✍️ From the Editor
Hey Berliners!
No issue last Sunday. I was travelling and couldn't finish it. Back now, into the week that decides who runs this city.
Rain clears by afternoon, so go out later. Four museums are free. Clocks went back overnight. And plan Saturday: Halloween and Reformationstag land together, which matters if you shop over the city boundary.
— Dr. Yassir A. Shuaib
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💰 Best Deals in Germany This Week
Today only: Designer Outlet Berlin is open
Sunday trading today, 13:00–19:00, at Wustermark — about thirty minutes out, and one of the few Sundays Brandenburg permits. The outlet advertises up to 80% off recommended retail prices, which is its standing claim rather than a Sunday extra, so judge each shop on the price in front of you. Go today if you’re going: it’s closed on Saturday, 31 October, for Reformationstag, as the outlet says itself. 👉 Click here
Free: a Philharmonie lunch concert · Wednesday 28, 13:00
Syon Najman on cello, Tähe-Lee Liiv on piano — Martinů, Schubert’s Arpeggione, Chopin — in the foyer of the main auditorium. No tickets: take a chip at the entrance, hand it back on the way out, no reservations, and no re-entry once you hold one. Arrive by 12:15. It runs 40 to 50 minutes, and there’s no seating at all, with folding chairs explicitly not permitted and a limited number of places for disabled-pass holders. Wednesday is the season opener; it then runs every Wednesday to June. 👉 More info here
Sweets for train fare: €10 or €20 off a DB ticket
Storck is putting Deutsche Bahn vouchers inside promotional packs: €10 in Toffifee 125 g and in Knoppers Schnitte or Riegel 200 g, €20 in Toffifee 400 g and in Merci packs. Nationwide in supermarkets, while stocks last, and the promotion closes on 1 December. Enter the eight-digit code on Storck’s page, confirm your email, and you get a sixteen-digit voucher for bahn.de or the DB Navigator. The minimum ticket is €29.99 for the €10 voucher and €49.99 for the €20 one; any BahnCard discount comes off first, and seat reservations don’t count towards it. On a €50 fare that’s 40% off for the price of a pack of biscuits. 👉 Click here
Müller: 20% off food — and in Berlin it runs a day longer than you’ll read elsewhere
20% off food, organic lines and children’s food on a Müller app coupon to Saturday 31 October. App required, activate before the till, in store only, no minimum spend; infant formula, supplements, alcohol, pet food and current-flyer lines excluded. A nationally written version of this tip will tell you the last day is Friday, because 31 October is a holiday in nine states. Berlin isn’t one of them.
Müller’s own site never loaded, so the dates come from two independent trackers that agree. The saving is a straight percentage off the shelf price — the one discount that can’t be faked with an inflated reference price.
Museum Pass Berlin, €32 — worth the arithmetic this week
Three days from a start date you pick, across more than thirty museums, and it covers four of the five venues in Ongoing: the Neue Nationalgalerie, Hamburger Bahnhof, Kupferstichkabinett and Alte Nationalgalerie. Not the James-Simon-Galerie, so Genghis Khan isn’t in it. One catch before you buy: permanent collections are included, but some special exhibitions still need a separate timed ticket, so check each show first. And the Pergamonmuseum, Museum Berggruen and Märkisches Museum are closed, with the German Historical Museum’s permanent exhibitions shut as well. 👉 More info here
Super-Ferien-Pass, €9 — and this is the week it earns its money
Seven free swimming days remain, today included. At €4 for 90 minutes, that’s €28 for swimming for a €9 pass, so it pays for itself on the third swim. Buy now: the price never drops during the year, the pass runs to the Easter 2027 holidays, and waiting forfeits these seven days. Also free municipal ice rinks, free Zoo and Tierpark for children up to fifteen, and free museum entry on production of the pass. Berlin residents to eighteen; activate the swim card at a pool cash desk first. 👉 Apply here
IKEA Tempelhof is open until 23:00 on Halloween
Late-night shopping on Saturday, 31 October: the store until 23:00, the restaurant until 22:00. Useful if Halloween isn’t your thing and a flat-pack evening is. October offers include a VARIERA cutlery organiser at €2.49 from €3.99 and an ENGELSBORG rug at €114 from €169, and the restaurant does 20% off mains on Tuesdays and a €0.99 croissant breakfast. 👉 More info here
Free tomorrow
Keramik-Museum Berlin is free on the last Monday of the month, and PalaisPopulaire the same day. Generally, under-18s are free at every one of the Staatliche Museen, and the Jüdisches Museum’s permanent exhibition is always free. Today’s four free museums are in Berlin today.
Lidl’s cordless vacuum and how to read a discount
Lidl has the Grundig VCP 4330 L at €69.99 and calls it 68% off a €219 list price. What you’d otherwise pay is €89.99 at Müller, or €139.99 from a Kaufland seller — so the real saving is about €20 in store, €14 online where postage brings it to €75.94. Still the lowest this machine has been, and it does undercut the cheapest real alternative. A good buy, not a 68% one. End date unpinned.
One piece of context, not a deal
The Deutschlandticket is turning into a formula: set to rise to €66.80 from 1 January 2027, it is index-linked with the federal subsidy capped near €3bn, which builds in an annual increase rather than a one-off. Set to rise rather than will rise — one source treats the figure as settled, another as a broadcaster’s calculation awaiting approval.
🚦 Five Things to Know This Week
⏰ Winter Time Arrives: Clocks went back one hour overnight at 03:00 (enjoy an extra hour of sleep or nightlife). Daylight shrinks by almost 23 minutes by Saturday.
