are currently putting on it.

The whole length movie is screened around Berlin, Germany, Europe and Indonesia.

We think this is a really interesting film, especially for young travellers. So we hope to see you all at the EastSeven lounge for the free dinner and movie party! We have a happy hour for beer from 20-22pm. Bring your own popcorn!

Reichstag

EastSeven made an amazing top 20 of events and museums you can visit without paying for it, nice .

1. Topography of Terror – Back in 1987 a group of students excavated, with little more than their bare hands, the cellars of Berlins former Gestapo and SS headquarters. The Topography of Terror is the fruit of their labour, an open-air exhibition documenting what happens when a totalitarian regime tortures its people to death for fun.
You can pickup a headset from the reception for English audio commentary.
Next to the Topography of Terror is an excellent art museum called Martin-Gropius-Bau.
2. During the cold Berlin winter we like to provide our guest with a nice warm meal, every monday. It´s a Free Dinner Party for everybody staying at the hostel. Our cook Florian prepares delicious vegetarian meals, every week something different. Its a nice opportunity to meet up with other travelers.
3. Every sunday it is Fleamarket Day in Berlin. Close to the hostel (500 m)you find the Arkonaplatz Fleamarket and the famous Mauerpark fleamarket. You don´t want to buy something – no problem you first of all go there to see all kind of urban subjects with hangover and even sober ones. Berliners go there – you should as well.
4. The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum.
When visiting Berlin, you should visit some historical sites aswell. for instance the sachsenhausen concentration camp. It’ s not going to be a fun trip, but you will learn so much more about the terrible second world war and its victims.
Opening Hours in winter: 15 October until 14 March: daily 8:30 – 16:30 To get there, take the S1 (S-bahn Wannsee to Oranienburg) until Oranienburg station. This is the last stop and the journey takes around 45 minutes from Berlin-Friedrichstraße station. Trains leave every 20 minutes. You need an ABC-ticket.
There is no entrance fee. Of course you pay when you want to take a guided tour, it costs €15 for up to 15 people, and €25 for up to 30 people.
5. Take the subwaytrain u2 from senefelderplatz to Potsdamer Platz – Potsdamer Platz was the glitzy centre of Germanys debauched 1920s metropolis, and the site Europes first traffic light system. Smashed into rubble during WW II, its now home to Europes fastest elevator and a mass of steel and glass buildings said to represent the future of Berlin.
If you´re there you should definately check out the Sony Centre and Cinemax cinemas for films in their original language (e.g. English).
6. Also a most visit when you are in Berlin : Checkpoint Charlie. This is Berlins most famous crossing point between East and West and a lasting symbol of the citys fragile Cold War relations. Commemorated today by an ersatz replica of the original American checkpoint and two historically inaccurate pictures of Soviet and American soldiers.
Do avoid the museum, its disorganised, expensive, and there is way too much information.
7.Reichstag – The German parliament building, re-opened in 1999 after the government and most of the ministries moved from Bonn to Berlin. British architect Lord Norman Foster redesigned this place, complete with a huge glass dome with public access, so you can watch the politicians at work.
8.The Berlin Wall Documentation Center is one component of the memorial site ensemble at Bernauer Strasse. The ensemble consists of the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Chapel of Reconciliation and Documentation Center. The Documentation Center is officiated by the Verein Berliner Mauer – Gedenkstätte und Dokumentationszentrum, which is supported by an advisory council and bears responsibility for the project content.
The Documentation Center on the history of the Berlin Wall provides historical information and educates the public. It makes information and in-depth programs available to the interested public. Beginning with the historical, political events that occurred at Bernauer Strasse, an area situated at the border between East and West and hence a focal point of German postwar history, the center researches and presents the history of the division of Germany.
The Documentation Center opened on November 9, 1999, the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, with a workshop exhibition titled “Grenzblicke. A new exhibition titled “Berlin, August 13, 1961” has been on display since August 13, 2001. The exhibition, presented in both English and German, was designed by the Berlin company gewerk.
The Documentation Center is housed in a section of the Evangelical Reconciliation Parish. The rooms, provided rent-free, are to be used for documentation and for an exhibition.  NO entrance fee! Yeah!
9. Holocaust Memorial – Berlins ultra-controversial memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe, 2,711 concrete blocks jutting off at offensive and suffocating angles. Co-incidentally only a stones throw away from the site of Adolf Hitlers former underground lair, the Führerbunker.
10.Viktoriapark Kreuzberg
Viktoriapark is one of Berlin’s oldest and prettiest parks and offers a great view from the top of Kreuzberg. Have a delicious and cheap vegetarian lunch at Seerose (Mehringdamm 47) and then have a coffee or some ice cream at one of the plenty cafes in Bergmannstraße. Kreuzberg/Viktoriapark @ U-Mehringdamm.

