How to Survive Winter
in Berlin
How are you surviving winter in Berlin? The good news is we’ve made it over the hump. Only five weeks left! February usually goes by in a flash, but this is a leap year. Will the extra day make it feel longer?
If you need some ideas to get through the rest of these cold winter days, read our guide to surviving winter in Berlin.
Get Outside!
Are you kidding? The last thing we want to do on a cold winter day is leave the comfort of our snuggly duvets, and you’re telling me to go outside? Yes! That fresh winter air is invigorating and will make your complexion glow.
Here’s a challenge — the Berlin Half Marathon takes place on April 5, 2020. If you dust off those running shoes today, there just might be enough time to train for it.
Not a runner? How about a whirl around the rink? Ice skating is a great cardiovascular activity and it’s so much fun! This article on Berlin for all the Family, lists the best outdoor and indoor ice rinks in Berlin.
Start a New Exercise Routine!
Okay, you don’t have to be outside in the icy Berlin air to get your endorphins pumping. Indoor exercise works just as well. There are so many different gyms in Berlin, some of them (FitX, McFIT and John Reed) are even open 24-hours, so there’s really no excuse not to go!
Those who like a smaller, more boutique-like setting would enjoy the spinning classes, barre classes, and yoga classes offered at BECYCLE, a chic boutique fitness studio on Brunnenstrasse in Mitte. Alternatively, check out Chimosa, another small fitness studio in Mitte with a mix of yoga, kick-boxing, and martial arts.
If you’re not really sure what’s best for you, sign on with Urban Sports Club, where various membership levels offer you access to most of the gyms, fitness studios, dance studios, yoga studios, and other venues for working out across Berlin. Challenge yourself to try a new class every few days until you find your thing.
Go to a Spa
Once you get your exercise routine down, you deserve a trip to the spa. Vabali and Liquidrom are the biggies, but Berlin is home to plenty of little hidden-away oases where you can treat yourself to a massage or relax for a while in a warm sauna.
Hamam is a beautiful Turkish bathhouse (for women only) in Kreuzberg, with a menu of traditional spa treatments and an inviting Ottoman-style setting. Saunabad is another lovely little hideaway tucked behind an unassuming Prenzlauer Berg apartment building facade.
Get Cultured
Now you should be glowing inside and out and feeling ready to hit the town. Winter in Berlin is the perfect time to go see an opera, catch a concert at the philharmonic, or go to the movies.
A production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is playing at Deutsche Oper Berlin in English with English and German subtitles.
While Komische Oper Berlin is staging several repertoire classics (Don Giovanni, La Traviata, and Rigoletto) with English subtitles.
Not so into opera? There are tons of great films out right now — many shown in original language, or with English subtitles at theaters like Kino in der Kulturbrauerei and Cinestar Cubix am Alexanderplatz, which started screening more movies in English after the CineStar at the Sony Center closed last year.
Also, tickets go on sale February 17 for the Berlinale — one of the most accessible film festivals in the world. Check out the program.
What are you doing to survive winter in Berlin?
There are so many ways to not only survive but to thrive during winter in Berlin. What are you doing? Trying a new hobby? Starting a new class? Joining a choir? Maybe you’re making an effort to invite friends over for dinner more often, or joining a new group to meet new people. We’d love to know what you love to do most in Berlin during these cold winter months. Connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
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Archer Relocation has been providing relocation services to families, individuals and companies in Berlin since early 2015. Managing Director, Emily Archer, founded the company desiring to use her first-hand experience as an expat to make the relocation process as smooth as possible for others moving to Berlin. Read other useful information about moving to and living in Berlin, such as ‘How to Find a Berlin Apartment’, on our Berlin Blog.
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