Berlin Bound

[Sloan1874]

I'm taking a week-long trip to Berlin in April and obviously the inevitable search for decent classic/vintage clothing shops will be on the agenda. So I'm looking for recommendations from Berlinites, plus, any places we should visit/see/avoid and top tourist tips would be much appreciated! Ta muchly in advance...

 

[Stephan1981]

I'm taking a week-long trip to Berlin in April and obviously the inevitable search for decent classic/vintage clothing shops will be on the agenda. So I'm looking for recommendations from Berlinites, plus, any places we should visit/see/avoid and top tourist tips would be much appreciated! Ta muchly in advance...

Hi,
I‘m from Berlin. The first thought is this place:

http://www.rockingchair-berlin.de/de/home.html

He has a lot of vintage Leatherjackets and other clothes.

If you need any help in Berlin just pm.

 

[rocketeer]

Hi Craig. I'm just back from the Black Forest over the Christmas period and stayed in a fantastic hotel where the owner was really interested in old stuff from cars to clothing. One phrase I learned here was 'Old Timer', this can refer to an older person but also festivals and shops selling second hand 'vintage' clothing and bric a brac, though especially so called 'Classic car' meetings and events specialising in old stuff.
Hmmm!

Might be cold up there, check weather forecast, maybe pack ANJ4.
Enjoy your days, J.

 

[Sir Jacket]

I enjoyed a visit to Burg und Schild when I was last there, although the Simmons Bilts will no doubt get your ire.

 

[Sloan1874]

I have heard of their presence there. Still, all contributions and offers are welcome. @rocketeer, I'm afraid I no longer own the ANJ-4 - I traded it in on for the D-1. Have to say, I've got far more wear out of it. It gets cold here, but it requires a deeper, more sustained freeze to justify the ANJ-4. Ironically, as far as I know, it went to someone in Berlin, where winters are a that bit harder, but i'm hoping by April that it'll have warmed up a little!

 

[Graemsay]

The only places that I can think of are Burg & Schild (which @Sir Jacket already mentioned), 14 oz, and DC4 (did they reopen?). All do variations on the workwear / denim / heritage theme.

Darklands Berlin might be worth a look if you're curious about cutting edge menswear. I recall it being a bit of a pain to find, as it's in a warehouse at the back of a complex. Or was, when I visited Berlin three years ago.

If you want to play tourist, I'd suggest visiting Potsdam. The Sanssouci Park is a large, formal garden filled with stately homes. There's also the Lindenhotel, which is a former Stasi prison, and has a distinctly unnerving atmosphere to it.

The town itself is quite pretty. It avoided being bombed during the war, and so is well preserved.

I've got a friend who lives in Potsdam, and last time I visited we got chatting to one of his acquaintances, who I later found out had been incarcerated in the Lindenhotel for being drunk and disorderly...

 

[Graemsay]

If you're into the outdoors, Globetrotter are the equivalent of Cotswold or Tiso.

There's a good whisky shop in Berlin, which had a whole load of obscure and rare malts. I can't remember where it is, but I can probably get the address if you're interested.

 

[rocketeer]

I have heard of their presence there. Still, all contributions and offers are welcome. @rocketeer, I'm afraid I no longer own the ANJ-4 - I traded it in on for the D-1. Have to say, I've got far more wear out of it. It gets cold here, but it requires a deeper, more sustained freeze to justify the ANJ-4. Ironically, as far as I know, it went to someone in Berlin, where winters are a that bit harder, but i'm hoping by April that it'll have warmed up a little!

A good Aero presence in Berlin from what I have heard on here. Yes Simmonds Bilt, I think I can handle that knowing I would be in Aero, no more to be said about that from me.
I always wanted to go to Berlin, see the Olympic Stadium, Brandenburg Gate and the Wall, also have a look around communist East Berlin but that was nearly 30 years ago. Most places are still around but still hoping I can get some then and now shots from the Michael Cain film, Funeral In Berlin. One day

 

[Fanch]

Should be warmer in Berlin in April than Chicago in late November.

 

[Fanch]

I'm taking a week-long trip to Berlin in April and obviously the inevitable search for decent classic/vintage clothing shops will be on the agenda. So I'm looking for recommendations from Berlinites, plus, any places we should visit/see/avoid and top tourist tips would be much appreciated! Ta muchly in advance...

My remark I made in my earlier post above was the result of a private exchange (joke) between Craig and me when he visited Chicago awhile back in late November. I told him while he was there to be sure to take the Architectural Tour on the Chicago River, which he did just after a major Arctic frontal system had passed through. Although he wore a warm jacket, his hands and feet were exposed to the elements without proper heavy wool socks and gloves. For a brief period of time he was concerned that several fingers and toes would have to be amputated from frostbite.

 

[Sloan1874]

Richard is absolutely right! It was a hard and stupid lesson to learn: an Irvin will keep you warm from the waist above, but a pair of trainers with soles so thin that I could read the pavements like braille are not going to help. There was one evening, when the temperature dropped to -15C, that I was numb from knees down. We were meant to be watching a winter parade on the Miracle Mile but the cold was unbearable - small children were entertaining themselves by pouring coffee onto the ground and timing how long it was taking to freeze!
I don't expect Berlin to be anywhere near as cold, but I'm not expecting it to be wall-to-wall sunshine. Tbh, Berlin's more about going to see stuff rather than sitting in pretty surroundings - it's the crossroads of Europe and acres of history to wade through.

 

[Sir Jacket]

There are plenty of things to see, especially post-WW2 related. Fascinating place and one of my favourite cities, if not the prettiest (that’s because we razed it with bombing).

A nice international smorgasbord of yummy people to look at, too.

Plus it’s cheap. In fact, I’ve been vaguely contemplating moving there for years.

If you want retro, go to see the Stasi museum!