From the Editor
Hallo Berliners!
Easter is almost here, and we have everything you need to make the most of the long weekend before the city empties out.
In today's edition:
S-Bahn Ringbahn suspended until 13 April: what to use instead
A brand new bistro in Prenzlauer Berg worth booking now
Your free SCHUFA report, and why to request it this week
The Easter Knight Spectaculum at Spandau Citadel
Wannsee Lido opens this Friday. Yes, it is cold; yes, it is worth it
Brancusi at the Neue Nationalgalerie, plus a free concert
This week's deal, German word, and more
Stock up on groceries by Thursday. Shops are closed. Good Friday and Easter Monday, by law.
— Dr Yassir A Shuaib
City News
🚇 S-Bahn disruptions from Monday
The Ringbahn is suspended between Treptower Park and Tempelhof from 30 March until 13 April. Replacement buses cover the gap for lines S41, S42, S46, and S47. Residents of Neukölln, Treptow, or Tempelhof should add 20 or more minutes to every journey. More info →
🚊Tram M10 partially suspended
Track renewal on Invalidenstraße and Eberswalder Straße means no M10 until 12 April. Use M5 or M8 as alternatives. More info →
🏙️ Residence permits now online
Since 23 March, applications for family-reason residence permits can be submitted via the website of the Berlin immigration office — no in-person appointment required. More info →
⚠️ Easter closures
Major shops close on Easter Friday (3 April) and Easter Monday (6 April). No amplified music in public on Easter Friday — this is German law, not a guideline. Do your grocery shopping on Thursday. More info →
He stocked up on Thursday. Have you?
Deal of the Week
Deutschlandticket Job Ticket
The Deutschlandticket costs €63/month. If your employer contributes at least 25% of that, the federal government adds an extra 5% discount, bringing your monthly cost down to a maximum of €44.10 for unlimited public transport across Germany.
Many employers already offer this option. Many employees have never asked. Please consider discussing this with your HR department this week. The saving starts immediately.
Events this Week
🏰 Easter Knight Spectaculum - Spandau Citadel (Paid, Sat 4 - Mon 6 April)
Jousting, fire shows on horseback, and a mediaeval market inside one of Europe's best-preserved Renaissance fortresses. The Spandau Citadel is genuinely impressive — not the tourist version of impressive, but the real thing. Worth the U7 journey out. Am Juliusturm 64, Spandau. More info →
🏊 Wannsee Lido Opens (Free, Good Friday, 3 April)
Every year on Easter Friday the lido opens its season with free admission. The water is around 8°C. People go in anyway. One of those Berlin rituals worth knowing about. S7 to Nikolassee, around 15-minute walk. More info →
🎨 Brancusi - Neue Nationalgalerie (Free, Thursday 2 April from 4pm)
The most significant exhibition in Berlin this year. Over 150 sculptures — The Kiss, Bird in Space, Sleeping Muse — plus the first reconstruction of Brancusi's Paris studio shown outside France in 70 years. Go on Thursday 2 April: free entry from 4pm. Free concert at 8pm: French pianist David Kadouch performs Erik Satie. Book a timed slot online to avoid the queue. Potsdamer Str. 50, Tiergarten. More info →
🥚 Free Easter Programme - The Playce (Free, Sat 4 April, 14:00-18:00)
Creative stations and an Easter egg hunt through the building. Good for families, good for anyone who hasn't fully retired from Easter. Alte Potsdamer Str. 7, Mitte. More info →
🛍️ Easter Markets - Potsdamer Platz and Breitscheidplatz (Free, Easter Weekend)
Restaurant Pick
Almi - Prenzlauer Berg (English-friendly)
The old Papa e Ciccia space on the corner of Schwedter and Choriner has been taken over by a young crew led by Chef Almaz Iskakov — Ferrandi-trained. The menu is modern European with a genuinely warm neighbourhood feel: ox cheek croquettes, cecina de Angus from Spain, and a wine list that shows some thought. Forty-one seats, natural materials, no attitude. It opened in March. Book ahead. Schwedter Str. 18, Prenzlauer Berg. Opening hours: Tue–Sat, 5:30–11pm. More info →
Bureaucracy Hack
Your Free SCHUFA Report – and Why to Request it
SCHUFA is Germany's credit bureau. Landlords, banks, phone providers — all of them check it. Every resident is legally entitled to one free copy per year. Go to meineschufa.de, scroll to the very bottom, and find the section labelled Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DS-GVO). That is the free one. The site pushes the €29.95 paid version prominently; do not click that unless you specifically need it.
Apply online, upload your passport and Meldebescheinigung, and the report arrives by post within 1–2 weeks. The free report is for your eyes only; it contains too much personal data to hand to a landlord. When a landlord asks for SCHUFA, they want the Bonitätsauskunft (€29.95 from the same site).
New from 17 March 2026: SCHUFA overhauled its scoring system. The score now runs from 100 to 999 points, is based on 12 publicly named criteria (down from 250), and can be viewed free online via a new SCHUFA account at app.schufa.de. It's worth checking now, before you are in the middle of a flat hunt.
Word of the Week
Kiez (Pronounced: KEETZ)
Literally, a small neighbourhood. In Berlin, something more specific: the stretch of streets you actually live in — the Späti that knows your face, the park bench that is quietly yours on Sunday mornings.
“Welcher Kiez bist du?“
That is how Berliners ask who you are. It is less a geographical question than a personality one. Choosing your Kiez is one of the first real decisions you make here.
That’s it for this Week!
Explore the city, try something new — and as always, make Berlin yours.
Berlin Brief (BrB) Team
P.S.
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Berlin is best explored one week at a time. Whether you used one tip from this issue or all of them, that is enough.
See you next time. Same time. Same Kiez!
— Yassir 🥚