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Alternative Berlin Street Art Tour

Berlin is known for its art scene and from the moment we booked the trip, I was keen to immerse myself in that side of the city. Therefore, we chose (I might have pushed!) to take the street art tour as a way to see some of the work adorning the streets of Berlin, as well as getting to see some parts of the city that we wouldn’t usually head to on a typical city tour.

Ben was our tour guide and, as the weather wasn’t great, we had a tiny tour group of 3 – great for asking questions and getting a really good discussion going about the street art scene. I was really pleased to learn that Ben is an artist himself and therefore really well placed to share his insights on the work that we were about to see.

The first couple of pieces helped to outline the two main groups in Berlin: 1UP and Bione (also known as Paradox or Berlin Zidz). After learning about some of their stunts and coverage, it was easy to spot their tags across most of the city. We’ve since spotted 1UP tags across other European cities, it’s now a regular mission to try and find as many as we can!

*Tags showing well know groups: 1UP and Bione*

Following this, we moved on to check out some of the incredible art work across the city. Each one was very different, but showed so much talent and skill. Slowly, I began to learn more about the street art etiquette, the styles being used and the meanings behind the artwork. Ben told us about the differences between ‘tags’ (something quick and simple, almost a signature), a ‘throw up’ (something a little more elaborate, but could still be completed quickly) and the more detailed pieces that would have taken a longer time to complete.

From the complex to the simple, each image had a story. One of the most important things I learned on the tour was the assumption that the viewer will see the art from their own perspective. I found that really interesting and it changed my view on the creation of art – it doesn’t have to be perfect to create a reaction or invoke a feeling, it just has to be.

We also discussed the permanence, or lack thereof of street art and how this might help to keep ego in check. I thought that it was a nice thought that imagery may differ over time, due to weather, other artist contributions, or may even be permanently erased, resulting in a limited number of people seeing something that had been freshly created, with the rest experiencing an evolving image.

In addition to the painted art, there was also time for recognition of the smaller art installations hiding amongst walls and street signs. These were really cool and super easy to spot once you were made aware of them. I spent the remainder of my time in the city keeping my eyes peeled for more.

I loved the tour from start to finish. Ben was a brilliant guide, so down to earth and knowledgeable – a really cool guy. He had loads of knowledge to share, making each bit of the tour come to life. As an artist himself, it really lent credibility to the information being shared and it was great to see some of their work up on show too. It was like getting a sense of the city’s culture straight from someone who lived and breathed it. By the end of the tour, I was really ready to learn more about graffiti, street art and developing my own tag!

To round off our visit, the tour ended with a visit to the incredible Urban Nation contemporary art museum. With a range of incredible art works on display, and a graffiti toilet(!!), it was the perfect way to end the trip.

I still look back at this tour as one of the best I’ve been on, and it’s encouraged me to think about seeking out graffiti tours on other city breaks. They are a great way to get to know the heartbeat of the city, and for an art lover, they tell a story about a city’s history and culture. You get to wander off the usual tourist paths and really see a different side of the city.

You can check out some of our guide’s work on Insta @bulky-savage

Simply Raw Bakery, Vienna

There are the obvious places in Vienna where it’s easy to get something to meet your dietary needs: looking at you Hard Rock and TGI Fridays – they do good food, are extremely well up on cross- contamination and were well aware of how to adapt meals to meet our needs.

However, one of the big stand out places on our visit wasn’t one of the big chains but a little café called Simply Raw Bakery.

“A cute little vintage café which only held around five tables, plus bar seating. This meant it was cosy, although it never felt cramped, even when it was full. Tea was served in little teapots and the clink of china filled the spaces between the chatter.

The breakfasts were amazing – tasty porridge with fruit was my favourite – I didn’t know that porridge could taste so good!!!

+ Cater for Gluten Free, Dairy Free and no refined sugar

+ Beautiful decor

+ Wood-burning stove keeps things toasty on cold Vienna days

+ Amazing food – everything was gorgeous and very filling

– A little expensive – but perfect for a treat!

