On the outskirts of Berlin (well, the outskirts of this expat Berliner is anything outside the Ringbahn), there’s the Preisterweg Nature Park. The wooded park used to be a railway center and is now an unkempt park full of old railroad paraphernalia and assorted steel discards. Nature seems to have won out over steel—a metaphor, perhaps.

In one area of the park, graffiti tagging & spraying is even allowed. Even though there is plenty of graffiti in Berlin, this is one of the few places where it’s legitimately legalized. Well, ain’t that the bee’s knees! :)

How to get there:

Take the s-bhan to Preisterweg. It’s 1€ to enter Berlin’s graffiti park, but like most things in Berlin, it’s pretty much on the honor system. The entrance to the park is literally at the bottom of the stairs at the u-bahn exit. There’s another entrance further north—maybe a 15-minute walk. Sometimes they leave the door open there and you may be able to squeeze in for free.

For more things to do in Berlin, be sure to check out my Hipster Berlin Travel Tips!

Other parks in Germany

For more information about parks and public spaces around Germany, check out these posts from my Blogger Stammtisch friends:

• beer gardens on Grounded Traveler
• Munich’s English garden on Monkeys & Mountains
• ….more to come!

Related posts:

1. Hipster Berlin: Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg
2. Street art and graffiti in pretty Vienna
3. Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park in Iceland

No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength. — Learning, for instance, to eat when he’s hungry and sleep when he’s sleepy.

For better or worse, one of the most important things I learned from my trip around the world was that I’m pretty damn important. My life, my rules, I want to do what I want. All that jazz (but maybe not so strict-sounding). Sure, I’m a Gen-Y’er so, according to the media, I’m supposed to be selfish and too self-confident. And while I think those stereotypes are exaggerated, I have no shame in stating clearly that I want to make the life I want to make.

I lived according to “societal norms” and did all those things you were supposed to do. And sure, I was happy and fine and life was good. But life got so much better when I finally had a bit more self-confidence, a lot more courage, and this idea that I can create my own world. I’m in charge of myself, my destiny, my life…

Kerouac’s Lonesome Traveler followed the same mantra—like most of his Beatnik peers. In this collection of short stories, he tries and does new things around the world, living simply and originally. Kerouac’s life was nothing if not exciting—working on steam ships, freight trains, working for the national forestry…. So many odd jobs and experiences around the world. All fleeting moments of his life, but the made up his fiber and his being.

Every little experience I have abroad has added something to my life. I’ve changed a lot, yes, but while I love traveling and want to see so so so so so much more of the world, I’m not nearly as much of a free spirit as a Kerouac or any other nomad. I still like my cozy comforts (and my skinny ties) when I travel…at least for the moment. In India I was happy to go months without shaving, to shower only on occasion, to hitch free rides on the train. But today, I’m quite content with a Berlin apartment, a closet full of jeans and other useful amenities.

Reading Kerouac’s stories from abroad, I was left with a desire for more adventure, more activity, more… more any & everything! Kerouac puts it beautifully by describing what he considers to be our six senses: “seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting and thinking.” Thinking! Why didn’t I think of that?

I’m always thinking thinking thinking… Kerouac spends some time on a mountaintop meditating and thinking, during which he discovers:

…silence itself is the sound of diamonds which can cut through anything, the sound of Holy Emptiness, the sound of extinction and bliss, that graveyard silence which is like the silence of an infant’s smile, the sound of eternity, of the blessedness surely to be believed, the sound of nothing-ever-happened-except-God…

I’m not about to pack up all my stuff again and hit the road long-term. It sounds nice and romantic, but I don’t think it’s me. But I do want to see and do more. Always more. But I also want to think more. Now how on earth do I make that happen in an economical and life-sustaining way?

For more of my favorite books, check out my mini book reviews.

This post is so original, there are no other related posts.

Jerusalem is like no other place I’ve visited. I’ve said it one hundred million times, but saying it again won’t hurt: Jerusalem is special. With hundreds of thousands of people and a history that goes back thousands of years, it’s hard for it not to be interesting. And yet it somehow manages to continue to captivate. If I had to choose one word to describe Jerusalem it would be intense. You can feel it in the air—peoples’ passions and their desires and this feeling of old and new. Jerusalem is special.

But while the city has a long and complex history, Jerusalem also has an incredibly interesting hold on the present. The city is developing and constantly changing—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Politics aside, the city is a mecca for religion but there’s more than just tourism. Jerusalem is a place where people live. And that’s why there’s actually some pretty cool things to do in Jerusalem.

