Summer Berlin

Summer is on its way and we already had a lot of nice sunny days in Berlin this year!
As we would like to inform you an all the things you could and should do and see in Berlin,
now it feels like the right time to start presenting some really cool swimming pools, parks
and other open air activities.
Here is our hot time summer in the city TOP 5:
1. Cool down at the Badeschiff
this is our absolute favorite outdoor swimmingpool in Berlin! Here all the hipsters go, and
you should go there too. The Badeschiff is something unique, you won´t find anywhere
else in Europe. It is a former cargo ship turned into a swimming pool. The ship lies on the
river Spree, so while swimming you are really floating on the Spree. It is a cool meeting
point, cause not only you can swim here, there is also a bar und a beach-like sunning
area. At night there are also very often parties and dj`s.
It is also an oasis for personal welbeing, you can book massages and yoga too.
Here is the link to their website for further information and directions; Das Badeschiff Berlin

2. Park Tiergarten
this is the park where you should go to when the city gets too hot. After visiting all major
sights in the city centre you can easily walk from Brandenburg Gate to this big innercity
oasis! This park has a lot of big old trees, so there is plenty of shade, all the locals go here
for a picnic or to do some sport excersises. You might also witness a class of art students
trying to catch the beautiful sceneries the parc offers.
Since it is such a big park you can also take a bike and cylce your way through it!
3. Open Air Cinema
the open air cinema season has started again!!It is such a joy to watch a film outside in the open air. You can bring your own picnic-basket and drinks.
One of my favorits is the one at volkspark Friedrischhain. When you are here you totally
forget that you are in the big metropolis Berlin.
Make sure to be there on time, there might be quite a que!
Here is a link to the website: open air cinema berlin

4. Summer time is ice cream time
you can find ice cream shops on almost every corner in Prenzlauer berg.
Some of our favorites are: kleine eiszeit, kauf dich glücklich and cuffaro.

5. Go to Kreuzberg!
The gorgeous Viktoriapark is fantastic for a late afternoon walk. From the plateau you
have a fantastic view over kreuzberg. A lot of people come here to relax and chat with
friends over a beer. After checking out the park you can try the delecious vegetarian food at
the Seerose restaurant. You will find a lot of nice bars over at Bergmannstrasse. Enjoy a
hot summer night in Kreuzberg!

for an affordable place to sleep in Berlin check out the EastSeven Hostel in Prenzlauer Berg. Hope to see you all soon!

Award best Hostel Germany

We have won the Hostelworld award for no. 1 Hostel for March 2012 in Germany!!

we are so proud and happy with this award! We have all been working very hard to keep the standards high.

Thanks to all the friendly guests who have booked through hostelworld and voted for us !

Hereby I would also like to say a big thanks to all of the hostel staff for keeping up a great job!!

We will keep doing our best and hope to welcome you all to our cozy hostel in Berlin!!