🏛️ Free Museum Today: Brücke-Museum, Georg Kolbe Museum, Haus am Waldsee, and Kunsthaus Dahlem offer FREE entry today (11:00–17:00/18:00). 👉 More info on free entry at Georg Kolbe Museum here
🗳️ Government decision days: Die Linke’s congress votes Saturday on whether coalition negotiations start at all. The CDU called a rival meeting for Thursday and didn’t invite the election winner. 👉 Follow Berlin parliamentary updates on Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin here
🛒 Holiday Trading Trap (Sat 31 Oct): Reformationstag shuts Brandenburg’s shops (Potsdam, out-of-town malls), while Berlin retail trades normally.
👉 Check holiday opening regulations on Berlin.de here
👻 Berlin Dungeon Closing Permanently: Final day of operation is Friday, 6 November 2026 (closing forever after 13 years). This is its final Halloween. 👉 Get final Berlin Dungeon tickets here
🎶 The Week’s Lead
Berlin voted on 20 September and still has no government. Every remaining step falls this week.
Die Linke, the Greens and the SPD agreed a 30-page exploratory paper on 17 October. The Greens and the SPD’s Landesvorstand both approved opening negotiations on the 19th — the SPD 26 to 3, the Greens with 2 of 45 delegates against.
Die Linke decides at its party congress on Saturday, 31 October, Herzbergstraße 128, from 09:30. Delegates are not approving a coalition, only voting on whether to begin negotiating one.
Then the CDU moved. Stefan Evers has invited the SPD and Green leaderships to confidential talks on Thursday, 29 October — the day the new Abgeordnetenhaus first sits. Die Linke, which won the election with 25.7%, was not invited. Both others accepted. Both stressed it is not a coalition exploration — the Greens called it a conversation about managing the transition until a government forms.
What they would negotiate: expropriating landlords holding 10,000 or more Berlin flats, about 160,000 apartments across five firms, compensation capped near €16bn, and a law by mid-2028. Vonovia calls it unconstitutional. Also in the paper: a primary-school phone ban and free annual bulky-waste collection.
On 18 October, twenty SPD federal MPs, among them former federal interior minister Nancy Faeser, urged Berlin not to negotiate at all. Giffey wants a membership vote; none has been called.
📍 Today in Berlin
Sunrise 06:50, sunset 16:50. By Saturday: 07:01 and 16:39.
Four museums free today — but they don’t all close at the same time
All four open at 11:00. The Brücke-Museum and Kunsthaus Dahlem shut at 17:00; Georg Kolbe and Haus am Waldsee at 18:00. Do the 17:00 pair first.
A one-off, paid for by a private donor, and the museums say why plainly: Museumssonntag ended in late 2024 and was never replaced, and the incoming coalition is writing its budget now. Georg Kolbe adds a tour at 14:00, a workshop to 17:00 and a garden tour at 15:30, all German.
Last chances
Fujiko Nakaya’s fog sculpture · Neue Nationalgalerie · final day, but the museum says it is out of operation while its exhibition page still lists half-hourly activations from 11:00 to 17:00. Ring first.
Film Restored closes, with all five screenings in English (they’re Spanish, Finnish and Turkish with subtitles) · Más allá del olvido 11:00, Kuu on vaarallinen 13:30 and the 1953 Turkish Dracula 15:30 at Sinema Transtopia · Sensation im Wintergarten 18:00 with live music and Fargo 20:00 at the Kinemathek · No single-ticket price published 👉 See the programme here
Ostpro · 10:00–17:00 · Trabrennbahn Karlshorst, Treskowallee 159 · €3, under-tens free 👉 More info here
Berliner Herbst-Rummel · 14:00–22:00 · Zentraler Festplatz · free 👉 More info here
Also today
Füchse v HSG Wetzlar 16:30, Max-Schmeling-Halle, from €16.50 👉 Tickets here · ALBA v Ratiopharm Ulm 18:00, Uber Arena, from €11.60 👉 Tickets here
Geisterwelten at the FEZ · 12:00–18:00 · €6.50, or €5 each for two or more · age 7+ · closed tomorrow 👉 More info here
Family Sunday at the Jewish Museum · 11:00–17:00 · free 👉 More info here
Radical Spooky Market · 12:00–20:00 · Hallesches Haus, Tempelhofer Ufer 1 · €3
Lagaan with English subtitles 18:00, Zeughauskino, €5 · Marco Fusinato at the Maxim Gorki 13:00–21:00, free
Markets · Mauerpark and Boxhagener Platz 10:00–18:00 · RAW from 08:00 · Rathaus Schöneberg 08:00–16:00 · Fehrbelliner Platz 10:00–16:00 · Museumsinsel 11:00–17:00
English comedy · Laughing Spree on a boat 20:30 · 0.1% Accurate 19:00 at Z BAR · New in Town 20:45
The Görlitzer Park ultimatum expires at midnight — see City News
🌤️ Weather
Get today over with, and the week improves. DWD’s own outlook calls it mild to very mild.
Sun 25 · 14° / 6° · rain, heaviest before midday · strong southerly gusting to 50 km/h
Mon 26 · 13° / 6° · bright, a passing shower, breezy
Tue 27 · 16° / 7° · warmest and brightest — take the long walk today
Wed 28 · 14° / 8° · cloudy and breezy; early rain possible in the east
Thu 29 · 12° / 7° · the wettest day after today
Fri 30 · 11° / 7° · cooler, broken cloud, largely dry
Sat 31 · around 11° / 6–9° · Halloween stays mild and mostly dry
Kältehilfe — the hotline, before the buses start
The season runs 1 October to 30 April, but both buses start next Sunday, 1 November. Until then, the staffed line is the Kältehilfetelefon, 030 343 971 40, daily 19:00–23:00. From 1 November: Kältebus 030 690 333 690, 20:00–02:00, and Wärmebus 030 600 300 1010, 18:00–24:00. Immediate danger is 112. Always ask the person first.
📰 City News
● Görlitzer Park: a bridge and a deadline tonight · The Görlitzer Brücke, the footbridge over the Landwehrkanal, has been shut since 1 July — Deutsche Bahn ended its lease and cites corrosion. A residents’ campaign, Görli 24/7, has given the Senate and the Bahn until midnight tonight to reopen it and says locals will otherwise open it themselves. No official reopening is in prospect, and a damage report is due at the end of the year.
