A NEW SPIN ON TENNIS: TRY THE LAID-BACK RACKET SPORT AT PICKLEBALL COLLECTIVE

What happens when you take a badminton court, ping-pong equipment and tennis-style scoring and put them together? The answer is a sport you’ve no doubt heard a few people mention: pickleball. Developed in America in the 1960s, this low-stakes racket sport has been making waves in Berlin this past year, thanks mostly to the players at Pickleball Collective. The project was launched by friends Lotti and Max in 2023 to popularize this laid back, social – and disruptive – take on tennis. The key to its popularity is its accessibility: unlike tennis, which requires more formal training, pickleball beginners can jump straight in and start rallying within minutes. You can do just that at the collective’s open play sessions – held at outdoor courts in Alt-Treptow, a sports hall in Moabit and, since August 2025, a dedicated center in Mariendorf (which also offers padel, a related racket sport). The open sessions offer relaxed back-and-forth, though if you prefer structure the group offers training sessions for abilities ranging from newbie to natural. Whether you’re playing to win or just want to meet new people, the ball is in your court…

Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Pickleball Collective

Pickleball Collective sessions can be booked on the website or through Urban Sports Club.

Treptow outdoor courts, Heidelberger str.90, 12345 Berlin–Alt-Treptow; map

Moabit indoor courts, Turmstr.85B, 10559 Berlin–Moabit; map

Padel & Pickleball Center,Großbeerenstr.2–10, 12107 Berlin–Mariendorf; map

@pickleball.collective

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Culture, Medienpartnerschaft

IN SPIRIT OF YOKO ONO: RINGING BELLS FOR PEACE AT THE NEUE NATIONALGALERIE

What does peace sound like? For artist Yoko Ono, it’s the interplay of bells swelling into a bright chorus. Throughout her life’s work, Ono has returned, again and again, to the theme of peace. As a young girl, she and her mother fled Tokyo during the Second World War; in the 1960s, she spoke out against the Vietnam War; and today she protests Russian aggression in Ukraine. Her performance, Bells for Peace, first presented in Manchester in 2019, is a moving call for peace and understanding. The participatory work recalls the ringing of bells on 11.11.1918, with the Armistice ending the First World War acoustically marked across Europe and the United States. This Sunday, at the closing event of her exhibition Dream Together at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Ono invites Berliners to join the ringing of bells and believe together in a better future.

Anyone who would like to join is invited to the museum terrace on 14.09.2025 at 16h45 to ring together for peace. At the 2019 premiere, 4,000 handcrafted ceramic bells (each engraved specially for the occasion) sounded, accompanied by the powerful resonance of a giant Buddhist bell and antique church bells. It’s best to bring your own bell or chime on Sunday, as few will be available at the Neue Nationalgalerie — but the museum will keep a supply ready so that Ono’s polyphonic chorus of bells can be heard across the Tiergarten. In times like these, it’s an act that feels especially fitting.

Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Iain Macmillan & David von Becker / Credit: Yoko Ono; Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Terrace of Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str.50, 10785 Berlin–Tiergarten; map

Closing performance by Yoko Ono as part of Perform! 2025 – The fourth annual performance festival during Berlin Art Week. Yoko Ono: Bells for Peace (2019/2025) 14.09.2025. Free admission.

@neuenationalgalerie

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Events

FILMS, FESTIVALS & EARLY MORNINGS: EXTEND SUMMER WITH CEE CEE’S CALENDAR TIPS

That mood between seasons. Transitioning from summer me to autumn me is a process. If you’re not quite there yet, join in and hold on to summer a little longer: with old movies, young festivals, nights in galleries, and Mediterranean snacks that will never taste the same again. It’s no secret that this week is all about art: over 100 exhibition venues and museums inviting you to Art Week give it away. Another highlight is Gallery Night: 48 galleries from Gallery Weekend Berlin will be opening their doors until late on Thursday (11.09). Artists on display include Irina Jasnowski Pascual at Galerie Noah Klink and Lee Bae and Tauba Auerbach at Esther Schipper. Not far from the Neukölln waterfront, something called Medi Pop-up is taking place: for two evenings (12–13.09), Teresa Mahler and the GAP collective are transforming Bar Sway in Neukölln into a small Mediterranean oasis.

