Cee Cee is a weekly email magazine with hand-selected recommendations for Berlin and beyond. Every now and then you’ll find paid posts as part of the newsletter, marked as “Sponsored Posts”. Subscribe here to receive Cee Cee every Thursday and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more tips!
page-template-startpages
Magic John’s has made New York-style pizza its speciality. Walk in and you are greeted by two scaffold-style displays where you can watch chefs lock and load the pizzas before you make your choice, either mixing and matching slices or going for the full pie. Israeli-born owner Jonathan Margulies moved to New York at the age of thirteen, where among other things (art school, delivering pizza, eating pizza) he opened restaurants with his brother Shaul Margulies (now co-owner of House of Small Wonder). After moving to Berlin in 2004, it’s not the big smoke he misses, but the pizza, and on the menu you’ll find classic Margherita, Truffle (white sauce, portobello, truffled ricotta and parsley) and Butternut (vegan option with squash, sesame sauce and caramelised onion) plus an olive-packed pizza that was a daily fixture in Margulies’ childhood diet (a pepperoni-decked option is on the way). Chase your cheesy slice with local Kombucha by Roy or beer by Motel. There are a couple of seats, but Magic John’s is intended to be eaten on-the-go, in a New York minute. (Text: Scarlett Peeters / Photos: Savannah van der Niet)
Magic John’s, Oranienburger Str.48, 10117 Berlin–Mitte; map
Open Daily 12–23h for eat in and takeaway (delivery coming soon). Call 030 91570700 to order ahead.
@mmmagicjohns
Every day seems to bring another landmark political change, and so why not take a break from the current madness and explore the big moments from the past? The Hannah Arendt and the Twentieth Century exhibition at the Deutsches Historisches Museum tells the story of the last century through one of its great political thinkers. A German Jew who fled the Nazis, Arendt came to academic prominence amidst the ruins of wartime totalitarianism – a fact that shaped her life’s work. The exhibition includes Arendt’s responses to critical post-war points, like the student protests of the 1960s and the civil rights movement, which are still relevant now. But it’s her writings on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust that, while controversial, have had the most enduring influence, transforming how we understand the nature of evil. Interspersed between the mostly chronological exhibits are video clips from Arendt’s 1964 TV interview with Günter Gaus in which she talks about being German, Jewish and – by then – American with spellbinding eloquence. It’s a real pleasure to watch, and is the highlight of an exhibition in which you encounter a thinker whose work – on politics, morality and identity – can be a guide for today. (Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: DHM/Thomas Bruns, © Fred Stein Archive, Stanfordville, New York)
Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden 2, 10117 Berlin–Mitte; map
Hannah Arendt and the Twentieth Century runs until 18.10.2020
Open daily 10–20h. From 10–17h and all day on Thursday a pre-booked online ticket is required. Check the website for Corona restrictions.
@dhmberlin
I love the feeling of getting away from the city trap for a few hours by taking a walk across the woods. In the summer months I like to go and have a picnic in the green area that surrounds Teufelsberg – literally “Devil’s Mountain” – a man-made hill built with rubble on top of an unfinished Nazi military college. During the Cold War, it became a U.S. listening station. Nowadays, it remains a public monument where you find many works of graffiti, a photography gallery, and the incredible architecture of the old spy towers. Located in Grunewald out west, the site is the perfect day trip to escape from the city and has become one of my favourite spots, blending art, history and a great view of the Berlin skyline. Teufelsberg can be visited for a small entrance fee, with the option to book a guided tour online. (Text: Alicia Ferrer / Photos: Alicia Ferrer & Helena Ferrer)
Alicia, who has her heart in Spain but feet in Berlin, is co-founder of Grüneo.
Teufelsberg, Teufelsseechaussee, 14055 Berlin–Grunewald; map
Summer is almost here – and it’s time to show your colors! We’ve been fans of Gitti nail polish for a while: with wonderful matte colors from sage green to berry red, the formula is hailed as natural and vegan. Behind the brand is Jennifer Baum-Minkus, who had the simple but brilliant idea to revolutionize nail polish. Conventional polishes use ingredients which are claimed to have negative health effects, and Gitti offers an alternative, environmentally-conscious version. Now, under the motto “Creating the Change Together”, Jenni has joined forces with Caroline Gentz and Christopher Deckert from Ivy & Oak. The Berlin-based label has been offering minimalist fashion for women online since 2016, and now you can match the Spring/Summer 2020 collection with a Gitti nail polish in three colors. The Super Pink, Mandarin and Toffee shades are a fitting counterpart to your new Ivy & Oak buys, making this the summer of the perfect color palette. (Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Photos: Linda Ambrosius & Gitti)
We are giving away three essentials sets from Gitti featuring one of the new colors plus a base & top coat. To be in with a chance just send us an email with your name and Instagram.
Creating the Change Together: Gitti x Ivy & Oak
You can order the collection from Gitti, the Ivy & Oak online shop and instore.
Ivy & Oak, Münzstr.22, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
@gittibeauty
@ivyoakstories
Courtesy of theater collective Raum+Zeit, you can now experience Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella “Der Tod in Venedig” (“Death in Venice”) in contemporary Berlin. With the audio from Theaterdiscounter playing through your headphones, you can walk through Corona-era Mitte accompanied by the thoughts of the book’s main character, the cholera-plagued artist Gustav von Aschenbach. The starting point for the audio walk is the Nikolaiviertel, a hidden array of cobbled streets behind Alexanderplatz. The nature of your trip with Aschenbach quickly becomes clear as the ageing and bad-tempered poet mocks the pseudo-historical, touristy surroundings you see around you. The story continues with original quotations and new set pieces as you head down the Spree past the Mühlendammschleuse and towards the Klosterkirche. Aschenbach’s fixation – the young Tadzio – belongs to the past but the poet’s disparaging judgments about the people and places around him are richly topical. For this reason alone it is worth following him for 30 minutes. (Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Savannah van der Niet)
“Tod in Venedig” Audio Walk by Thomas Mann (in German), produced by Raum+Zeit
Starting point: St. George Monument, Propststr.9 by the Spree, 10178 Berlin–Mitte, map
Instructions and the route can be found here.
The audio walk is free, donations are welcome.
@theaterdiscounter