● Winter shelter: the number is frozen · Berlin’s Kältehilfe season opened on 1 October. The 2026/27 budget puts €8,131,000 into 459 year-round places, and the Senate has told parliament in writing (answer S19-25510) that no money was provided to add more. Capacity is therefore set for the winter before the cold arrives — and welfare organisations say the system ran at up to 96% last winter. 👉 More on the occupancy figure here
● The cyberattack is over; paying for it is not · Rhysida, a ransomware group, got into Berlin’s administrative network in August. The city declared the immediate threat averted in mid-October. It refused the ransom of 30 bitcoin; the group published about 1.4 million files in response, and officials put the clean-up at at least €4m. 👉 The official statement here
● More money, two days before the fight over it · Thursday’s official tax estimate gave Berlin €263m more than expected for 2026 and €320m more for 2027. CDU chair Stefan Evers warned against spending it — and a supplementary budget is expected on the agenda at the talks he has called for Thursday.
● Blücherplatz is now Eva-Mamlok-Platz · The square in front of the central library in Kreuzberg was renamed on 16 October, with a marker unveiled the same day. Eva Mamlok was a Jewish Berliner who organised resistance to the Nazis while still in her teens. 👉 More info here
● Contactless fares, in 2029 · BVG announced on 15 October that it will fit around 3,600 validators, so you can pay with a bank card, a phone or a BVG prepaid card. Tickets are held in the cloud and checked on inspection, and the system is meant to work on the S-Bahn too. Tendering starts early in 2027 and the rollout is in 2029, so nothing changes for three years. The machines being replaced are 36 years old on the trams and 25 on the U-Bahn. 👉 More info here
● Two kilometres down in Marzahn · Berliner Energie und Wärme, the city-owned heat utility, has won the first exploration-drilling contract at its Marzahn power station. It plans one borehole about 2,000 m deep to test four candidate layers of thermal water. This is a test of whether the heat is there at all, not a heat supply — nothing from it reaches anyone’s radiator. 👉 More info here
● The police unit at the US embassy is gone · The command that provided personal protection at the embassy has been disbanded and disciplinary proceedings opened, after reporting alleged that officers drank on duty.
● Phones out of primary schools · The SPD, Greens and Die Linke have put a primary-school smartphone ban in their coalition paper. Four in five primary head teachers back it; parent and pupil bodies object to not being consulted. The oddity: it was a CDU election pledge that the CDU’s own education senator opposed, and it is now in a paper written by a coalition the CDU is not part of.
● Saturday’s protest: treat it as unsettled · Gen Z steht auf, a new youth movement, has called a demonstration for Saturday afternoon at the Brandenburger Tor. Around 10,000 is the figure in circulation and police are planning a large operation. But no start time and no route have been published, and the city’s assembly register does not list it. For scale, the group’s organised rehearsal at Kleistpark on 17 October drew 250.
📍 Berlin Picks
Saturday is Halloween and Reformationstag. Only one shuts shops.
31 October is a public holiday in Brandenburg, not Berlin. Berlin’s shops trade as normal; Brandenburg’s must close — Potsdam, and every out-of-town retail park: Teltow, Kleinmachnow, Mahlow, Dallgow, Hoppegarten, Waltersdorf. If your shop is over the boundary, go Friday. Bakers and farm shops get a few limited hours, and petrol stations, pharmacies and station shops stay open with reduced ranges. In Berlin it’s a religious holiday only — a right to attend a service rather than a day off. Schools return Monday 2 November.
The Berlin Dungeon’s last Halloween, and its last fortnight
After thirteen years in Mitte it closes for good: final day Friday 6 November, shut from the 7th, with later ticket-holders contacted and able to rebook. That makes the Blackout nights on 30 and 31 October its last Halloween — €20, strictly 18+ with ID, 30 to 80 minutes. 👉 Click here
Sound Metaphors at Berghain, three nights
Wed 28 · opening concerts, Kantine am Berghain · doors 19:00, music 20:00 · €29
Thu 29 · Part 1 from 19:00 · Alessandro Cortini, Grand River, Jonathan Fitoussi · €36 advance, €38 door
Fri 30 · Part 2 from 19:00 across Berghain, Panorama Bar and the Säule · Surgeon, Robert Henke, Mark Fell, Aba Shanti-I, Daphni, John Talabot, Lena Willikens · advance sold out, €42 door, so go early or not at all
Saturday’s Klubnacht from 23:59 is the club’s own night rather than part of the festival: Tobias. live, Aurora Halal, Verraco, Gerd Janson, Roman Flügel, Perel. 👉 Berghain programme
Berlin’s first Christmas market opens on Halloween
The Lichtenberger Winterzeit opens Saturday 31 October at Landsberger Allee 300, free entry, and runs to 27 December — more than three weeks before the main season starts on 23 November, and on the same afternoon the city does Halloween. Doors 14:00, closing 23:00 Fridays and Saturdays and about 22:00 the rest of the week, shut on 22 November and 24 December. 👉 More info here
For families: the holidays end with a ghost gala
FEZ GeisterGala · Sat 31, 15:00–21:00 · €8, or €6.50 each for two or more · costume show, dinner in total darkness, the miniature railway
FEZ Geisterwelten · to 1 November · €6.50, or €5 each for two or more · Tue–Fri 10:00–16:30, weekends 12:00–18:00, closed Monday and given over to the Gala on the 31st · for children 7 and up
Gruselige Tierwelt · Tierpark · a themed guided tour now, not the Halloween event it used to be · daily to Saturday, 15:00–16:30, though today’s starts at 15:30 · €13 for the tour from age four, or €6.50 for costumed four-to-fifteens, plus park admission · tickets online only and strictly limited, so don’t just turn up
YARD 900 Family & Kids Disco · Sat 31 and Sun 1 Nov, 12:00–20:00 · Wrangelstraße 100 · under-threes free, 4–17 €10, adults €15 plus fees
🎆 Special Event of the Week
Jazzfest Berlin, and a Free Week Before It
The 63rd Jazzfest runs Thursday 29 October to Sunday 1 November: 24 acts, more than 130 musicians from over 25 countries, four world premieres. Anthony Braxton opens at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with a septet assembled for the occasion. Other venues: A-Trane, Quasimodo and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. 👉 More info here
Prices. The festival publishes no tariff. Advance sales opened on 17 September, and the city’s ticket shop is asking from €23.78 for the late Quasimodo sets and from €39.84 for the main stage — reseller prices. Buy direct if you can. And if you hold a Berlin-Ticket S, ask at the evening box office: Berliner Festspiele normally sells holders a €3 ticket on the night.