11. Brandenburg gate. Every 10, 20 and 50 cent German Euro coin is minted with a picture of this big city gate on its reverse side. Stranded in a lonely no-mans land between 1961 and 89 thanks to the East German government, no other structure in Berlin better symbolises the temporary division of the city.
Of course you should take your camera and get snapping; its not going anywhere anytime soon.
12. Organic market on Kollwitzplatz every thursday and saturday. On a late Saturday morning you should go to where the locals go – the farmer´s market on Kollwitzplatz – 200 Meters from EastSeven. Fresh organic vegetables, varieties of sausages and a lot more of savoir vivre. By your food of the season there, go back to the hostel and prepare it in our fancy self catering kitchen.
13. Turkish market on maybachufer, Kreuzberg. Every tuesday and friday! experience Berlin’s most famous multi-cultural market. Shop for food or even a pretty souvenir. Cafés and bars
are close by as well. Every tuesday and Friday from 11a.m. to 6.30p.m
Get out at U-Bahn Schönleinstraße.
14. Mauerpark – If you are over 20 and still like to play (particularly with beer bottles), then this is your playground. Its the best place in Berlin for relaxed outdoor boozing and there are hilltop swingsets which are a great spot for watching the sun sink lazily in the West.
Dont miss the fabulous flea market on Sundays.
15. Visit one of the many christmas markets in Berlin. Most of them are free of charge. For instance the one at Alexanderplatz  or the one at the Kulturbrauerei, the Lucia Weihnachtsmarkt.
Go here for a stroll, shop to find some more christmas presents, drink mulled wine and eat german saucages! Nice.
16. Museum Island – Surrounded on all sides by the River Spree, Museum Island is literally an island with museums on it, isnt that clever? It is not only home to some of the citys top class museums such as the Altes Museum and the Pergamon Museum, but also the Berliner Dom and the tranquil Lustgarten.
Visit the island on a Thursday between six and ten for free entrance to the museums.
17. Tacheles – One-time department store then SS headquarters in the heart of Berlins former Jewish quarter, the Tacheles was taken over by squatters in 91. Behind the buildings bombed out façade is a wealth of art studios, two cinemas, 3 bars, a beach bar, a café and a newly opened bourgeois restaurant.
Watch out for the fire-breathing dragon in Café Zapata!
Just opposite youll find delicious French fries served from a dodgy looking trailer called Beckers Fritten.

18. Art & antique market on Straße der 17. juni. Every saturday and sunday. Of course there is no entrance fee here aswell. The market is easy to reach with any s-train from platform 4 at Alexanderplatz. Get out at the stop Tiergarten.

19. Kastanienallee – Dubbed Casting Alley by the locals, this long strip of little cafes, indie fashion designers trading their wares and tasty restaurants is the ideal place to hang out and watch the surprisingly large number of beautiful faces walk by at all hours.
Kastanienallee is home to Berlins largest and oldest beer garden – the Prater.
Recommended Berlin souvenir shop: Luxus International

20. Zionskirchplatz – Life in a resistance group fighting either the Nazis or East German government was often a dangerous affair. Finding somewhere quiet and warm to hold your secret discussions therefore being a number one priority = PBergs 19th century Church of Zion. It is now surrounded by small cafes and restaurants.

When you´re there go  also to the Weinerei, where you can pay for a glass of wine what you think its worth.
Okay, that´s all for now! Hope you have a great time when you visit Berlin. For more nice events in Berlin check our blog and our staff-recommendations.

Berlin

No worries if you don´t have any plans yet, we have made you an amazing top 10 of excellent activities in Berlin.

Berlin is an exiting capitol, a trip to Berlin will never be boring. But you need to make choices, cause you can´t see and do everything if you are only staying for a short period of time.
To help you plan your trip even better we have made a top 10 of events and activities. From museums to free food hostel parties, from walking tours to the best clubs. Read on read on.

