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What does a gorilla and a loaf of bread have in common? We asked Gorilla Bäckerei founders Frithjof Wodarg, Matteo Angioi and Marlon Briceño about the name behind their bakery in Schillerkiez. The seemingly odd moniker is in fact a homage to the striking metal gorilla statue that previous occupants Batman Elektronik had displayed outside their shop. Designed by interior architect and carpenter Mathilde Gaudin, Gorilla is a bright, open space that opened in December 2020. Full length windows flood the bakery with natural light, putting the handicrafts center stage and allowing customers to watch the full kitchen process.
When we visit, a child watches the loaves being made and one of the bakers smiles and tosses some flour at the window. The team are friendly, their internationality reflected in the well-crafted and diverse offerings: a selection of Romano pizzas, French breakfast pastries including brioche and croissants, plus coffee from Passenger. As for the bread, you can pick from a selection of classic round-form sourdough and well-crafted baguettes, with the nut loaf a particular favorite. And although the namesake gorilla has been taken away, in its place is a neighborhood bakery that is proving just as well-loved.
Text: Scarlett Peeters / Photos: Savannah van der Niet
Gorilla Bäckerei, Hermannstr.211, 12049 Berlin–Neukölln; map
Open Wed–Sun 8–17h for takeaway.
@gorilla_baeckerei
A lush oasis offering 1000 hectares of greenery to explore, Bucher Forst is home to woodlands, meadows, lakes and marshes all accessible via well-maintained, dog-friendly footpaths. The starting point for your countryside stroll is the town of Buch, 14km from Berlin’s center. This part of northern Pankow is known not for its nature, but its historic sanitoriums. Built between 1900 and 1920, the hospitals once made up one of the biggest medical sites in Europe and feature architecture from famed municipal planner Ludwig Hoffmann that survives to this day. A 20 minute walk from Berlin Buch station brings you to the forest’s main entrance – from there you can take any path you like for a short stroll or even an all-day hike through woodland that extends well into Brandenburg.
Part of Naturpark Barnim conservation area, Buch is home to 360 species of ferns and 66 species of breeding birds, and if you are lucky you might even spot highland cattle and Konik horses grazing the fields. For an alternative starting point, head straight from the village to the Bogensee lake (around 30 minutes on foot), which actually comprises three bodies of water that are home to water fowl, grey herons and, on summer evenings, bats. After some birdwatching on the viewing platform – where you will find a handy pictorial guide to the local ornithology – you can continue on a short loop around the lakes that brings you to the northern part of the forest where endless leafy footpaths await. Oh, and before you head back to the city, take a walk or drive past the former clinic buildings for a glimpse at Hoffmann’s majestic pavilions and columns. It’s the ideal way to wrap up a day of fresh air and tranquility.
Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Savannah van der Niet
Bucher Forst can be reached by car or with the S2 to Berlin Buch.
Ramen is the perfect lockdown food: culinarily far removed from Berlin and yet warming, hearty and (if you like) vegan. And while the city offers countless killer ramen dishes to take away, if you do fancy trying your hand at making it yourself you’ll find everything you need at MyConbini, the online shop for all things Japanese. Founder and self-described Japan fan Fabian Weingart modelled the Berlin-based website on the country’s all-hours convenience stores (konbini) that bring together a variety of everyday groceries in one place. Fabian’s thoughtfully-curated selection includes staples like Kewpie mayonnaise and bonito flakes as well as tofu, soy sauce and umeboshi, with sake and Japanese whisky for liquid accompaniment. Stylish ceramics and high-quality chopsticks complete the experience. Amongst this huge range of products are high-quality ingredients for homemade ramen: organic vegan or meat-based broth, roasted sesame seeds, seaweed, miso paste and, yes, noodles. The latter come frozen directly from Japan – perfect for a special ramen night in.
Text: Eva Biringer / Photos: Luka Marshall Johnson
MyConbini delivers throughout Germany.
@myconbinishop
With the cinemas closed, we are not just missing the physical experience of velvet upholstered armchairs and popcorn, but also the chance to discover international film releases outside the Hollywood mainstream. That’s why Neukölln’s Wolf Kino is now bringing arthouse cinema home with their virtual cinema platform Wolf in Space, which lets you stream a curated selection of small indie productions on your devices. Aus einem Jahr der Nichtereignisse (From a Year of Non-events) by Ann Carolin Renninger and René Frölke quietly portrays the everyday life of north German farmer Willi, while Lola Randl’s documentary Von Bienen und Blumen (The Bees and the Birds) tells the story of a post-capitalist utopia in rural Uckermark. Meanwhile, What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? from director Roberto Minervini follows the African-American community of Louisiana’s capital Baton Rouge, where unarmed Alton Sterling was killed by police in 2016. All three films offer unique tellings of different realities, provoking thought and conversation like only well-curated indie cinema can. The films can be rented for a fee or, if you are a member of Wolf, enjoyed as part of your subscription.
Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Credit: Cottonbro & Claudia Schramke for Wolf Kino / Film poster: Aus einem Jahr der Nichtereignisse, Von Bienen und Blumen, What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?, Ama-San, Tempo Comum & Dijon Àfrica
You can find the complete Wolf in Space streaming program online. All films are offered with English subtitles.
How can theater respond to current shifts – and not just those caused by the pandemic? Offering an answer is the Volksbühne, whose upcoming online performance of Anthropos, Tyrann dares to retell a classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles by employing an entirely new mode of performance. Director Alexander Eisenach has joined forces with the Theatre of the Anthropocene at the Humboldt University to create an interactive, digital home viewing experience that transports you to the stage. The streaming platform lets you move the camera angle across a 360 degree axis, panning from the ceiling to the stage floor.
The result is profoundly intimate, with Eisenach’s cast members following the camera around and speaking directly to you on the other side of the screen. The play itself is constantly in flux: performers enter into dialogue with a changing lineup of projection screens that occupy a shifting stage set, while Eisenach’s script places Sophocles’s tragedy in a current context, proving it has lost none of its relevance. The work tells the story of a man who gradually and ponderously recognizes the finiteness of the planet and his own existence. This metaphorical narrative is successfully combined with the innovative medium to hold a mirror up to us in a surprisingly unsentimental way.
Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Credit: Volksbühne Anthropos, Tyrann (Ödipus) von Alexander Eisenach nach Sophokles photographed by Thomas Aurin
Anthropos, Tyrann by Alexander Eisenach based on Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex: a Volksbühne / Theatre of the Anthropocene co-production.
Tickets for the 360 live performance on 01.03.2021 can be booked on streaming service Dringeblieben.
@volksbuehne_berlin
ANMELDUNG