Healthy Brunches in Berlin

@koppsberlin

Berlin is a trendsetting city. When the brunch boom hit a few years ago, eateries here quickly found a way to offer a new type of customer‒ “those who brunch” ‒extensive options for high quality, healthy and locally-sourced food.

Kopps

@koppsberlin

According to The New York Times and CNN, this is one of the best vegan restaurants in the world. According to us, it’s a place where whatever you order, it’s bound to be delicious!

Brunch served: Saturday 09:30-16:00 and Sunday 09:00-16:00.

Hallesches Haus

@hallescheshaus

Located on Tempelhofer Ufer in the Kreuzberg district, Hallesches Haus is an eye-opening event space with a modern, industrial vibe that serves locally-sourced organic cuisine.

Brunch served: Saturday 10:00-18:00. Enjoy a cup of local roasted coffee, too.

Isla Coffee Berlin

@Islacoffeeberlin

This city oasis with a zen vibe set in the midst of a sometimes hectic Hermannstraße in Neukölln features a minimalist decor, locally-produced furniture and an abundance of plants. The brunches they serve at this “island” of calm are based on a no-waste philosophy: leftover milk foam is used as ricotta to make their bread pudding.

Brunch served: Weekends, 10:00-16:00.

Fine Bagels

@finebagels

This bakery produces traditional New York bagels in the heart of the Friedrichshain district. Perfect for enjoying lunch after browsing the extensive collection of English books at the Shakespeare and Sons bookstore, where it is located.

Open: Monday to Sunday 08:00-20:00.

Brammibal’s Donuts

@Brammibalsdonuts

Accompany these marvellous, homemade vegan doughnuts with a great cup of coffee after devouring a freshly toasted bagel. When it comes to brunch, anything goes. Open: Monday to Saturday 10:00-20:00. Sunday

Art exhibition “Agata Zaleszczyk–Hamme Portraits”

It is a pleasure to invite you to the premiere of our next art exhibition “Agata Zaleszczyk – Hamme Portraits” by Agata Zaleszczyk – Hamme.

Come to discover Zaleszczyk’s ongoing creative exploration, in which “the line, the brushstroke, the colour themselves tell actual stories”.

Check out the artist’s work on www.az-hamme.com

Friday, January 17, 2020.
7 Pm at Gat Point Charlie

Please confirm your attendance via email to sales.berlin@gatrooms.com before 10.01.2020.

Healthy, conscious brunches in Lisbon

Good food is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and what better than enjoy it somewhere that offers you the chance to make conscious, ethical choices? An eatery that offers high quality, fresh organic produce and backs the slow food movement by serving locally-sourced food?

We have selected 5 restaurants in Lisbon that offer vegan and vegetarian options for enjoying some of the best brunches in the city.

@thevegantravelers

Therapist

As its name suggests, beyond being an ideal venue for savouring vegan specialities, Therapist is also a centre for alternative therapies that offers workshops and training courses. Surrounded by agencies and studios, bars, restaurants, boutique stores and theatres, it exudes the same creative vibe as the rest of the LX Factory complex, where it is located.

@obotanista

O Botanista

Simple, unprocessed homestyle food is the star of the show in this culinary paradise, which not only offers diners a mean brunch but great live music, too. Insider tip: Don’t miss the chance to try the best vegan cheese in Lisbon, Gopal Vegan Cheese, which they make right here on the premises!

@naked


Naked

Naked by name, naked by nature. This restaurant avoids any unnecessary processing to serve the cleanest, most naked food possible. Their brunch is available every day of the week and includes several homemade products, including yogurt, granola, fruit jams and juices of the day.

@Mymothersdaughters

My Mother’s Daughters

Are you looking for a slow food vegan brunch? The support given by My Mother’s Daughters to local producers and craftsmen is reflected both in their cuisine and the restaurant’s decor. This place is a small, organic, sustainable café with a huge heart.

@juicylisboa

Juicy Lisboa

This informal café serves a delicious brunch and is just a stone’s throw from Hotel Gat Rossio in the Baixa neighbourhood. We also highly recommend their famous wraps, granola bowls and, of course, their juices.

Christmas at Gat Point Charlie

Spending time in Berlin over Christmas is, without doubt, a magical experience. Here are some of our favourite activities to make the most of the festive season and the cold, wintry weather. Don’t worry, though–you will soon warm up again when you make it back to the cosy comfort of your room at the Gat Point Charlie hotel!