1.it´s december in Berlin, that means its christmasmarkets-time. Check out the Lucia Christmas market at the Kulturbrauerei.

Closeby the EastSeven Berlin Hostel you´ll find the Kulturbrauerei, a former beer brewery wich now stands for diverse range of cultural events during the year. The Lucia christmas market is held here, every year. Go here to warm up with `glühwein`(mulled wine), find some nice christmas presents for your folks, enjoy the german way of celebrating christmas.
The market is on from 23. November till 22. Dezember 2009. There is no admission fee!

2. For some more action and fun, stay at the kulturbrauerei and shoot some balls at the POOL & CIGARS.
It is the most beautiful billiardlounge in Berlin.
3.Another event for Free. The Thursday concert night at the Dunckerclub!

Every thursday night at the duncker club, not far away from the Hostel, there is a free concert and dj´night.

on the 10th of december: The Equilizer-record release

support by car pool lane & trick trick fuck (berlin)

Dj:don desaster

No entree fee!!! and just a 10 minute walk away from the hostel. Doors open at 10pm.

4.ROCK AG AT LIDO

A former cinema and now a cozy small club with a big lounge area (with Foosball)!
Today you’ll get rock from AC/DC over Beatsteaks, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Maximo Park, The Pixies, The Strokes up to The Zutons and many more
starting at 11pm – open end
entrance: 5,- Euros
5.OLIVIN- WELLNESS LOUNGE SAUNA

With its Finnish sauna and the successful
blending together of a ‘lounge’ and ‘sauna’ into one environment, OLIVIN Wellness Lounge close-by the EastSeven is a true wellness oasis. Especially now in the long and cold Berlin winter time….

opening time: Mo – Su 12 a.m. – 12 p.m. Thu Ladies’ Day

ENTRANCE FEES
Sauna for 2 1/2 hours: 10,00 €
Reduced price: 9,00 € Extension + 1 hour: 4,- € Bonus entrance: 12 + 1 = Nr. 13 for free

Happy hour Mo – Fr 12 a.m.-15 p.m. for 2 1/2 hours: 8,00 €

6.The Berlin wall documentation centre.
Not far from the Hostel, at the berlin wall documentation centre, you will find all you ever wanted to know about the Berlin wall. There´s even a small part of the wall still standing here. Climb the tower to get a nice overview! Just visit this centre you don´t even need to pay for it!
7. The Free dinner party at the EastSeven hostel. See what´s going in in the kitchen on manday evenings. Join in on the cooking, because its exciting. And the food ozr cook Florian prepares is always very delicious, yeah!
8. BEEN TO KREUZBERG YET?

Take a walk in gorgeous Viktoriapark and enjoy the great view from the plateau and then have an exquisite, but very cheap meal at either (vegetarian) Seerose (http://www.seerose-berlin.de/) or at Mutti’s (Großbeerenstr. 36). Then have drinks at one of the many nice bars/cafes at Bergmannstrasse.
9. Pay a visit to the former stasi prison in BerlinHohenschönhausen.

10. On sundays its fleamarket day in Berlin!! Yeah, this is great fun. There are 2 really cool fleamarkets at walking distance from our hostel!

Close to the hostel (500 m)you find the Arkonaplatz Fleamarket and the famous Mauerpark fleamarket. You don´t want to buy something – no problem you first of all go there to see all kind of urban subjects with hangover and even sober ones. Berliners go there – you should as well.

So this was just to inspirer you a bit before planning your trip and activities in Berlin. If you are staying at the EastSeven Berlin Hostel just stop by at the reception and we will be glad to help you and give you more insider information. See ya all soon!

free food party!

Every monday at Eastseven Berlin hostel there is a free vegetarian dinner party organized for all guests staying at the Hostel.

It´s a really nice happening, an opportunity for travelers to meet other travelers. Here is how it works; you need to sign up at the reception till 3pm on monday. Then meet up with the crew in the kitchen at around 7pm . If you like you could even join in on the cooking, or bring your own ingredients. We sell cheap but good german and chech bier at the reception!

Singer/songwriter Jennifer Logue once did a performance on a monday at the EastSeven Lounge, a volunteer show. We filmed during here show, just check out our youtube video.

