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Circus Blog 2011 Review Part One – January to June

20. Dezember 2011 in Art, Bars, Beer, Berlin, Books, Circus Apartments, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Circus News, Circus Talks, Design, Events, Fabisch, Festivals, Film, Football, History, Hungry Jared, Media, Music, Our Neighbourhood, Review of 2011, Rosentage, Slow Travel Day, Stuff We Like, The Berg Gallery by Paul

2011reviewpartoneIn amongst all the excitement of the opening of the Apartments last week, we missed the second birthday of this lovely blog, and so we thought we would use the chance to not only say “Happy Birthday” to ourselves, but have a look back at a year in the Circus through our blog posts. Now quite a lot of things have happened to us over the past twelve months, so we have decided to split this into two and begin with the first six months of the year.

In January we launched our cooperation with the ZeitzeugenBörse for our series of eyewitness history talks, which are still continuing each month in Fabisch, and we have a very special treat and surprise on this topic coming up in January…so keep your eyes open! We also recieved the happy news that The Circus Hotel had once again been selected for the Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards, voted for by people who have stayed with us at the hotel and a wonderful achievement for the second year in a row. Later in month Judith and Lisanne took some guests on a special Long Night of the Museums Tour, whilst Jared started on his mission to eat around Berlin.

February might be the shortest month but there was lots going on, especially as the Berlinale was in town. We also prepared a very special welcome for a very special friend of ours.  March was completely packed, with a renovation of the Circus Cafe just in time for all the different events of our Slow Travel Day, including tours, film screenings, a pop-up bookshop and much more, whilst our small Kunstbox at the hostel became host for the Pictosplasma festival. Over at the hotel Marie Jacobi brought Rapunzel to the tower, where she still sits…

Into spring and we welcomed the Berg Gallery to our Kunstbox, celebrated Hertha’s return to the Bundesliga, and continued our obession with you know who. As the weather continued to get warmer the fun and games carried on, with a visit of Gino the Clown to the hostel, we sadly waved goodbye to Konny as he left the Circus (we still miss you), and made the first announcement of the new Circus Apartments.

As the summer arrived we headed up onto the roof of the Circus Hotel for yoga sessions, and worked with our neighbours on the Rosentage neighbourhood and cultural festival. We reached the halfway point of the year with Lisa hosting “Europe’s Most Awesome Barbecue” in Mauerpark.

Phew…and we are only halfway there. Part Two of the 2011 review will be on the blog in the next couple of days…

The Return of Open Mic at Goldman’s Bar

4. November 2011 in Bars, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Talks, Events, Goldman's Bar, Music by Paul

open micThis Sunday we are extremely happy to both launch and welcome back an old favourite to Goldman’s Bar. Yes, that’s right, this Sunday is the return of OPEN MIC – your chance to experience that shiver of fame and recognitions, and perhaps even applause, as you take to the Goldman’s Bar stage armed only with your talent.

The All New Goldman’s Bar Open Mic Sunday Spectacular is hosted by Aussie expat Rob Longstaff, who is extremely entertaining, and he promises a fun evening including prizes to be won for those brave enough to step up to the mic and show us what they’ve got. So forget Popstar-X-Factors-Got-Talent and all the rest, come down to Goldman’s Bar on Sunday night at 9.30pm for some great music, cold drinks and top prizes.

Rock on.

Around Berlin in 80 Beers

4. Oktober 2011 in Bars, Beer, Berlin, Books, Jim's Berlin by Jim

aroundberlinin80beersPeter Sutcliffe has been a good friend of The Circus for many years – indeed we think of Peter as part of the family – and he has recently written a book all about a specific aspect of this city that we love: the Beer. Now, as you can imagine, discovering that someone has basically written a book just for me, filled with a selection of pubs and brews throughout the many corners of the city, is just too good to be true. Planning my Saturday afternoon trips around Berlin has just got a lot easier!