Hipster Jerusalem

Okay, those are probably two words you never expected to see next to one another. But in a city of mixed cultures and a hotspot for international tourism, there’s actually quite a few interesting things to do see and do in the Holy City. In the one month I spent in Jerusalem, I pretty much hung out near the Ben Yehuda pedestrian street and Zion Square.

Things to do near Zion Square

Zion Square, or Kikar Tsion, seems to be a main square in modern West Jerusalem. Where the Ben Yehuda pedestrian street meets Jaffa Street, Zion Square is a popular meeting place because of its proximity to some of Jerusalem’s coolest things to do. In about a 15-minute walking radius from Zion Square are a handful of awesome bars, cafes and restaurants. Here’s a few that I especially like. Want more? View my hipster Jerusalem travel tips.

• Uganda bar/club — This is as about as indie/hipster as you can get in Jerusalem. Not only is it a bar with some pretty cheap beer, but it also doubles (quadruples?) as a record, dvd & comic store.
  4 Aristobolus Street | website | fb
• Tmol Shilshom bookstore/cafe — A great little place to escape for a while and lose yourself in some books and a nice coffee.
  5 Yoel Salomon Street | website | fb
  
• Hakatze (The Edge) pub/club — A small pub that has a popular drag show once a week (Mondays when I was there, but double-check to confirm).
  Shushan 4 | website | fb | tw
• Catch a demonstration/protest/public event — Zion Square is a central meeting place and is occasionally the place where demos or peaceful protests take place.
• Mahane Yehuda market, “The Shuk” — With lots of fresh produce, nuts and cheeses for sale, this is one of the best places to buy a snack. If you wander around the stalls for a while, you’ll also stumble onto some small falafel stands and other restaurants.
• Shopping! — You can find a lot of clothing and apparel shops on the streets around Zion Square and Ben Yehuda. There are some larger department stores but many independent brands as well.

Recommended hostels

If you’re looking for a cool place to stay in Jerusalem, one that is perennially popular among backpackers is the Abraham Hostel. It’s located just a 5-minute walk from Ben Yehuda street and not far at all from much of Jerusalem’s nightlife. I’ve recommended it before (even though I’ve never stayed there) because I hear quite a bit about it from other travelers! Check out their website (where they’ve even got a good guide for things to do in Jerusalem): http://www.abraham-hostel-jerusalem.com/

• Abraham Hostel 67 Hanevi’im street | website | fb | tw

I’ve stayed in a few other hostels in the Old City of Jerusalem—none of whose name I can remember now. A friend has also repeatedly suggested the Jerusalem Peace House as worth a visit (even if not for a hostel stay). It’s a peace collective modeled after a similar type of house in Amsterdam. Interesting concept.

Some things to keep in mind

• Ben Yehuda & Zion Square are pretty boring during Shabbat — Well, most of Jerusalem is pretty boring during Shabbat, actually. So many places are closed, unlike in Tel Aviv where there’s still plenty of exciting things happening. Friday nights, if you’re not into religion or all that jazz, are best for house parties or movie nights.
• There’s more than just Zion Square & Ben Yehuda — Besides the things to do around Zion Square, there are plenty of tourist sites (religious, historical and even political) around Jerusalem. Go forth and wander!

Click here for additional hipster Jerusalem travel tips

Photos (1), (2)

Related posts:

1. Hipster Jerusalem travel tips
2. Hipster things to do in Grapevine, Texas (my hometown)
3. Ritter Square Museum near Stuttgart

Ritter is probably one of the most famous German chocolate brands (at least of late). There’s a shop here in Berlin dedicated to selling it exclusively, not to mention the occasional odd place (like a cinema near Potsdamer Platz) which has a giant sculpture of a stack of Ritter chocolate bars. Bizarre. But kind of fun.

Ritter has done a remarkable job of marketing it’s square-shaped chocolate. So much so, that at their factory outside Stuttgart, Ritter has an entire museum dedicated to square things. It’s an art museum, but curated by a chocolate factory. A chocolate factory!

All the art inside Museum Ritter has something to do with the square shape. It’s a really cool concept. And as a big fan of squares myself (there was even an inside joke back in high school…I’m a dork), the museum was certainly interesting. The museum is even shaped as a square!

The Ritter Square Museum isn’t free, but part of the building is also a shop selling every type of Ritter chocolate imaginable. There is also a small exhibit (free) upstairs where you can see the history of the Ritter brand (and how they make their chocolate). You can even grab a small free sample up there.

