9 Unusual Things To Do in Berlin

When you think about Berlin’s underground scene, chances are that World War II air raid shelters and Cold War nuclear bunkers aren’t the first things that come to mind. Berliner Unterwelten (Subterranean Berlin) is a museum that offers a unique perspective on Berlin’s history from its base in a former air raid bunker at the Gesundbrunnen train station. Guided tours led by researchers take visitors through the vast network of secret tunnels built by the Nazis, with a number of different themed tours available. These include the Dark Worlds Tour, which centres on life during wartime for the average citizen of Berlin; and the Under the Berlin Wall Tour, focusing on attempted escapes via tunnels underneath the Berlin Wall.

Berlin’s music scene is legendary, even if its dance-till-dawn attitude isn’t for everyone. Rather more relaxing than queuing for hours to get turned away from the notorious Berghain, futuristic Liquidrom combines techno music with a luxurious spa experience: float off on a pool noodle with the strains of live electronic music infusing the very waters enveloping you. With sauna, massage treatments and a bar also on offer, an immersive evening at Liquidrom is designed to leave you blissed out.

Already considered one of the most vegan-friendly cities globally, Berlin is now embracing a new culinary wave – or at least tentatively sampling it… Insects have been staples on the menus of numerous non-Western cultures and now, as we search for more sustainable ways of living, organisations like Berlin-based MikroKosmos are helping people remove the ‘creepy’ from their creepy crawly food experiences. Find their stall at Markthalle Neun every second Thursday or, better yet, take part in one of their cooking courses – you can email them for more information.

Görlitzer Park (known as ‘Görli’ to the locals) is another of Berlin’s best-loved parks and it has a dark secret – well, a glow-in-the-dark one, to be exact. Spread across five rooms in the basement of the park café is an 18-hole, trippy black-light miniature golf course, complete with neon renderings of Berlin’s most famous landmarks. Go for birdie with the Berlin bear looming over you, or hit a hole-in-one at the suddenly psychedelic Brandenburger Tor. You can also try your hand – or backhand – at black-light table tennis.

In a city as youthful and dynamic as Berlin, there’s a lot to be said for places where tradition is still revered. The Tajikistan Tearoom, a gift to Germany from the Soviets in 1974, serves it up by the steaming cupful. The tearoom was originally built as the Tajikistan pavilion for a trade fair in Leipzig during the 1970s, after which the pavilion was donated by the Soviet Republic of Tajikistan to their East German hosts. From its ornate sandalwood pillars and the epic murals playing out over vibrant walls to its Russian teatime delicacies, Central Asian and Russian cultures mix to create something magical in this space. As such, a hidden gem though it might be, advance reservations are still encouraged.