Second Hand Shops Berlin

We have made a selection of some outstanding and cool vintage second hand shops, all
located not far from your friendly hostel in Berlin.
We live in a capitalistic world, where we all want to buy buy and buy. We throw away quite
a lot too. Luckily there are a lot of people interested in second hand stuff and therefore
there are a lot of shops in Berlin selling vintage second hand and giving older products a
brand new life with a new owner.
Berlin is famous for its Sunday flea markets. These flea markets are heaven for people on
the look for particular stuff from the past. You name it , you can find it at the flea markets
of Berlin. there is the famous Mauerpark Market, the market at Boxhagener Platz and the
flea market at Ostbahnhof, some of the coolest markets to hang out any Sunday you
choose.
But if you are not staying in Berlin on a Sunday, there is an alternative! You can go to one
of the many second hand shops this metropolis has to offer.
To give you a little help in picking a shop of your interest, we have made a top 5 of vintage
shops close by our hostel.
1. Made in Berlin
this is probably the most famous second hand shop Berlin knows. It has a broad variety of
cool vintage clothes, both for females and males!
You find this shop at the neue schönhauser strasse 19.
2. Hillyʼs
located at the Kollwitzstrasse this family-friendly little boutique offers a broad variety of
female clothing. Also there is a big section reserved for second hand clothes and toys for
kids.
3. Kauf Dich Glueklich
this shop is a bit different from the rest, cause it is not actually a shop.. It is a cafe selling
the best waffles in town!! Hmmm then why is it on the list of best Second Hand shops, you
might wonder…. Thatʼs because almost everything inside the cafe is for sale. So if you like
the seat you are sitting on, or the artwork on the wall, you can buy it and take it home with
you. The name of the shop translated in to English means as much as buy yourself happy.
4. Garments Vintage
a really classic small vintage boutique, located at the Stargarder strasse 12.
Friendly service, good quality vintage clothing and even a small section for men!
Beside clothes you can find some cool accessories as well, for instance vintage sun
glasses!
5. Stiefelkombinat
Are you looking for shoes? Stop looking, go to the Stiefelkombinat at Eberswalderstrasse
and you will be able to find the best pair of second hand shoes!
Enjoy shopping for second hand clothes and accessories! And if you want to find out where more second hand shops are,  just come ask us at the reception!!

@ MauerPark Flea Market

Yes, winter is definitely over, spring is in the air. The outdoor season we have all been waiting for is ready to fulfill our needs. What do we want? We want to shop, but of course not in a shopping mall but outdoors! We have made you a top 5 of the best flea markets in Berlin! Enjoy!

1. Mauerpark flea market

Located within walking distance from the EastSeven Berlin Hostel, this weekly fleamarket is one of the most popular ones in town. Every Sunday locals and tourist come here to look for great old stuff from furniture to clothing. But also you can find brand new things here.  From hand made jewelry out of old silver spoons to hip clothes. You can find anything here, it is so big!!!

Besides that it is the best place to go for a snack! There are stands selling sweets, Turkish dishes, rice, sandwiches, and bratwurst. You name it, they got it!

But that ́s not all! There is live music as well! A lot of musicians meet in the park next to the market to perform to an unique audience! Also the famous bearpit karaoke takes places at the Mauerpark fleamarket!

2. Nowkoelln flea market

This market takes place every first & third Sunday, at the Maybachufer! Located in vibrant Kreuzkölln, alongside the canal, this fleamarket has something romantic in it.

What can you find here? Next to first class second hand and original handmade products you will find art and live music here. Strawl alongside the canal, buy some souvenirs and gifts and enjoy the beautiful city scenery. What more can you ask for?!

3. Bergmannstrasse flea market

Another great fleamarket located in Kreuzberg, is the one at the Bergmannstraße.

The market is surrounded by a lot of nice cafés and restaurants. So it ́s perfect to combine your visit to this market with having lunch or dinner!

4. Boxhagener Platz flea market

This nice fleamarket has a really alternative flair!  What to expect? A lot of hand-made T-shirts, jewelery, art, books, a little furniture, a lot of cool people….Check it out!

This small market, with around 100-150 stands, is on every Sunday. The fun starts at 10am and goes till approxiametely 6pm.

The area around Boxhagener platz is also really good for finding nice small restaurants and bars.

5. Tiergarten antique market

As the name already explains,  it is not really a flea market but here you can find antique stuff too!

If you have a little bit more to spend, and if you are looking for something really special, go here! Afterwards you can stroll through the big city park Tiergarten, definitely worth while visiting! Another idea is to combine the visit to the flea market with a visit to the zoo.

Have fun exploring Berlin and its wonderful flea markets!

Vegan Food Berlin

Nachdem uns Maredo nun offenbart hat, dass Tofu schwules Fleisch wäre, bin ich umso glücklicher, dass ich da nie hingegangen bin.

