I love to visit places that are a little different, so when I was trying to find a biergarten in Berlin and came across Klunkerkranich, I had to check it out. The name roughly translates to Jewelry Crane, which is an odd name, but frankly, everything about this place is a little odd.
It is a rooftop bar/cultural center located on top of the Neukölln Arcaden, a shopping mall in the Neukölln neighborhood on the south side of Berlin. It has food, several bars, and fantastic views of Berlin.
Finding Klunkerkranich was a challenge. I stumbled across it on Google Maps when I searched for biergartens. When we went there, I found the intersection where it was located, but couldn’t find any signs or indication of where it was. I knew it was on the rooftop, so I decided to walk into Neukölln Arcaden to see if I had to go through the mall to get there.
Honestly, I’m not exactly sure how we found it. I know we went up as far as we could inside the mall, then ended up in a stairwell going up another floor, then through a parking garage. Inside the parking structure, we saw a ramp going up an additional level, and on that ramp, we were greeted by a gentleman who was taking the entrance fee. It’s definitely not the kind of place you just stumble upon; you have to be looking for it.
The entrance fee is variable between three and nine euros, depending on what time you arrive and what cultural program is being featured that day. The cultural program on the day we arrived was an EDM DJ, and the fee was eight euros.
Walking up the ramp, you start to get the vibe of the place. There are planters along the ramp that feel like they belong in a hippie’s garden, reminiscent of reclaimed pallet boards and whimsical paint colors. Once we got to the top of the roof itself, I felt a little sensory overload. The bass from the EDM, the views of Berlin, the sound of people chatting, the colors from the flowers in the planters, as well as the countless avant-garde decorations, took me a moment to unpack.
We looked around for a little while and then went into the bar for a König Ludwig dunkel for me and a cola for Alex. We then found a picnic table where we sat and enjoyed our drinks. The best tables along the edge of the building with clear views of the city were already taken.
For a Wednesday night, there were quite a few people there, but clearly, they could handle a much bigger crowd because only about half of the area was accessible. There was a private party in one section, which I discovered when I tried to walk up there and was sternly reprimanded. Another section, called the Ostflügel (east wing), was also closed off, which I imagine they open when they are busier.
Our plan for the evening was to have a couple of drinks here while the sun set. We had already eaten, so we didn’t have any of the food that was served. Based on the reviews, the food isn’t great, so we ate before arriving. Besides, I promised Alex I would take him for ice cream. Alex and I had spent a week together at this point, and the only way I could convince him to go with me to another biergarten was to promise him ice cream afterward.
Even though this didn’t look like a traditional German biergarten, it certainly had that same feel. I find Germans to be friendly in biergartens, even though they typically don’t have the reputation for liking small talk. We had a short conversation with a gentleman from an adjacent table, which was prompted by Alex falling off the back of his bench (seriously, he was the only person there not drinking, and he’s the one who fell out of his seat).
I wish we had a chance to visit on the weekend. I have a feeling that the vibe goes from laid-back rooftop biergarten to a more nightclub/rave vibe when it gets really busy. Even though I would definitely rather go to a biergarten than a nightclub, it would have been really interesting to visit it when people were really partying.
We waited for sundown and walked around the rooftop, looking over the city of Berlin. It was a beautiful sunset on a warm and lovely evening. We then decided to leave and worked our way back to the ground level through the parking garage, stairwell, and the mall, and back out into the city. Now we just had to find that ice cream I promised Alex.
If you are going to Berlin, I would highly recommend going to Klunkerkranich. The views over the city alone are worth the price of admission. I really enjoyed the hippie vibes and the avant-garde art. It was a really enjoyable place to spend an evening.
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