At that  time she was touring across Europe with her `Paint the World Pretty Tour` staying at different hostels and performing for free in hostels and in orphanages aswell!
Listen to some of Jennifer Logue´s songs on Myspace

Our friend Todd, from the amazing band Calico Soul (Hawaiian / Rock / Punk music), is also a well seen musician at our hostel. And if you are lucky you might even catch him playing on the guitar during one of our Monday-evening happenings.
And as usual our cook Florian will be there on Mondays, cooking  delicious vegetarian meals! To join and enjoy the cooking come to the Hostel Kitchen at 7pm.
So hope to see you all soon at the EastSeven Berlin Hostel.

Jennifer Logue

Free entrance for EastSeven guests…

Singer/songwriter Jennifer Logue is performing at the EastSeven Lounge at 8pm. Before that we´ll be eating a nutricious, but above all delicious, vegetarian meal together. Couldn´t it be monday every day?

This evening Jennifer Logue, an indepent singer/songwriter from New York is performing a  volunteer show at our Hostel.
At the moment she is touring across Europe with her `Paint the World Pretty Tour` staying at different hostels and performing for free in hostels and in orphanages aswell!
Listen to some of Jennifer Logue´s songs on Myspace

If you want to support Jennifer Logue visit her website and read more on how to do so!

Our friend Todd, from the amazing band Calico Soul (Hawaiian / Rock / Punk music), will be joining us tonight, he will bring his guitar and perform aswell!
And as usual our cook Florian will be cooking a delicious vegetarian meal! To join and enjoy the cooking come to the Hostel Kitchen at 7pm.
So hope to see you all tonight at the EastSeven Berlin Hostel.

Free Meal at EastSeven

EastSeven hostel presents an amazing top 10 of activities for this week

1) OKTOBERFEST IN BERLIN

For the 58th time Berlin will be celebrating ‘Wies’n’ culture. Wednesdays – Sundays from 15h on at Zentraler Festplatz Berlin, Kurt-Schumacher-Damm 207, 13405 Berlin

2)PAVEL STICHA – MADE BY NATURE

photography exhibition, really beautiful landscape pics
daily @ Automobil Forum, Unter den Linden 21
entry is free! and afterwards you can visit the 1000 horsepower, 1 Million EURO Bugatti. short stroll from the Brandenburg Gate

3)MUSEUM OF COMMUNICATIONS

Outside – elegant neo-Baroque architecture laced with modern blue neon. Inside – friendly robots in the atrium, and the history of all things communicative. The Museum of Communications was founded as a postal museum in 1872, the world’s oldest such collection, and has been in its present ornate location since 1897.

On permanent exhibition are tools of the written word – wax seals, postcards and stamps (such as the famous Blue Mauritius), agents of the spoken and visual word – telephones (including some of the first), radios and film, and of the virtual – telegraphs and computers.

The museum’s interactive and lively approach makes it an ideal destination for kids, but adults will appreciate the temporary exhibitions featuring cutting edge artists. On the outer wall of the museum, observant visitors will hear a sound art collage of music, language and everyday noises. A comfortable walk from Checkpoint Charlie or Potsdamer Platz.

Address: Museum für Kommunikation Berlin
Leipziger Straße 16
10117 Berlin
Opening Hours: Tue-Fri 9-17, Sat-Sun and public holidays 11-19
Admission Fee: 3,- Euro, red. 1,50 Euro

4)NETAUDIO 2009 AT MARIA AM OSTBAHNHOF

From the 8th to the 11th of October 2009, Netaudio Berlin will be gathering the international netaudio community for a four-day music and conference festival in Berlin, under the title “East meets West”. 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. We recall pictures of hands reaching out to pull people from both sides up onto the Berlin wall. The event will take place at Maria, a venue situated immediately on the former Berlin ‘death strip’ once dividing the city and the world into eastern and western hemispheres.
5)GUIDED TOURS-TOUR M – BREACHING THE BERLIN WALL

Tour M gives you an insight into the history of the escape tunnels, and delves into the subject of the subterranean border – in the subway and sewer systems, which were used by those trying to flee the east. After a visit to various photo exhibitions in a former civil defence shelter, our guests will be taken via the subway to Bernauer Strasse. There more than seven escape tunnels were attempted within a distance of just 350 meters of each other. Here you will hear tales of betrayal in addition to the story of the two most successful tunnels.

