Events for the weekend, September 30th - October 3rd

 Day of German Unity

Starting with the reason this is a long weekend: The German Unity Day is celebrated on Monday, October 3rd. This means, first and foremost: shops, government offices and schools are all closed. Everything else is in a festive atmosphere: 

• free admission: The Berlin Wall Panorama in Checkpoint Charlie (the whole weekend, Fr through Mo)

• Another activity for the day is located in the Ethnological Museum, where there will be a festival on the 3rd, for the exhibition «Haymat Almanya», about German-Turks. 

Only slightly related and/or the long weekend is used as a good excuse for:  

• The Jester Festival in the Spandau Citadel is a traditional renaissance fair, always on the German Unity Day weekend. Entry fees apply (it is cheaper to buy online if you plan to come)

• A soul music festival (for free) in the Tempelhof Ikea car park, with lots of acts (see here) , Friday through Monday. 
• Another music festival will be in Florakiez in Pankow: Unplugged music in the middle of the street, Fr through Su

• Also on all days of the weekend: Design Market in the Karlshorst Racing Tracks (Trabrennbahn Karlshorst)
• On Saturday, you can also check out the Vintage Kilo sale at Kühlhaus Berlin 

 

Museum Sunday

This Sunday is the first Sunday of the month, and this means: Many museums are free and there are events, workshops and guided tours. You can find the full list of events in the official website: 

https://www.museumssonntag.berlin/en

• Also - the FEZ is offering "Pixel Welten" at the weekend: an opportunity for the kids to get to put on VR sets or build stuff in maker workshops 

Autumn Festivals

This long weekend is not only about Germany Unity, but also full of coll autumn festival (yes, including some Oktoberfest parties): 

• Harvest Festivals and similar events : 

• The Pumpkin Festival in the Akazienstr in Schöneberg, Sa + Sunday, a lovely street party with stalls, entertainment, etc. 
• The Harvest Festival in Domaene Dahlem (Sa + Su) includes the opportunity to harvest your own pumpkin or potato and weigh them at the exit. 

• On Sunday, in the Naturschutzstation Hahneberg (10 am - 5 pm)

• Also on Sunday: Pumpkin Games in HNU - Haus Natur und Umwelt in the Wuhlheide 

• Harvest market with handmade items in Karl August Platz, on Sunday and Monday. 

• 

• The Botanical Gardens are offering an "Herbst-Rallye" through the grounds for kids on Sunday (at 2pm)
• The Fall Funfair continues, which includes amusement park facilities, game stands, food, music stages, etc. The entrance is free, the facilities cost money. At the Zentraler Festplatz, the price for the facilities is reduced on Wednesdays. Until October 9, on Wednesday-Sunday afternoons.

• This is still the time for some Oktoberfest, Berlin-style, e.g. at Revier Südost on Sat/Sun with special craft beer from Berlin

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur's Eve is on Tuesday, and the holiday is on Wednesday. All synagogues in Berlin (and Hillel) will hold services. 

And in a different religious setting: On Monday you can also visit several mosques in Berlin, as part of the Day of the Open Mosques (for more information)

The Events Map

Events for the Weekend, 23-25 September

I decided to give an English-language Berlimama a second chance, after numerous people* have approached me and asked what's up with the English version. It's a new (Jewish) year, so my New Year's resolution is to at least try to publish in English. Your decision, if you're an avid reader, is never let me give you up . 

Apple and Honey

As I have mentioned before, it's Jewish New Year at the weekend (starting Sunday evening). There are several public dinners (at Chabad, at Hillel), which seem to be fully-booked (though, you can always try, see below for Chabad in Alexanderplatz). 

Thankfully, we're in Berlin, so even if you're not Jewish or you've completely forgotten about New Year's, there's so much to do at the weekend. Coincidentally, much of it has to do with the tradition to eat lots of apples in the holiday. 

 

So, the city has already prepared a Rosh Hashanah atmosphere for us. For example, the apple and pumpkin festivals in Britz. Where in Britz? And why festivals in plural? Because the more, the merrier, right? 

• "Historical Apple Festival in Schloss Britz" - the festival is reminiscent of the medieval festivals that take place here in the Berlin area, with historical costumes, displays by artisans, but of course also food stalls, music, etc. Entrance fee (modest: 6 per adult, 3 per child) 

• The Apple and Pumpkin Festival at Britz Gardens - Saturday (from 6:00 p.m.)/Sunday (from 12:00 p.m.) with a display of apple and pumpkin varieties, food and entertainment stands, activity stations for children and more. Entrance with the usual payment to Britz Gardens ( details )

And a few similar events: 

• Harvest festival at the Vierfelderhof farm in the Gatow area on Sunday 

• Traditional Flower Festival at Späth'sche Baumschulen on Saturday/Sunday ( details )

• You can also celebrate with turnips - that's what they do in Teltow on Sunday, at the Teltower Rübchenfest 

• The Fall Funfair continues, which includes amusement park facilities, game stands, food, music stages, etc. The entrance is free, the facilities cost money. At the Zentraler Festplatz, the price for the facilities is reduced on Wednesdays. Until October 9, on Wednesday-Sunday afternoons.

42.195 km of Resolutions

The Berlin Marathon is one of the biggest marathons in the world (in terms of the number of participants, of course). 

• There are several events on the sidelines of the marathon—especially in the Brandenburg Gate area, where there is a "Hall of Fame" for the great marathoners ( details )

• On Saturday at 11:00 the "Bambini" race for children will take place in Templehofer Field ( details, registration is only possible on site with early arrival ) 

• The adult rollerblades started on Saturday (3:30 p.m.); The children at 11:30 ( details ), from Brandenburg Gate. 

• The marathon of the runners (and the wheelchairs) came out, and you can watch and cheer from the side of the track ( interactive map ). 

• And of course:the entire city centre is closed to vehicle traffic, obviously, most of the time. 

A Musical Weekend

The huge music festival is also taking place in Berlin this weekend. There is an activity corner for children as well as art corners, although there's some hefty entrance fee (details ). 

More music this weekend: 

• Jazz and soul music festival, free, in Kapnik (Schloßplatz) all weekend 

• Open day and "autumn festival" at the Friedrichshain Kreuzberg Music School on Saturday. (This is perhaps the opportunity to mention that there are several public music schools in all of the Bezirks, where – if you're lucky, and they have a slot – you can learn an instrument). Address: Zellestraße 12 10247 Berlin

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*    “Numerous”. To be honest: two. But two is already "numerous"! 

The event map