The book is so well-researched that even the most well-informed Berlin-Beeristas (such as myself) must bow down in respect. Complete with maps, descriptions and facts about the pubs and the beers they served, it all comes together to show the passion that Peter has brought to the subject. What Peter doesn’t know about the Berlin pub scene is most probably not worth knowing!

Now, as you might have gathered, I feel my drinking credentials are pretty sound. 22 years under my belt and 13 of them in Berlin. If I never drink another beer in my life I can safely say I have had my fair share. Indeed, one of my proudest achievements was simply surviving the legendary all-day sessions at the Sunderland University Beer Festival (1992 & 1993 – I went back for more!) and my souvenir tankard still has pride of place at my Mum’s house. Thanks Mum for not throwing it out…

Where was I? Ah yes, beer. So, what is the best beer in the world according to Jimbo? I think you could do a lot worse than a Radeberger, from a small town near Dresden, which was also Vladimir Putin’s favourite tipple during his KGB days in East Germany in the 1980s. You can find the best place to sample Radeberger on page 66 of Peter’s book.

And if you are looking for a warning? The very worst you can inflict on your guts? Well of course, it features on no page of Peter’s wonderful book because not only does he have extremely high standards but I doubt there is a bar in Berlin that serves up a pint of Stockport’s own Robinson’s Bitter. Perhaps I should not be so snobbish about my hometown brew. Then again, living in Germany gives you certain standards… Maybe I should just follow the advice of my Granddad, handed down through the generations:

“It does not matter what it tastes like as long as there is plenty of it.”
Norman Penders, ca. 1940

Now, would Mr Sutcliffe agree with my granddad? I’m not so sure…

You can buy a copy of Peter Sutcliffe’s book “Around Berlin in 80 Beers” at The Circus Hotel, or direct from the publishers at Books About Beer. If you would like a little taster of what to expect in the book, Peter recently wrote an article for the guardian on the subject.

One Year of the Circus Blog

15. Dezember 2010 in Art, Bars, Beer, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Circus News, Commentary, Design, Fabisch, Football, Goldman's Bar, Hidden Places, Nepal Project by Paul

happy_birthday

On the 15th December 2009 we launched the Circus Blog, and the last twelve months have certainly been exciting at the Circus. In the finest traditions of those end of year “best of” lists that are currently filling magazines and television programmes, here are some of our favourite moments at the Circus over the past year and on the Circus blog.

In January we closed down the Circus Hostel for the best part of three months as we made a complete renovation of the building in time for the re-opening at Easter. Alongside the new design features, infrastructure improvements, and the funky new facade, we also put together some new services for  Circus guests to help them explore Berlin, such as Jimbo’s Cheap Man’s Bus Tour, the Cwiki guide to Berlin complied by the Circus team, and the Urban Wanderer DIY Walking Tours.

It was also a busy year over at the Circus Hotel. We built a new library for Fabisch, launched the Circus Hotel Magazine, hosted a press conference for the Sparkasse Tourism Barometer, and installed some funky works of light art in the hallways, and in the courtyard. Talking of art, the Temporäre Kunstbox hosted its first exhibitions and happenings, whilst Sandra kept the blog supplied with “Stuff we like” around Berlin and beyond.

What else? Andreas left us for three months to travel through Southern Africa, sending back his impressions and reports from the 2010 World Cup before travelling on from South Africa to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. Jared kept us refreshed with his guide to best places to sip a cocktail in Berlin and beers on the road, whilst Jim headed to the hidden corners of Berlin, giving us all inspiration for exploration off the beaten track.

Along the way we went to a football game in Pankow, the boot record was broken in Goldman’s Bar, we held a fundraiser for children’s homes in Nepal, Konny got married, Tommy was born, we learned to juggle in the finest Circus traditions, an old friend won an important prize, and the Circus football team did us proud.