What’s free. The Artist Talk on Thursday at 17:00; an open jam at 23:45 after each late Quasimodo set, with Karoline Wallace Thursday 22:30, Wendy Eisenberg Friday and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten Saturday; and Braxton with the JIB Creative Music Orchestra on Friday at 20:00 in the Georg-Neumann-Saal.
The free Community Week starts tomorrow, in Moabit. Kiez-Sessions in neighbourhood venues, open to anyone in the audience who plays.
Mon 26 · 13:00 SOS-Kinderdorf, Waldstr. 23–24 · 19:00 PAS Berlin, Kaiserin-Augusta-Allee 101, the kick-off
Tue 27 · 13:00 SOS-Kinderdorf · 19:00 KUKUMU-Café, Lübecker Str. 43
Wed 28 · 13:00 SOS-Kinderdorf · 19:00 and 20:00 Café Carla, Einsteinufer 43–53
Thu 29 · 19:00 Kallasch&, Unionstr. 2 — Rossano Snel on keyboard, Evgeniy Abin on tenor sax and bass clarinet, entry free
Sat 31 · 20:00 KULTURFABRIK Moabit, Lehrter Str. 35
Saturday also brings a city tour, two screenings and a queer shadow-theatre Little Mermaid for ages 4+, none with published times, and one or two events may ask you to register. Check the listing before you travel.
And jazz documentaries at b-ware! ladenkino, Gärtnerstraße 19, Friedrichshain — the cinema’s first cooperation with the festival, billed as seven films over seven days. €9, €7 reduced, €7 on Tuesdays, and the short DREAM BABY DREAM plays before every screening.
Mon 26 · 11:00 Irène Schweizer · 18:00 Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser, German subtitles
Tue 27 · 11:00 Milford Graves Full Mantis · 18:00 Brötzmann, no subtitles
Wed 28 · 11:00 Ornette: Made in America · 18:00 Milford Graves Full Mantis again, German subtitles
More screenings run later in the week, into the festival itself. 👉 More info here
🗓️ Events Calendar
Today’s events are above; markets are under Markets. Prices and lineups are in the sections.
Mon 26
Jazzfest Community Week opens, free · Jazz on Screen begins, 18:00 · see Special Event
Keramik-Museum and PalaisPopulaire free · see Deals
Kastanienallee closes to road traffic · U5 night works begin · see Survival Guide
FEZ Geisterwelten closed · Laughing Spree comedy, 20:30
Tue 27
Union away at 1. FC Köln · DFB-Pokal second round · 20:45
KINTSUGI · 20:00 · Chamäleon · no German needed
Erinnerung eines Mädchens · 20:30 · Schaubühne · English surtitles
What is Love? · 20:00 · The Wall Comedy Club, Grünberger Str. 84 · English
Wed 28
Philharmonie lunch concert · 13:00 · free · see Deals
Hertha away at SSV Jeddeloh II, in Oldenburg · DFB-Pokal second round · 18:00
ALBA v Surne Bilbao · Champions League · 20:00 · Uber Arena 👉 Click here
BR Volleys · 19:00 · Max-Schmeling-Halle
Sound Metaphors opens at Kantine · Spill Your Guts premieres 19:00, Sophiensaele, in English
Thu 29
Jazzfest Berlin opens with Anthony Braxton · Artist Talk 17:00, free · see Special Event
The new Abgeordnetenhaus sits for the first time, and the CDU meets the SPD and Greens · see The Week’s Lead
Sound Metaphors Part 1 · 19:00 · Berghain
Füchse v RK Partizan · EHF Champions League · 18:45 · Max-Schmeling-Halle
Beyond Imagining opens 18:00, Berlinische Galerie
Fri 30
Sound Metaphors Part 2 · from 19:00 · Berghain, Panorama Bar, Säule · see Berlin Picks
Braxton with the JIB Creative Music Orchestra · 20:00 · Georg-Neumann-Saal · free
DSO at the Philharmonie 20:00, Konzerthausorchester 19:00 · both repeat Saturday
English Comedy Berlin Showcase 19:30, Kookaburra · Epic Comedy Showcase 21:00, Zosch · Wendy Eisenberg 22:30, Quasimodo
Berlin Dungeon Blackout, 18+ · S1 closes at Zehlendorf from 22:00
Sat 31
Halloween and Reformationstag — a holiday in Brandenburg, not Berlin · see Berlin Picks
Die Linke’s party congress decides on coalition negotiations · Herzbergstraße 128, from 09:30
Lichtenberger Winterzeit opens · 14:00 · free · Landsberger Allee 300
FEZ GeisterGala 15:00–21:00 · Jazzfest Kiez-Session 20:00, KULTURFABRIK Moabit, free
The Shadows · 19:00 · HAU2 · Persian with English surtitles
DSO and Konzerthausorchester repeat · Håker Flaten 22:30, Quasimodo · Klubnacht from 23:59, Berghain
Hertha away at Kaiserslautern 13:00 · BR Volleys at VC Olympia 18:00, Sportforum Hohenschönhausen
Berliner HC hockey, women 11:45, men 14:15 · Halloween-Run, 5 km and 10 km from 18:30, Volkspark Jungfernheide 👉 More info here
Leyla Yenirce: Core opens at Capitain Petzel · Pankow’s Dietzgenstraße junction reopens
🚆 Getting Around This Week
Roads — and for once, good news
The motorways are clear: no full closure on the A100, A113, A114, A115, A10, A12 or A24 inside Berlin this week. We haven’t been able to write that since the summer.
