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 Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:50 am Post subject: NIGHTLIFE IN GERMANY/ BERLIN & FRANKFURT NIGHTLIFE GUIDE |
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NIGHTLIFE IN GERMANY (BERLIN & FRANKFURT)
BERLIN
Berlin is quite simply one of Europe’s most effervescent party cities. The old divides are still there when it comes to nightlife and the Western center, somewhat ironically, lags behind the real action in the resurgent East. Berlin today is a byword for alternative culture and within the city pretty much anything goes. Punk and various forms of anarchy are struggling to survive among the style bars and yuppie haunts in Kreuzberg but the avant-garde cultural scene and accompanying drinking culture has moved on to Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and increasingly to Friedrichshain. Likewise, the city’s gay scene is divided between staid Schöneberg, Kreuzberg and edgier Prenzlauer Berg.
For a first-time visitor, Mitte is probably the better bet, starting around the Hackesche Höfe and working up Oranienburger Strasse to the numerous bars that first greeted the Western hordes after the Wall fell. Tacheles, at the end of the street, is worth a visit for the spirit of culture and anarchy it once implied. For the real experience of Berlin, however, it has to be Prenzlauer Berg (Prenzl’berg for short). Some of the more established places are reasonably easy to find but the real fun starts with the wild bars and impromptu clubs that seem to spring up from nowhere one week and disappearing forever the next.
Entry to bars is officially restricted to those 18 years and older. There is often a cover charge of around €2.50–10 for discos and nightclubs but given the city’s relaxed attitude to style, most do not have dress codes and there are no fixed closing times. The average price of a drink while out and about in Berlin is €5–6.
Listings can be found in Zitty (website: www.zitty.de), Tip (website: www.tip-berlin.de) and Prinz (website: www.prinz.de) magazines. There are also club listings in the free magazines, Flyer (website: www.flyer.de/berlin) and 030 (website: www.berlin030.de).
Bars: For those looking to spend their money in a trendy atmosphere, the Bar am Lützowplatz, Lützowplatz 7 (website: www.baramLuetzowplatz.com), between the Tiergarten and U-Bahn Nollendorfplatz, offers high-priced cocktails. On the other side of Nollendorfplatz is Hafen, Motzstrasse 19, a popular gay bar. Other established bars are Wirtschaftwunder, Yorckstrasse 81, with 1950s decor, and the small, crowded Zoulou Bar, Hauptstrasse 4, which always has an interesting mix of people.
Bars line the scruffy streets of Oranienstrasse and Wiener Strasse in Kreuzberg, many doubling up as cafés during the day. Café Bar Morena, Wiener Strasse 60, is an institution. The nearby Wiener Blut, Weiner Strasse 13, is a good local, while Madonna, Weiner Strasse 22, is a bit rougher.
In East Berlin, there are too many things happening to list them all here. Good places to start on Oranienburger Strasse (the geile Meile) are the funky Bar Lounge 808, Oranienburger Strasse 42–43, Reingold, Novalisstrasse 11, for cocktails and jazz, or Mitte Bar, Oranienburger Strasse 46, which is popular as much with the arty local set as it is with students. There is also the well-established Obst und Gemuse, Oranienburger Strasse 48/49. In trendy Prenzlauer Berg, the most buzzing bars are the hip-hop temple, H20, Kastanienalle 16, and Prater, Kastienalle 7–9, with its beer garden, theater and bar. You can also try Icon, Cantianstrasse 15.
The most unusual bars in the city are the unsicht-Bar, Gormannstrasse, and the Nocti Vagus, Saarbruecker Strasse 36–38, both of which serve food and drink in complete darkness. During 2003, both venues will stage events such as music evenings, plays and scent experiences.
Cabaret: The legacy of 1930s Berlin and Marlene Dietrich lives on. Over-the-top commercial cabaret is best seen at the Friedrichstadtpalast, Friedrichstrasse 107 (website: www.friedrichstadtpalast.de), with musical revues that combine glittering costumes with elements of dance and theater into the floorshows at one of Europe’s largest revue theaters. Wintergarten – Das Varieté, Potsdamer Strasse 96 (website: www.wintergarten-variete.de), offers dinner and variety shows. More off beat shows can be found at independent venues in the area to the north of the Hackesche Höfe and in Prenzlauer Berg.