What a year, with a lot of fun and hard work along the way. Thanks to everyone in the Circus team for a fantastic 2010, and to everyone who has been following the Circus blog either here or on our facebook page.

Here’s to another great twelve months!

Paul

Our Neighbourhood: Brunnenstraße

23. August 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Design, Food, History, Our Neighbourhood, Shopping, Streetart, Stuff We Like by Paul | 3 comments

Brunnenstrasse

All around the Circus and Rosenthaler Platz are some interesting streets and other places that are worth exploring. Here on the Circus blog we will be making some imaginary journeys around our neighbourhood to see what we can find…first up: Brunnenstraße.

Brunnenstraße starts at Rosenthaler Platz which, as you can see from the photo above, means that its starts right outside both the Circus hostel and hotel. It then runs north through the last few blocks of Mitte, before it crosses the Bernauer Straße and heads into Wedding. To walk from one end to the other will probably take about thirty to forty-five minutes, depending on your speed, but it also follows the U8 line so it is always possible to jump on the U-Bahn for the short journey home.

As you walk up from Rosenthaler Platz you will pass a number of different cafes, restaurants, kebab shops and other places to grab a bite to eat. I like the Japanese restaurant Aiko (no.193)  which has extremely tasty sushi and tepanyaki dishes, and the good folks are pretty friendly too. Close by there are a couple of shops worth checking out. s wert (no.191) has a mix of books, collectables, interior design articles and other stuff that basically showcases the best of their own work and other Berlin designers. You can see some of the stuff in the reception of both the hostel and the hotel, but take the time to pop down the street to have a look.

Smuckfrage (no.187) is a jewellry store with collections from different designers….now, this is not really my area of expertise, but Julia – who is sitting next to me in the office as I write this – says that their work  is “individual, unique, very tempting and not too expensive.” So what more of a recommendation do you need?

If you are walking north at some point you will pass the bottom end of the Weinbergspark (nice pond), which has a neat slope that is good for sun-bathing or sledging, depending what time of the year that you are here. And once you are past the park, you are getting close to a strip where you will find some cool bars and interesting galleries.

The King Kong Klub (no.173) is, in their own words, a “mecca for monkey business”, and is open every night from 10pm for cheap drinks, kitsch videos and “full-on trash nights”. Two galleries near here that are worth a look at the Invaliden1 (no.22) – an artist-run gallery that is a collaboration of six Berlin-bnased artists – and the ATM Gallery (no.24) – which showcases the international street art scene in a galley setting.

Now, if you were a world famous film director in town for a few months to shoot a movie, where would you head for a drink after a hard day behind (or beside) the camera? Yes, that’s right, you would choose the place that was named after you. Tarantino’s bar is at no. 163 and is apparently Quentin’s favourite watering hole in town. Who is up for a pint at Paul’s Pub? Anyone?

Not even Tarantino has the control over his performers as the fellow across the street, however. Mirakulum (no.35) is a puppet theatre that has been entertaining on Brunnenstraße since 1991, and the programme is not only for kids, as there are performances for adults as well. For some reason this makes me think of the scene in Team America, which is probably doing the folks at Mirakulum a grave disservice…

So if you have not been distracted by Berlin design, cool beers, or puppet shows, you will be reaching the corner with Bernauer Straße and the former dividing line between East and West Berlin. This is where the Berlin Wall split Brunnenstraße in two, and you can see the path of the wall in a row of cobblestones that cross the street just before the junction. To the left, and not far from the corner, is the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre, which houses an excellent exhibition on the history of the Berlin Wall and a short stretch of the fortifications preserved to give visitors an idea of what it looked like.

