Events for Families in Berlin, October 23 - 25th , 2015

Halloween is Coming!

Halloween is only next week, but there are already some events planned. 

• The Botanical Gardens invite children and their parents to a big Halloween festival on Sunday (11 - 6 pm) . There will be pumpkins, puppet theatre (in German), crafts, games, make-up etc. Admission fees apply. Further details here. 

• The FEZ is also getting ready for Halloween, with a "scary" weekend. Address: Straße zum FEZ 2, 12459 Berlin ; Transport: Tram 63, 27 or 67 to Freizeit- und Erholungszentrum or S3 Train to Wuhlheide. Admission applies. 

Halloween and Autumn Holiday in the FEZ

Other Events

• Guided Tour for kids in the Zoo Aquarium on Friday, 6:15 pm 

Guided Tour in the Zoo Aquarium

• Friday until 5 pm and Saturday 10 to 6 pm: musical instruments market at the Konzerhaus, part of the Early Music festival. Free entry for kids. 

• Family Day at Haus am Waldsee, Sat 2 - 5 pm , for kids aged 4 to 12 

• Autumn Tour (in German) for kids in the Britzer Gardens (details) 

• A Wine Festival in Pankow (in the intersection of Breite and Berliner Str., about 10 minutes walk from the Pankow Train Station), on Friday afternoon, Sat/Sun. Also: street food market at the Kulturbrauerei on Sunday

About Me

I offer tours in Berlin as well as write about the city as well as published several books and articles in general. I am always free for writing gigs - travel writing or any other types of writing and research - or of course to show you the wonderful city I live in. Contact Me. 

Events for Families in Berlin, 16 - 18 October, 2015

ID Festival

The ID Festival for Israeli art in Berlin is not designed for families, but could be very attractive for anyone interested in contemporary Israeli art, especially within the small Israeli Community here in Berlin.

ID Festival

In Radialsystems V

ID Festival

Other Events

• The FEZ prepares for Halloween, with a scary weekend for the whole family.  Address: Straße zum FEZ 2, 12459 Berlin ; Transport: Tram 63, 27 or 67 to Freizeit- und Erholungszentrum or S3 Train to Wuhlheide. Admission applies. 

FEZ scary weekend

• Guided Tour for kids in the Zoo Aquarium on Friday, 6:15 pm 





Guided Tour in the Zoo Aquarium

• Autumn festival in the Gardens of the World in Marzahn, Sunday 12-4pm (info)

Autumn Festival in the Gardens of the World

• Oktoberfest at the Zentraler Festplatz till Sunday the 18th 

• Breakfast market at Markthalle IX on Sunday, and a street food market in the Kulturbrauerei on Sunday

Breakfast Market, Markthalle IX 

About Me

I offer tours in Berlin as well as write about the city as well as published several books and articles in general. I am always free for writing gigs - travel writing or any other types of writing and research - or of course to show you the wonderful city I live in. Contact Me. 

Events for Families in Berlin, 9 - 11 October 2015

The Long Night of the Families

All over the city, family centres and providers of culture for children will offer interesting activities:

• http://www.familiennacht.de/ 

Some of the activities will be in parallel to - or together with - "Children Cultural Month": 

• http://kinderkulturmonat.de/de/programm-2015 

Other Interesting Events

• The Festival of Lights, will start this weekend (till October 18th) 

• Evening tour through the Aquarium, Friday from 6:15 pm

Guided Tour through the Aquarium

• Ninjago Days in the Legoland Discovery Centre in Sony Centre (info) 

• Model Transport Days at the FEZ, under the title  "Autos, Schiffe, Eisenbahnen – Alles rund um den Modellbau". Further info in their website.  Address: Straße zum FEZ 2, 12459 Berlin (Trams: 27, 63 or 67 or S3 to Wuhlheide. Admission: EUR 3 per person or EUR 10 per families (with discounts for welfare recipients) , in German. 

• Family day in Haus am Waldsee (Sat, 2-5 pm) 

• Philharmonie concerts for kids, Sunday 2:30 and 5 pm 

• Children's Day at the Musical Instruments Museum , Sunday from 12:00 

• Run from the Charlottenburg Palace , including a children run 

• Autumn festival at the Insel , Sunday from 12:00 

• Vegan market in the Treptow Arena 

שוק טבעוני בטרפטו

About Me

I offer tours in Berlin as well as write about the city as well as published several books and articles in general. I am always free for writing gigs - travel writing or any other types of writing and research - or of course to show you the wonderful city I live in. Contact Me. 

