Easter in Berlin: hop on a bike!

During the Easter period, Germany’s capital city is a treasure trove of cultural events, including spring festivals, bonfires on Easter Saturday or the popular markets with their giant chocolate eggs (check them out here).

However, if you are looking for a gentle jaunt to complement this hectic spring agenda, grab a bicycle at the Hotel Gat Point Charlie and set off to explore the city and its surroundings at your own pace.

Landwehrkanal, Kreuzberg


@culturetrip
The picturesque Landwehrkanal is less than a 10-minute ride from the hotel and passes through the beautiful Kreuzberg and Maybachufer neighbourhoods. Enjoy the picnic areas set alongside the canal and in Görlitzer Park, which is also a great place for a barbecue on a sunny day.

The Berlin Wall

@visitberlin
If alternative activities are more your thing, but you don’t want to leave the city, why not ride the 159 km Berlin Wall trail? If you are short for time, choose the most artistic stretch which goes from the East Side Gallery to Bernauer Strasse via Potsdamer Platz.

For anyone keen to go a little further afield:
Glienicker Brücke

@visitberlin.de
This bridge crosses the Havel river, which connects two lakes–Groß Glienicker See and Jungfernsee–and separates the city of Berlin from Brandenburg. Apart from the spectacular beauty of the landscape, the area’s rich history also makes it an iconic attraction. You’ll pass the castle on your way to the bridge, and you’ll be tempted to have a quick dip in the lakes on a warm spring day.

The banks of the river Dahme


@visitberlin.de

This itinerary begins at the East Side Gallery, just a few metres from the hotel. Enjoy the idyllic landscape as soon as you start to follow this tributary of the River Spree and discover the localities of Grünau and Müggelheim or the famous Müggelturm observation tower. When you think you’ve explored enough, simply follow the river back to the city!

Easter in Lisbon by Gat Rossio

As the capital of a Catholic country, Lisbon opens up its chest of enchanting customs and traditions during Easter Week. In this post, we share some of our favourites with you.

One of the unmissable culinary treats over the Easter period is the Folar da Páscoa, a sweet or savoury bread that represents the bread eaten at the last supper, and is baked with hard-boiled eggs in the dough to represent the resurrection of Jesus.


@buendiatours

As tradition dictates, meat is off the menu on Good Friday, and is replaced with another culinary great: bacalhau (cod). Why not order yourself some delicious, creamy bacalhau com natas? However, Easter Sunday more than makes up for the abstinence observed on Good Friday with succulent roast lamb, which represents Jesus himself, the Lamb of God.

To cap off your Easter feasts, Lisbon also offers a host of mouth-watering sweet treats, such as chocolate eggs and caramelized almonds.

@discoverlisbon

In terms of cultural traditions, some that catch every visitor’s interest are the compasso pascal, or Easter walk, during which a priest visits the home of any parishioners who have laid flowers at their door; theatrical productions of the Passion of Christ; Easter Sunday Mass at Lisbon Cathedral; and the popular Easter processions (the ones held in Óbidos are the most impressive).

Beyond these traditions, visitors should also enjoy some of the everyday aspects that shape Lisbon’s soul, such as the weekly markets, the classic and sometimes unusual bookshops, bars at which to take in spectacular views over the city, or popular venues for an evening of traditional fado music.

Make time to discover some of Lisbon’s varied neighbourhoods as you take a gentle stroll through the quaint streets of Rossio, Baixa, Bairro Alto or Alfama, for example.

If you’re looking for the perfect base during your stay, remember that Gat Rossio has everything you need. Take a closer look at our hotel and book your room online at https://hotelgatrossio.com/en.

Travel Smart in Berlin: Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

The neighbourhoods of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf merged in 2001 to form Berlin’s fourth borough. Located in the western part of the city, it is a peaceful and sophisticated corner during the day, but at night, the museums, emblematic buildings, magnificent parks and boutiques close their doors to make way for an endless offering of alternative entertainment.
You can embark on this itinerary directly from our hotel with one of our bicycles or by jumping on the metro to Zoologischer Garten, the stop nearest to Berlin Zoo.

Act 1, daytime.
After passing through the ruins of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche church, we find ourselves at the recently-opened Bikini Berlin, which is Germany’s first concept shopping mall and houses showrooms, boutiques and pop-up boxes instead of big brand stores. Take yourself up to the roof and enjoy great panoramic views over the city while you grab a bite at Neni or Monkey Bar.

@top10berlin
Art and history buffs will take a while to make it to Charlottenburg Palace, as you will pass the modern Deutsche Oper Berlin opera house, the Berggruen Museum with its modern art collection and the Bröhan-Museum of art and design along the way.
Get your camera ready at Teufelsberg. This former U.S. listening station is sat on the top of a man-made hill created using debris and offers spectacular views over the city.

