Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg

Yesterday we took another bike trip into the city - this time to Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg. 

Prenzlauer Berg

First stop of the day: Coffee. We found an adorable, cozy cafe in Prenzlauer Berg called Kaffee Marlene. The decor here is a the perfect miss-match of mid-century and furniture and vintage lighting. Outside had some beautiful francophile influences with fun pillows, little flower bouquets, and classic tables with metal chairs. 

The coffee was lecker and the baked goods were scrumptious (they offer vegan options, too!). We saw several people order delicious-looking full breakfasts, so I'd love to go back when I have more of an Appetit!

Photo cred: Dar.Tu

Photo cred: Radhikavang

After our little coffee pick-me-up, we took a quick jump over to Ökomarkt am Kollwitzplatz where there is a weekly organic market, with lots of local, handmade goods, fresh fruits and veggies, farm-fresh eggs, meat, and cheese, and bread. 

Some of my favorite highlights from the market were:

• a vendor selling hand-carved olive wood spoons, bowls, and other home accessories
• a fruit and vegetable vendor featuring local produce, where I found some delicious things for a salad
• a cheese vendor that had countless artisan cheeses available for any recipe or taste

Friedrichshain Pit-Stop

Next we hopped back on our bikes to Friedrichshain to ride past the Gerlitz's new apartment. We took a quick ride through the RAW-Gelände which is home to many social and intellectual projects, art installations, markets, clubs and bars.

Straight ahead in this photo above you can also see a local brewery with Biergarten that you can visit called Schalander Hausbrauerei.

If you remember back to this little trip to Urban Spree for the Italo Festival - that venue is located in this RAW-Gelände. There seems to be something going on every day, even when their aren't festivals or art installations. On this day, there was a mob of go-cart drivers learning the ropes before driving through the city on a tour.

Kreuzberg

After all this exploring, we had all worked up quite the appetite, but we wanted to find a place that everyone would enjoy. So we hopped on our bike yet again Rightung (direction) Kreuzberg. There we found an Italian pasta restaurant called Basilikum (the German word for Basil) that everyone agreed on.

We actually snagged one of the last tables outside to enjoy the last bit of sunshine for the day. Each of our dishes was prepared individually and made fresh while we waited. We knew the place must be authentic when a huge group of Italian men, clearly regulars, sat at the tables behind us. 

There was a pot of fresh basil on each table - in case you want to add some to your meal before chowing down.

Make sure you come here with a serious appetite because I needed to unbutton my pants after this one! So fresh and delicious, one can't help but polish off every morsel in your bowl! I was glad we biked the whole day, or I definitely wouldn't have been able to justify this indulgent meal. 
I'll definitely have to check back in to Basilikum to taste my way through all their dishes!