WILD HERB TOURS: DISCOVER EDIBLE PLANTS WITH AN EXPERT FORAGER

Every one of your senses – taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing – is awakened on one of Manuel Larbig’s wild herb foraging tours. The biologist, forager and survival expert is on a mission to get Berliners to skip the supermarket and rediscover long-neglected native plants, showing how you can make satisfying, diverse food from ingredients growing on your doorstep – or at least Stadtgut Blankenfelde, just north of Pankow. Walking down the rural paths with Manuel and 11 fellow participants, you realize how alive even Berlin is with edible plants: garlic mustard, chickweed – even wild rocket. As a beginner, gathering food can be daunting, so it’s reassuring to know Manuel can tell tasty cow parsley from the similar but deadly poison hemlock. What follows is a delightful and varied cooking course led by wild herb cook Sabine Naumann. You notice the difference with the ingredients: these are healthy plants, with vivid, strong leaves. The soup with freshly picked goosefoot, daisies, and tangy sorrel proves you needn’t go far for good cuisine. (Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Manuel Larbig)

Wild herb tour and cooking courses last six hours and run from April–October.

Stadtgut Blankenfelde, Hauptstr.30 13159 Berlin–Blankenfelde; map

Shorter tours are available and English tours can be booked with 8+ people.

@wildkraeutereventsberlin

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Activities, Guests

SOPHIE HEYWOOD RECOMMENDS: ADIDAS RUNBASE FOR SOCIAL FITNESS

When I arrived in Berlin, my first thought was to find a regular workout crew in the city. At Runbase Berlin I found it. Here you’ll find a mix of cardio and strength workouts, group runs and lower intensity yoga and Pilates classes. The indoor studios, outside training space, running trails, locker room, showers and the Lab Kitchen in-house cafe mean everything is under one roof. I love the total resistance exercise (trx) classes with Kaya and Dani. Some are high intensity while others are more strength-based – both leave me feeling sore but strong. Often the same people come to sessions, so you quickly feel part of the group. My favourite time to go is in summer for outdoor training: there’s nothing like having a healthy lunch from the Lab Kitchen in the sun post workout before swinging by the canal for a day party. Special workshops and events are held on weekends for those curious to go deeper with training. The next time you’re feeling unmotivated, head to Runbase Berlin to soak up the community vibes and feel the burn in class. (Text: Sophie Heywood / Photos: Runbase Berlin)

Sophie Heywood is the founder of Double Shot, a newsletter and magazine that reviews Berlin fitness classes and matches them to food, drink or party places nearby.

Adidas Runbase, Schleusenufer 4, 10997 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Mon–Fri 7–21h, Sat 9–16h, Sun 9–18h
@runbaseberlin

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Activities

POTSDAM BOTANICAL GARDENS: FROM PRICKLY CACTI TO DELICATE ORCHIDS

Budding botanists will be at home at the Botanical Garden in Potsdam, where palms, ferns and orchids await. As you enter through the historic iron and glass palm house, its rainforest canopy of palms and passion flowers covers you overhead. Emerge from the jungle into the central atrium, from which eight houses branch off, each taking you to a different botanical world. Prickly plant lovers should head into the hot and arid cactus house, packed with spiny friends jostling for your attention. One is the bunny ear cactus (Opuntia microdasys) which you might know from your kitchen windowsill – only this specimen is four meters wide. Outside, more temperate plants abound, and the University of Potsdam organizes regular events, including a session on bees and honey making on 26.05.2019. These elegant gardens offer a relaxing, quieter alternative to their Berlin counterpart and with their location – just one stop after the Sanssouci Palace on the bus – they are well worth a day trip from Berlin. Bring a picnic and enjoy the surrounding gardens and parkland. (Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Benji Haughton, Enzio Giljam & Kerstin Kläring)

The University of Potsdam Botanical Gardens, Maulbeerallee 2, 14469 Potsdam; map
Open summer daily 9.30–17h; in winter daily 9.30–16h