Wozu auch? Es gibt unglaublich leckere vegetarische/vegane Alternativen überall in der Stadt.
Anfangen möchte ich mit meinen Favoriten im Kiez:

• W-Der Imbiss (Kastanienalle 49)

seit Langem gehe ich nun dahin und bin immer wieder entzückt von der Geschmacksvielfalt. Hier kann auch der knappe Studentengeldbeutel ran. Es gibt knusprige Naans aus dem Lehmofen, knackige Salatvariationen und meinen Favorit: Teriyaki Tofu. Hingehen, hinsetzen und einfach mal was Gutes essen. Ach ja, zum schauen gibt es in der Kastanienallee sowieso immer was. Seien es überhippe auf Fixies oder der Tramfahrer der an der Kreuzung manuell die Weiche umstellen muss  ( dit is Baalin)

• Majas Deli ( Pappelallee 11)

wenn ihr 400m gelaufen seid und Lust auf was Süßes habt, könnt ihr gleich bei Majas Deli vorbeischauen. Für diejenigen die gleich wieder Hunger haben gibt es Herzhaftes wir Currys und Suppen. Für alle anderen gibt’s prächtige Kuchenkreationen, yeah! ( und was für einen). Alles schick, alles vegan.

Burger
Also Grossstadtgourmet kommt man im Augenblick an Burgern nicht vorbei. Es gibt sie überall. Im Friedrichshain führte die Burgerdichte sogar dazu, dass der McD zumachen musste…
Ich würde euch gerne 3 Burgerbrutzler ans herzlegen:

• YOYO  ( Gärtnerstrasse 27)

hier findet ihr ein riesiges Angebot an Burgern mit verschiedensten  Bratlingen. Alternativ findet man hier auch Pizzas und Spätzle und Wraps – alles vegan natürlich.  Die Atmosphäre erinnert ein wenig an Voküs, man darf sich also an Hunden nicht wirklich stören. Lecker ist es allemal. Definitiv mein Liebling in Friedrichshain. Vergesst bitte nicht die Fritten zu versuchen!

• YELLOW SUNSHINE    (Wienerstrasse 19)

Ein Kleinod , umgeben von Dönerläden.
Leckere Burger! Ähnliche Speisekarte wie das YOYO, allerdings ist der Laden insgesamt aufgeräumter. Mein tip, Burger mitnehmen und im Görli essen, ist quasi gegenüber.

• White Trash Fast Food (Schönhauser Allee 6)

im Grunde nicht unbedingt ein Laden in dem man gute Veggieburger erwarten würde. Leider kann ich euch nicht aus erster Hand berichten wie die Burger sind, da ich nie in den Laden gehe. Mein Musikgeschmack divergiert doch ganz entschieden von dem Programm des Whitetrash. Allerdings wurde mir aus vertraulicher Quelle zugetragen, dass die Burger da sich sehen lassen können.
Zu aller Letzt möchte ich euch auch auf die Möglichkeit des veganen Einkauf aufmerksam machen. Unweit des Hostel in Prenzlauer Berg (Schivelbeiner Straße 34) gibt es einen veganen Supermarkt, falls ihr in unserer Küche selbst kochen möchtet.
Bitte verzeihet mir die Tippfehler, ich habe Hunger bekommen und muss jetzt unbedingt los….

Party in Berlin

I think everybody loves to sing!! Maybe not everybody is as talented, but that doesn´t
matter at all.

