GERMANY - Best of Europe 2014 - page 736

most of my recommended hotels), it's worth the trip to immerse yourself in quintessential
Prenzlauer Berg.
Prater Biergarten offers two great eating opportunities: a rustic indoor restaurant and
a mellow, shaded, super-cheap, and family-friendly outdoor beer garden (with a play-
ground)—each proudly pouring Prater's own microbrew. In the beer garden—Berlin's old-
est—you step up to the counter and order (simple €3-5 plates and an intriguing selection of
beer munchies, daily in good weather 12:00-24:00). The restaurant serves serious traditional
Biergarten cuisine and good salads (€7-17 plates, Mon-Sat 18:00-24:00, Sun 12:00-24:00,
cash only, Kastanienallee 7, tel. [phone]).
Zum Schusterjungen Speisegaststätte (“The Cobbler's Apprentice”) is a classic old-
school, German-with-attitude eatery that retains its circa-1986 DDR decor. Famous for its
filling €7-10 meals (including various types of schnitzel and Berlin classics such as pork
knuckle), it's a no-frills place with quality ingredients and a strong local following. It serves
the eating needs of those Berliners lamenting the disappearance of solid traditional German
cookingamidthefloodofethniceateries(small40-seatdininghallplusoutdoortables,daily
12:00-24:00, corner of Lychener Strasse and Danziger Strasse 9, tel. [phone]).
La Bodeguita del Medio Cuban Bar Restaurant is purely fun-loving Cuba—graffiti-
caked walls, Che Guevara posters, animated staff, and an ambience that makes you want to
dance. Come early to eat or late to drink. This restaurant has been here since 1994—and
in fast-changing Prenzlauer Berg, that's an eternity. The German-Cuban couple who run
it take pride in their food, and the main dishes are big enough to split. You can even
puff a Cuban cigar at the sidewalk tables (€4-10 tapas, €6 Cuban ribs and salad, Tue-Sun
18:00-24:00, closed Mon, a block from U2: Eberswalder Strasse at Lychener Strasse 6, tel.
030/4050-0601).
Konnopke's Imbiss, a super-cheap German-style sausage stand, has been a Berlin in-
stitution for more than 70 years—it was family-owned even during DDR times. Berliners
sayKonnopke'scooksupsomeofthecity'sbest Currywurst (lessthan€2).Locatedbeneath
the U2 viaduct, the stand was demolished in summer of 2010 during roadwork. Berliners
rioted, and Konnopke's was rebuilt in a slick glass-and-steel hut (Mon-Fri 10:00-20:00, Sat
12:00-20:00, closed Sun; Kastanienallee dead-ends at the elevated train tracks, and under
them you'll findKonnopke'sat Schönhauser Allee 44A).Don'tconfuse this with the nearby
Currystation—look for the real Konnopke's.
Restaurant “Die Schule” is a modern place with a no-frills style where you can sample
traditional German dishes tapas-style. Assemble a collection of little €2.50 plates of old-
fashioned German food you might not try otherwise (good indoor and outdoor seating, €24
full 3-course dinner, daily 11:00-22:00, Kastanienallee 82, tel. [phone]).
After-Dinner Dessert and Drinks: There are oodles of characteristic funky pubs and
nightspots in the area around Helmholtzplatz (and elsewhere in Prenzlauer Berg). Oderber-