On the plates: salty cheese, late-summer pasta, colorful salads, comforting polenta, and a tiramisu that defies all traditional recipes. Serving starts at 17h, and you can eat as long as supplies last — no reservations, just drop by. To stay in the picture: September brings a breath of fresh air to the warm summer. On Saturday (13.09), the Albe Kollektiv takes over the Weiße Rose in Schöneberg and turns it into a one-day festival. From afternoon until midnight, you can expect an open program on a donation basis – with new sounds ranging from indie, pop, and electro-punk rap (featuring Kayla, Toyfish and Gebrüder Krach, among others), exhibitions by Lette graduates, creative workshops, vegetarian tacos (from a Borchardt chef), and summer garden vibes. If you don’t know where to go yet, Volkspark Friedrichshain is always worth a stroll. For its own sake – but also to get to the other side. Politically active and almost spared by the war, the Filmtheater am Friedrichshain has shaped the neighborhood since 1925. Since 1997, it has shown European arthouse and independent films from the USA, as well as school programs. This weekend (13–14.09), the legendary cinema on Hufelandstraße is celebrating its 100th birthday with an anniversary program and special admission prices: all films cost five euros. Live music in the summer garden, a FaF flea market, a poster bazaar, an exhibition, and a short film about the history of cinema are all on the program. Those who dare can take part in the Meryl Streep lookalike contest. During the anniversary month, neighborhood films such as Berlin, Ecke Bötzow and Winsstraße will also be shown. Speaking of sacred halls: for Croissant Session No. 04, Cee Cee will be heading to Westberlin next Saturday (20.09), once the community center of St. Agnes Church, now a café and cultural venue. Together with Coffee Week Berlin and FOMO Berlin, Cee Cee invites you to a morning of fine coffee and good company. There will also be live sets by Luca Nova and SvP – light, danceable, perfect for the morning. It’s worth arriving early: early birds will receive a slice of croissant pie on the house. This is guaranteed to increase your anticipation for fall.

Text: Emma Zylla / Photos: Daniel Horn, Andrea Rossetti, Ruby Watt / Credit: Yorck Kinos; Lee Bae; Tauba Niche; Esther Schipper; Teresa Mahler & Gian Andrea Poletta for Medi

Gallery Night
11.09.2025 until 22h. 12.–14.09.2025 12–18h.
You can find all participating galleries here.

@galleryweekendberlin
@irina_j_p
@galerienoahklink
@estherschippergallery
@leebae.art
@tau_au

Bar Sway, Pannierstr.29, 12047 Berlin–Neukölln; map
Medi Pop-up, 12.–13.09.2025 from 17h.

@bar___sway
@teresamahler_
@gian.and.dre

Weiße Rose, Martin-Luther-Str.77, 10825 Berlin–Schöneberg; map
Albe Festival 13.09.2025 14–24h.

@weisserose_berlin
@albe.kollektiv
@kayla.london.w
@toyfish.music
@gebr.krach

Filmtheater am Friedrichshain, Bötzowstr.1–5, 10407 Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map

Jubiläumsfest & Open House 13.–14.09.2025.

@yorck.kinogruppe

westberlin, c/o St. Agnes, Alexandrinenstr.118–121, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Croissant Session No.04 20.09.2025 11–15h.

@coffeeweek.berlin
@fomoberlin247
@westberlin_de
@vonperger
@lucanova_ofc

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Cafes

CAFÉ TIERGARTEN — A CLASSIC RENEWED, SURROUNDED BY GREENERY

Hansaviertel, here we come. Berlin feels a little different here — in the best possible way. And now that Café Tiergarten has reopened under new management, a visit is all the more worthwhile. Nestled between trees and lush greenery stands the Sweden House by Sten Samuelson and Fritz Jaenecke. The striking blue, red and white slab, together with the residential building (designed by Oscar Niemeyer), forms the architectural gateway to the neighborhood, built in 1957 as part of the International Building Exhibition “The City of Tomorrow”. And it’s right here, on the ground floor of the Sweden House, that Café Tiergarten has called home since 1957. The rooms hold Berlin’s history. Originally used by the industrial bakery Wittler ( Europe’s largest bread producer in the 1920s, later closely entangled with the Nazi regime), the space was a coffeehouse for decades before emptying out. In 2024, a “For Rent” sign appeared in the window. The restart is brought to us by a team with a clear vision and strong signature: artist Simon Freund (most recently at Bouche), art director Leonie Herweg (co-founder of the project space Grotto), restaurateur Nicolas Mertens, and Sophie Kretzschmar (a graduate of the Slow Food University in Piedmont). For them, this place had to be brought back to life as an open, modern, and international “neighborhood living room”.