Events for Families in Berlin, 2 - 4 October 2015 including Simchat Tora

Day of German Unity

On October 3rd, 1990, the parliaments of East and West Germany voted for re-unification of the country. Since then, the date is a national holiday, symbilising this unity. 

• There is always a big free party in Brandenburger Tor and since this year marks the 25th anniversary, even more so. 

• The German Historical Museum (DHM) always opens for free on this day, with many activities (mostly in German)

• Another highlight of the day is the "Open Doors' Day", organised by the Sendung mit der Maus. All kinds of organisations, government offices, interesting private businesses present kids with their work. Most of the places are already overbooked, but you can find the listing here and perhaps try to squeeze yourself. Activity in German, details in: http://www.wdrmaus.de/tuer_oeffner_tag/2015/index.php5

Sukkoth and Simchat Torah in Berlin

If you're not Jewish (or into Jewish events in Berlin), feel free to skip further. This blog was supposed to be an English version of my private blog and given who I am, I will list Jewish events, even if the community here is small and most potential readers will skip this part :-)  

October 5th is Simchat Torah this year - the celebration of restarting the weekly Parasha from the beginning - Genesis, Bereshit. 

The holiday is adjecnt to Sukkoth, which is still happenning. On Friday, Oct 2nd, from 4pm, you can participate in a special Kabbalat Shabbat in the Sukkah at the Rykestrasse Synagogue. I could not understand if it is only donation based or you must register in advance.

On Sunday, Oct 4th, Rabbi Josh Spinner from the Kehal Adass Jisroel, will celebrate with Todanke (details and registration)

And finally, on Monday, October 5th. Bambinim will celebrate Simchat Torah in the Fraenkerufer. (info)

Picture: From the Todanke event

More Events

• A pumpkin festival (Kürbisfest) in Akazienstr in Schoeneberg on Saturday and Sunday

• Kite competition in Tempelhofer Feld, Friday through Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 am (details) . On Sunday, there is also a "Potato Festival" in the community garden in the Neukoelln side. 

Kites in Tempelhof (picture: the organisers)

• FEZ organise an educational games festival (Sat 1 - 7 pm; Sun 12 am - 6 pm). Address: Straße zum FEZ 2, 12459 Berlin (Trams: 27, 63 or 67 or S3 to Wuhlheide. Free admission , in German. 

educational games in FEZ

• October is "KinderKulturMonat" and you can participate in a variety of events for kids in cultural institutions - full programme  , in German

Children Cultural Month

• Other cultural events include a guided tour for families in the Marble Palace in Potsdam (details) and in Charlottenburg Palace (details), both on Sunday , in German

With the dragon in the Marble Palace

• Also: Children activity in the Mondrian Exhibition in Martin Gropius  (in German), details 

• For transport fans: bike and vespa parade, Saturday, 12:00, in Winterfeldplatz

About Me

I offer tours in Berlin as well as write about the city as well as published several books and articles in general. I am always free for writing gigs - travel writing or any other types of writing and research - or of course to show you the wonderful city I live in. Contact Me. 

The High Holidays in Berlin: Activities, Feasts and More!

For those of you who feel the need to get an apology for me (Yom Kippur and all), there is one about the lack of time in the bottom of the page. Not really an interesting piece, so in small print... 

However, most of you are here because you're interested in celebrating the High Holidays of 2014 in Berlin, so here's the information. 

* * * 

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah will begin this year on the evening of September 24th and will end on September 26th. All of the synagogues and temples in Berlin will offer Rosh Hashanah services. Usually one does not have to coordinate the visit or pay for a seat, but it is going to be pretty tight. 

Before the holiday, there will be several activities, mostly for children. On September 21st, Bambinim will offer the show  "Liat empfängt das neue Jahr" (in German 3 pm, Fürstenwalder Str, for a fee); the same show will be offered in Hebrew on the 22nd in Brandenburgische Str (5 pm). 

The beginning of the year also marks the beginning of the activities of two Israeli youth movements in Berlin. HaShomer HaTzair will offer activities in German (with a little Hebrew); will the Hebrew Scouts (text in Hebrew) will offer activities in Hebrew. Both will lounch this Sunday with a respective Rosh Hashanah party and will continue to be active on Sundays throughout the year. Activities are for second graders and older kids. 

