Like most self-deluded tourists, my city-breaks usually involve too much walking whilst purposefully trying to find “authentic” places to eat. But after running the Berlin marathon, the Liquidrom spa was the ideal place to literally stumble upon. I underestimated how crippled I would feel the day after five hours, two minutes and forty two knee busting seconds of running. Only the stylish, understated luxury of the Liquidrom could have made me feel like a fully functioning human being. Saying that, it is easy to feel fully functioning when all that’s required of you is to lie back and relax in an outdoor hot tub and snack on bagels and herbal teas that have tantalising names such as, ‘Well Being Tea’ and ‘Spring Rain Infusion’. I was dead to the world as I floated away in the beautifully designed thermal bath. Dimly lit with ‘moon light’ strobes, this circular, salt water pool was complete with underwater speakers playing the ultimate chill –out sounds of Morcheeba, classical music and whale songs.
Keen to maintain this state of complete relaxation, I rode the metro straight to the Forum wine bar in Mitte-Berlin, one of the pay-what-you-think-its-worth Berlin Weinereis. Decorated with kitsch lampshades and vintage nick-knacks, the Forum had true bohemian charm. During their wine tasting sessions you pay a €1.50 Pfand (like a deposit) for your glass and sample as many of the wines as you like. When you leave you’re asked to give an honest donation. This friendly, trusting establishment had a restaurant system based on the same principle.
Though I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to enjoy full use of your limbs afterwards, running a marathon was a great way to get a sense of the city. As well as passing famous sights like the Siegessäule Column, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and crossing the finish line after running under the Brandenburg Gate, it gave me plenty of opportunity to see the more suburban parts of Berlin. These were clean, orderly and scattered with Bistros like the Sophieneck on Grosse Hamburger Strasse where I’d had my pre-marathon meal the night before. I stocked up on carbs in this traditional gastro pub with delicious pork schnitzel and spicy noodles while my friend ate a pork knuckle the size of a small dog. After the marathon we refuelled at an elegant, modern European restaurant called Noodle on Skalitzerstrasse where we sat at long, wooden tables and ate venison with green bean risotto and truffle tagliatelle.
Heady with fine reds from Forum we went on to Transit, a Mitte-Berlin Thai/Indonesian restaurant, where to order you marked what you wanted on a slip of paper. From here we went to the opening night of a temporary gallery space on Brunnenstrasse, where retro 80s home videos served as a backdrop for Berlin’s arty folk, and us, to drink more beer. Mitte-Berlin feels like the older, cooler sister of London’s East End and the night epitomised my overall impression of Berlin as an effortlessly stylish city.
Selma Harris' London Review 