Meeting point: U-Bhf Gesundbrunnen
6) HAMAM-TURKISH BATH

It´s getting colder outside so why not warm up a bit at  the Hamam to enjoy a really nice turkish bath…

Hamam is a bathing ceremony of the cleansing of the body and soul. Relaxation and communication in a warm and pleasant atmosphere, are key elements of the Hamam culture. Here women from different cultures and walks of life work and meet.

You’ll find the Hamam at Mariannenstr. 6 in Kreuzberg

For women only!!!!

7) The EASTSEVEN COOKING EVENT ON MONDAYS!!

Its vegetarian, delicious and for FREE.

A nice opportunity to meet other travellers!

8.) NICE INDIAN FOOD Q MAHARADSCHA

Every Sunday you pay one main course and get one maincourse for free.

they start with 8,-€

You find Maharadscha @ SCHÖNHAUSER ALLEE 10437 PRENZLAUERBERG / BERLIN

U-Eberswalder Str.

15 Minutes Walking Distance

9)CHECK OUT THE ORIENTAL BAZAAR ON THE RIVER BANK IN KREUZBERG: 8-18H @ KOTTBUSER TOR

on tuesdays and fridays

Begin at: 08:00
End at: 17:59

10) SUNDAY FLEAMARKETDAY

FLEAMARKET Mauerpark

Sunday is fleamarket day. Close to the hostel (500 m)you find the Arkonaplatz Fleamarket and the famous Mauerpark fleamarket. You don´t want to buy something – no problem you first of all go there to see all kind of urban subjects with hangover and even sober ones. Berliners go there – you should as well.

For more cool insider tips please check out our staff-recommendations!

Badeschiff Berlin

Here is EastSevens Top 5 of coolest swimming pools and lakes in Berlin

1. Badeschiff
This is the most extraordinary swimming pool in Berlin and one of the coolest meeting points in town. It is floating on the river spree! Further more it has a cool open air bar and a beach-like sunbathing area.
Easy to reach from the hostel. check the map.
3€ entrance Fee.

2. Krumme Lanke
Located at Berlin Grünewald, this nice and clean swimming water and the perfect green surroundings almost makes you forget that you are in the exciting metrople Berlin. See this MAP for the exact location.
no fee
3. Flugahfen See
This lake is located really close to the Tegel Airport. While swimming you can see the airplanes take off…really nice city feeling, and still the water is pure, you can see the fishes swimming…
no fee!

4. Wannsee Beach complex
Together, the Wannsee Lake and the surrounding Grunewald and Düppel forests form one of the most popular recreational destinations in southwest Berlin. The Wannsee, which is actually a large bulge of the Havel River, offers a wide variety of excursions and leisure trips to the Brandenburg countryside. The Berlin Stern- and Kreisschifffahrt boat tour service is located directly in front of the Wannsee S-Bahn station.
Check here to see a map of the exact location
4€ entrance fee

5. Schwimmingpool Pankow
fully equipped pool with 2 big slides, beachsports area, diving platform and a comfi sunbathing area. Check here for the location
4€ entrance fee

See you soon in Berlin, See you soon at EastSeven Berlin Hostel!!!

Glücklich am Park

Get the LOCAL DISCOUNT CARD at our hostel….
The EastSeven Berlin Hostel offers her guests a special Local Discount Card at check in.
Here the guest can find some really excellent (vintage) shops, bars and clubs,  all located very close to the Hostel in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg. All these shops have an unique assortment of clothes, furniture, souvenirs, beers, pizza etc. etc. Using this card helps newcomers in Berlin explore the neigbourhood and discover some of the best local businesses.

We have listed some cool examples down below:
1.Glücklich Am Park
Offers: 50% Discount on all sunglasses
2.Kaufhalle Berlin
Offers: 10% Discount on everything
3.Fat Ass Pizza
Offers: 15% Discount on consumption
4.Cafe Wohnzimmer
Offers: One free Coffee
5.Dunckerclub
Offers: Free Entrance

So if you are coming to Berlin we would love to welcome you to our Hostel. Get the Local Discount Card from our Staff at the reception and enjoy the most beautiful shops, delicious restaurants, lovely Cafes, and wild clubs in Prenzlauer Berg!!

For more insider tips on events, parties, galleries, exhibitions in Berlin please check out  our online Staff Recommendations.

See you soon in Berlin.