Electronic music and no clubs makes no sense. Every big city in Europe has a temple that thousands of faithful followers travel to every weekend to enjoy the best DJs of the moment. A common sight is groups of friends travelling to these places lured by the fame of the club or the name of a particular DJ. Here are our favourites to inspire you!

How many times have you heard that vinyl records are dead? Some say CDs and then the arrival of digital music buried vinyl records. But this is far from the truth – vinyl records are making a comeback and it is still one of people's favourite music formats. On 12 August, the world celebrates Vinyl Record Day, to remember the date on which Edison invented the phonograph back in 1877.

Nowadays, major cities across Europe are full of shops and street markets where you can go shopping and add to your personal collection. Fancy buying new records? Then come with us!

Proof of this is Berlin’s recent designation as the new vegetarian capital of the world, according to the prestigious American magazine, Saveur. Berliners love the green life. They are second to none when it comes to protecting their parks and gardens, and extending them as much as they can, wherever possible. And, in recent times, they have proved to be open to new procedures geared to eliciting a growing respect for the urban environment.

Public parks are practically an extension of their lounge, particularly in summer, when residents take them over for all kinds of outdoor activity. Each tree is protected and anyone who lacks their own family allotment is free to join any of the initiatives designed to boost the proliferation of community gardens. The fact is that Berlin is a city enamoured of environmental trends. For many Berliners, bicycles have replaced cars as a status symbol. At DIY workshops, they are learning to make their own clothes and furniture, eschewing industrial mass production, which its more harmful to the environment. In short, the LOHAS (“lifestyle of health and sustainability”) tenet is adopted by many here. Hence, today’s Berliner is a person who enjoys the pleasures of life, while following a healthy diet and making sustainable consumer decisions.

The Capital of Healthy Food

And, that is not just our opinion – the prestigious American culinary magazine, Saveur, has just granted Berlin the “Saveur Good Taste Award” for the best vegetarian city in the world. Indeed, when it comes to gastronomy, the city is far more than just currywurst and kebab. Recent progress in Berlin’s gastronomic trends is clearly a praiseworthy development. Any gourmand will tell you so – and not for nothing – as there are some 30 vegan and a total of 300 vegetarian restaurants and food stalls making up that health food network.

Thus, the changes in Berlin’s gastronomic scene are widely recognised. High-end vegetarian offerings surpass the meat-based supply, long a traditional mainstay. As well, recent years have seen the influence of immigration coming into the limelight, bringing culinary traditions that have contributed notably to the new variety in vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

Vegetarian Restaurants You Must Try

Vegetarian food now lies at the heart of Berlin’s culinary scene. Cookies Cream, for example, is one of the best known for its exclusiveness and for being a trendsetter among vegetarian restaurants. In 2014 it featured in Gault Millau, one of the leading nouvelle cuisine guides in the world. Here, the set menu works out at about 39 euros and includes such marvels as Sardinian crunchy potato lasagna with Swiss cheese truffle, pickled kohlrabi (a variety of cabbage) and radish. Another Berlin beacon is the restaurant offering innovative vegan cuisine, Lucky Leek. It also made its way into the prestigious Michelin Guide a short while ago. They serve à la carte on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, with complete menus on Friday and Saturday. Additionally, a growing number of chefs, like those at Nobelhart & Schmutzig, are using locally grown organic ingredients. Even fast-food street stalls are offering vegetarian snacks. Further information at visitBerlin.com.

In short, vegetarian trends are developing in synch with a new, far more complex movement based on sustainability. There is, for instance, a growing demand to reinforce the organic fabric and a call to broaden the reach of vegetarian and social cuisine projects. One example is the imminent inauguration of Restlos Glücklich, which is to feature leftover food on its menu. This involves a new, much more sustainable business concept and a more responsible attitude towards the environment. The raw materials in their cuisine are still fresh, yet they have been withdrawn from sale for whatever reasons (the sell-by date is nearing, there isn’t sufficient storage space for the surplus, etc.). This means that the menu changes every day, as it depends on the food that is available in each instance. Apart from feeding their guests, the idea of the restaurant is to raise awareness. The establishment also offers cooking lessons and organises activities for children.