The restoration was a balancing act between preservation and vision. Step by step, the original spaciousness was revealed, and with the support of a conservator, the 1957 color scheme was reconstructed in the light-filled rooms. The furnishings align with a modern-international spirit: vintage Alvar Aalto tables and Eiermann chairs, porcelain lamps from Ifö, and silk lamps by New York designer Nick Poe. The walls feature works by Daniel Moldoveanu, Marcel Broodthaers, Thomas Schütte, and Catharine MacTavish, among others. Out on the generous sun terrace, overlooking the Tiergarten greenery, enjoy a moment of calm right in the middle of the city. Alongside excellent filter coffee, cakes, and tortes, find freshly baked focaccia (every Wednesday), bread, olives, wine, and sage croissants. The program extends beyond food and drink with readings, wine tastings, yoga sessions, and filter coffee classes, like the one happening this Saturday (30.09). To this day, the Hansaviertel remains a unique ensemble and a place filled with international ideas for contemporary living surrounded by nature. And already, Café Tiergarten has once again become what it was always intended to be: a place of gathering, calm, art, and culture. Simple and good. A piece of Berlin history retold.

Text: Milena Kalojanov / Photos: Robyn Steffen

Café Tiergarten, Altonaer Str.3, 10557 Berlin–Tiergarten; map

@cafetiergarten

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Events, Culture, Sponsored Post

THE CEE CEE X GOOGLE PIXEL ART MAP RETURNS — JOIN US AT KIOSQUE PIXEL

Brutalist architecture that feels like a movie set, neon lights flickering in dark streets, shadows cast across the city’s facades. Together with Google Pixel, we have once again curated a map that captures these moments, drawing inspiration from the visual language of photographer and filmmaker Gia Coppola. At Kiosque Pixel in Kreuzberg, a temporary exhibition space open for four days (11.–14.09.2025), attend a screening of Coppola’s new art film Edie — shot entirely on the Google Pixel 10 Pro. Inspired by Ed Ruscha’s Sunset Strip Series from the 1960s — a photographic leporello unfolding the facades of Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard like an uninterrupted scene — Coppola reimagines the concept in present-day L.A. She explores how places tell stories, how architecture becomes a projection screen, and how fleeting images merge into a narrative. Alongside the film installation, find our Cee Cee x Google Pixel Art Map at Kiosque Pixel: a guide to Berlin that strings together locations, lighting moods, and perspectives reminiscent of movie scenes. From hidden rooftops to independent cinemas to cafés where time seems to stand still. To round out the experience, there will be donuts from Atelier Dough and sodas from Something & Nothing — a perfect place to pause during busy art week and see the city with new eyes.oder danach die Stadt mit neuen Augen zu sehen.

Text: Sophie Doering / Photos: Chris Noltekuhlmann & Sophie Doering / Credit: Google Pixel

Kiosque Pixel, Besselstr.14, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
11.–14.09.2025

@googlepixel

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Language

A NEW SPIN ON TENNIS: TRY THE LAID-BACK RACKET SPORT AT PICKLEBALL COLLECTIVE

IN SPIRIT OF YOKO ONO: RINGING BELLS FOR PEACE AT THE NEUE NATIONALGALERIE

FILMS, FESTIVALS & EARLY MORNINGS: EXTEND SUMMER WITH CEE CEE’S CALENDAR TIPS

CAFÉ TIERGARTEN — A CLASSIC RENEWED, SURROUNDED BY GREENERY

THE CEE CEE X GOOGLE PIXEL ART MAP RETURNS — JOIN US AT KIOSQUE PIXEL