There are so many wonderful coffee shops in Berlin, but not many serve good breakfast. I’m talking breakfast that will get me through at least the next few hours.
Antipodes, the sweet, little coffee shop on a quiet street just off busy Schönhauser Allee, has it all. Super friendly service, Jane remembers my favorite coffee by my third visit, nice outdoor seating on sidewalk under trees with view of old Catholic Herz-Jesu-Kirche, a Scrabble game,…
…and they serve fantastic food. My favorite so far is the Avocado-Bacon-Toast. Though that might change when I’ll finally try their Eggs Benedict, only served on weekends.
Counter planks shipped from New Zealand where Jane & Paul ran another coffee shop.
Oh, and they sell their delicious pickles in jars to take home with you.
Antipodes
Fehrbelliner Str. 5, 10119 Berlin, Wed-Fri 8am-5pm Sat/Sun 9am-5pm, Facebook
Last week’s first #kaffeeklub was so much fun that I’ve decided to make it a weekly gathering. Simply show up anytime from 8-10am, get a coffee or other beverage, and sit down for a chat with us. There might only be standing room this week though since The Barn is a small, very popular & wonderful coffee shop in Mitte, and makes the best coffee & scones.
I have started a Facebook page for Berlin by Bike to announce #kaffeeklub, rides, and more since I won’t be using Meetup anymore in a few months. So please “like” the page, or follow me on Twitter for updates and fun things to do.
This Sunday I rode to Slow Travel Berlin’s event at Markthalle IX in Kreuzberg. Tons of delicious, local, organic food, workshops in photography and sewing, various Berlin themed walking tours, book stalls, and an overall wonderful atmosphere. Hopefully there will be more markets, especially food related! Food, good food, healthy, local, and organic food is what’s very important to me and I am happy and proud to announce that I’ve joined Dickes Bee Food Coop. Excited to meet all the Bees tomorrow at their weekly Wednesday food pick-up!
P.S. Have I told you about my beautiful new bike? Here’s a sneak peek:
I’d been trying to get to a “Sporting event or concert” but changed my mind for the last ride of Winter Cycling Challenge, thought out by chasing mailboxes d.c..
The past few days I’d been dreaming of Mission Workshop’s beautiful bags, and I had an invitation for another mug of delicious Bicycle Coffee over at the Berlin Pop-Up Shop. Fresh banana-bread in my well-worn shoulder bag I rode down one of Berlin’s Fahrradstraßen (bike road) and discovered a couple more cafés on my way. Mental note: Explore Berlin-Mitte neighborhood!
Biodegrable coffee mug in hand I sat down with the nice Mission Workshop & Bicycle Coffee Co. team. I love the shop design of bag & apparel presentation, all made from salvaged wood and huge metal thread spools & hooks found in scrap yards. See pictures of it on their website.
Later on another guest joined us. She turned out to be a bike mechanic in training at Radspannerei where my new bike is being built. Glad to know it is in such good hands.
I left the shop with my, as Bicycle Coffee roaster deluxe put it, “new favorite bag”. And she’s so right. That rucksack is so much more comfortable to wear than a shoulder bag, and while it looks wonderful, it also has the best design with several pockets, some with zipper, lots of room without being bulky, waterproof fabric, lifetime warranty, and the best closure system. Happy!
Stopped for some groceries on the way back. 
Nice bike parking spot someone chose here. 
Utilitaire card will be scanned & emailed later on today. It’s been so much fun! Thanks for setting this up, reading our blogs, posting, tweeting, and retweeting about it, @gypsybug! Glad to know I’ll read you again at #30daysofbiking.
First week of shift work which means Friday and Saturday off. The weather didn’t look too promising yesterday, so I decided to look for a museum in the neighborhood, or at least nearby. The Sugar Museum was a little too far for a possibly rainy day and since I’d be indoors anyways, why not go underground?
First I stopped at Café CK to buy a KeepCup. I mentioned the company making reusable coffee cups in a prior blog entry. Check their website for more info on their cups, materials they use, and their philosophy.
Then I rolled over to Mitte and up Brunnenstraße. Crazy and dangerous how the bike lane ends going into Wedding. Those two neighborhoods are so different. I was not in the mood for fighting speeding cars and trucks. Luckily my next destination wasn’t that far to go. I somehow stumbled across Filter Kaffeebar on Twitter and saw they were serving Stumptown from Portland, and Ritual, my favorite San Francisco coffee. They are part of a co-working space called Supermarkt in a former grocery store. The coffee bar is run by really nice folks from both Germany and the U.S. with one of them having worked at Stumptown in Portland before. The Flat White I had was delicious and very moderately priced. I will seek out some quiet side streets for my next visit. Plenty of bike parking!
Final stop: Berliner Unterwelten or “Society of exploration and documentation of subterranean architecture” as it says on the website. Ever wondered what’s behind those heavy green doors you can see in some Berlin subway stations? At Gesundbrunnen station it is a bunker from WWII. Built in 1941 it was re-opened in 1998, renovated, and turned into a museum. It is hard to imagine that thousands of people were crammed into that labyrinth of small chambers. The guide turned the tour into a vivid history lesson and also an appeal to not forget that there are still wars going on in many parts of the world.
I am really glad that going to a museum was on the utilitaire list. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have found this place. Berlin has such a long and dark history. I am glad to live in this city but it goes beyond my imagination that recent atrocities happened only a little over seventy years ago. Not to mention everything that happened after the war.
It’s finally getting warmer! We still had snow this week and a morning with black ice - the roads were fine, but the sidewalks were dangerous! - but now there’s only gravel and puddles of dirt left.
Tuesday night I rode to the library, it was snowing and dark, and I am really happy about the lights on my bike. Front and rear end light stay on for a few minutes when not moving. Here’s a picture of the Panther parked at the library. I couldn’t get a library card because the computers of all branches all over Berlin were down but they were nice enough to let me borrow a book anyways. Afterwards I treated myself to my favorite dish at the best Vietnamese restaurant in town, Thuy Nga.
Busy week at work with everyone around sneezing and coughing. My body decided to wait for the weekend to get sick. Saturday was spent at home, but I had read about a coffee place in my neighborhood serving pancakes, and I just had to try them today. A really cute place with comfy chairs, a perfect Flat White and the most deliciously fluffy pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup. Thank you, Café CK!
I won’t be able to afford the pancakes on a daily base, but I’ll definitely return for some early morning coffee. It is a perfect distance for a quick morning ride before work, even if I have to work an early shift. Plus, they carry KeepCups. I didn’t grab one this morning, but will soon. This video made me fall in love with the company. A coffee shop with indoor bicycle parking!