Hashomer Hatzair (click to enlarge and get the details)

Holiday Meals 

 From the Feinberg Invitation

There will also be some communal Rosh Hashanah dinners on September 24th

• Chabad Alexanderplatz (Hebrew) , 6:45 pm, limited space; registration closes on September 17th (registration form)

• Feinberg's will offer a meal at 7 pm with a variety of salats and meats in a buffet (information and registration via Facebook)

• Also at 7 pm, a meal at Shiloh, Keren Shachar's wonderful vegetarian on Torstr. (Facebook info)

• Milo in the Western Chabad House will offer the meal at 8 pm, details on the poster (click to enlarge) 

How lucky are Todanke? Rosh Hashanah is this year during their regular day, Thursday! They will offer a party for the kids that will include storytime, activities and the big attraction - Shofar blowing. Further information 

Bambinim in West Berlin (Brandenburgische Str) will also hold a Rosh Hashanah party, starting at 4 pm, on September 26th

from Bambinim

Yom Kippur 

Yom Kippur will take place between October 3rd in the evening and will end by the evening of October 4th. You can find services for Yom Kippur in all synagogues and temples in Berlin , expect it to be pretty tight. 

A break fast meal will be offered at the Milo kosher restaurant at the West Berlin Chabad House, at 7:45 pm. Details in the image (click to enlarge):

Bambinim (in Brandenburgische Str) will offer a Yom Kippur even for children and families on October 5th. 

Picture by Bambinim

Sukkot

On October 6th, Bambinim will start (in Brandenburgische Str) to decorate the Sukkah. Bambinim will also offer a summer camp to children who have a Sukkot holiday from school/kita. 

Bambinim will celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah on October 17th in Friedrichshain 

Picture : Bambinim

Due apology: I started to update this blog and translate what I publish in the Hebrew blog. This, however, is a mammoth task that I unfortunately cannot find the time to do every week! I hope I will have more time soon, once the tourist season will calm down. However, having said that - there are so many nice activities for the High Holidays, I decided to translate my Hebrew article on the subject. I hope this also means I will re-start to publish here as well as the Hebrew blog.

Events in Berlin for this Weekend, 20 - 22 June

Friday

Today in the afternoon, you can join Hebrew/German afternoon activity at Bambinim West (Brandenburgische Str), with Inbar Yemini.

Also on this Friday, the "Kinderfest" at the Humboldt University. The event includes all kinds of "academic" activities for children, including a robot stand, a place where you can learn how animals talk and much more.
HU Children Fest, Friday from 3 pm. Main Building, Unter den Linden 6 (Bus 100/200: Staatsoper ; S/U/Tram to Friedrichstrasse)

Saturday: CSD Berlin

Christopher Street Day is the German name for the Pride Parade demonstration for LGTBI rights (after the name of the street where the Stonewall Riots started). The Parade in Berlin has never been blamed of being too prude or modest, so it is left for your consideration, whether or not to participate with your kids: it might has an education value.
CSD Parade, Saturday, from 12:30 from Olivaer Platz to the Victory Column.

Besides, have you seen the nice Google dedication to the day?

Saturday: Fete de la Musique

However, there is another huge event this Saturday! The Fete de la Musique is originally a French event, but Berlin also celebrates it in the past 20 years. Artists - some of them well known like the Element of Crime - perform for free from Saturday afternoon. There is also a specific programme for children, although kids can of course also come to all other gigs. The full programme can be searched by venue, Bezirk or type of event (e.g., for kids)

Also on Saturday

• A street fair on Eosanderstr. 13, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the local puppet theatre. 

• Summer fair also at the Archenhold Observatory, with children programme that includes rocket building and other cool activities. 

• The Victoria Football Club organises a tournament for children. Anyone can join, but has to register in advance (details) 

• The Open Day at the Tagesspiegel newspaper includes lots of children events, like a scavenger hunt, crafts, and more. 

Sunday

• Cooking  class for kids at Bambinim West 

• A swim of 750 m between Gatow and Schildhorn in Grunewald, based on a Medieval Legend. 
• Also on Saturday: crafts for the whole family and building puppets at the Figurentheater Grasshüpfer in Treptow. 