Accommodation

To round off the green experience, what better than to spend the night at NH Collection Berlin Friedrichstrase. This is an eco-friendly hotel which takes into account a positive impact on the environment through responsible energy consumption. And, how do you reduce your carbon footprint on the environment? By reducing energy consumption with the use of light bulbs that yield a saving of 29.3%, in addition to a 29.5% reduction in water consumption.

Why wait to discover Bergreen for yourself? Check out our flights here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Restlos Glücklich, Cookies Cream, Lucky Leek, Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Restlos Glücklich

Potsdam, which lies south-west of Berlin, has a lot to offer visitors, notably its spectacular UFA Film Studio (currently known as the Babelsberg Studio) – the oldest and largest in Europe – the Einstein Tower, designed by architect Erich Mendelsohn, and the city’s unique Dutch Quarter. However, the standout feature of this city is its beautiful, splendid parks and palaces, which led some of them to be listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We take you on a tour of these fabulous gems, some of which are worthy of the great Versailles itself.

Sanssouci Park – the Jewel in the Crown
Just over a half-an-hour’s ride on public transport from Berlin lies Sanssouci Park, featuring what for many might be termed the German Versailles, which draws thousands of visitors each year. The precinct houses a large number of parks and palaces, each of them more beautiful and surprising than the next. The artificer of this ensemble was Frederick the Great who, in his endeavour to find a place where he could get away from the pomp of the Berlin Court, hit upon this wonderful spot and commissioned what would become an idyllic retreat. The very name of the park is a statement of intent as it reveals the monarch’s penchant for French culture. It is derived from the French term,sans souci,meaning “without worries”.

Among the major landmarks in the park is the Sanssouci Palace, built from 1745 to 1747 and designed by the architect, Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff. Noteworthy areas in this crowning work of the Rococo are the Marble Hall, inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, the delicately ornamented Music Room and the Library, which needless to say contains the works of such French writers as Voltaire, a friend of Frederick the Great, who was also a great admirer of his.

In addition to this fabulous summer palace, the park also features other equally unique landmarks commissioned by Frederick the Great and his successors. One such construction is the Chinese House (Chinesisches Haus), a clover-shaped pavilion of eastern inspiration, which was very much in vogue at the time, the Orangery (Orangerieschloss), with towers affording splendid views over the park, the New Palace (Neues Palais), commissioned by Frederick the Great to commemorate the end of the Seven Years’ War, and the Picture Gallery (Bildergalerie), boasting works by artists of the likes of Correggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Antoine Watteau.

Potsdam’s “New Garden”
In the north of Potsdam lies the Neuer Garten (New Garden), another large park of which the highlight is the Jungfernsee lake. A must-visit is the Marmorpalais (Marble Palace), the summer retreat of Friedrich Wilhelm II, featuring a stunningly ornamented interior which has left more than a few visitors awestruck. Also sited here is the Cecilienhof Palace, a rural palace in Tudor style. It went down in history as being the location of the Potsdam Conference, held during the last few months of World War II.

Reopening Babelsberg Park and Palace
After remaining closed for seven decades, Babelsberg Park and Palace is now decked out to welcome visitors. To mark this long-awaited reopening, from 29 April to 15 October an exhibition will be held as a tribute to Prince Hermann Ludwig Heinrich von Pückler-Muskau, a landscape gardener and artificer, among others, of this park and these gardens. The exhibition will be sited in Babelsberg Palace. Built as of 1833 as the summer residence of future Emperor William I and his wife, Augusta, it was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel according to the stylistic tenets of English Tudor. The large park, for its part, was designed by Peter Joseph Lenné, while in 1840 Prince Pückler-Muskau culminated the work by lending his own touch to the gardens.

Book your Vueling to Berlin and relish your tour of the marvels offered by the city of Potsdam.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Photos by Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg