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Traveling with Atlas Obscura amid COVID-19 How We’re Adapting Our Trips Destination Requirements (via Embassy Pages)Berlin is a city that has always drawn people who see the world differently, a magnet for creatives and visionaries. Across the city, no stone is left unturned. Underused mall parkades become beer gardens; public bathhouses become boutique hotels; wartime bunkers become art galleries; airport runways become picnicking and kite-surfing spots. Restaurants are tucked into dark alleys, behind unassuming doors and within inner courtyards. Over the course of this carefully curated tour, we’ll visit sites that longtime residents may never have laid eyes on—and of course, enjoy plenty of delicious food and drink along the way. Skirting the city’s traditional tourist sites in favor of its hidden wonders, immerse yourself in a lesser-known Berlin.
Arrive in Berlin and check into Hotel Oderberger. Now a spunky boutique hotel filled with art, the Oderberger was originally built in 1898 as a public bathhouse. It survived WWII unscathed, and guests can still swim in the original art deco pool. This evening, we'll meet in the hotel’s Fireplace Lounge for introductions. We’ll take a brief historical tour of the premises before heading to dinner, where we'll raise a glass to the adventures that await us.
Hotel Oderberger, Berlin
Welcome Dinner
Our exploration of Berlin will be begin by traveling back in time to when the city was divided by a wall. Following World War II, Berlin was divided into occupied sectors, but Berliners could travel freely anywhere within their city. On August 13, 1961, that abruptly changed. A wall was erected and even the subway system was divided into east and west. This morning we’ll see up close how East Germany strictly guarded, barricaded, and even booby-trapped certain stops, later known as Geisterbahnhöfe (Ghost stations), to prevent them from becoming escape portals to the West. As part of our tour, we'll walk through original-scale replicas of underground tunnels dug by East Berliners desperate to escape. We’ll hear stories about their daring efforts and sometimes devastating betrayals. But even during the dark times of division, Berliners kept dancing! In the afternoon after lunch, we’ll make our way to Clärchen’s Ballhaus. Founded in 1913, Clärchen’s has seen it all. Opened before World War I, it remains an operating dance hall, and for Berliners, it's a place that embodies the very essence of their city. After a very personal tour of this special place, we’ll set off to explore some of the quirky and unusual spots nearby and enjoy a delicious dinner together.
Hotel Oderberger, Berlin
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today we’ll start with a visit to the former central radio broadcasting center of East Germany, a place built for perfect sound. The vast interiors of Berlin’s Funkhaus were built using marble from Hitler’s destroyed chancellery along with old-growth Russian timber (now among the rarest materials in the world). This unusual design created a perfect blend of modernism and functionality, with a nod to Soviet architectural traditions. Once employing thousands of staff, the complex lay almost entirely abandoned for decades. Together we’ll see learn about the rediscovery of the building’s incredible acoustic innovations by international recording artists such as Sting and Cecilia Bartoli. After lunch, we’ll return to the city center for an exclusive private tour of a large, above-ground concrete bunker that most cities would consider an eyesore. Originally built in 1942 as an air raid shelter, this historic structure has had many lives—a prisoner-of-war camp, a fruit storage facility, a hard-core techno club—but has now been transformed into a 32,000-square-foot exhibition space housing the personal art collection of the Boros family.
Hotel Oderberger, Berlin
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today we’ll travel by train about 50 minutes beyond the city limits to visit a massive abandoned hospital complex. Built in 1898 in response to skyrocketing rates of tuberculosis in Berlin, the grand architecture of the Beelitz Sanitorium will capture your attention. Afterwards, we’ll kick off our shoes and step into the neighboring barefoot park. Long before forest bathing and mindfulness caught on in the Western world, Germans looked to the healing powers of nature. We’ll walk along specially designed forest footpaths, over (blunted) shattered glass, acorns and stones; through knee-deep mud and murky cold water in an attempt to boost our health, German-style. Tonight we'll gain a unique glimpse into the city’s Cold War history and its current alternative subculture. We’ll be ascending to the top of Berlin’s highest hill (Teufelsberg), where we’ll be treated to a special after-dark tour of an abandoned NSA listening station.
Hotel Oderberger, Berlin
Breakfast, Lunch
This morning will feel like a photographer’s eerie dream as we are guided through the empty halls, restaurants, and cellars of Tempelhof Airport. Built as an expression of Nazi ideology, Tempelhof is weighed down by a history of forced labor and war weapons production. However, due to the role it played during the Berlin Airlifts of 1948, it is also a symbol of the city’s freedom. Entirely shut down to aircraft since 2008, its runways and fields have been converted into a giant public park filled with Berliners on bikes, rollerblades, and picnic blankets. After our tour, the entire afternoon is yours to enjoy as you wish. Visit one of Berlin's 150 museums, ranging from world-class collections to private oddities like the David Hasselhof exhibit; do some strolling and shopping; or, if you’d like, continue with your guide to explore the gentrifying NeuKölln neighbourhood. There is no shortage of quirky art galleries, unique beer gardens, or historical sites to discover. In the evening, we’ll gather back together for a special farewell dinner.
Hotel Oderberger, Berlin
Breakfast, Dinner
Today, catch flights home or onto your next destination. Until next time!
The listed price of the trip is per person based on double occupancy.
You’re in good company. Solo travelers typically make up about half of our small groups. With curiosity at the center of our experiences, there’s a natural camaraderie that develops over the course of a trip.
Due to the layout of the hotel we'll be staying at, twin rooms are not available. Solo travelers can have their own private room for a supplemental cost of $540. After booking your trip, please request a single room when you fill out your traveler information form and we’ll send a separate invoice for the cost.
Travelers should be comfortable walking between four and five miles over the course of any given day, and spending significant time outdoors. All transportation will be by foot or by public transit.
You should plan to arrive in Berlin by 4 p.m. on Day 1 and depart anytime on Day 6.
Situated in one of Berlin’s most beloved neighborhoods, the Hotel Oderberger is a hip hotel with a fascinating history. It first opened in 1902 as an art-nouveau public bathhouse and, following a forced closure in 1986, reopened in 2016 as a boutique hotel. It has managed to fully integrate its history into a modern aesthetic and offers all the comforts of a four-star hotel, including a fantastic in-house bar.
If this will be your first trip to Berlin, we recommend staying a few extra days before or after the tour to visit the more traditional tourist sites, which are not included in the itinerary. We recommend the Jewish Museum, the Berlin Cathedral, Kurfürstendamm, Charlottenburg Palace, Potsdamer Platz, Pergamon Museum, Grunewald Forest, Soviet Memorial, Alexanderplatz, the old Reichstag building, and the Gendarmenmarkt, among many others.
The travel industry is booming in Europe. If you’ve been to any tourist hotspots in the past five years, the crowds are all the proof you need. This trip is different; you’ll barely touch foot on the well-trodden tourist paths. Instead, you'll spend time in the lesser-known parts of Berlin, meeting with locals involved in the creative revolution of the city and visiting places that offer insight into the area’s history in an unusual way. Not only does your participation help fund the unique places surviving at the edges of mass tourism, but it also encourages you to see the potential for the creative transformation of spaces around where you live.
In September, daytime temperatures can reach up to around 80°F, dropping to the low 60’s in the evenings.
Most dietary restrictions can be accommodated, but please let us know in advance.