I also liked this part of the museum because of the old packaging samples. Ritter isn’t the oldest chocolate brand, but they do have a history and their packaging from throughout history is pretty sweet. ♥ old typography!

More info about the museum

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11am—6pm; Closed Mondays

Note: My visit to Museum Ritter was free as part of a press trip with German Sweets.

Related posts:

1. Berlin’s Sugar Museum (Zucker Museum)
2. Inside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
3. Hipster Jerusalem: Things to do near Zion Square

Adam recently wrote about 5 European Hotspots he’s never seen. Immediately I thought “dude, how can you live in Europe a year and not see Greece, Italy, and Turkey, and most importantly Amsterdam?” But seriously, you live in Germany, and you haven’t been to Munich?

After all it’s incredibly easy to get around Europe. As many readers may know, I spent a year living in Europe too (Australian passport). In that time, I slowly crawled my way through some 20 countries. Now it’s my opportunity to give back to your readers, and share why you should visit Amsterdam.

I amsterdam

Well. Everyone knows Amsterdam. But its not all sex-shops, space cakes, and stag parties. It’s also known for its clean canals, and bicycle culture. Plus, the dutch are incredibly friendly people. Did you know that in Amsterdam, you are more likely to be approached (picked up) by a woman… rather than the other way around? Dutch girls are confident, and forthcoming; as I discovered in my first Amsterdam bar when approached by two Dutch beauties. Maybe it was the foreign man thing?

Dutch girls are very nice and will rarely blow you out of the water rudely from the very beginning. They are very approachable. The downside to this friendliness is that it isn’t always easy to tell if they like you sexually or are just being nice. You sometimes have to be very patient to find out. via The Rawness

Amsterdam is definitely a happening hipster travel destination.

Just for the sheer amount of cyclists, it’s no surprise that the city is hipster friendly. Amsterdam-Noord is an especially cool industrial neighbourhood; old warehouses and shipyards are converted into offices and art studios. A lot of internet startups are based there, and even Redbull and MTV. You would have to consider Amsterdam hipster just for their liberal views on soft drugs and prostitution.

If you think you’re above all that, you can still lose yourself in the canal maze, window shop, visit the art museums, or take your chances with the bike traffic cycling the city centre.

It’s a fantastic destination for free walking tours, outdoor cafe dining, listening to jazz musicians, and my favourite… eating the double fried fries known as Vlaamse Frieten.

Vlaamse Frieten

“Vlaamse Frites” translates into Flemish Fries, referring to Vlaanderen (Flanders), which is the northern, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. These fries are bloody fantastic (invented in Belgium, but much loved in the Netherlands); with a fries stall on almost every corner in the centre. It was an obsession of mine to find the best vendor in all Amsterdam. The fries are double fried for that extra-fatty-tasty flavour. Large, golden and cripsy on the outside.

All fries are served in paper cones, with a small fork, and wide selection of sauces. The fork is perfect for dipping each fry in Dutch mayonnaise, curry, or almost any other topping you could dream up. Chipsy King is renowned to make some of the best fries in all of Amsterdam; and so is Vleminckx on Voetboogstraat. Prices start at €2 for small, and go up to €3.50, more for the sauce selections.

Cycling Amsterdam

With some 400km’s of bike lanes and paths, Amsterdam is surely the capital of hipster-friendly cycling. In fact, there is a common joke amongst the locals to count the number of points you get for each person you knock from the cycle path (who isn’t on a bike). I was told this by the clerk at the bike rental shop. I was also told, by a walking tour guide, that drunks tend to seize the opportunity to throw anything in the canals that isn’t bolted down, so make sure you lock your bikes up. A few years back, tipping compact smart cars into the canal was a bit of a craze.

Try to keep pace with fellow bikers. You can ride side-by-side (two abreast), as long as your pace doesn’t hold up traffic. Walk with your bike on the sidewalk or pedestrian areas. Oh, and don’t come to a complete stop in the bike lane or on the street, or you will get a fair few Dutch insults thrown your way. True story. It happened to me outside the Heineken Factory. The Dutch are very particular about their cycleways.

Check out this hipster clothing by Levi, commuter trousers. 5 pocket jeans, reflective tape to be seen at night. Water resistant, dirt repellant, durable, and odor eating. With a utility waistband (to store a bike lock). Just the kind of innovative fashion you would see on the streets of Amsterdam.

Other sites of Amsterdam

Amsterdam is home to the Anne Frank House, the Rembrant (Rijksmuseum), and the Van Gogh Museum.

As well as glass-topped canal boats and flea markets (Waterlooplein, Noordermarkt and Albert Cuyp St). is my favourite for offbeat and hipster fashion at a reasonable price.