• Mahlsdorf, new, tomorrow to Friday · Hultschiner Damm closed Grunowstraße–Rahnsdorfer Straße, cars via Müllerstraße and Wolfsberger Straße, lorries via Chemnitzer and Köpenicker · Elsenstraße closed between nos. 9 and 15, via Kressenweg to the B1/B5, buses via Alt-Mahlsdorf · no hours published, treat both as all day
• Danziger Straße · shut to cars towards Eberswalder Straße, Schönhauser Allee–Lychener Straße, to mid-November
• Dreieck Funkturm · the A115 ramp to Halenseestraße Ost is out, Avus traffic for the A100 north single-file via the Avus rest area to Alte Jafféstraße and Messedamm · until the new Ringbahnbrücke opens in summer 2027
• A100 · two of three lanes over the Mecklenburgische Straße bridge to mid-November · Innsbrucker Platz–Alboinstraße two lanes to 11 November · Rudolf-Wissell-Brücke missing its right lane both ways
• Saturday 31 · a four-hour full closure of the Teltower Damm underpass, moving the Gartenstraße stop for the 101, 115 and 623 to Machnower Straße · sources differ on whether this is the 31st or 6 November, so check before you travel
U-Bahn and tram
U5 · the late works did not end, they moved west · no trains Wuhletal–Tierpark from tonight to 5 November, Sunday to Thursday from about 22:00 · Hönow–Kaulsdorf-Nord normal, then a ten-minute shuttle to Elsterwerdaer Platz, then buses · Friday and Saturday unaffected
U3 · through Podbielskiallee without stopping towards Krumme Lanke to 2 November · northbound stops normally, southbound ride to Dahlem-Dorf and come back one stop · BVG’s own works page omits this because it’s a station measure, not a line closure
U2 · buses replace trains Zoologischer Garten–Bismarckstraße, about 22:30 to end of service, Sunday to Thursday, to 12 November
M1 · northern section only to 13 December while Kastanienallee is rebuilt · from tomorrow Kastanienallee also closes to road traffic, Schwedter–Fehrbelliner
Also · line 21 restricted Lichtenberg–Holteistraße to 2 November · the Allee der Kosmonauten works still affect the M8, M17, 18, 27 and 37 into mid-December · Pankow’s Dietzgenstraße junction is passable again from Saturday
S-Bahn and regional
Today · the Ring’s western side is closed Südkreuz–Westend via Halensee until about 01:30 tomorrow, with buses on that section · the S41, S42 and S46 are the lines affected · and the RE1 is cancelled Erkner–Ostbahnhof 08:00–15:00, thirty trains, so use the S3 · it repeats next Sunday, 1 November
Thursday night · the Ring closes again, Westend–Beusselstraße, 21:45 to about 01:30
Friday night · the S1 closes at Zehlendorf, 30 October 22:00 to 2 November 03:40 · the stretch towards Schlachtensee isn’t closed but single-track for the whole rebuild, which is easy to misread · the pedestrian underpass shuts for the same weekend, and the northern exit of the passenger tunnel is closed to 8 December
From Friday, to 6 November · Lübbenau–Altdöbern cancels the RE7 · Birkenwerder–Nassenheide affects the RE5, RB12, RB20, RB32, RB54
Unchanged, and still the big one · the RE1 split into Magdeburg–Charlottenburg and Ostbahnhof–Frankfurt (Oder) to 12 December, with the Stadtbahn closed to regional and long-distance trains Charlottenburg–Ostbahnhof, so most services use the lower level at Hauptbahnhof and Hamburg trains can’t call at Spandau
Hanover corridor · Fallersleben–Berlin-Spandau shut to 12 December · long-distance via Braunschweig and Magdeburg, 60 to 80 minutes more from Hanover; Amsterdam via Hamburg, about 70 minutes more · booking westbound, add an hour and a half
🎬 Film
The week’s best cinema is at Babylon Mitte, which is running three retrospectives at once. Babylon marks original-version screenings OF, so check each listing before you book.
Clockwork Kubrick · nine films, Monday to Wednesday · Paths of Glory and The Killing Mon 18:15, Dr. Strangelove Mon 20:00, Lolita Tue 17:00, Full Metal Jacket Tue 21:30, The Shining Tue 22:00, Killer’s Kiss Wed 17:15, Eyes Wide Shut Wed 21:45, Spartacus Wed 22:00
Korea Independent · ten Korean independent films, Monday to Thursday, several with Q&As · Unsere Eomeoni Tue 18:00, NIKO Wed 19:30, Becoming Kim opens Wed 20:00, The Ugly Thu 19:30
Kinski 100! · Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes Mon 22:00 · Fitzcarraldo Mon 22:15
For Halloween · The Exorcist, director’s cut, Thu 29 at 21:30, in the original version · and The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a live shadow cast, Fri 30 at 21:00
Also Thursday · MetFilm’s A Separation, 20:00, Persian with subtitles
Neues Off, Neukölln · Hope (2026), original with English and German subtitles · Mon 26 at 17:00 and 20:30, Tue 27 at 16:30, Wed 28 at 17:00 · and Possible Love, Tue 27 at 20:00 and Wed 28 at 20:30 👉 See times here
To find anything in its original language across the city, ovkino.de covers more than sixty Berlin cinemas and refreshes daily. Worth a bookmark. 👉 More info here
Jazzfest’s cinema strand is under Special Event. And Freiluftkino is shut until May, so don’t go looking.