Casinos: Spielbank Berlin is part of the new Potsdamer Platz development and is located opposite the Grand Hyatt hotel, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 (website: www.spielbank-berlin.de). There is no specific dress code, although a passport is required, along with the €5.11 entry fee. The casino is open daily 1130–0300 to those aged 18 years and over; guests must bring identification, such as a passport. Casino Berlin, situated on the 37th floor of the Forum Hotel, Alexanderplatz, is open daily 1500–0300. The entrance fee is €5 and a jacket and tie are required. Players must be over 18 years and a passport is required for entry.
Clubs: There are a number of tourist-orientated discos in the Ku’damm area but a better bet in West Berlin is 90 Grad, Dennewitzstrasse 37, with a young crowd dancing to funky beats and house on the gay nights (Thursday and Saturday). SO36, Oranienstrasse 190, in Kreuzberg, has different moods and music styles, depending on the night. It also hosts concerts. Then there is the singles-orientated Balhaus Berlin, Chausseestrasse 102, where you can invite people to dance via a telephone on your table.
There is an eclectic array of clubs in East Berlin. In Mitte, one of the current hip places to see and be seen is the Sage-Club, Köpenicker Strasse 78, with its painfully trendy atmosphere and plenty of up-front house music. In Prenzlauer Berg, Knaack Club, Greifswalder Strasse 224, is a multilevel club with a wide variety of sounds and concerts early in the week, whileHavanna, Haupstrasse 30, offers salsa, merengue and funk. The halcyon days of out-and-out techno (the soundtrack for the fall of the Wall in 1989) live on in Casino, Mühlenstrasse, and in Matrix, Warschauer Platz 18.
Comedy: The Quatsch Comedy Club can be found on Friedrichstrasse 107 (website: www.quatschcomedyclub.de). Acts are stand up and sometimes include double acts.
Live music: In addition to the clubs that double up as live music venues mentioned above, Berlin has a variety of spots in which to witness live bands. The jazz and blues scene is particularly happening and popular spots include A Trane Jazzclub, Bleibtreustrasse 1, and B-Flat, Rosenthaler Strasse 13, as well as some nights at Flöz, Nassauische Strasse 37, and Quasimodo, Kantstrasse 12A. Major rock concerts take place at Columbiahalle, Columbiadamm 13–21 (website: www.columbiahalle.de), and occasionally at large sporting venues like the Velodrom, Paul-Heyse-Strasse 26, Prenzlauer Berg, and Max-Schmeling-Halle, Am Falkplatz, Prenzlauer Berg. Open-air concerts are held at the Waldbühne, Am Glockenturm, near the Olympic Stadium.
FRANKFURT
Traditional Kneipen (bars) cluster around the Alt Sachsenhausen district (between Brückenstrasse and Dreiechstrasse), but are increasingly being crowded out by more modern establishments with an international ambience. Many of Frankfurt’s top hotels have excellent bars that attract outsiders as well as guests and are particularly popular with visiting businesspeople. Belying its rather staid image, Frankfurt also has a lively club scene. Discos and gay haunts are to be found around Zeil and Bleichstrasse, while the seedier side of nightlife can be found down the Kaiserstrasse artery and the surrounds.
Many bars in Frankfurt also offer live music, particularly jazz. The best venues are around Kleine Bockenheimer Strasse, otherwise known as Jazzgasse (Jazz Alley).
Bars stay open until 0100 during the week and remain open significantly later at the weekend. The minimum drinking age is 18 years and in trendy bars or clubs, a beer can cost around €3-4, while a glass of wine is usually around €3.50-4 and sprits €3-5. Dress code is smart to casual – a tie is not necessary but many places will not allow trainers or jeans. Clubs and discos often charge admission of around €8-10.
The first phase of the proposed Urban Entertainment Center, a 210m (689ft) tower block (UEC 1), has been completed and is situated on Hemmerichweg, between the fair district and the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station). When complete, the complex will offer shopping and entertainment center, as well as offices, a hotel and apartments.
Prinz (website: www.prinz.de) is the magazine to pick up for the latest bars, club and nightlife information. The free magazines Strandgut (website: www.strandgut.de), Fritz (website: www.fritz-frankfurt.de) and Kultur News (website: www.kulturnews.de) all have information on culture and nightlife in Frankfurt (in German) and are available at the tourist information center. An excellent source of information and listings is available from the online service (website: www.rhein-main.net) for Frankfurter Neue Presse and Journal Frankfurt.