It is all about  music, singing, and of course and maybe above all it is about  having FUN! It is just great sharing your favorite songs by performing them yourself, for a (small) crowd.
What are the options in Berlin, if you want to take your chance and sing your favorite
tunes? You don´t know where to go to? We have made a selection of cool places to go to
to do karaoke in Berlin!
1.Monster Ronson´s Itchiban Karaoke bar
is probably one of the most popular and famous bars for karaoke! It is located really
central, at warschauer straße, and is therefore easy to reach!
This bar is perfectly suited also for people who are a bit shy, then there are cabins you can
rent so instead of singing to a big crowd you can intimately sing to and with your friends. Of course there is also a big stage!
They have over 85000 songs to choose from!
2. Hafen Bar: Kaptains Karaoke Party
at the Hafen Bar in Berlin-Mitte there is a karaoke party every Saturday. The Karaoke
begins at 9pm and goes for about 3 hours.
You can choose from about 5000 international and German songs. Their rule is a song can
only be sung once an evening! Afterwards you can hang around here for a great dance party!
3. Green mango karaoke
though it is an insider tip, if you want to go here during weekends, it is better to reserve a table
in advance. They have a really big song-archive you can choose from, and also they serve delicious cocktails!
The bar is located in the Bülowstraße and very easy to reach from our friendly hostel in Berlin. Just take the u2, it will bring you straight to bülowstraße.
4. Bear pit Karaoke at Mauerpark
open air karaoke on Sundays in the vibrant Mauerpark, you can´t miss out on this!
It is a really fun thing to do!! Maybe you want to sing, but it is also great to just be in the
crowd and enjoy the different performances. I have never witnessed such a warm and grateful crowed as at the bear-pit karaoke!!
5.Kim´s karaoke bar
This is a Korean karaoke bar with an unique mix of Asian and non-Asian pop songs!
At the beginning the people who came to Kim´s bar where mainly Korean people. But over the years karaoke started to become a lot more popular in Europe. Now you will find people from all over the globe coming to Kim´s bar to sing a song!

We wish you a lot of fun in Berlin and a lot of fun singing karaoke!!!

opendoorsberlin

In this blog-post we would like to introduce to you a brand new way of exploring the city of Berlin.
When you come to Berlin there are hundreds of tours you can choose from. Walking tours, boat tours, bike tours, bus tours etc. All of these tours focus on sightseeing and Berlin history.
But as we know, a lot of people are interested in experiencing Berlin beyond the touristic sights. They want to do what the insiders, the inhabitants of Berlin, do. They want to go where the insiders go.
Opendoorsberlin gives you the opportunity to have this insight in the way the people of Berlin live. It is an unique way to get in contact with the local culture and to get to know Berlin!
Visit real life in Berlin!
So this is your opportunity to experience real life in Berlin. With opendoorsberlin you get access to private Berlin-apartments. On every Saturday afternoon Berlin-citizens open their doors for you! They will show you around in their apartments and welcome you warmly to their private living-rooms. Have a seat and learn more about German hospitality and the Berlin way of life.
In one afternoon you can visit several private Berlin apartments and meet some of the people who call this vibrant city their home.
How does it work? Opendoorsberlin provide you with three addresses for you to visit. You will be warmly welcomed to the people’s homes! It is also a good way to discover various city districts and meet real people! Are you interested in how people in Berlin decorate their homes, then this is certainly a thing for you!
It is a wonderful possibility to get in contact with the city from a different point of view. The inhabitants not only show you around in their private place but tell you about some hidden places off the mainstream tourist trails. So you get to know what their favorite bars, museums or clubs are.
Take the chance and get inspired by real people in an authentic atmosphere.
You will be warmly welcomed!

For more information and to register online click here: Opendoorsberlin

ITB Berlin

Staying in Berlin during this time? Then pay a visit to the ITB Travel Trade Show.
At the ITB you will find information on everything that has to do with traveling. You name it they have got it. From information on  accommodation in Berlin or elsewhere to tour operators, from popular destinations to new booking-systems.
The promoters at the ITB will show you how travelers can make the most out of their vacation. It offers visitors to tour the world in only a couple of hours. If you don´t have any holiday plans yet, visit the trade show and plan your perfect holiday here and now.
Why pay a visit to the ITB? There are hundreds of reasons for visiting this world leading travel show, really! For instance it provides unique opportunities to benefit from the outstanding leading think tank of global tourism and of course it can provide you with business ideas or individual holiday plans!
The ITB is the place to be for trade-visitors. It offers a terrific opportunity for business people to meet business partners and to do business as well. This is the time and the place to learn about new trends, explore new concepts and cooperation possibilities. See how other business partners present their businesses, and get inspired!
But beside this, the ITB gives the visitor an unique chance to explore and discover the world within a couple of hours. How good is that! It will help you prepare your holiday in a perfect way!
The ITB has more than 170000 visitors, including 108000 trade visitors and over 10000 exhibitors from 180 different countries! Exhibitor sales of about 6 billion Euros and an exhibitor satisfaction rate of 92 percent are evidence enough that supply and demand meet at the right place. ITB is the leading B2B Platform of all tourism industry offers.
At the ITB there is a separated hall reserved solely for the following subcategories of traveling:  Youth travel, Ecotourism, Adventure travel, economy accommodation and travel for disabled people.