@visitberlin
Following this slightly out-of-the-way, alternative itinerary, it is well worth making a stop at Berliner Waldbühne amphitheatre, which is one of the most spectacular open-air theatres in Europe.

Act II, night-time.
The Bar jeder Vernunft is a mirrored tent with a Modernist, intimate feel and is the stage for the crème de la crème of international small-stage entertainment.

@visitberlin
For those of you who prefer jazz, the A-Trane jazz club is where you need to be: the line-up here includes some of the biggest names in the jazz scene and they offer late-night jam sessions on Saturdays starting at midnight.

Travel Smart in Lisbon: Alfama

You will either love or hate Alfama–there’s no half measures! It will either seem an exhausting array of steep streets that slowly climb towards the Castelo de São Jorge or a charming hillside neighbourhood with quaint houses, traditional shops and businesses, lookout points, fado music houses and tiles, tiles and more tiles.

At the Gat Rossio hotel, which is located just a 20-minute walk away, we’re crazy about Alfama, and want to share our favourite things about this amazing area with you.

First, the views
Begin your tour in Martim Moníz Square, where the Tram 28 is ready to take you through the neighbourhoods of Rossio and Baixa to Portas do Sol in Alfama, the stop closest to the castle.

When you alight, head towards the Santa Lucía lookout point before visiting the impressive Castelo de São Jorge, which dates back to the time the city was under Moorish rule (Monday-Sunday, 09:00-21:00).
From the castle, look for Rua do Recolhimento to find the hidden-away lookout point, Miradouro del Jardim do Recolhimento.

Get ready for a thrilling descent!
Enjoy the treasures you discover along the way as you meander back down the hill to the hotel, such as the Miradouro das Portas do Sol, the steps down from Rua de São Miguel, Lisbon Cathedral (Monday-Sunday, 10:00-19:00), the Renaissance palace Casa dos Bicos or the Roman theatre (Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00-18:00).

@viamichelin

If the main attractions are the body of Alfama, you need the soul
From Tuesday to Sunday, between 19:00 – 23:00, head over to Tasca do Jaime to enjoy the most authentic fado music house experience in the city (see more fado music houses here).

Finally, if you’re in Lisbon on a Tuesday or a Saturday, you can’t leave without visiting the renowned flea market, Feira da Ladra (for more Lisbon markets, click here).

Saint Travel Lovers’ Day!

This month, Gatrooms wants to celebrate Travel Lovers’ Day! To mark our alternative event, we have a gift for all the intrepid explorers who long to discover the lesser-known delights of Lisbon and Berlin: the Gatrooms travel guide.

It is a bible for anyone who, like the travellers we welcome at the Gat Point Charlie or Gat Rossio hotels, is on the lookout for alternative adventures and out-of-the-way corners to explore; enjoys experiencing culture beyond museum walls; loves to read or eat in extraordinary venues and settings; and opts for the most sustainable form of transport wherever they go.

If this sounds like you, download your guide to Berlin or Lisbon here: https://whereis.gatrooms.com/ebooks-smart-travel/

In this guide you’ll find…
A paradise for bibliophiles in our broad selection of alternative bookshops in Berlin, such as Shakespeare and Sons, where you can eat a delicious bagel while you read to your heart’s content.

@shakespeareandsons

Lisbon’s best-kept secrets, such as the smallest bookshop in the world, which is nestled in the Mouraria neighbourhood.

@fodorstravel

Unusual and sometimes bizarre venues in Berlin, some of which are enough to make your jaw drop, including Madame Claude, the bar in Kreuzberg that flips the world on its head.

@myguideberlin

The best places for enjoying a mind-blowing culinary experience, such as The Food Temple in Lisbon. In the summer, eating on the steps outside will make you feel as if you are at a street party!

@bestguide

We also reveal a large selection of fado music houses, with enough for you to visit a different one on every night of your stay in Lisbon: Mesa de Frades for Monday, Parreirinha de Alfama for Tuesday, Casa do Jaime for Wednesday…the list goes on!

 

@Eltenedor

Stories that shaped history, such as the invention of the bretzel by the Celts to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Wherever you decide to travel this Saint Valentine’s Day, make sure you travel SMART.

Relativity of distance – art exhibition

Santiago de Chile is 12,517 kilometres away from Berlin. Whether it’s far or close, depends on the point of view.

Gat Point Charlie presents the new art exhibition “Relativity of Distance”, a selection of photography series, collages, and texts made by the artists, father and daughter, Elías Lizama H. and Florencia Lizama Z. which altogether question the relativity of distance.

We are delighted to invite you to the exhibit’s opening on Saturday 23rd of February 2019 at 19 pm at Gat Point Charlie.

Please, confirm your attendance to sales.berlin@gatrooms.com no later than the 18th of February.

Facebook event
Opening day: 23rd of February 2019 at 19 pm
Venue: Hotel Gat Point Charlie (Mauerstraße 81-82, 10117 Berlin, Germany)