Across the street and into West Berlin and the district of Wedding. There is not much to see along the Brunnenstraße at this point, although you can get a sense of the contrasting architectural styles of East and West Berlin, and there are a number of galleries opening up, taking advantage of the cheap real estate in the neighbourhood.  Just past the Voltastraße U-Bahn station and you will come to the southern end of the Humboldthain park, a popular green space that rises to a hill constructed out of the rubble creating by the WWII bombing raids on the city. There is also some nice gardens, an outdoor swimming pool (in the summer) and a wartime bunker…

…which is best explored with a guide from the guys at Berlin Unterwelten (no.105). They offer underground tours (literally, as in “under the ground”) of Berlin, most of which are in the area beneath where you would now be standing if you followed the walk up the Brunnenstraße. The tours are offered in different languages, and will take you to some of the subterranean complexes beneath Berlin’s streets, many of which are inaccessible to the general public.

Just past the meeting point of the tours and the Brunnenstraße comes to an end, right in front of the Gesundbrunnen railway station (U8 to home if your feet are aching) and the large shopping centre of the same name. There is not much about the Gesundbrunnen centre that is worth noting here – it’s a shopping centre – although my daughter likes the ice cream at the cafe upstairs.

And there our exploration finishes, in amongst the happy and by-no-means stressed Saturday shoppers. I hope you enjoyed the trip.

The Day We Explored the Pubs of Pankow

6. August 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Hidden Places by Paul

(Readers of the Circus Blog will have the impression that Jared tends toward the high class cocktail lounge when it comes to a venue for an evening’s entertainment. Those who know Jared will also know that it takes a lot to get him out of the 3km “Goldman Triangle” around the Circus and Rosenthaler Platz…last week some of Jared’s friends and colleagues took him north to the singular delights of the neighbourhood of Pankow…perhaps some inspiration for anyone who wants to cross the border from Prenzlauer Berg and discover something new…)

Jared PankowIt all started off on Wednesday afternoon as Andrew and Jared set off for Pankow. The mission was a pub crawl through Pankow. There are many pub crawls in Berlin, but a Pub Crawl through suburban Pankow must be something that not too many people have ventured out to.

As the bus dropped Jared off Andy was there to pick him up and guide him in a place he had only once been before. Waiting on the street was Jim who was about a half hour too early. You could tell he really wanted to get out of the house. Jim introduced Jared to his local Vietnamese shop where he buys his beers and Vietnamese beef jerky. Jared bought a pack that would last him the whole night and he is pretty convinced that what saved his life the next day.

Jim shouted a round so the boys decided to wait for Andrew while he went home and sat on a wall on Jims street. For Jim this was a little embarrassing since here he was sitting with Jared drinking beer on his street and there must have been about 5 neighbours that passed to say hello that Jim knew. One of the kids spotted them and starting shouting “beer beer”… the mother did not even see the boys and then she spotted Jim. A bit embarrassed Jim politely said hello to all of his neighbours.

Andrew finally had his make up on and we were off for the 1st stop and meeting point. “Gaststätte am Bürgerpark” – a small local German restaurant. Konny had called to make a reservation for us but normally this place does a real good lunch business and they were on summer time which meant they closed at 18:30. Andrew, Jim, and Jared arrived right at 18:00 and right behind them came Konny.

Sean and Jeff were running late and asked us to order for them. The menu was impressive German food, and we didn’t know where to start. The weirdest thing on the menu was horse. “They actually eat horse- man we have to try that!”

Jared spotted a local eating, Konny found out what he ordered and Jim and Jared ordered the Kohlroulade. Konny went for Schnitzel with chanterelle mushrooms, and Andrew decided for the pork knuckle “Eisbein”. Since none of us had the guts to actually order a full horse meal, we thought we would surprise the late runners. So for Sean and Jeff but we got a pork knuckle for one of them and horse goulash for the other. We drank our beer our food came and it was great. Jeff even liked his horse!!!

Toga and Nadine showed up a little bit late but the guy must have liked us because he kept the kitchen open and even gave us a cold plate for free. He approached Konny and asked him whether we fancy a round of “Kaltschale” on the house. We all expected some sort of salad or something. The cold plate was a nice offer but it turned out as a synthetic pink fruit soup. I have never seen a fruit that colour in my life.

