Have you ever visited Finland - in Berlin?
Whether you are afraid of flying, have no budget for a new trip or are looking for a special date idea for your culturally interested or Finland loving partner, country-hopping within a city can be an exciting activity. Of course, nothing beats the real experience of visiting the country, but discovering Finnish influences can also help alleviate wanderlust and it's a nice, fun and creative way to explore new, perhaps unknown parts of a city.
Whether you are planning a holiday in Finland or a daycation in Berlin, both require preparation. For the latter, I would recommend checking out the website of the Finnish Embassy in Germany as well as their Instagram page "finbotschaftde". In particular, the events section of the website, as well as checking out the Instagram accounts that finbotschaftde follows, were great sources for finding Finnish-inspired places in Berlin. My sister and I found so many activities, shops and events to visit or attend during our trip to Berlin last September that it was impossible to do them all.
Felleshus
A good starting point for our trip were the Nordic embassies in Berlin, housed in the beautiful Felleshus, designed by the Austrian-Finnish architects Berger+Parkkinen. The Felleshus is a cultural centre and event venue for the five Nordic embassies of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
It is open to the public and hosts exhibitions, readings, concerts, lectures and conferences. You can learn more about the Nordic countries and get inspiration for upcoming Nordic events - we spotted an invitation to a Moomin party at Pankebuch (a place where you can usually buy Nordic and Baltic literature such as novels, thrillers, classics, travel and children's books in Berlin) or movie tips. If you get hungry, you can get a Nordic-inspired lunch in the canteen or a coffee at the coffee bar.
We visited the exhibition "Der harte Norden" about Nordic metal music, which was presented through art, backdrops, fanzines, stage props, clothes, interviews and music. It was really interesting to see and read about the exhibits and the history of the stage props mostly created by the artists themselves. We also got an essential listening list for each country on Spotify with Finnish songs from Children of Bodom, Stratovarius, Sentenced and Nightwish.
At the “Kaffebar” we had coffee, hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. They offered a few nice desserts such as Nordic biscotti, chocolate balls or kokostopp. It was also possible to buy small Nordic-inspired (design) items such as tea towels or food such as liquorice, coffee and sweets.
Felleshus
Rauchstrasse 1, 108787 Berlin
Kaffebar / Blue Nordic Coffee Bar Instagram
Der Harte Norden Instagram
Pankebuch Instagram
Kioski Berlin
Kioski is a lovely mini restaurant in the middle of a creative courtyard in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The beautiful, bright yellow kiosk was designed by Slovenian architect Saša J. Mächtig. To be honest, I would love to own one too and use it as a pop-up restaurant in our garden or as an office somewhere in the woods - it just looks amazing and has the perfect size.
The name "kioski" comes from Finland, as does the owner's mother of Ann-Marie von Löw. Inspired by her mother's cookbook, she serves Karelian pasties, cinnamon buns, pulla and other Finnish treats. Unfortunately, the owner was on holiday when we visited, so there was no opportunity to order any of the Finnish treats, as she makes them all by herself. It was nevertheless a nice visit, but we hope to have better luck next time.
kioski im Hof des Mykita Haus
Ritterstrasse 9, 10969 Berlin
Kioski Instagram
Alvar Aalto House
If you're near the Hansa district, don't miss to visit the Alvar Aalto House. Alvar Aalto, one of the biggest names in modern architecture and design, probably best known in Austria and Germany for his Savoy Vase, also spent time in Germany and took part in an international architecture exhibition in 1955, where he designed this house. It was built in 1957.
At the time, the architectural design of the building was truly innovative. It connects two houses with an open and covered ground floor with white columns. The ceiling also has the undulating structures we know from his famous vase. The house can only be seen from the outside as it is a residential complex, but you can read more about it online.
Hansa Viertel
Klopstockstraße 65
10179 Berlin
Aalvar Alto in Germany
Hartog
If you're looking for a Finnish design shopping experience, Hartog it is the place to be in Berlin. Since 1936, this charming little shop has been stocking Nordic treasures from Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland, as well as Germany. Finland lovers will find beautiful pieces by Marimekko, Iittala, Lovi, Globe Hope and many other known brands. The colourful design items simply spark joy and it is a lovely experience to have a look at the products in the shop. I couldn't resist buying another pair of Moomin socks with Sniff on them.
If you cannot visit the store, Hartog also has a nice online shop and a great blog with really interesting information about Finnish design novelties, recipes and decorations.
Hartog
Knesebeckstraße 68
10623 Berlin
Hartog Instagram
Studio183
By chance we stumbled across Finnish design at Studio183 in the concept shopping centre BIKINI Berlin. Studio183 is a pop-up store with a great selection of international and Berlin-based artists and designers. If you like extravagant clothes and jewellery, it's a wonderful place to pick up a fashionable piece for yourself.
When we visited Studio183, they had beautiful wooden earrings by a Finnish designer as well as amazing pieces by the FNRM - the Finnish National Romance Museum - a fashion design collective that includes three Aalto University fashion graduates called Julia Montin, Amina Saada and Mo Ziwei. There were a lot of pieces I would love to own - Finland and romance are just my kind of thing!
My sister decided to buy one of the amazing giant tote bags with ruffles. I hope I can visit the Liike shop in Helsinki - where you can mainly buy their clothes - one day too.
Studio183 in BIKINI Berlin
Budapester Strasse 38-50
10787 Berlin
Studio183 Instagram
The Finnish Romance National Museum Instagram
More tips for Finnish places in Berlin
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit Galerie Pleiku (Eugen-Schönhaar-Straße 6A, 10407 Berlin) - an independent art space for contemporary Finnish art.
If you are more interested in architecture, check out Futuro 13 (Flußbadeanstalt 1, 10317 Berlin), a 50 square metre round house designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. The house is made of glass-fibre reinforced plastic and looks fantastic, like a UFO.
For those with a sweet tooth, the Naschhaus (Wühlichstrasse 25, 10245 Berlin) is a great place to visit. It is a Scandinavian candy shop that sells mainly Swedish sweets, but also Finnish chocolates such as Fazer bars, Geisha chocolate and Moomin cookies.
Populus Coffee is run by a Finnish couple (Maybachufer 20, 12045 Berlin) and is definitely worth a visit if you like coffee.
The Finland Centre Berlin (Schleichermacherstrasse 24a, 10961 Berlin) organises concerts, saunas, literature evenings and Finnish breakfasts.
And one last tip: Don't forget to check the cinema and concert announcements!
Galerie Pleiku Instagram
Futuro 13 Instagram
Naschhaus Berlin Instagram
Populus Coffee | Speciality Roastery & Shop Instagram
A large multicultural city like Berlin offers many opportunities, but it is also worth exploring smaller towns - you might be surprised to find Finnish influences everywhere.
Do you have any other tips to add? Feel free to comment below.
Pictures taken with our iPhone or Leica Q2.