Berlin, Oct. 18 - 21

[Erik Gran]

I'm visiting Berlin, (in Germany) for a few days, Sunday 18th to Wednesday 21st. Are there any tips on where you may hear some good acoustic music, or see and try some fine instruments? :confused::mandosmiley:

[grassrootphilosopher]

Erik,
Berlin has a lot to offer. Here is the site for the cultural magazine ZITTY (http://suche.zitty.de/). The link takes you to the search function where you can determine for yourself what when and where you might want to do.

Additionally there are the A-Trane (http://www.a-trane.de/), a jazz club with live music that is apparently highly regarded. Other places are the Quasimodo (http://www.quasimodo.de/index.php?id=111), or the Badenscher Hof (http://www.badenscher-hof.de/programm.html). Once there was the extremely nice, culturally highly interesting and quite small Bebop Bar (http://www.bebop-bar.de/contact.html), which might or might not exist anymore. If it´s still in operation, drop me a note. Especially the sunday jamsessions were fantastic.

There are some bluegrass bands I am aware of. They are flying so low under cover that I am unable to locate their activities.

I´d also like to spare you the cultural shock having to discover what the average German thinks "Country" is. If you´re in for some "interesting" experiences check out Berlin Country Saloons on the internet. I´m not saying they are bad, it´s just not what I´d associate with being countryfied.

An advice is also to go to the Ticketshop that is located near the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche (Kurfürstendamm, near Kranzlereck, Bahnhof Zoo). It has quite a number of (last minute) tickets for shows that might be interesting.

Good instruments... well that´s an entirely different story. If you´re into bass fiddles, there is B. Kort (http://www.kort-basses.com/) who has a nice shop in an interesting location with very nice bass fiddles (if you have the pocketbook for them). Don´t forget to go and dine at the Marques (http://www.berlin.de/restaurants/index.php/bo/restaurantbo/action/display/frmRestaurantId/6615) (a very good Spanish/Portugese restaurant) which is right around the corner.

I wouldn´t think that Berlin is the place to go to in order to check out great instruments. Places in Germany would be antique-acoustics (http://www.antique-acoustics.de/), Tübingen for incredible steelstring guitars, Schalloch (http://schalloch.de/impressum), Hamburg for mandolins and guitars (Jürgen Richter (http://maps.google.com/maps/place?rls=com.microsoft:de:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GPEA_de&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=scheffler+richter+hamburg&fb=1&hq=scheffler+richter&hnear=hamburg&cid=8796925361517507514)has his workshop there and at least in the past built quite impressive instruments). There´s also Rüdiger Helbigs (http://www.ruediger-helbig.de/7.html)shop in Munich. Rüdiger ist the german bluegrass forerunner and an impeccable banjo player. Musik Produktiv (http://www.musik-produktiv.de/)is one of the biggest online stores and has an impressive acoustic inventory in the small town of Ibbenbühren. There are some other places to go to for to shop around, but these would be the places I´d check first (in Germany). There´s also the builder´s database here on the cafe if you´re interested in German mandolins.

Anyhow, Berlin is a great place to visit with a lot many cultural conflicts and impressive sights. Don´t forget to go to the Neues Museum. It will open this weekend after a yearlong hiatus due to reconstruction. Go to the Museumsinsel (with incredible Babylonian exhibits). Do not miss out the Jewish museum (with a concise overview about jewish culture in northern Europe esp. Germany including our lamentable past). Go to Berlin Marzahn (sort of an east German high riser satelite town that nowadays is more or less known for its rightwing underclass activities). Take a stroll through the Grunewald (this is one of the many natural forests in and around Berlin. There is a little manor there that also incorporates a nice restaurant. The forests are a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle that´s all over the place otherwise).

[Tom C]

Ah..Berlin. I was there during those exact dates in 1990 seeing the Grateful Dead. Essen to Amsterdam to Berlin to Frankfurt about 7 months after re-unification. Passing police at almost 150 mph on autoban. Great people over there. yeah Berlin is a big mix of old (pre-war) buildings and new modern buildings.

[bluesmandolinman]

Eric, the only shop having a few mandolins is American Guitar Shop

www.guitar-shop.de

But don´t expect a collection like you would find in US stores. No high end mandolins. Guitars yes.

I would also recommend a visit to the Museum of Musical Instruments

http://www.sim.spk-berlin.de/mim_3.html
Text only in german.

And finally ( would be my personal No.1 ) a visit to the Aquarium . Very impressive !
http://www.aquarium-berlin.de/en.html

Cheers,René

[Erik Gran]

Meine Herren, vielen Dank für ihr Hilfe und sehr gute Ratschlage! Ich freue mich an meine Freundin in Berlin zu treffen, und hoffe dass sie mit mir in Musikmuseum und Aquarium gehen will, und dass wir auch etwas guten Musik hören können!

:)