Bars: To experience the best of a dying breed of Äppelwoi taverns, trawl the streets of Alt Sachsenhausen around Affentorplatz. However, if an up-to-the minute scene is more your style, try the super-trendy Soho, Fritschengässchen 5, or Coconut Groove, Kaiserstrasse 53, a stylish restaurant-bar with live music and tables spilling onto the pavement in summer.
In the center, the places to see and be seen are Lounge, Weissadlergasse 15, a cosy bar that is open until 0300 every day, Keepers Bar, Berliner Strasse 175, offering an excellent mix of cocktails and DJs, and the trendy Studio Bar, Katharinenpforte 6, with upstairs seating in its penthouse. A place with understated style is Luna Bar, Stiftstrasse 6. This is one of the best ‘designer bars’ in Germany, with great atmosphere and cocktails made to order. Once a month, the venue hosts a Lunatics Party, with live music.
The Main Tower Bar, on the 53rd floor of the only public skyscraper in Frankfurt, offers breathtaking drinks as well as views from 1830 onwards. Craving German beer? Make for Elfer Music Club, Maybachstrasse 24, the mother of all trendy pubs in Frankfurt. Prices are quite steep at Jimmy’s Bar in the Frankfurt Hessischer Hof Hotel, Friedrich Ebert Anlage 40, but anyone on an expense account will enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere and the gentleman’s club surroundings. The homesick can head for the distinctly English King’s Arms pub, Mainkai 10.
Casinos: Bad Homburg Casino is the nearest casino – in the spa town of Bad Homburg, just to the north of Frankfurt, on Im Kurpark. Table gambling is available 1500-0300. It costs €2.50 for a day card and the minimum age is 18 years – ID in the form of a driving license or passport is required. Dress code is smart, with no jeans, sports clothes, sandals or trainers. A jacket and tie are required for men.
Clubs: Nachtleben, Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse 45, is two places in one – upstairs a trendy bar and downstairs a dance club playing house on Thursday and drum’n’bass on Saturday. Galerie, Düsseldorfer Strasse 1-7 (website: www.galerie-frankfurt.de), is where the young and trendy enjoy live sets, dance music, theater performances and unusual art exhibitions. House and trance features prominently at the gay club, Blue Angel, Brönnerstrasse 17 (website: www.blueangel-online.de). Das 21. Jahrhundert, Oeder Weg 21 (website: www.das-21-jahrhundert.de), hosts DJs from around the world every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A palatial villa in Bethmann Park is the chic setting of the Odeon disco, Seilerstrasse 34 (website: www.theodeon.de). A more alternative, almost kitsch, venue is Schaubar, Saalburgstrasse 61 (website:www.schaubar.de).
Live Music: The most exciting venue in the city is Die Brotfabrik, Bachmannstrasse 2-4 (website: www.brotfabrik.de), which features live international music. There is also a café and restaurant on site. Batschkapp, Maybachstrasse 24 (website: www.batschkapp.de), hosts rock, pop and DJ acts, with guests including German punk rockers Die Toten Hosen and famous names like Tracy Chapman and Napalm Death. Cabaret and live concerts get an airing at Sinkkasten, Brönnerstrasse 5-9 (website: www.sinkkasten-frankfurt.de) and Neues Theater Höchst, Emmerich-Josef-Strasse 46a (website: www.neues-theater.de). The most famous and atmospheric venue on Jazzgasse is Der Jazzkeller, Kleine Bockenheimer Strasse 18a (website: www.jazzkeller.com), which is open Wednesday to Sunday. NuJazz is featured at the popular live music venue, King Kamehameha, Hanauer Landstrasse 192 (website: www.king-kamehameha.de).
International pop and rock stars pack out the Festhalle, Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1 (website: www.messefrankfurt.com/corporate/de/festhalle.html) and Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt, Pfaffenwiese Frankfurt-Höchst (website: www.jahrhunderthalle.de).
Variety: Tiger Palast, Heiligkreuzgasse 16-20 (website: www.tigerpalast.com), a converted chapel, hosts celebrated variety shows featuring magicians and circus performers, with a restaurant, bar and bistro on site. The first and oldest cabaret in town is Die Käs, Waldschmidtstrasse 19 (website: www.die-kaes.com), which guarantees German humor at its best, while Neues Theater Höchst, Emmerich-Josef-Strasse 46a (website: www.neues-theater.de), also puts on a good show every now and again. |
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