Why not try a houseboat experience? Many hotels and private accommodations offer the experience where you can live at water level and watch the canal traffic float past your window. There’s also a Houseboat Museum.

FOAM (FOtography AMsterdam) magazine has it’s headquarters in Amsterdam; including a museum showing off the latest exhibition. A cafe downstairs; for the perfect hipster Sunday morning coffee.

The tulip museum. A room inside a tulip shop telling you all about the history of tulips in Holland, and the infamous tulip craze.

Going out?

De Pijp (latin quarter) and Jordaan have some of the best bars and clubs. Leidseplein for Sugar Factory, and Jimmy Woo’s.

Rembrandtplein is one of Amsterdam’s two main party areas (Leidseplein being the first). Whereas Leidseplein is a very popular destination for tourists, Rembrandtplein is more popular with the Dutch.

Festivals

If you’re going to Amsterdam to party, head over for Queens Day (Koninginnedag) April 30. Celebrating Queen Juliana’s Birthday (but adopted by the current Queen Beatrix). Parades, party boats, dancing in the streets, city-wide flea-markets, and an all-night party on April 29th.

Queeristan 2012 takes place in Amsterdam from May 18-20. It’s a nomadic collective of activists based in Amsterdam. An important political festival. A platform to explore and counter the normative workings of gender and identity. Meeting place for anti-racist queer critique. This year they have a “freaky” framework for the festival:

All the freaky people
make the beauty of the world
(Michael Franti)

Cannibas Cup every November. A competition for coffee shops to compete in categories such as best marijuana, hashish, seeds, and hemp products. Started in 1987 by High Times editor Steven Hager, the Cannibas Cup following has grown to attract thousands of tourists every year. Festivals include opening ceremonies, 4:20 (am and pm) parties, live music from blues to reggae, awards, and a lot of pot smoking.

More Info

For a general summary of attractions see amsterdam.info. Check out I know this great little place (in Amsterdam) on pinterest.

Some final advice on Amsterdam:

• Don’t walk in the bike lanes. Unless you want to be bowled over.
• Don’t take photos of the prostitutes. They will beat you if they catch you.
• Don’t urinate in the streets. There are specially built outdoor urinals for men.
• Don’t get drunk/stoned and act like a total a$$hole. You are representing your country.

Bio: Ian is a 20-something year old guy who gave up his career and mortgage for solo long-term travel. He traveled extensively across Europe for a year before heading onward to North Africa. Catch him on Facebook and his travel blog Eager Existence.

* Queens Day image credit

Related posts:

1. One month as a hipster Berliner
2. Hipster Berlin: Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg
3. Hipster things to do in Grapevine, Texas (my hometown)

One of the things I didn’t get to do much of last year while traveling was baking and cooking. I don’t spend much time in the kitchen, but on my recent trip to Brighton, I had the opportunity to do a bit of cupcake eating (oh, and decorating!)

Brighton is generally known as a quirky destination for its wild parties by the beach and its strange & often flamboyant characters. So, on my visit to Brighton last month, one of the things I was invited to do to embrace the quirky culture was…cupcake decorating.

Now, cupcake decorating might not actually be that unusual. But I’m pretty sure the last time I did this I was five or six years old. Regardless, when in Brighton, it’s quite easy to embrace your inner child! And, you know, cupcakes are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! (I’m gay—cupcakes are part of my language.)

The cupcake decorating class was held by Angel Food Bakery in their kitchen. Our friendly host made some buckets (yes, buckets) of frosting. If you’ve ever made frosting then you know how disgusting it can be—so so so so much butter! But it’s quite easy to ignore this fact when you’ve got your mouth wrapped around a cupcake.

I learned a few little tricks on how to pour the frosting in interesting ways, but I was most interested in the other ingredients. We pretty much had free range with the sprinkles and other decorations so we could do what we like. I think mine turned out decent, but hey, I’m no cupcake expert!

And though my cupcakes may not have been the prettiest, they were still delicious!

Feeling a bit homesick with this one!

Details for cupcake decorating in Brighton

I’m not sure how many places in Brighton offer cupcake classes, but I went to the Angel Food Bakery.
http://angelfoodbakery.co.uk/
20 Meeting House Lane
+44 (0) 1273 208404
@FoodAngels | Facebook

My trip to Brighton was sponsored by the city’s official tourism department. You can find more information about the city as well as hotel & tour information on their official tourism site: http://www.visitbrighton.com/

Related posts:

1. From Berlin to Brighton for the weekend