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Activities, Guests

CECILE VADAS RECOMMENDS: LOSE YOURSELF IN THE BAROQUE GARDENS OF GUTSPARK BRITZ

We all know about the Britzer Gardens, but have you ever heard of Gutspark Britz? Let me show you the traditional Baroque style garden and it’s little oasis that requires nothing more than family and friends for a free Easter weekend activity. The Gutspark was built initially as a flower garden in the traditional Baroque style. It’s home to Germany’s first Robina tree and still remains a monumental attraction today. To entertain family, friends and those energetic kids, look no further than the park’s farm yard. Home to a selection of animals including horses, black sheep, goats, cows, chickens and geese, there’s practically a small zoo waiting for you. The best part of the park? Picking up the slightly tattered brushes hanging from the black sheep’s enclosure fence. The sheep go crazy when you rub their backs and brush their heavily knotted coats. The park’s history goes back to the 1600s, as does the manor house’s. There is certainly a lot awaiting you at the park, only 10 minutes from Hermannstraße. (Text: Cecile Vadas / Photos: Johanna Rademacher–Flesland)

Cecile Vadas is from Sydney, Australia and has lived in Berlin since 2015. She is a freelance food photographer, writer and social media consultant. Her hobby is creating unique recipes manageable by the average cook.

Gutspark Britz, Alt Britz 73, 12359 Berlin-Britzer Damm; map
Mon–Fri 7–21h, Sat–Sun 8–21h

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Activities

DANCE ‘N’ DINE: PRACTICING SELF-LOVE THROUGH MOVEMENT AND COMMUNITY WITH THERAPY OF DANCE & SHE SHE RETREATS

When dancer and choreographer Elise Mireille moved to Berlin, she struggled to find an outlet for dancing outside club culture. So she started the community she was missing in the city: Therapy of Dance, a weekly high-energy hip-hop dance class interwoven with therapy. Every Thursday, a growing group of women convene to reflect and share stories before translating that energy into choreography to the tune of feel-good hits. Inspiring confident self-expression and fostering mental health is equally important to Albertine van Iterson of She She Retreats, which organizes getaways and events dedicated to holistic wellbeing in Mallorca and Berlin. This Saturday (13.4.2019), they’re joining forces for Therapy of Dance ‘n’ Dine, combining the healing energy of movement with a vegetarian, local and seasonal meal from Julia Heifer at LOK6. “It’s an experience of self-growth, an investment in yourself and an act of self-love,” say Elise and Albertine. “There’s no judgment here. Women of all levels, sizes and ages are welcome.” (Text: Anna Dorothea Ker / Photos: Pascal Rohé, Bennie Julia Gay & Patricia ruiz del Portal)

We’re giving one reader the chance to attend this Saturday. To win, email us at win@ceecee.cc explaining why you want to join – don’t forget to add your Instagram handle and phone number.

Therapy of Dance ‘n’ Dine (event): Saturday 13.04.2019, 14.30h–20h
Vivace Studio, Nollendorfstr.11–12, 10777 Berlin-Schöneberg; map
Therapy of Dance (regular sessions): Thursdays 19–20.15h
Trybe Dance Studio, Kurfürstenstr.3a, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten; map
@therapyofdance
@sheshe_retreats

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Language

WILD HERB TOURS: DISCOVER EDIBLE PLANTS WITH AN EXPERT FORAGER

SOPHIE HEYWOOD RECOMMENDS: ADIDAS RUNBASE FOR SOCIAL FITNESS

POTSDAM BOTANICAL GARDENS: FROM PRICKLY CACTI TO DELICATE ORCHIDS

CECILE VADAS RECOMMENDS: LOSE YOURSELF IN THE BAROQUE GARDENS OF GUTSPARK BRITZ

DANCE ‘N’ DINE: PRACTICING SELF-LOVE THROUGH MOVEMENT AND COMMUNITY WITH THERAPY OF DANCE & SHE SHE RETREATS