German French Fair 

The fairgrounds in Kurt Schumacher Damm host this funfair, which includes a Ferris Wheel, rides, stands and lots of crepes with Nutella. 

Fair: from June 20th till July 20th, every day. Wednesday is family day with reduction on the rides. 

Events for Families this Long-Weekend, June 6th - 9th

Is it only me, or are there more long weekends since I have started this blog?

Today - 20th Anniversary of the Children Adventure Playgrounds

There are several dozen specially supervised playgrounds in Berlin, called, Abenteuerspielplätze, where staff offers children activities, sometimes also operates a small children club or a kiddie farm. One of the associations of such places, AKIB, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the Tempelhofer Feld with activities for kids.
Place: Temperlhofer Feld (U Platz der Luftbrücke, Paradenstr etc)
When : Friday, 3-6 pm
Further details: free, AKIB's website


Today/Tomorrow: Last Chance to See the Terracotta Army

Who knew? Few artefacts from the Terracotta Army were brought to the Gesundbrunnen Shopping Centre, and are on display there, for free, until Saturday.

Friday - Monday: Carnival of Cultures

The main events of the Carnival of Cultures (Karneval-der-Kulturen-der-Welt) are divided into three:

First, there is a big street party (Friday-Monday) on Blücherplatz in Kreuzberg, which includes lots of music and dance acts from different cultural heritages, food stands and even a few rides.

The second main event is a Children Procession (Saturday) from Mariannenplatz in Kreuzberg to Görlitzer Park, followed by a special children event in the park.

The third event is the largest, a huge carnival procession (Sunday), from Hermannplatz to Yorckstraße.

If you have never been to the carnival, I recommend. However, please note - this might be the most crowded event in Berlin. Lots of people come to see the procession, and seriously - mind your belongings (wallet, mobile phone etc) and your kids (not in that order), both will easily get lost or trumped by the crowds.

Friday-Monday: Street party in Blücherplatz in Kreuzberg  (U Mehringdamm or U Hallesches Tor), all day long, for free
Saturday: Children Procession, begins in Mariannenplatz at 1:30 pm (U Kotbusser Tor or S Ostbahnhof), continues to an event in Görlitzer Park from 3 till 6 pm.
Sunday : The Main Carnival Procession, a big parade from U Hermannplatz through to Yorckstrasse, including the whole street between. Parade begins at 12:30, but it is so huge, last trucks will probably arrive to the Yorckstrasse station by 6 or 7.

Further Fairs and Street Events

There are several other fairs and street events in Berlin this weekend.

Steglitzer Festwoche 

This fair will close on Monday, with fireworks on Saturday. Open every day, for free.

Where: Krahmerstraße 12207, Berlin (S Lichterfelde Ost or bus M85 to Krahmerstr./Stockweg )

Steglitzer Festwoche

The Happy Helle Mitte 

Open Fri - Mon, all day, for free.

Where: Alice-Solomon-Platz (near S/U Hellersdorf)

Hellersdorf Celebrates

German Russian Festival

This festival has all kinds of music and folklore acts, as well as food , On Fri-Sun, for free.

Where:: Pferdesportpark Karlshorst, Treskowallee 129 10318 Berlin (S Karlshorst)

Pankow Jazz Festival

Mostly Jazz acts, on Sat - Mon, admission fee  is EUR 5 for adults

Where: Bürgerpark Pankow  (M1 till Bürgerpark Pankow).


Malzwiese

Crafts activities, shows in an old malt factory, just behind Ikea Tempelhof, for free - on Saturday only

Where: Malzfabrik, Bessemerstr. 2-14 12103 Berlin (S Südkreuz)

Tinti Pool Party

A heat wave is expected and perhaps the pool is the best place to be on such a day. The Tinti bath products company will run its pool party for kids in the Humboldthain Summer Pool (admission fee: to the pool)

Where: Humboldthain Summer Pool (S Humboldthain)

Monday: Open Mill Day

Have you always been curious, to see how meal and other milled products are being made? The Open Mill Day enables you to visit the Marzahn Mill, the Britz Mill and other traditional mills, e.g. in the Technical Museum.


Further Activities and Events

In Oranienburg and in Potsdam, you will find two medieval fairs (both with admission fees).

You can also see the events suggested by the wonderful Berlin For All The Family Blog, which has a slightly different selection than mine. Next week, if I may already reveal, they are running a family picnic in Friedrichshain...