Now you can imagine how big this trade show is! There is so much to see and learn. Luckily the exhibition area is clearly structured, divided into geographical aspects and market segments. The Messe Berlin is a well experienced exhibition ground, and therefore everything is organized in a professional way. But if you want to prepare yourself before going, maybe you want to check out a map of the exhibition ground, and also find more detailed information on the ITB 2012 just have a look at their website: KLICK HERE.
Other things you will find at the ITB are for instance: Training and Employment in Tourism, wellness, Travel technology, culture tourism and wellness.

Opening hours for Trade Visitors daily from 10am till 6pm. A one day pass costs 36€, but if oyu buy the day pass online in advance you will save a little money, it presell it costs 30€.
We wish you a lot of fun at the ITB! If you need help with how to get there just come ask us at the EastSeven Berlin Hostel reception!!

cleanest hostel January 2012

EastSeven- a very clean Hostel in Berlin

This is our first Hostelbookers Award of 2012, and we are very proud of it!

We would like to say thank you to all the friendly guest who found us through Hostelbookers and who took the time to give us a rating on the Hostelbookers website.  We are happy that you enjoyed it here, and that you appreciated the effort we take into keeping our hostel spick and spam clean.

Last but not least we want to warmly thank our cleaning staff, for keeping up the good work and keeping the hostel sooooo verryyyy clean !!! Thanks guys & girls!

Here is a top 10 of great events and parties for this weekend!

Events in Berlin

1. Finest Friday at Berghain/Panorama Bar

Party starts at midnight, open end! Where? At Berlins coolest CLUB:  Berghain

You ll find Berghain at the following address. 70 Am Wriezener Bahnhof; Friedrichshain; 10243 Berlin
For tonight´s party the damage is  8 Euro.

Here we will present to you the line up:
Panormabar – Finest Friday
Floating Points (Eglo), Red D & San Soda (We play house), Steven Tang (Emphasis), Prosumer (Ostgut Ton)

2. Saturday the 25th of February, party time at PANKE CLUB
HOT SOURCE @ Panke together with Fil video installation
with Sneaky, Benski, Tres & Rokin

Come join us for our joyful reunion throwdown.

Full Source Force in effect!

Cheeky Berlin residents Sneaky and Benski are joined by Hot Source OG members Tres and Rokin who are flying in from Barcelona and Cologne. Both will be armed with their tastiest selections du jour! and all 4 primed for deep dancefloor devastation!

So…..what’s on the menu for the evening?…….Simply, no holds barred, life affirming music for your mind and body. Nu-Skool to Old-Skool.

“Hot Source joins the preverbial dots with impeccable style”
Marge Simpson

AND……….. you can even wig out to the sounds (ninja style) in the backroom with Glow in the dark table tennis!