After our bellies were layered we headed off to BIP – Bier in Pankow – a Bulgarian place that was one of the cleanest places I have ever been to. We sat down ordered a round of beers and decided that we were only allowed 30 minutes in each place. Nadine ordered a plum brandy “Slibowitz” that came from a very large tank. The guy even offered us the tank for free to drink as much as we could in a half hour. That was for another time.

Willy came to join us for an apple juice and then there was no time to waste we were off to Café Palma. This small joint had potential to be a bit dodgy but turned out to be a very nice little place with a great bar tender that seemed very happy to have us. Jared cracked open the jerky we swilled back our beer in the time allotted and were off for the next joint.

After that came bar number 4: Plattenladen, a rather dry copy of a hip Prenzlauerberg bar, not exactly what we were looking for, we were aiming for authentic Kneipes. And bar number 5 was exactly that: In the Floraklause it was a little hard to get a place for all 8 of us, because there were tons of locals in there watching the Athletics European Championships. After watching the 100m dash our 30 minutes were already up and we were heading for what Konny called the long anticipated highlight on the tour: Bernds Bowling & Sauna. Even the name was tempting. Could we manage to play Bowling and go to the Sauna at the same time?

The bar is run by Bernd a former Saxophonist from East Berlin and Konny ran into one of the locals, that was a friend of his parents. Bernd also happened to like our group of tourists and threw a round of Jägermeister and showed us with all his pride his bowling alley: The bowling alley was East Germany’s oldest bowling alley and like everything at that time it was quite the story how they got it. Swedish construction workers brought them the old bowling alley piece by piece in exchange for free food. “Only in Pankow,” we thought.

I think at that time we had already forgot about our 30 minutes rule. We tried to convince Bernd to play the Saxophone, but he said he couldn’t because of the neighbours. After probably an hour we headed to the next place. We had Bar number 7 on the list as “Aber Hallo”, but they had changed the name to the very unique name: “Cafe&Cocktailbar”. After that Jim and Andrew wanted to head to Maxi 1, but at that point our group was already breaking up.

What a tour of cultural experiences: Horse Meat, cold sweet soup before dinner, a Saxophonist with Bowling alley and an overall very positive and hearty reception from the locals. Plus we helped Jim and Andrew get to know more of their new hood: Jim said afterwards that he plans to go back and bring the family to 3 of those 7 places.

That’s a clear thumbs up for Pankow!

21st June: This week in Berlin and at The Circus

21. Juni 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch, Festivals, Goldman's Bar, Music, World Cup 2010 by Paul

jackoWhat follows is Andrew’s selection of things to look forward to in Berlin and at the Circus this week. He is only bitter about the football because he’s Australian…

Are we all sick of football yet? Well don’t worry, weve only got 2 weeks to go – Starting this saturday begins the Knockout section of the tournament. This week the Football also comes to the Hotel! Starting with the final group of 16 Games, each game night our little courtyard will be transformed into a WM area, with special outside cocktail bar.

Aside from the worldcup, this week brings on the anniversary of Michael Jacksons death – for which we will have a special tribute night on Friday.

@ Goldman’s Bar

Tuesday Night:  Greece Vs Argentina (8:30) – After party with DJ Patrice Lambou SUI (Indie, Rock)

Thursday Night: Denmark Vs Japan (8:30) – After party with live music : Shindig (Celtic Folk)

Friday Night: Chile Vs Spain (8:30) – After Party “ Michael Jackson Tribute Night”  - Best impersonation gets a free beer! And gets to star on our website…..

@ Fabisch

Wednesday night (19:00):  Aperitif  – with fingerfood & Dj Frau Brex. Outside weather permitting. More info: http://www.myspace.com/soniabrex

Friday night (22:00): Live music with Voice & Strings (Soul)

Saturday Night (20:30): Worldcup Football live in Beer Garten – weather permitting.

