Summer in Berlin is glorious, but the heat can really get to you when the temperatures really start to rise.
Air conditioning is virtually unheard of (including in hotels in Berlin), and the subways and buses start feeling more like saunas. When the thermometer starts rising, try these popular ways to cool down, local style.
1. Bathing: Au naturel
When summer rolls around, half the city heads to the lakes that dot Berlin and its surrounding area. Consult this Berlin swimming map and head out to nature.
And by “nature,” I mean that clothing is optional.
2. Bathing: To see and be seen
But if you’re more the type to lounge than lunge into the water, a quiet lake in a rustic forest just won’t do. Slip into something sexy and head to Badeschiff (pictured, top), a small bathing platform floating in the river smack in the middle of the city.
This is where “scenesters” come to strut their stuff and check out one another. Evening concerts and parties are especially popular. A day ticket is only €6.50.
Look out for ice cream trucks. “Ice cream makes you happy.” Photo: Scottog
3. Ice cream
You can’t seem to walk a few blocks without walking past an ice cream parlor in the German capital. Homemade, all-natural ice cream is the norm, not the exception — there are countless independent shops that serve frozen treats in all shades and flavors. Here’s a list of some of the best.
Also, keep an eye out for ice cream trucks. On a hot day, you might just come across one for a quick and cheap cool down!
4. Fight fire with fire: Hot Currywurst
Sometimes you need to warm up to cool down. Case in point: Currywurst. But where can you find currywurst in Berlin that really turns up the heat?
A glaring omission in my past post about Currywurst was Curry & Chili, which has the hottest wieners in the city (and I don’t mean the clientele).
5. When all else fails: Street water pumps
Berlin sits on a huge underground water reserve, and until the 1930s Berliners used hand-operated pumps on the streets to clean, put out fires and even drink. Some 2,000 pumps remain functional today, and though they deliver untreated water straight from the ground underneath, 2/3 of them deliver drinkable quality water. (Berlin’s tap water, by the way, is excellent.)
So pump out some water, splash it on yourself and go on your merry way. It won’t cost you a thing.
The post Berlin in summer: 5 easy ways to cool down appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.
Source: Euro Cheapo