Raise your hands, a long weekend lies ahead - Whitsun once again brings a whole host of exciting events for you in May. The city seems to literally shake with joie de vivre when the Carnival of Cultures roams the streets. And if this hustle and bustle is a bit too much for you at the weekend, the Düppel Museum Village offers an idyllic retreat. Read on and see for yourself: It doesn't get much more diverse than Berlin.
Tip 1: Experience boundless diversity at the Carnival of Cultures
Berliners wait for this event almost as eagerly as others wait for Christmas: The Carnival of Cultures is the undefeated favorite of Berlin's event highlights. And this year you can really get ready for a carnival in a class of its own. Last year, more than 1 million people made the pilgrimage to the free festival in the heart of Berlin, and this weekend they're going one better.
The Carnival of Cultures is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. You should definitely not miss it. Be there when over 2500 participants parade through the city with colorful costumes, choreographies and music acts and demonstrate the internationality of the German capital. Every year, the Carnival of Cultures sets a new example for diversity and commitment in art, culture and society.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Where: Hermannplatz, Neukölln
Tip 2: Prepare for a green future at the GREENTECH Festival
Preparation is everything. This is especially true for topics that are important now and will be even more important tomorrow. Our environment needs us, our innovation and our help. And if you want to expand your own green repertoire this weekend, Europe's largest sustainability festival GREENTECH is the place to be.
Here, leading minds from the fields of mobility, food, energy and infrastructure will come together to present ideas and talk shop with you about sustainable visions for the future. The diverse program also includes the GREEN AWARDS, which honour outstanding projects, personalities and companies. Look forward to a sustainable weekend in the west of Berlin.
When: Friday from 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Messe Berlin, Masurenallee, Westend
Berlin celebrates wine in Berlin-Westend
Where to go at Whitsun? The wine and vintners' festival invites you to discover first-class wines, sample delicious street food, enjoy live music and art - in the festive atmosphere of Charlottenburg's Preußenallee: the cultural highlight in May!
Tip 3: Crack the code at the German Spy Museum
Ordering a non-alcoholic agent drink like James Bond in a Berlin pub sounds all well and good. But you have to earn it first. The German Spy Museum on Potsdamer Platz is the perfect place for this. In addition to over a hundred exhibits, including the world-famous Enigma cipher machine, you can also test your own detective skills here. Pass the laser course, crack secret codes and maneuver your way through the unique shadow world of espionage. And for those of you who prefer to use your wits as a secret weapon: Breathtaking stories from top spies await you in the Spy Museum. There's no harm in picking up a trick or two here. Thrills guaranteed for young and old alike!
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm
Where: German Spy Museum, Leipziger Platz 9, Mitte
Tip 4: Convict the murderer on the Orient Express at Potsdamer Platz
A train journey from Istanbul to London, seventeen carriages full of the finest society, a Belgian private detective and a murder in a snowstorm. Agatha Christie used these ingredients to create the world's most popular crime novel with Murder on the Orient Express. The absurd setting and the extravagant characters provide an ideal basis for staging the story from a comic perspective. And Katharina Thalbach has taken on precisely this task: From this Friday, you can be there at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz when she gives Murder on the Orient Express a new look as director and also solves the case as the leading actress. Because she herself is playing the private detective Hercule Poirot at the weekend. Embark on a journey full of adventure, humor and luxury.
When: Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 6pm
Where: Komödie am Kurfürstendamm at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz, Marlene-Dietrich Platz 1, Mitte
Tickets for Murder on the Orient Express
Tip 5: Reflect on the sustainable future of fashion
Some of you probably already know it: the Peek & Cloppenburg Conscious Fashion Store at Potsdamer Platz. Everything here is sustainable, from the interior design to the selection of the product range. For two months, the Conscious Fashion Store will be the stage for the COSH! pop-up. COSH! is a Europe-wide online platform that is committed to a more sustainable future for the fashion industry. Starting this weekend, designers from Spain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands will come together in Berlin to transform the three-storey store into a true sustainability paradise.
By the way: COSH is also offering a special Green Fashion Tour on May 18, where you can gain an insight into Berlin's sustainable fashion world. Register now!
When: From May 16 for two months
Where: P&C Conscious Fashion Store, Alte Potsdamer Str. 7, Mitte
Tip 6: Take a Whitsun trip to the Middle Ages
We all love Berlin as it lives and breathes. But sometimes everyone longs for a little peace and relaxation in nature. This Whitsun weekend, you can make this dream come true and travel back in time at the same time. Because the Düppel museum village is once again opening its doors and catapulting you back to the Middle Ages - in the best possible way.
