The Best of Berlin, Via Films, Food, Music and More

Since Berliners practically live outdoors in the warm months, summer might be an ideal time to plan a visit. And in August, the Mies van der Rohe-designed Neue Nationalgalerie is scheduled to reopen after a multiyear renovation. But if the Covid pandemic seals borders for months to come, don’t lose heart: Since generations of artists, authors, musicians and filmmakers have found inspiration in this historically dense, culturally indulgent city, there’s no shortage of material to let you taste the town from the constraints of your home.

THE READS / Fact, fiction and family

Laurel Kratochvila, co-owner of Shakespeare & Sons bookstore in Friedrichshain suggests building your Berlin bookshelf with these selections:

‘The Berlin Stories,’ by Christopher Isherwood

“Isherwood makes early 1930s queer Berlin sound grand—until it wasn’t. Broke strivers and millionaires cross paths in nightclubs and on beaches. Sex and adventure are had, all while the Nazi specter looms, about to put an end to it all.”

‘Stasiland,’ by Anna Funder

“A collection of stories about everyday people of East Berlin who informed, collaborated or were destroyed by the State Security Ministry, ‘Stasiland’ is subtle and frightening.”

‘Zoo Station: The Story of Christiane F.’

“The memoir on which the cult film was based, this is a story of teenage drug addiction, prostitution and life in poor West Berlin of the late ‘70s. It’s vivid and honest, probably in part because it was written with the help of two journalists while Christiane was still a teenager.

‘The Family Carnovsky,’ by Israel Joshua Singer

“Written in Yiddish by the older brother of Isaac Bashevis Singer, this novel sees three generations through WWI and into the rise of Nazism. It’s as much an ode to the landscape of a Berlin long destroyed as it is a story of belonging.”

‘Classic German Baking’ by Luisa Weiss

“This might be a general German baking book, but it’s such a well-researched, functional cookbook that you can use to recreate the Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) lifestyle of Berlin. Written by a long term Berlin resident, the recipes are positively transportive.”

THE TASTES / Ursula Heinzelmann, author of ‘Beyond Bratwurst: A History of Food in Germany,’ rounds up iconic Berlin bites

The Top Dog

Currywurst

“Dating back to the immediate post-WWII years, full of ruins and rubble, the ketchup-doused bratwurst buried under a generous layer of curry powder has become the city’s unassuming culinary emblem. For top organic quality currywurst go to Witty’s.”

The Stellar Sandwich

Döner Kebap

“Berlin’s history has always been marked by immigrants, including, for over half a century, a strong Turkish community. Döner Kebap, the spit-roasted meat served in flatbread with sauces, is their specialty and has taken the city by storm. It’s everywhere.

The Great Grain

Roggenbrot

“Berlin traditionally is the epicenter of rye, as most soils near here are too poor to grow wheat. Real Berlin bread—or roggenbrot—is acidity-driven, savory stuff. A new generation of bakers uses regionally grown and ground flour, and Domberger is the name to remember.”

THE DRINK / Berliner Weisse

Legend has it that Napoleon’s soldiers called the beer brewed in Berlin, “the Champagne of the North.” A wheat beer that’s low in alcohol and refreshingly tart, Berliner Weisse is typically ordered rot—that is, turned bright red with a squirt of raspberry syrup—or grün—green with woodruff, a forest herb that imparts a faint apple taste with notes of hay and lemon grass. In recent years, brewers have taken to making their own variations on the style. A few favorites:

Lemke Berlin belongs in the top tier of Berlin’s burgeoning microbrewery scene. Rather than relying on after-the-fact syrups, their Waldmeister is conditioned on woodruff, while the Himbeer is fermented with raspberries. Both the colors and the flavors of these traditional brews hew to what nature intended. bunitedint-ny.square.site

Grimm Artisanal Ales venture beyond the traditional flavorings that characterize Berliner Weisse. Their Little Thief beer (pictured above) is steeped on the skins of Merlot grapes, while Color Field gets its hazy pink color from rosehips, hibiscus and camomile. grimmales.com

The Bruery in Placentia, Calif., has made a name for itself with intensely flavored, often sour beers. The Passion Fruit release in their Frucht series is downright puckery. Sip this on a warm day under a maple tree and it’s almost as good as being unter der linden. thebruery.com M.K.

THE MUSIC / Albums that offer a sampling of Berlin’s breadth of musical influences

‘Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill’ (1955)

No music conjures Berlin during the Weimar Republic like Kurt Weill’s collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. For definitive renditions of their work, look to Lotte Lenya, Weill’s former wife. This collection was recorded during Lenya’s return to Germany 20 years after fleeing the Nazis.

Iggy Pop ‘Lust for Life’ (1977)

During Iggy Pop and David Bowie’s ‘70s residency in West Berlin, the city served not just as a respite from the temptations of Los Angeles, but as a constant inspiration. Mr. Pop reportedly wrote much of “The Passenger” aboard the S-Bahn, Berlin’s commuter train.

‘Bernstein in Berlin: Ode to Freedom’ (1989)

On Christmas Day, 1989, six weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Leonard Bernstein gathered musicians and singers from both sides of the crumbling Iron Curtain, at what was East Berlin’s Royal Playhouse, for a monumental production of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. His lyrical change from freude (joy) to freiheit (freedom) gives chills to this day.

Atari Teenage Riot ‘Delete Yourself!’ (1995)

Put thrashing guitars, industrial dance beats, videogame sounds and leftist politics into a Vitamix, and out spills what group co-founder Alec Empire called “digital hard-core.” Songs like Hetzjagd Auf Nazis! (”Hunt Down the Nazis!) capture the energy of the era.

Kool Savas ‘Aghori’ (2021)

Savaş Yurderi, who performs under the name Kool Savas, is a deeply influential and occasionally controversial German hip-hop artist. AMG, the lead single from his just-released album ‘Aghori,’ uses Mercedes’s line of performance vehicles as a symbol of economic and creative possibility.

ON SCREEN / Films that capture the spirit of the city, from screwball comedies to spy thrillers

Berlin-based filmmaker Anna Winger, co-creator of the miniseries ‘Unorthodox’ and the ‘Deutschland’ trilogy, on a few of her favorite depictions of her adopted city:

‘One, Two, Three’ (1961)

“Billy Wilder’s hilarious comedy—starring James Cagney as a Coca-Cola executive—provides a window into the early days of the divided city. Wilder started out as a director in Weimar Berlin and returned years later to make this film, only to have the Berlin Wall go up—not just during his production, but through it, along the Brandenburg Gate.” DVD from kinolorber.com

‘The Lives of Others’ (2006)

“Of all the Berlin film classics, this is my favorite. It’s about a Stasi spy who falls in love with the artists he’s surveilling in East Berlin in the 1980s.” Streaming on multiple platforms

‘Oma & Bella’ (2012)

“Alexa Karolinski’s documentary about her grandmother and her grandmother’s best friend—Holocaust survivors from Poland who settled in Charlottenburg after the war—shows how these two widows in their 80s stay connected to their shared history through food.” Streaming on Amazon Prime

‘The Most Beautiful Girl in the World’ (2018)

“Aron Lehmann’s rom-com is set during a high-school class trip to Berlin, in which the students sneak out to attend rap battles in local clubs.” Blu-ray DVD from Amazon

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