Doors open: 23.30
Location: Panke, Gerichtstraße 23, Wedding, 13347 Berlin

(Text: Panke Club)
3. Saturday the 25th of February: RECYCLE – Berlin’s finest Drum’n'Bass: HOSPITAL

@ Gretchen Club

The party starts at 23.30, you find Gretchen Club here: Obentrautstr. 19-21, Kreuzberg

BOX1
Netsky (Hospital/BE), Logistics (Hospital/UK), Nu:Tone (Hospital/UK), N’Dee (Recycle/D), MC Mace (Recycle/D)
White MC (Recycle/D)
BOX2
“Sunny Side Up” with André Langenfeld (D)

4. Exhibition @ C/O Berlin–> Ron Galella . Paparazzo Extraordinaire

Last call, exhibition is till 26 February 2012

“If someone says ‘no photos!’ then I try not to take any more. However, before he says that I take as many as I can. That’s the game”. Ron Galella

A paparazzo hunt is cunning, harsh and frequently ends painfully. In the worst case bloodily—including broken jaws and lost teeth. For Ron Galella and his undercover activities, no effort or risk was too great. He proceeded like a detective in order to catch the celebrities in the right moment, patient, persistent, shifty. Whether it was Jacqueline Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Greta Garbo, Andy Warhol, Sean Penn, Robert Redford, Muhammad Ali, Madonna, Mick Jagger or Audrey Hepburn—he managed to get them all in front of his lens. His pictures are snapshots rather than portraits. Spontaneous, not staged, and as a result extremely authentic.

On the occasion of the Berlinale, C/O Berlin will show approximately 140 black/white photographs by Ron Galella.

(text: C/O Berlin)

5. Exhibition @ KW Institute for Contemporary Art

“YOU KILLED ME FIRST The Cinema of Transgression  19.02. – 09.04.2012″
Auguststraße 69
D-10117 Berlin

Karen Finley, Tessa Hughes-Freeland, Richard Kern, Lung Leg, Lydia Lunch, Kembra Pfahler, Casandra Stark, Tommy Turner, David Wojnarowicz, Nick Zedd

There will be blood, shame, pain and ecstasy, the likes of which no one has yet imagined.
Nick Zedd

Nightmarish scenarios of violence, dramatic states of mind, and perverse sexual abysses – the films of the Cinema of Transgression that were consciously aimed at shock, provocation, and confrontation, bear witness to an extraordinary radicality. In the 1980s a group of filmmakers from the Lower East Side in New York went on a collision course with the conventions of American society. Transcending all moral or aesthetic boundaries, the low budget films reveal social hardship met with sociopolitical indifference. Sometimes shot with stolen camera equipment, the films contain strident analyses of life in the Lower East Side defined by criminality, brutality, drugs, AIDS, sex, and excess.

Even though the movement has remained largely unknown, the Cinema of Transgression has been a significant influence for later generations of artists.

YOU KILLED ME FIRST at KW Institute of Contemporary Art in Berlin is the first exhibition on the Cinema of Transgression.

Entry only over 18 years

(Text: KW Institute of Contemporary Art)

6. Go out for Dinner, there is a fantastic Vegan Food Restaurant closeby our cozy Hostel in Berlin

It is called KOPPS and is located at the Linienstrasse 94, 10115 Berlin
They serve typical German dishes, but everything is vegan!

7.Berlin Wall documentation center

The Berlin Wall Memorial is the central memorial site of German division, located in the middle of the capital. Situated at the historic site on Bernauer Strasse, it will eventually extend along 1.4 kilometers of the former border strip. The memorial contains the last piece of Berlin Wall with the preserved grounds behind it and is thus able to convey an impression of how the border fortifications developed until the end of the 1980s. The events that took place here together with the preserved historical remnants and traces of border obstacles on display help to make the history of Germany’s division comprehensible to visitors.

(Text: http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/)

8. Dance the night away at the Bassy Club

There is Live music and afterwards there are dj´s! Expect great oldies rock´n´roll ,

wild music from before 1969!

Great thing, this club is just around the corner, at Schönhasuer allee 176A.

9.  Go eat breakfast at Cafe Entweder Oder

it is located within walking distance from EastSeven, at th Oderberger Strasse. The serve great breakfast, lunch and dinner too.

10.  Clueless of what to do during the day? Go on a walking tour!!

The Brewer´s Walking tour arranges pick ups from our hostel twice a day, EVERY day.

So just ask us at the reception and we will give you additional information.