@Klunkerkranich
The German capital offers a great variety of Christmas markets. Although it has been far from easy, we have selected four of them for you to discover: the Gendarmenmarkt is the best; Klunkerkranich is the highest; Eco Christmas Market is the greenest; and the coldest is the Lucia Christmas Market.
Get the full low-down on Berlin’s Christmas markets here: https://whereis.gatrooms.com/weihnachten-in-berlin-christmas-markets/

@visitberlin.de
A walk through the city parks is a fantastic idea at any time of the year, but there is nothing better than enjoying the sun on your face as you stroll through the snow on a beautiful winter’s day.
Apart from the well-known parks such as the Tiergarten or Volkspark Friedrichshain, check out our favourite itineraries for a fresh-air adventure on foot or a bicycle: https://whereis.gatrooms.com/easter-in-berlin-hop-on-a-bike/

@visitberlin
During the winter months, Berlin also offers a wealth of other outdoor activities, such as ice skating in Neukölln or tobogganing on Teufelsberf hill. This list by @visitberlin includes all the details for finding the cold weather hotspots for sporty fun with friends and family: https://www.visitberlin.de/en/wintersport-berlin

@visitberlin
Last but not least, we have the pleasure of introducing two very special activities to round off your Christmas stay in the city:
• Why not visit an art exhibition in Auguststraße before savouring a delicious cup of hot chocolate in one of the themed cafés in the Mitte neighbourhood?
• An open-air Christmas concert will be held at the traditional Alt-marzahn Advent market on 1 December. For more information, visit https://www.visitberlin.de/en/event/advent-singing-village-green-alt-marzahn

Meanwhile, enjoy the fun winter activities Berlin has to offer and we’ll take care of the rest.

Book your Christmas in Berlin!

Natal at Gat Rossio

The Gat Rossio Hotel in Lisbon becomes an even more special place to be at Christmas, or Natal as it is known here. Our entrance comes alive with coloured lights, festive decorations sparkle in the hotel interior and Michael Bublé, the unquestionable king of Christmas crooning, is the star of our playlist. The team love to sing along to get in the holiday mood, and our guests feel like they never want to leave…

The city itself is also transformed during the festive season. Lisbon’s most emblematic squares are inundated with Christmas markets (find out more here: https://whereis.gatrooms.com/natal-in-lisbon-christmas-markets/) and there are plenty of seasonal activities to tempt you in the run-up to the holiday:

@dicasdelisboa

• How about seeing the Christmas lights being switched on first-hand on 24 November? The city will be lit up at 6 pm sharp, as will the 86,000 bulbs on the city Christmas tree.

@discoverwalks

• Head to Pedro IV square, more commonly known as Plaza Rossio, and enjoy the Christmas market and decorations. Don’t forget to indulge in a mouth-watering bolo rei (traditional sweet bread) from the legendary Confeitaria Nacional.

@portugalconfidential

• Enjoy ice skating to the rhythm of Christmas carols at the Wonderland Lisboa fairground while a crowd searches for gifts at the stalls selling local crafts and the air is filled with the sweet smell of hot chocolate. There will also be a rink at Praça do Comércio, so don’t miss out!

@lxfactory

• LX Factory is a fantastic ally for the colder winter days: warm up as you savour a comforting hot chocolate at Landeau Chocolate.

@cascaischristmasvillage

• Cascais Christmas Village converts the seaside town into a winter dreamland with a fairground, ice skating rink and Father Christmas even parades through the streets.
Over in Sintra, the Reino do Natal or “Christmas Kingdom” offers festive visitors a Christmas market, seasonal entertainment and historical views.

• Finally, make sure you check out the many choirs, carollers, concerts and shows that help bring Lisbon to life over the Christmas period!

A visit to Berlin is a musical journey

Berlin was the final destination of the international Lollapalooza festival, an annual 2-day event packed with music and fun that took place over the weekend of 7-8 September. During the summer, it had already travelled through the United States, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, France and Germany.

Among the international singers and groups performing at the event were this year’s young revelation Billie Eilish and the Grammy-winning duo, Twenty One Pilots.

With one of the festival’s two European events being held in Paris, it is no coincidence that the Lollapalooza organizers decided to stage the second in Berlin. While the German capital’s history has ensured it is well-known around the globe, it is also a major political, artistic, cultural and leisure hub that hosts one of the most important cinema festivals in the world, the Berlinale, which makes it an unmissable tour destination for international music stars.

It is precisely this, great music, that plays an essential role in Berlin: my time there was underscored with rhythm, not only thanks to the great performances at the festival held in the Olympic Stadium, but because the city itself IS music. It is impossible to wander the city streets without coming across an artist singing or playing an instrument, or watching improvised performances by small street dance groups.

However, I also came across great music beyond the festival and the streets as it was easy to find at Gat Point Charlie: eating breakfast while I listened to smooth jazz, sipping a drink after dinner while I watched projections of concert recordings on the wall, or even the background music in the hotel’s common areas.

The fact that great music follows you around all day in Berlin makes the city an even more fantastic place to be.

Mar Jiménez
Hotel Gat Point Charlie guest.