may2014
67
FLYTO
athens
threetimesweekly;
berlin
fivetimesdaily.
brusselsairlines.com
81,147,265 +49 12°C
Euro (EUR)
fivetimesdaily
10,760,136 +30 21°C Euro (EUR)
threetimesweekly
berlin
athens
newdestination
germany
tegelairport, 8km
greece
ElEfthériosVenizélos InternationalAirport, 33km
25hoursHotel’s
Neni restauranthas
panoramiccityviews
SLEEP
The fabulousnew
25hours
Hotel
(BudapesterStrasse40,
25hours-hotels.com, rooms from
€126) isbreathingnew life intooldWest
Berlin. Theminimalist roomscomewith
urban (city) or jungle (zoo) views,while
non-guests flock to the top floor for the
Neni restaurant andhipMonkeyBar.
EAT
ThesuccessofMitte’s
Cocolo
Ramenbar
hasspread toKreuzberg
(Paul-Lincke-Ufer 39, (0)309833
9073),where itsnewcanal-side
locationservesupdelicious, steaming
bowlsof Japanesenoodlesoup.
CULTURE
From20May the
Martin-
Gropius-Bau
(Niederkirchnerstrasse7,
davidbowie-berlin.de) isshowing the
acclaimedDavidBowie retrospective
exhibition,while the
LongNight of
Museums
(lange-nacht-der-museen.de)
on 17Maysees95Berlinmuseums
stayopenuntil 2am.
SHOP
Inan iconic 1950sbuilding, the
brandnew
Bikini Berlin
shopping
centre (BudapesterStrasse38,
bikiniberlin.de) is filledwithgreat
fashionandgood restaurants. Check
out thepop-upshopsor haveadrinkon
SLEEP
Ideally locatedon theedgeof
Plaka, close toSyntagmaSquare,
The
AthensGateHotel
(SyngrouAvenue 10,
2109238302, athensgate.gr, doubles
from€135) hasa rooftop restaurant
witha terraceaffording fantasticviews
of theAcropolis.
EAT
A 10-minutewalk fromTheAthens
GateHotel,
Trapezaria
(Theodorou
Negri 1, 2109213500, trapezaria.gr)
servescontemporaryGreekcuisine.
Themenuchangeswith theseasons,
basedon thewhimsof theowner-chef.
CULTURE
18May is International
MuseumDay. InAthens, thismeans
freeadmission to the
Acropolis
Museum
,
BenakiMuseum
,
Byzantine
&ChristianMuseum
, and
National
ArchaeologicalMuseum
. Some
venueswill have talksandguided tours.
BUS
TXLconnects
Tegel airportwith
Hauptbahnhof (main)
station,Mitte (the
citycentre) and
Alexanderplatz.Bus
X9connectsTegel to
ZooBahnhof station.
Bus 128goes to
U-BahnstationOsloer
Strassewhereyou
can take theU8 to
Alexanderplatzand
Kreuzberg.Journey
time is20-40minutes
and ticketscost€2.60.
TAXI
A taxi into the
citycentre takes20
minutesandcosts
around€20.
TOURIST INFO
visitberlin.de
TRAIN
MetroLine
3 (blue) runs to
SyntagmaSquare in
thecitycentreevery
30minutes, from
6.30am to 11.30pm.
Journey time is40
minutesandcosts€8.
BUS
ExpressbusX95
runs toSyntagma
Squareevery20
minutes.The journey
time is 1hour; tickets
cost€5.
TAXI
A taxi to thecity
centrecosts€35
(fixedprice)during
theday,or€50at
night (midnight-5am)
andonpublic
holidays.The journey
takes40minutes.
TOURIST INFO
breathtakingathens.
com
thehuge terraceoverlooking thezoo.
LATER
Sipcocktails inKreuzberg’s
Vögelchenbar
(Eisenbahnstrasse6).
Translatedas ‘littlebirdy’, thereare
plentyof nooksandcranniesandeven
astaircasehidden inacupboard.
TIP
Try local drinks includingBerliner
Sommer spikedapple juice, Club-Mate
caffeinatedmate tea, Proviant
smoothiesandSoviet-inspiredWostok
Tannenwald lemonade.
Jeroen vanMarle
SHOP
Stallsat the
CentralMarket
(Athinasstreet, betweenMonastiraki
andOmonia) sell springproducesuch
asartichokesandcherries, bringing
splashesof colour to thebuilding.
LATER
InPlaka,
Brettos
(Kidathineon
41, brettosplaka.com) isa family-run
distilleryandbar, serving itsown
fruit-flavoured
raki
(apotent liquor).
Theold-fashionedwooden interior is
oftenphotographed for itsshelves
linedwithbacklit colouredglass
bottles. Thebar staysopen till 2am.
TIP
Todiscovermoreaboutwhere
localsshop for typical Greek
ingredients, suchasoliveoil, coffee,
spicesandhoney, joinAlternative
Athens’ three-hour guided
Delicious
FoodWalk
(alternative-athens.com).
JaneFoster
/
info
/
info
Trapezariahasan
ever-changingmenuof
contemporaryGreekdishes
