Monday 18 May 2009

prater theatre and café






for quite a while they've been refurbishing the prater theatre, next door to the prater beer garden and restaurant. the stage is being used by the ensemble of berlin's volksbühne, one of the most progressive in town. their productions tend to be experimental, pretty much in-your-face theatre. to my knowledge, they don't do english surtitles (as some of the other berlin theatres do on certain days), so you'll need a bit of german. that being said, you could of course simply skip the theatre business altogether and just sit in their funky lobby-cum-café, or - if the sun's out - out on the pavement on one of the café's cool benches, sip your latte and watch the crowd on kastanienallee.

check out their website here (only partly in english).

find it on kastanienallee 7-9, 10435 berlin (prenzlauer berg), phone (box office) 030-44 35 18 27, box office open daily 12.00-18.00 h, shows start at different times, check their website here

+++ UPDATE: THE PRATER CAFE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT. WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT'S OPEN AGAIN (state of play, spring 2010) +++

14 comments:

Mellow Morning said...

A nice cafe, i love the windows!

Chiara Ulivi said...

Oh Kristina! This is really gorgeous :)) Lovely place... and doubtless beautiful photos!!!
(the benches are really cool!)
Kisses.

Susanne said...

I love this style of cafés...and mainly the benches are great! Next time I visit Berlin I will drink a coffee there ;-)!
greeting
Susanne

Polly said...

This sounds like a great place. I've only known Prater as theme park in Vienna, does the word mean anything?

kristina - no penny for them said...

hi polly, yes, the prater in vienna is much more famous. initially i was puzzled too and wondered if there was a connection. apparently there isn't apart from the name as such. the word 'prater' supposedly comes from latin 'pratum' (meadow) or spanish 'prado'. in the beginning, the berlin prater wasn't much more than a shed selling beer in an area of town that was still very green. not anymore... but the big old chestnut trees are still there!

malo said...

i love that interior with the benches and the big wooden tables. Berlin seems like such a cool city.

Ida/FarEastLogbook said...

Oh, that second to last pictures with the arrow and big wooden table is to die for! LOVE it!!

et lille oejeblik - a little moment said...

the lobby cafe is gorgeous! looks amazing!

Amy said...

I have to tell you, reading this has sent us to our Wallpaper* City Guide Berlin to try and find a hotel for the weekend of 12-14 June.....

carles Comella said...

Interesant blog.

Guusje said...

looks friendly and cosy. Prater means 'someone who talks' in Dutch. Nice name!

desperate.viz said...

I found your blog through chiara.u's blog (thanks chiara, by the way)
I am in love with Berlin!
I've been there for christmas 2008 and I can't wait going back some day... I hope for living

check out some Kantstrasse food musts here:
http://cooking-it-staff.blogspot.com/2009/01/berlin-food-guide.html

see you soon!

kristina - no penny for them said...

dear all, thanks so much for all your comments - i love to know what you think!

@ guusje: i love that idea :) that's a nice combination anyway, sitting outside with friends, having a drink, something to eat and time to talk...

@ desperate houseviz: thanks for coming round and your suggestions - glad you like berlin, so do i!

Palmer and Co said...

I could see us being a regular there! Great vibe!

a berlin blog of the more personal sort.

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also take a look at my other blog no penny for them.

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