🎭 Performances
What You Can Watch Without German
Spill Your Guts: Waiting Room Visions · Hendrik Quast · premieres Wed 28 at 19:00, then Fri 30 and Sat 31 at 21:00 · Sophiensæle Kantine, Sophienstr. 18 · billed as an English-language premiere, and the find of the week · and the price is yours to pick — €25, €20, €15 or €10, with no proof required for the cheapest, and €5 for children 👉 Click here
Marco Fusinato, In the Corpse of the Present · Maxim Gorki Theater · Tue 27 to Sat 31, 13:00–21:00 · free · a sound installation, so no German needed at all · and Fusinato talks with Laurens von Oswald on Sat 31 at 21:00, also free 👉 More info here
The Shadows · Sat 31, 19:00 · HAU2 · Shieveh Theater Company from Tehran · Persian with German and English surtitles · 100 min · €17–22, reduced €9–12 · again Sun 1 Nov at 17:00 👉 Click here
KINTSUGI · Tue 27, 20:00 · Chamäleon, Rosenthaler Str. 40/41 · 110 min · the theatre states the language as none, so there’s nothing to follow
Erinnerung eines Mädchens · Schaubühne Saal C · from €17.90 · the Schaubühne surtitles only selected performances, so check the date before you book
Guided tour in English · Sat 31, 16:00 · Gropius Bau · free with an exhibition ticket, 20 places, be in the foyer ten minutes early
Total Refusal, Let’s Play I Am Old and Tired · Wed 28 19:00, Thu 29 20:00 · HAU3 · €15/€9 · tagged German and English without explanation, so we can’t promise English
And English Theatre Berlin is dark until Saturday 28 November, when It’s Gonna Rain opens on the main stage at 20:00.
The tool worth bookmarking: berlin-buehnen.de carries the joint schedule for Berlin’s stages in English, and every listing states the language — including “with English surtitles.” 👉 More info here
🎵 Music
Jazzfest and Sound Metaphors are above. One thing to know first: the Berliner Philharmoniker are away, finishing a South America tour, and the Buenos Aires finale streams free on their Digital Concert Hall. So the classical weekend belongs to the other two orchestras — and both play the same two nights.
DSO Berlin · Fri 30 and Sat 31, 20:00 · Philharmonie · Honeck with Vilde Frang · Julia Perry’s Short Piece for Orchestra, the Schumann Violin Concerto, Mahler 1 · talk at 19:15 · no prices published, but students and other eligible groups pay €12 at the evening box office 👉 More info here
Konzerthausorchester · Fri 30 and Sat 31, 19:00 · Großer Saal · Minasi with Ferrández · Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture, the Schumann Cello Concerto, then Brahms 4 · €19–66 plus fee · talk at 18:00 👉 Click here
Karajan-Akademie · Sat 31, 19:00 · Kammermusiksaal · with the painter Norbert Bisky, and the world premiere of Sara Glojnarić’s new work as she receives the Claudio Abbado Composition Prize
Philharmonie lunch concert · Wed 28, 13:00 · free · details under Deals
Opera and ballet — eight performances this week.
Tosca · Staatsoper Unter den Linden · Wed 28, 19:30 and Sat 31, 18:00
Der fliegende Holländer · Deutsche Oper · Wed 28 and Sat 31, both 19:00
Orpheus in der Unterwelt · Komische Oper · Fri 30, 19:00
Jewgeni Onegin · Komische Oper · Sat 31, 19:30
Giselle · Staatsballett · Thu 29 and Fri 30, 19:30
🔄 Ongoing
Just opened · Genghis Khan and the World of the Mongols, James-Simon-Galerie, to 18 Apr 2027 · Across Epochs: Gursky, Lucas, Miró, Warhol, Alte Nationalgalerie, to 28 Feb 2027, €16/€8, Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00
Three long runs we’ve carried since early October, now in short form. The dates are the only thing you still need.
Maurizio Cattelan. NIGHT · Neue Nationalgalerie · to 7 Mar 2027 · €16/€8, or €20 for the building · closed Mon
Ryuichi Sakamoto: seeing sound, hearing time · Hamburger Bahnhof · to 20 Jun 2027 · €16/€8 · closed Mon
Rubens, Jordaens, van Dyck: Flemish Master Drawings · Kupferstichkabinett · to 31 Jan 2027 · €8, €4 reduced for the exhibition alone, or the €22 Kulturforum day ticket, €11 reduced, for everything there
One correction to carry forward: we gave €8/€4 in issue #29, said in #30 that it was wrong, and it wasn’t. Both tickets exist, so the cheaper one is there if you only want the drawings.
All five of those, with current prices 👉 More info here
Opens Thu 29 · Beyond Imagining, 3hd 2026 · Berlinische Galerie IBB Video Space, opening 18:00, then to 30 Nov · €14/€7 👉 Click here
Opens Sat 31 · Leyla Yenirce: Core · Capitain Petzel, Karl-Marx-Allee 45 · reception 18:00–20:00, then to 19 Dec 👉 More info here
Closing · Dolorès Marat at Buchkunst, with a finissage Sat 31, 14:00–18:00, and Rainer Ganahl at Daumenlutscher the same day · Der Berliner Skulpturenfund at PETRI Berlin, €6/€3, and the 3hd festival, Sun 1 Nov
🛖 Markets this Week
Two of today’s markets are their last of the year. The Schoeneboerg Flowmarkt holds its final 2026 market this afternoon, 10:00–16:30 at Lucie-Leydicke-Platz in the Crellekiez, Crellestraße at Großgörschenstraße — the organisers call it the last Flowmarkt before the winter break. And the Berliner Fahrradmarkt’s Steglitz edition has its last Ludwig-Beck-Platz date, 10:00–15:00. Both return in spring. 👉 More info here
Closing for good — the Antikmarkt at Ostbahnhof. Tagesspiegel reports the end of one of Berlin’s oldest antique markets, down from 200 stalls to 20, with a final market on 20 December. It is on today. 👉 Click here
A correction to something we’ve implied. Berlin’s flea markets do not all close for winter: Mauerpark, Arkonaplatz and Fehrbelliner Platz run year-round. But several stop now — including the two above, the Kunstmeile art market at Fehrbelliner Platz, which is April to November, and the bike market’s remaining sites after 15 November.
