Exberliner, Berlin's leading English-language magazine, picks the best places to show off your Wii moves, hang out with the cool crowd in Mitte and play bingo with a twist. "/> Exberliner, Berlin's leading English-language magazine, picks the best places to show off your Wii moves, hang out with the cool crowd in Mitte and play bingo with a twist. " />
Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
EXBERLINER MAGAZINE

BERLIN

The best of Berlin in March

This month Exberliner, Berlin's leading English-language magazine, picks the best places to show off your Wii moves, hang out with the cool crowd in Mitte and play bingo with a twist.

Published: 9 March 2009 10:23 CET
The best of Berlin in March
Photo: DPA

Gambling backwards

A Porsche Boxster for €157.90? There’s something fishy about an auction website “selling” top-end sports cars for pocket change. You start to dig deeper into hammerdeal.de and it dawns on you that this is no eBay. First of all, the item up for auction goes to the “lowest unique bidder,” meaning the guy who got the Porsche was the only one who typed in that price – all lower guesses were made by more than one bidder. So where’s the catch? Each bid costs 50 cents and you have no idea how many other people are bidding. In other words, this “reverse auction” is really just a guessing game with more in common with a lottery or raffle than a proper auction. Each bid is really just a 50 cent bet. Hammerdeal.de, which is run by the UK’s bidster.com, denies it’s a lottery – for obvious legal reasons – and their position has been supported by a UK court. The phenomenon is pretty new in Germany but has already piqued the interest of lawyers. Meanwhile, why not take your chances? A Porsche … Or an iPhone, a laptop or a Mini … They could all be yours for a bargain. /MF

www.hammerdeal.de, see also www.dubli.de and www.auktionclick.de

Where shall Wii play tonight?

Imagine a long, ambient-lit room with a cocktail bar, white leather seats and rows of flat-screen monitors. Dozens of 20-somethings stand before the screens punching and swinging their bodies for no apparent reason. No, they’re not entirely insane: they’re using wireless game controllers. Play Berlin, which opened in November, is the world’s first Wii gaming club: it offers a full bar along with hours of virtual golf, tennis, skiing, bowling, karaoke, air guitar and more. The concept fits perfectly into Nintendo’s desire to reach beyond the usual gaming demographic – meaning that a lot of girls play too. The vibe feels more like a bowling alley than an arcade. Friends compete, clap and cheer while getting liquored up in nightclub-style surroundings. The prices (€5 per console per hour, €15 per console per hour for a private area) are perfectly fair. For Wii novices it’s a good place to get acquainted with “numchuk” controllers and the like, while the experts can strut their stuff in the public eye. Our only grievance: Play Berlin serves Carlsberg instead of decent German pilsner. /SM

Play Berlin, Alexanderstr. 7 (entrance Otto-Braun-Str.), Mitte, S+U-Bhf Alexanderplatz, Tel 275 81 0 80, www.play-berlin.de. Be sure to book ahead, especially on weekends.

Unlucky rolls

For weeks now Dice Club has been an open secret. Having started the hype in December with a mysterious countdown on its website and blurry Youtube videos of its location, Dice opened its doors on January 15, with a somewhat improvised “private“ Baustellenparty. Only one of the three planned dancefloors was accessible. The floor was still raw and definitely not suitable for the high heels of the hip MTV-style staff, freelance Mitte designers and usual Berlin nightlife suspects. What could be seen of the location, a former power station, looked promising, and the first DJ line-ups were reputable enough (Marc Houle, Jeremy P. Caulfield). Dice’s mainfloor opening was planned for Valentine’s Day but had to be postponed due to a burst water pipe, so there is uncertainty as to when the official opening party will be – probably in early March. Or so hopes Dice boss Isan Oral. Hang in there and keep an eye on the website./LAM

Dice, Voltairestr. 5, Mitte, S+U-Bhf Jannowitzbrücke, www.dice-berlin.de

Bingo in the barrio

In the Kreuzberg concert hall where so many famous punk bands made their Berlin debut, long rows of picnic tables are lined up. A wave of excitement passes through the crowd as a bunch of trash trannys hustle towards the bar. Their grandpa knickers aren’t quite the show hit – but at that moment the Wild Flamingo Bingo Band launches into a tune and the tranny gang prances towards stage. They perform under the flashing B-I-N-G-O letters with high-kicking flare until a sparkling, evening-gown clad Inge Borg and Gisela Sommer arrive to set things straight. Kiezbingo has been going strong for 11 years. The numbers are pulled – with hardly a moment to spare – out of a garlanded cement mixer. Winners are prodded and questioned before they are allowed to return to their seats. “Hetero? Well, OK, nowadays that’s not something to be ashamed of.” One male winner of a pair of panties is met with a loud cheering from the croud: “Ausziehen! Ausziehen!” (Undress!) The lights dim, the band sets in. Bingo! The prizes are donations from local stores and all revenue goes to a good cause: in March, Papiere für Alle! and Respect, two projects that offer support to female illegal migrants, will benefit. Entrance costs €3; bingo cards are between €1.50 and €2.50./ABB

Kiezbingo at SO36, Oranienstr. 190, Kreuzberg, U-Bhf Kottbusser Tor, U-Bhf Görlitzer Bahnhof, Tel 614 013 06, www.so36.de. Every second Tuesday of the month from19:00

Click here for more from Berlin’s leading monthly magazine in English.