Sunday Night (20:30): Worldcup Football live in Beer Garten – weather permitting.

Around Town21st June  - Fete de La Musique

The Fête de la Musique (aka “World Music Day”) is an open-air festival celebrating anything and everything that can help make a beat. With all concerts free and 89 stages of music to choose from, it’s difficult to pinpoint any one event, but a chance to see Berlin’s Modeselektor top off a line-up of other electro/glitch artists including Sisiusmo and Jesse Rose should not go unnoticed.

check Website for further info: www.fetedelamusique.de

Wednesday  23rd June – Olympiastadion:  AC/DC (18:00)

SANDSATION 2010 ( June 6 – August 29, 2010
Address: Europaplatz 1 10557, Berlin

Again, the most renowned sand sculpture artists from all over the world will come together for the International Sand Sculpture Festival SANDSATION. Welcoming up to 120,000 fascinated guests each year, the only urban sand art festival in Europe easily established itself in Berlin’s vast cultural landscape. From June 6th until August 29th there’ll be carving, moulding, partying and sun bathing on the 4,000sqm site.

World Cup Public viewing

Prater Garten – Kanstanienallee 7-9
Sage Resturant Beach Bar – Köpenicker str. 18-20, Kreuzberg
Traumstrand – Friedrich – List – Ufer 6, Mitte
Pfefferberg – Schönhauser Alle 176, Mitte
WM-Club Tante Käthe – Corner of Schwedter Str and Kopenhagener Str, Mauerpar

Sandsation and Other Funky Stuff

31. Mai 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch, Goldman's Bar, Music by Paul | 1 comment

sandstationOnce again there are some great things going on both around town and at The Circus. , For those looking to hang out close to the circus and enjoy some good live music, can really recommend Schokoladen this Wednesday – Sandra Kolstad is performing.  Some good clubbing options this week, weekend club hosts none other than Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister) and for some live music, Thievery Corporation is performing over at Huxleys.

At The Circus on Tuesday night we have a member of Australian Band ” Dukes of Windsor” ( Nominated for 2 Aria awards in 2008) spinning some tunes for us. Lastly, Sandsation 2010 – International Sand sculpture festival kicks of at the end of the week (Sunday – SEE PHOTO) – If the weather is good, it might be a nice idea to check things out and enjoy a beer or two on the beach!

Goldman’s Bar

*** Free keg beer each night of the week for Hostel guests starting @ 8pm until empty***
Tuesday Night:  Club Night (22:00) – with DJ Scott (Dukes Of Windsor – Indie, Pop, Rock).
Thursday Night:  Live Music (22:00) with “Jude The Obscure” (Indie, Rock, Garage)
Saturday Night : Karaoke Klub

Fabisch

Wednesday night (19:00):  Aperitif  – with fingerfood & Dj Frau Brex.
Friday night (22:00): Live music with Hoppenstedt & Behm ( Jazz Duo)
Sunday Night (22:00): Live music with Berlin Sling (Lounge, Jazz, Pop) More info: www.myspace.com/berlinsling

Around Town

Wednesday (21:00) Schokoladen – Lofi Lounge: Sandra Kolstad ( Piano Pop) !!!! Top Tip!!!!
Saturday  (22:00) Weekend Club: Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister)
Sunday    (22:00) Huxleys Neue Welt : Thievery Corporation

SANDSATION 2010 ( June 6 – August 29, 2010)
Address: Europaplatz 1 10557, Berlin

Again, the most renowned sand sculpture artists from all over the world will come together for the International Sand Sculpture Festival SANDSATION. Welcoming up to 120,000 fascinated guests each year, the only urban sand art festival in Europe easily established itself in Berlin’s vast cultural landscape.

From June 6th until August 29th there’ll be carving, moulding, partying and sun bathing on the 4,000sqm site.

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