Dolce Pizza

Dolce Pizza is absolutely delicious. This take-out pizza joint at Nollendorfplatz is popular amongst all Berliners. There's always a crowd of people in front standing around or sitting on the benches in front since there isn't much space inside. It's one of the best pizza places in the city, known for their oven-baked pizzas served on fresh Italian focaccia bread with fresh toppings.


My favorites are the Ruccola Pizza and the Spicy Salami. It's so good, in fact, that we once saw a girl eat an entire 5 slices by herself (and the slices are huge!). Everyone must try this place at least once while in Berlin. O yes, and last piece of information: it's only €2 per slice, perfect for us pleite (broke) college students.

1/2-meter Bratwurst Stand

Finding wurst (sausage) stands in Berlin takes no effort at all. But if you're really hungry and in the "wurst mood," you can get off at Schloßstrasse on the U9 and try the 1/2m long Bratwurst. You'll find it right next to Starbucks. It's the only place in Berlin where you'll get a full-sized roll long enough for the wurst instead of the usual tiny rolls. So go get some sausage! (no sexual innuendo implied)

das Fitnessstudio: working out while in Berlin

If you're looking to counter all the beer and sausage (and Döner) that will inevitably be consumed while you are in Berlin, there are a couple different options available. If you don't require much equipment, the simplest (and free) solution would be to go running in the nice suburban area around the Stanford Villa, and there is a multi-function weight machine in the basement of the center as well.

Fitness Company is a chain of higher-end gyms. The fee is pretty pricey (~€60/month), and you should definitely try to bargain with them to lower the price (say you will sign up elsewhere or bring a friend for bargaining power). The facilities are very nice, with a row of flatscreen TVs facing the cardio area, a pool, sauna, exercise classes, outdoor terrace, nice locker rooms, etc. I only wanted a simple weightroom, but ended up signing up here because the location (right at U9-Bhf Schloßstraße, entrance as seen in the above picture) was much more accessible than all other gyms I found, and I could get there easily after classes at the center. I basically ended up paying for a bunch of luxuries that I never used, but saved myself a lot of time and managed to offset the extra cost somewhat with some strategically frugal budgeting of my food stipend. They offer a monthly membership that is even more expensive, but you can sign up for the one-year membership because if you move to a location more than 25km from their nearest gym, you are allowed to terminate the contract. Just make sure you bring your de-registration from Berlin to prove you are actually leaving, and make sure to get the cancellation taken care of in person before you leave Berlin.

For you girls looking to avoid huge, sweaty German men at the gym, Fitness Company also has a chain of women-only gyms called Jopp. I believe they are similarly high-quality, and of course pretty expensive as well. Lily worked out there during her 6 months in Berlin and thought it was pretty nice. Their closest location to the center is also on Schloßstraße, but at U9-Bhf Rathaus Steglitz. Because Jopp is only in Berlin, you may need to find a new place for the summer if you end up doing an internship elsewhere.

McFit is a chain of gyms with the Germans' oddly favorite prefix in the name (along with McDonalds, McPaper, McClean, etc.). It's quite cheap (~€17/month), and the studios have everything you are used to at the Stanford gym (free weights, weight machines, treadmills, ellipticals), and also helpful trainers that wander around offering advice. The equipment and facility is very basic and showering in the locker rooms isn't free, but the inexpensive membership makes it very appropriate for younger people like us. The only reasonable Berlin location for me was quite a trek from the nearest U-bahn station, so I reluctantly chose not to sign up here. However, I worked out at McFit during my internship in Magdeburg, and although it was always really crowded after work and all the ridiculously muscular East German men made me question my masculinity a bit, I can definitely say that this gym was much more suited to my needs (and wallet). McFit offers only one-year memberships (which may actually be cheaper than 3 months at Fitness Company), but the manager at my gym in Magdeburg was nice enough to let me sign up for only 3 months at the same price when I showed him some documents stating that I would be coming back to the states in September. I guess that policy isn't official, but I imagine the managers should be able to make it happen.

whew. Well that's that, happy exercising.

Habibi Falafel

With two different locations (9 Akazienstrasse and 24 Goltzstrasse), this little Falafel place is considered by many as the Best Falafel in Berlin. The other Falafel place in the running for this title is Dada Falafel. The Falafel balls are perfectly seasoned, fresh, and soft. You can order the Falafel Sandwich with your choice of different sauces (I always get the Sesam sauce) for only €2.50. To get here, get off at Nollendorf Platz (for the Goltzstrasse location) or Eisenacher Strasse (for the Akazienstrasse location). Enjoy!

Chez De Nhat

Off on one of side streets from the Oranienburger Strasse S-Bahn stop, is a little restaurant called Chez De Nhat. This is one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants in Berlin. Every dish is only about 5 Euros and it's delicious. For those of you who'll be taking Ingo's class, you can ask him about it (it's his favorite place too). The decor is pretty trendy and it's owned by a very nice German guy and his Vietnamese wife. Occasionally they have Viet music playing in the background, which is not exactly the most wonderful music, but hey, it's all part of the cultural experience. My favorite dish is the Bun Thit Nuong and for drinks, I always get the Vietnamese coffee--Ca Phe Sua Da (the iced one) or the Ca Phe De Nhat (warm). What is Viet coffee? It's a french-drip styled coffee with condensed milk. The combination makes for really good coffee :)


This is Mei and me at Chez De Nhat restaurant for a nice dinner before heading out to the Bing Concert at the Konzerthaus.

Meeting Germans: The Sprachpartner Program

The best way to discovery Berlin is by meeting the locals; I would’ve never known about half the places to go to or things to do without going around with my German friends. Stanford sets up a couple events for Stanford students and students from the Free University to meet up. It’s usually an informal, meet-and-greet sort of event. And depending on who you click with, you can exchange numbers and emails and meet up again outside of planned group events. Here’s a video from our event Winter quarter, which ended up being pretty fun.

The program really is what you make it, so don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and meet people; they're just as open to meeting you as you are them. They’re usually North American Studies majors, so they’re just as excited to meet Americans and practice English since you are the topic of their studies. We met some really fun people with whom we met up with throughout the quarter. And once you meet one, you meet their friends and before you know it you'll have a group of German friends. Of course there are plenty of other ways to meet Germans besides the Sprachpartner program, but whatever you do, break out of the Stanford bubble and definitely make friends with locals; I promise it'll make your experience that much richer.