Idyllic Whitsun awaits you here. From the baking ovens and open fires, the delicious aromas of fresh bread and other medieval fare will envelop you. You can watch craftsmen at work and people and animals bustle around the village square as they did 1200 years ago. The settlement has been reconstructed according to archaeological findings and will quickly make you forget which century you're actually in.
When: Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Museumsdorf Düppel, Clauertstraße 11, Nikolassee
Whitsun trip to the Düppel Museum Village
Tip 7: Glide across the Spree and enjoy a sunny city lounge trip
The "John Franklin" won't be staying in port on Whitsun weekend either. On Saturday, the anchor will be lifted at the Seminarschiff berth in Moabit, inviting you to discover the city from the water. Make yourself comfortable on the sun deck in lounge furniture, enjoy a drink or two and eat delicious seafood.
For two and a half hours, the passenger ship will sail with you across the Spree and take you past the timeless highlights of our city. See the Reichstag, the television tower, Berlin Cathedral and Museum Island and continue on to Charlottenburg Palace. A tour that you wouldn't be able to complete on foot in one day. And you don't have to: it's much more fun on the water!
When: Saturday at various departure times
Where: Berth of the seminar ship, Alt-Moabit 91, Moabit
Tickets for the city lounge cruise
Tip 8: Explore the diversity of museums on International Museum Day
On the occasion of International Museum Day, numerous well-known and lesser-known museums and memorials in Berlin attract visitors with interesting guided tours, workshops and other special events. A good opportunity to explore the smaller venues of Berlin's museum landscape alongside the big museums. How about a guided tour of the historical site of the capitulation in Karlshorst, for example? Or exciting insights into the Museum of Musical Instruments? Do you fancy a trip to Berlin's underworlds? In the Stadtmuseum Berlin, on the other hand, rooms from the Biedermeier era await you.
When: Sunday, May 19
Where: Various museums in Berlin
Program for International Museum Day
Tip 9: Look forward to morning yoga in the sculpture garden
Yoga in the morning dispels sorrow and worries. In the spirit of this ancient wisdom, the Neue Nationalgalerie transforms its sculpture garden into an open-air yoga studio twice a month. Everyone is invited to this contemplative group event that combines art and body: Whether beginners or experienced yoga masters. Because this is about the true core of Indian body practice, which not only promotes self-awareness but also sharpens perception. And once you have completed the yoga course in the garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie, you will be perfectly prepared for a visit to the exhibitions inside the building. With peace, serenity and a sharpened eye for the beauty of the world.
When: Saturday at 10am
Where: Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Straße 50, Tiergarten
Yoga in the sculpture garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie
Tipp 10: Laugh with Pigor and Benedikt Eichhorn about devilishly good cabaret
Pigor sings, Benedikt Eichhorn must accompany. That's how it's written in the duo's name and it's worked like clockwork for almost 30 years. The Berlin cabaret and chanson duo have been making Berlin's stages unsafe since 1995. Shortly before the turn of the millennium, they were awarded the Kleinkunstpreis for their outstanding performances. And that's exactly what the new novel "La Groete. Don't say cabaret!" by singer Thomas Pigor.
The book tells the story of a chanson poet who sells his soul to the devil in return for the same prize. Was it the same for the two performers back then? Find out for yourself and make your way to the Bar jeder Vernunft this weekend, where the duo will bring the story to the stage in musical form.
When: Premiere on May 14, performances on Friday and Saturday at 6pm
Where: Bar jeder Vernunft, Schaperstraße 24, Wilmersdorf
Tip 11: Enjoy a musical journey with "Einfach Mozart"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is not only one of the greatest composers in the German-speaking world. He is also probably the best-known child prodigy of the recent past. For these reasons, it makes double sense to bring his life story to the stage in an opera suitable for children. Under the title "Simply Mozart", the Kinderopernhaus Unter den Linden has now brought the child maestro to life musically. More than 30 children and several experienced opera professionals will storm the stage and the hearts of the audience at the weekend when they perform this moving piece about sibling love, music and family ties. At the center of the story are the child prodigies Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart, who not only prove their musical genius on their music tours through Europe, but also experience all kinds of adventures.
When: Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm
Where: Alter Orchesterprobensaal in der Staatsoper, Hinter der Katholischen Kirche 1, Mitte
