Neurotitan is an eclectic shop with short-run comics, books, art and a small but varied vinyl…read morerecord selection. The wares are generally very niche by independent & local artists & illustrators. You can easily spend a few hours in here satisfying your curiosity. I also believe that they have the occasional show/vernissage/opening, so the mailing list is their best way to stay in the know. I came here to promote some vinyl records on my label and talking to the nice lady, I found out that for folks like myself, they generally do vinyl sales on consignment. 4 Stars!!

Awesome adress. A must-see for any street art lover. And the place is a must-see in Berlin.read more

A unique place with crazy art - a must for every tourist. Heiner is part of the peace community and…read morealways has an open ear for his guests. Also great to get some tips on where to discover alternative gems in the city. Everything is very reasonably (cheap!) priced (Beer 1,50 / Cocktails 3,00). You can now also get some Pizza starting at 2,50! If you care for it, politics is an important part and you can buy/review good independent documentary DVDs and books. If you miss to visit here then you really haven't seen the real Berlin! Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZuuu3eOjZ4

This little cafe made our trip to Berlin totally worth it. Not sure what to expect, we cautiously…read moreentered. The owner, Heiner, immediately made us feel welcome. We sat for a cup of tea which turned into two more cups due to the interesting conversations we had with Heiner and other patrons about politics, religion, philosophy and life. This little dive is full of kind, caring people with sincere humanity and courage to change the world.

Another great stop when visiting Augustr. is the KW. This…read morevenue is well known for producing and presenting contemporary art in Berlin (and around the globe). In their exhibitions they bring together German and international artists. They have their own collection and also change many temporary programs. During my visit I got to see the Secret Surface, which brought to life a mix of feelings and sensations of the contemporary world and how we relate to it. I specially liked this piece where we sat down and saw many text conversations -- for me it was clear how we changed our communication nowadays. There was also a video piece talking about Syrian and Israel, and most of the conflicts that happened, since during the last four years, the NGO has smuggled humanitarian aid to the besieged population to Syria. Will definitely come back to check out future exhibits. It's worth the visit.

KW is Berlin's top space for exhibiting contemporary art. Since 1998 it has hosted the Berlin…read moreBiennial. This summer's edition is different from the past ones. In the downstairs gallery there is an encampment of the sort that Occupy movements have set up in cities. There are tents, brochures, graffiti, posters, and occasional assemblies. The galleries upstairs feature work that seems closer to agitprop than it does to art--a deliberate choice on the part of the curator, Artur Zmijewski, who writes in his introduction to the catalog that contemporary art doesn't interest him any more. A Powerpoint presentation by Antanas Mockus, formerly the mayor of Bogota, Colombia, discusses his campaigns against the drug business and traffic deaths that involved elements of performance art (respectively: when he got death threats from drug lords he started wearing a bulletproof vest with a heart-shaped hole cut over his heart, and he had mimes line up along sidewalks). In the presentation he says this is "sub-art = art without the pretenses of art." Everything at the Berlin Biennial could probably be described as sub-art. For example, one room has a lopsided circle of screens, each of which displays documentation of a protest that took place somewhere in the world in the last year. It looks like a complex video-art installation, but when I was inside it I felt like I was at a protest meeting, an assembly of assemblies where I couldn't possibly see and focus on the whole thing at once but I still got an impression of a worldwide movement that I could potentially belong to. Likewise, the Occupy encampment on the ground floor looks the sprawling, cluttered installations you see at a lot of biennials, combining a variety of images, texts, and objects. But the sharp cuts between old radical documents (a printout of the 1996 "Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace") and current, useful information (a flyer with instructions on how to get from Berlin to Occupy Frankfurt next week) make it feel like something else. Maybe, because of its position right at the entrance, it's supposed to be a proposition about how works of sub-art engage each other in dialogue. To be honest, I have never liked "political art." When art has a direct message it becomes one-sided and shallow. But I didn't want to judge the Berlin Biennial by the criteria of art because it defines itself as non-art, as sub-art that is occupying a kunsthalle. Of course, there are individual works here with legible agendas. But it's like an Occupy meeting, where there are people handing out leaflets or starting discussions to promote their own pet causes, but they're still working under the umbrella slogan of "no demands," a rejection of the present system that refuses to participate in its politics. This Berlin Biennial presents an aesthetics of "no demands." Instead of issuing the sort of bland political statement that biennials usually give when they try to get political, it rejects familiar exhibition formats and the expectations people have for contemporary art. It's a biennial and an anti-biennial--a position that has the ambiguity and richness that makes for good art but also feels different and new. That's the impression I got, and it was exciting for me. A lot of people I talked to about the Berlin Biennial hated it. They thought it was political art and it didn't have teeth, that in spite of its good intentions it was disconnected from life, that it cheapened the Occupy movement by turning it into an installation. By doing this project at KW with funds from the German government, these critics say, Zmijewski et al are capitulating to the system that the Occupy movement rejects. To me this sounded a bit like the people who call Occupy protesters hypocrites because they use laptops made by successful corporations. But that's ridiculous. You don't start a co-op that makes its own computers from scratch to organize a protest. You don't build an Institute for Sub-Art to have a biennial. You just use the means that are available to you and in using them you remake them. I also heard rumors about corruption, mismanagement of funds, complaints that artists were not paid fairly. These are probably true. But in the end I can only evaluate an exhibition space based on my personal experience there, and my experience at KW was very positive. If you are set in your ideas about what a biennial or other big group show should look like then maybe KW (especially with this Biennial!) is not for you. But if you are open to new ideas and like to be intellectually challenged I would highly recommend it! TIP: You don't have to walk through the ticket office to get to the galleries and the attendants don't check tickets so it's really easy to see the show without paying. I did it twice.

Great place for live music, Berlin atmosphere, alternative vibe, good beer, and fooseball!…read more Sometimes has an entrance cost but this place rules.

If you are a fan of contemporary art, this is a must visit…read more Berlin is already well-known for its many galleries, cultural spaces and installations and the Collectors Room does not disappoint. This is one of the many stops you should do on Auguststraße. if you are into art, culture and want a very authentic, cool, Berliner experience. After the fall of the wall, Mitte has become one of the go-to neighborhoods for art and fashion, and I would dare to say it's very hipster. At me Collectors Room you will find a series of personal art collections, which makes this place a mix between an art gallery, a museum and a cultural space. The exhibitions change constantly. Venue was open in 2010 by the art collector Thomas Olbricht, has over 1.300 square meters and had all of the furniture handpicked by the Campana Brothers. It's a place where collectors are motivated to share their personal archives and the permanent exhibition is a 200-piece tour with renaissance and baroque objects. When I visited I was able to see a very well curated 65-photo exhibition of Cindy Sherman's work. Regular admission price was €7 per person (non-student). Besides artworks you can also see rare stamps, art-nouveau objects and toys. It's certainly worth the visit.

A must stop for me in Berlin. This is a great gallery with a fascinating range of shows. Current…read moreexhibition (until 30 August 2015) is called Queensize and features all female artists. Great range of projects and media but nudity, violence, and sexual images make it inappropriate for younger viewers (at least I wouldn't be bringing my 6 year old to it). The cabinet of curiosities is interesting, fun, and appropriately creepy. I was a bit disappointed to learn that there was an audio tour available only after I was done walking through it. Seems like that would have been a fun audio tour to listen to. Little indication of an audio tour at the front desk (it is written on the side, but i didn't notice and no one mentioned it when we paid). Also - their lockers are so small, we had trouble fitting our belongings in them! Put this on your to do list for Berlin. Afterwards, wander next door to the KW gallery and up and down the street for more art! Lots of great galleries around with friendly folks inside.

Unusual art gallery combined with a pretty elegant dinner room, though one had to walk through a…read morerough building site to get to the place. The cook, Ulrich, is the owner and has done a stint as a top cook in Baden-Baden, so he knows his stuff. He started the place because he loves cooking and art, though not necessarily in that order. The place has a unique atmosphere which feels strange yet homely, and soon one gets comfy with the ever-changing art videos all around. The food was quite good, and the wines did match the courses quite well. The theme for our dinner was fish, and I have to say that I have definitely eaten worse. Overall, I think this art and food concept is something one must try, just for the experience. I would heartily recommend this place.

A completely unique experience - fantastic food and interesting art combined…read more I particularly liked the first course, which was a fish soup, but everything was great and the wine pairing was superb. And the idea of pairing food to an art exhibit is such a quirky and fun idea. Highly recommended if you are adventurous.

The craziest and coolest thing we did in Berlin. Had no idea what to expect but the guide and his…read morestories were so interactive and funny that time flew by. It's unfortunate that we can't take pictures but these images are forever in my mind. If you're in Berlin and are looking for something not touristy and off the beaten path, this is a must!

Because what is Berlin about besides having a weird experience with a congenial host, a dark…read morebasement, and some crazy robot monsters? So much fun -- a real high point in our trip! We love the inventiveness, the ideas, the sense of being somewhere down a rabbit hole of creativity. A couple of notes - $10 euro, cash only, and the show times are now on the hour not the half-hour on the website.