Arkonaplatz, Straße des 17. Juni and Marheinekeplatz all publish shorter winter hours without saying when they switch, and the clocks went back overnight. Arrive before 15:00.
Also today · Jordan Flohmarkt, Alt-Treptow, 10:00–17:00 — every second Sunday, next on 8 November
Saturday · thin on flea markets (Straße des 17. Juni, Rathaus Schöneberg, Fehrbelliner Platz, Marheinekeplatz 10:00–16:00, Museumsinsel), so take the food markets instead: Markthalle Neun 10:00–18:00, Marheineke Markthalle 09:00–18:00, Domäne Dahlem Ökomarkt 08:00–13:00 · Winterfeldtmarkt is under Shopping Pick
Nowkoelln is not on today — the next dates are 1 and 29 November 👉 More info here
⚽ Sport
Neither football club plays at home. Both are away in the DFB-Pokal second round — Union at 1. FC Köln Tuesday 20:45, Hertha at fourth-tier SSV Jeddeloh II Wednesday 18:00, a tie moved to the Stadion am Marschweg in Oldenburg because Jeddeloh’s own ground doesn’t meet cup requirements — then Hertha at Kaiserslautern Saturday 13:00, matchday 10. Hertha’s last home game was yesterday, a 1–0 win over Arminia Bielefeld.
No Eisbären home game either: away at Schwenningen today 14:00 and Ingolstadt Friday 19:30, then home to Adler Mannheim at the Uber Arena next Sunday, 1 November, 14:00. 👉 Click here
Füchse Berlin · HSG Wetzlar today 16:30, RK Partizan AdmiralBet in the EHF Champions League Thursday 18:45 · Max-Schmeling-Halle 👉 More info here
ALBA Berlin · ratiopharm Ulm today 18:00, Surne Bilbao in the Champions League Wednesday 20:00 · Uber Arena 👉 Click here
BR Volleys · Volley Goats Mitteldeutschland Wednesday 19:00, Max-Schmeling-Halle, where catering is cashless only 👉 More info here
Saturday, cheap · Berliner HC men against Der Club an der Alster, 14:15, in Zehlendorf · entry is normally free or nominal, though no price is published · and the Halloween-Run, 5 km and 10 km from 18:30, Volkspark Jungfernheide 👉 Apply here
😂 Comedy in English
Platform prices include fees and are not door prices; door times are rarely published.
Sun 25 · Laughing Spree, on a boat, 20:30, The Floating Lounge, Mühlenstraße 73, from €16.88, and a free shot comes with it 👉 Click here · 0.1% Accurate, 19:00, Z BAR, Bergstraße 2, from €5.03 · New in Town, 20:45, Hier wo du strahlst, Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 20 — weekly on Sundays to 22 November
Tue 27 · Laughing Spree, on the boat again, 20:30 👉 Click here · What is Love?, 20:00, at The Wall Comedy Club, Grünberger Str. 84, U5 Samariterstraße, from €16.88 — note the venue, this one moved off SaliGari Bar and the organisers say so explicitly
Thu 29 · The Laugh Social, English live comedy in Mitte, Tor218 Art Lab, Torstraße 218, doors 19:30 · and an open mic at Kookaburra, 21:00
Fri 30 · English Comedy Berlin Showcase, 19:30, Kookaburra, Schönhauser Allee 184, from €22.56, pizza included 👉 Click here · The Epic Comedy Showcase, 21:00, Zosch, doors 20:00 · and Comedy Neat at Mein Freund Harvey, €13, which runs most Fridays
Sat 31 · English Comedy Berlin Showcase again, 19:30, Kookaburra, from €22.56 — the standard showcase, not a Halloween special
Back Door Comedy runs Tuesdays at Mysliwska: free entry, a €7–15 donation expected, and €10 reserves a seat.
👨👩👧 Family Picks
The Last Week of the Holidays. School resumes Monday 2 November.
KinderKulturMonat ends with October. Its fifteenth year: more than 290 free events at over 100 venues, for four to twelve year olds and their families, weekends only, registration per event and the good slots go. Today and Saturday are the last dates this year. 👉 Register here
Camp4Talents, Monday to Friday, 10:00–16:00 — ages nine to fifteen, free, with breakfast and lunch included, at Schule an der Dahme, Glienicker Str. 24–30 in Köpenick. Register by email at [email protected]. It’s the only free programme on the city’s own holiday list, so expect it to fill. 👉 More info here
Everything else for the week in one place. The city’s holiday page also carries an inclusive week at JeverNeun in Schöneberg for children with and without disabilities, a sign-language workshop, sound and shadow play at the Exploratorium, and autumn ghosts at the Freilandlabor Britz. 👉 Click here
Halloween for children — the FEZ GeisterGala, the Tierpark costume discount, the YARD 900 disco — is under Berlin Picks. The Super-Ferien-Pass is under Deals, and this is the week to use it.
🍽️ Restaurant Pick
SISU · Köpenicker Straße 174, 10997 Kreuzberg
Opened Tuesday 20 October in the Forum building. Chef Michael Englhart, with Daniel Nini — of Grill Royal, Borchardt, Telegraphenamt and GRACE — as one of three operators alongside Christian Hubert Raab and Belmin Sehovic. Konro charcoal grill, with koji, miso and kombu doing the seasoning. That combination of room and kitchen is new here, which is why it’s in at five days old.
