Berlin Burger International

As a (not very good) vegetarian one thing I have missed is burgers. The trouble with vege-burgers is they lack substance. Too often eating a vege-burger is like eating a porridge sandwich: too soft, too bland, too messy. That's why I was very happy to discover Berlin Burger International.

These burgers are sky-scrapers, piled high with salad and sauce, kept standing with a skewer, and full of flavour. Although nothing will quite match the chewy, meaty goodness of good beef my vegetarian order was by far the best I've ever had. I heard positive noises in regards to the meat options too.

Stacked!

Located at Pannierstr. 5, just round the corner from Hermannplatz. 

Berlin Tempelhof

Once one of Berlin's busiest airports, Tempelhof airfield now serves as a public park, offering fantastic spaces for cycling, roller skating, kiting and walking.

Overlooked by the vast Nazi-built terminal building you can make your way around the park, walking down its two runways or following the circular taxiing tracks. And if you visit on a windy day you'll be treated to a sky full of kites.

The design of the park facilities is also notable it's functionality and unobtrusive implementation. The runways are marked out with cycling and running routes which let you know how far you've come. Maps are displayed on flat blocks that make them easy to understand in a park that has few landmarks to navigate by. There are also three info kiosks that also serve as viewing platforms; they may not look particularly high, but in such a flat, open space they give great views.

To really appreciate the vast scale of the airfield you have to go there. Now that I live round the corner I am lucky enough to make frequent visits, though the daily bike rides I envisioned have yet to materialise...

The park can be accessed by various entrances marked on this map, and the best U-Bahn stops to go to are Tempelhof, Paradestr. (U6), Lienenstr. or Boddinstr. (U8).

N.B. The park is open from sunrise to sunset, so in December and January it closes at 5pm.

Flughafenstraße

Berlin is full of junk/antique stores that are as much museums as they are shops. Flughafenstraße has a fair few of these on it and some of the owners seem to put as much care into the display of their wares as curators in galleries.

Apparently the price you are told when you first ask about anything is twice that which you should pay, so don't be afraid to bargain. Having said that they're still pretty cheap so if you don't feel like your German is quite up to a Life of Brian-style stand-off then you'll still be able to find some bargains.

U-Bahn: it's got Boddinstr. (U8) at the top, and Rathaus Neukölln (U7) at the bottom.