For members

BERLIN

EXPLAINED: Berlin’s latest Covid rules

In response to rapidly rising Covid-19 infection rates, the Berlin Senate has introduced stricter rules, which came into force on Saturday, November 27th. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 27 November 2021 16:16 CET
Updated: 29 November 2021 14:17 CET
A sign in front of a waxing studio in Berlin indicates the rule of the 2G system
A sign in front of a waxing studio indicates the rule of the 2G system with access only for fully vaccinated people and those who can show proof of recovery from Covid-19 as restrictions tighten in Berlin. STEFANIE LOOS / AFP

The Senate agreed on the tougher restrictions on Tuesday, November 23rd with the goal of reducing contacts and mobility, according to State Secretary of Health Martin Matz (SPD).

He explained after the meeting that these measures should slow the increase in Covid-19 infection rates, which was important as “the situation had, unfortunately, deteriorated over the past weeks”, according to media reports.

READ ALSO: Tougher Covid measures needed to stop 100,000 more deaths, warns top German virologist

Essentially, the new rules exclude from much of public life anyone who cannot show proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid-19. You’ll find more details of how different sectors are affected below.

Shops
If you haven’t been vaccinated or recovered (2G – geimpft (vaccinated) or genesen (recovered)) from Covid-19, then you can only go into shops for essential supplies, i.e. food shopping in supermarkets or to drugstores and pharmacies.

Many – but not all – of the rules for shopping are the same as those passed in the neighbouring state of Brandenburg in order to avoid promoting ‘shopping tourism’ with different restrictions in different states.

Leisure
2G applies here, too, as well as the requirement to wear a mask with most places now no longer accepting a negative test for entry. Only minors are exempt from this requirement.

Sport, culture, clubs
Indoor sports halls will off-limits to anyone who hasn’t  been vaccinated or can’t show proof of recovery from Covid-19. 2G is also in force for cultural events, such as plays and concerts, where there’s also a requirement to wear a mask. 

In places where mask-wearing isn’t possible, such as dance clubs, then a negative test and social distancing are required (capacity is capped at 50 percent of the maximum).

Restaurants, bars, pubs (indoors)
You have to wear a mask in all of these places when you come in, leave or move around. You can only take your mask off while you’re sat down. 2G rules also apply here.

Hotels and other types of accommodation 
Restrictions are tougher here, too, with 2G now in force. This means that unvaccinated people can no longer get a room, even if they have a negative test.

Hairdressers
For close-contact services, such as hairdressers and beauticians, it’s up to the service providers themselves to decide whether they require customers to wear masks or a negative test.

Football matches and other large-scale events
Rules have changed here, too. From December 1st, capacity will be limited to 5,000 people plus 50 percent of the total potential stadium or arena capacity. And only those who’ve been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 will be allowed in. Masks are also compulsory.

For the Olympic Stadium, this means capacity will be capped at 42,000 spectators and 16,000 for the Alte Försterei stadium. 

Transport
3G rules – ie vaccinated, recovered or a negative test – still apply on the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses in Berlin. It was not possible to tighten restrictions, Matz said, as the regulations were issued at national level.

According to the German Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, people have to wear a surgical mask or an FFP2 mask  on public transport.

Christmas markets
The Senate currently has no plans to cancel the capital’s Christmas markets, some of which have been open since Monday. 

According to Matz, 2G rules apply and wearing a mask is compulsory.

Schools and day-care
Pupils will still have to take Covid tests three times a week and, in classes where there are at least two children who test positive in the rapid antigen tests, then tests should be carried out daily for a week.  

Unlike in Brandenburg, there are currently no plans to move away from face-to-face teaching. The child-friendly ‘lollipop’ Covid tests will be made compulsory in day-care centres and parents will be required to confirm that the tests have been carried out. Day-care staff have to document the results.

What about vaccination centres?
Berlin wants to expand these and set up new ones, according to Matz. A new vaccination centre should open in the Ring centre at the end of the week and 50 soldiers from the German army have been helping at the vaccination centre at the Exhibition Centre each day since last week.

The capacity in the new vaccination centre in the Lindencenter in Lichtenberg is expected to be doubled. There are also additional vaccination appointments so that people can get their jabs more quickly. Currently, all appointments are fully booked well into the new year.

 

SHOW COMMENTS