Walking Tour of Vienna

When on a short city break, it can sometimes feel like you are trying to cram everything in. One of the best ways of seeing a lot in a short space of time is to take a walking tour.

Luckily, on our trip to Vienna, the hotel was offering a free walking tour of the city and we decided to make the most of it. When picking a tour, I like to look for ones that don’t just visit the popular tourist spots; I can do that perfectly well on my own. Instead, I like to pick tours that offer something a little different, usually places that are just off the beaten path. The free tour we joined was just the ticket as it was centred around the Jewish quarter and surrounding areas, slightly out of the main shopping areas.

We spent a couple of hours hearing tales of historical sites down the twisty streets next to the Danube. The architecture was incredible, often showing glimpses of the changes made to buildings across the years: Art Deco, Baroque and Gothic in places, splattered with an array of Roman style statues.

Stories of bar tenders who were so drunk they were mistaken for Plague victims and thrown into mass graves, visits to the places Mozart studied and incredibly ornate churches behind plain wooden doors: the tour was excellent and gave a sense of Vienna’s history.

As this tour took place on the coldest day of our trip in Vienna, we rounded off the morning with a hot drink in a toasty café. Once we’d suitably warmed up, we were off again; this time making up our own little tour locations as we found out way back towards the Danube.

Crosswalks and City Vibes

It’s funny what you notice when you travel. The sights, the food, the smells, the people (not necessarily in that order!). One of the things that you would think would be universal across the world is the way that we cross the road. Spoiler alert: it isn’t!

I’ve started to become quite tuned in to crossing habits – or at least the crossing signs and sounds that facilitate them. It sounds really nerdy and I apologise for that, however I’m starting to believe that you can learn a lot about different cities by their road-crossing habits.

New York for example: no jay walking and no messing about. They have huge traffic lights, clearly marked crossings and timers that count down the time you have left to cross. It’s perfect for the no nonsense city of Manhattan. They also have ‘diagonal crosswalks’ – getting you from one side of the road to another in the most effective way – the Big Apple has busy people so it makes sense that the crosswalks get you from place ‘A’ to place ‘B’ as quickly as possible. They also use the visual symbols of a red hand for stop and a green man for go – just to keep everyone clear.

Being from the UK, it became a game on our last trip to New York to see which crosswalk would ‘turn green’ to get us to our route the fastest. Let’s face it; we are haphazard and disorganised in England, sometimes we have crossing guards or pedestrian crossings to help us get across the road, but most of the time we take our life in our hands and just cross wherever – we are rebels when it comes to jay-walking!

Vancouver crossings? They use the same visual imagery as those in the USA, however they are accompanied by a chirping bird sound to help those with visual impairments become aware of the safe times to cross.

We stayed in a busy area of Vancouver on our trip and the first morning I was amazed by how much bird-song I could hear until I made my first trip on foot around the city and realised that I was listening to the crossing sounds rather than actual birds. It’s a beautiful way of making something functional also sound natural. Perfectly at home in the city that fits neatly between mountains, beaches and trees.

I thought that the Vancouver crosswalks had won the achievement of the cutest crossing with their bird chips, however I was corrected on a recent trip to Vienna. Yes their crossings have an annoying ‘click’ sound which is not a patch on the Canadian bird noises used to support those with visual impairments and yes I did complain about this multiple times (although it did the job, I could hear it really loudly though the wooly hat I bought to help combat the -7 degree weather). However, as I looked up at the visual display on the crossing, I saw the cutest crossing image that I’ve come across so far……

The ‘don’t cross’ sign was fairly standard – two red people stood side by side. But the ‘safe to cross’ sign; was two people, waking hand in hand with a little love heart. I loved it! A tiny little touch, but I think that it says a lot about the lovely people of Vienna that they took the time to add this detail. It made me smile, despite the cold weather!