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 18:00 — the restaurant publishes no closing times, but press reports put them at 22:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday and midnight Thursday to Saturday, so don’t plan a late Tuesday. Booking is by the form on the restaurant’s own site only, for two to nine people, and you get an email confirmation. No telephone number is published. Ten or more can book a group menu, and tables of 25 or more go through [email protected]. 👉 Book here
🛍️ Shopping Pick
Winterfeldtmarkt · Saturday 31, 08:00–16:00 · Winterfeldtplatz, Schöneberg
Berlin’s best Saturday market, and its largest, with over 250 stalls. This week it matters more: Brandenburg’s shops shut for Reformationstag and Berlin’s don’t, so the out-of-town options are closed and this isn’t. The market skips statutory holidays, and in Berlin the 31st isn’t one, so it trades as normal. Go in the morning. U Nollendorfplatz (U1, U2, U3, U4), five minutes. It also runs Wednesdays, 08:00–14:00. 👉 More info here
🏠 Flats of the Week
€358.55 warm (€260.39 cold) · 29.48 m² · Märkische Allee 200, Marzahn-Mitte · one room, 7th floor, lift · now · no WBS, but income between 140% and 220% of the WoFG limit · degewo pitches it at students and apprentices
€360.91 warm (€229.67 cold) · 32.81 m² · Am Bahndamm 31, Köpenick Nord · from 1 Nov · WBS 100/140 with bW · cheapest cold rent here
€391.38 warm (€249.06 cold) · 35.58 m² · Am Bahndamm 31, Köpenick Nord · same building as above, and this is the one with a balcony
€422.34 warm (€314.57 cold) · 29.21 m² · Landecker Straße 5A, Schmargendorf · needs renovating, which is why a west-side flat is here
€602.84 warm (€410.05 cold) · 40.76 m² · Schlangenbader Straße 20C, in die Schlange · top floor, 14th of 14, lift and balcony · now · WBS with bW
Available immediately, no WBS · Cecilienstraße 193, Marzahn-Hellersdorf · €890.50 warm, €757.29 cold, 44.26 m², lift, large balcony · expensive for the size, and the same flat we listed three weeks ago, still unlet
💼 Job Board
Six with deadlines open after today, research posts first because that’s where the English-language roles are.
Freie Universität Berlin · Research assistant (praedoc), Physics · E13 TV-L FU, 75%, contract to 30 June 2029 · ref DM-PHY-968 · excellent English wanted, German not listed · deadline 9 Nov 👉 Apply here
TU Berlin · Research assistant, PhD, Marketing · grade 13 TV-L, 75% · ref VII-406/26 · teaching in German and/or English · 6 Nov 👉 Apply here
TU Berlin · Research assistant, PhD, Ergonomics · grade 13 TV-L · ref V-408/26 · same language clause plus willingness to acquire the missing one · 6 Nov 👉 Apply here
Humboldt-Universität · Full professorship, Psychological Research Methods · W3 · ref PR/009/26 · very good German · 3 Nov 👉 Apply here
Bezirksamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf · Sachbearbeitung Milieuschutz · E11 · posted 20 Oct, deadline 3 Nov · administering the rent-protection designation at the centre of this week’s housing argument 👉 Apply here
Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe · Verwendungsnachweisprüfung for GRW-co-financed projects · A11 or E11 · posted 19 Oct, deadline 2 Nov 👉 Apply here
🔮 Coming Soon
Sun 1 Nov · the Kältebus and Wärmebus start · Jazzfest closes · FEZ Geisterwelten ends · Nowkoelln returns, and again on 29 Nov · Eisbären home to Adler Mannheim, 14:00 · the Konzerthausorchester repeats its Brahms programme, 16:00
Mon 2 Nov · schools return · the U3 stops at Podbielskiallee again · line 21 restriction ends · the S1 reopens at Zehlendorf, 03:40
Wed 4 Nov · Nollendorfplatz opens for the winter — LGBTQIA* Winterdays to 22 Nov, then Christmas Avenue 23 Nov to 23 Dec, closed on the 15th and 22nd · free, over-16s only · Thu 5 Nov · the U5 night works finish
Fri 6 Nov · the Berlin Dungeon’s last day ever · Heissa opens at Holzmarkt, to 20 Dec · Filmpark’s Horrornächte run again
Sat 7 Nov · Makers Market Moabit, Arminiusmarkthalle, 10:00–17:00, free · Sun 8 Nov · Cheese Berlin at Markthalle Neun, 11:00–18:00, €10 and €5 after 16:00, free if your postcode is 10997
10–15 Nov · interfilm 42 — 350 films in 60 programmes, advance tickets already on sale 👉 More info here
Fri 13 Nov · the first big Christmas market opens at the Gedächtniskirche, Breitscheidplatz, to 1 Jan · Sat 15 Nov · the Fahrradmarkt’s last date, at Herrfurthplatz, and Danziger Straße due to reopen
Wed 18 Nov · Humboldt Forum Christmas market, to 3 Jan · Fri 20 Nov · the new consumer credit law
Mon 23 Nov · the rest of the season opens: Gendarmenmarkt to 31 Dec, Rotes Rathaus to 3 Jan, Alexanderplatz to 26 Dec, Charlottenburg Palace to 27 Dec, Spandau and Lucia to 22 Dec 👉 Click here
Mon 30 Nov · your letter must reach the insurer by today to switch car insurer for a policy renewing on 31 December · 26 Nov–6 Dec · Around the World in 14 Films
Fri 4 to Mon 7 Dec · the S1 closes at Zehlendorf again, the third and last of these weekends, with the station tunnel’s north exit shut to 8 Dec
Sat 12 Dec · the Stadtbahn reopens to regional and long-distance trains, and the Hanover corridor comes back
That’s it for this week.
Make Berlin yours.
Forward this to someone who needs it. Berlin Brief is always free.
See you next time. Same time. Same Kiez.
— Yassir