Don't die before trying - Bonanza Coffee Heroes

You can take a girl out of Melbourne - all the way to Berlin in fact - but you can't take Melbourne out of the girl. At Bonanza Coffee Heroes I found coffee so good it was up there with Melbourne's St Ali's or Brother Baba Budan. Beans are roasted in house and the Barista takes coffee making very seriously - if you are in Berlin you must go here for your coffee hit. Don't die before trying! Oderberger Strasse, 35, Berlin.

Flea Market & Brad Pitt's fave Berlin restaurant

On a Sunday in Berlin - all the shops are closed so the flea markets are the place to be. A friend and I went to Flohmarkt am Mauerpark and found stunning snakeskin vintage bags from the 1950s that were in pristine condition. Pick up a vintage leather suitcase, 1950s specs, beautiful german and scandinavian style furniture and even vintage bikes for a song! The food is also to die for and there is a bar area where you can enjoy your gourmet Bratwurst with local beer and finish off with a delicious plum strudel with vanilla sauce. 

After we worked up an appetite wandering the market and the streets in Mitte - we had dinner at Bandol Sur Mer (Torstrasse 167, Berlin) - said to be Brad Pitt's favourite restaurant in Berlin - and apparently he and Angelina have an apartment here. We enjoyed four courses for $59EU and a beautiful bottle of German riesling. 
 

Berlin guys

Berlin is getting to be like the animal world: it's the men who are colourful and vain! I love the summary from local Berliner about men's fashion in this city. Melbourne men are you listening? Take a leaf out of Berlin's style book!

"Compared to other cities, the guys in Berlin are better dressed than the girls. It is as if Berlin style for men is going through a transition period - from sneakers, treated jeans and t-shirts to chinos (aka Melbourne style) to leather shoes, shirts, bow ties and dress jackets; from blue/black/grey to colourful and well fitting. Men are rediscovering themselves as decorated beings. You can see that most obviously in the strong use of colour." Sebastian Warshow, 31 year old PR advisor.

Trend City - Berlin

Berlin is said to be rivalling Paris and Milan when it comes to fashion and even after only being here for a few days I can tell you it's true. The look on the street is effortlessly stylish.... and the men dare I say are better dressed than the women!

The boutiques are super cool and the vintage stores and markets are a treasure trove of unique finds - I have been eyeing off a tweed winter coat and fur coat and hat from the vintage store just near my apartment. The best shopping areas are Mulackstrasse, Munzstrasse & Rosa-Luxemburg Strasse. You can spend hours wandering and rummaging and there are plenty of great places for a pit-stop. Here are a couple of cool boutiques I have found in the Mitte area. 

Und Sasha - Gormannstrasse, 16, Mitte

Everybody rides bikes and a stylist friend living in Berlin tells me the more grungy and run down the bike the cooler it is. This is a great cafe serving really good coffee a few doors down from Und Sasha. 

Das Neue Schwartz (The new black) vintage store stocking Balanciaga, Kenzo, Comme des Garcon and more designer labels. 

On my way from my first hotel Lux 11 in Mitte to dinner at Monsieur Vuong and then for drinks and dancing at grungy bar Katerholzig. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed but imagine a huge derelict cold war style building covered in graffiti and art projected onto it. The fashion was very dressed down and people I saw at the Flohmarkt am Mauerpark (vintage market) seemed to have flowed through to the bar without a change of outfit. No heels - lots of sneakers, flat boots and dark colours. Very rock chic almost grungy and it is common to see girl on girl and boy on boy action - go Berlin! 

I am wearing vintage shirt picked up at the market, Dr Denim jeans & D.Co Copenhagen boots heading out of Lux 11 hotel. 

Berlin

On my second day in Berlin I stumbled across an amazing Bohemian arthouse space on Oranienstrasse in Berlin. An old derelict squat house, the space is now used by artists who work while you wander their studios. 

A friend and I stopped for brunch at Pakolat in chic Prenzlauerberg. They do coffee with house roasted coffee beans, freshly baked bread and home made jams. You will find it at Raumerstasse Berlin.