I had high hopes for myself before this trip to Berlin. Maybe I’ll become rare wine expert, or a connoisseur of weird cheeses, or even, someone who is able to tell the difference between green and black olives. But unfortunately, none of that happened. Instead, my roommate and I found ourselves surviving on two euro per bottle wines and discount-store-bought “mozzarella”. But for you all budget-study-abroaders out there, I have good news about your Berlin food experience: the ice cream. Ice cream feeds the soul, and in Berlin, ice cream spots are everywhere, offering affordable, icy delights. So in the below list, I’m happy to present some of the most beloved ice cream shops by Northwesterners over the summer.
- Spots near Humboldt:
Giorgio Lombardi: About 15 to 20 minutes walk from the Humboldt University campus, it’s the perfect after school treat on those seven hour HU days. They offer amazing gelato and also icy desserts such as Affogatos and sundaes. Their coffee based ice cream flavours are pretty great, and they also have a variety of cool fruit based flavours to try out, such as banana ginger and strawberry basil.
Eismanufaktur: This is a chain with a shop in Kreuzberg and one about 10 minutes walk from the HU campus. They serve amazing fruit sorbets with a lot of lactose free and vegan options. If you walk fast, you can make it there and back during a Humboldt class break. (Just don’t try to go before it opens at 11, like we did.)
- Kreuzberg:
Vanille & Marille: Probably one of the most visited places for Northwesterners over the summer. (Or maybe it’s just me? ) It is a chain with lots of shops across Berlin, serving lots of classic flavours like cherry yogurt, and pistachio. Its peanut brownies is probably one of the best scoops of ice cream I’ve had in Berlin. It is a 20 to 30 minutes travel from the hotel, but it’s worth it every time.
Anna Durkes: A very good gelato spot near all the cool restaurants in Kreuzberg. Also very close to the kreuzberg Eismanufaktur. A little pricy but very much worth it, especially its peanut caramel and pistachio flavours. Perfect for an after lunch treat on a Saturday in Kreuzberg.
- Other spots in other places:
Jones: I love Jones. Jones has a physical store that is a 20 to 30 minute walk south from the hotel, but is also a regular vendor at street food festivals such as street food Thursdays at Markthalle Neun and the Bite Club on Eichenstrasse on Fridays. It serves freakingly amazing and silky ice cream flavours like whiskey pecan, cookie dough and milk chocolate pretzel. And the best part is, you can get all your ice cream in a freshly baked, warm waffle cone, which is pretty much what I imagine heaven tastes like.
Hokey Pokey: Woah this place is far away from everything. After going there for a couple of times, I honestly still don’t know where it is. But hey, just let Google maps lead the way. It serves very creamy and rich american style ice cream, and its salted caramel and french chocolate are all pretty great.
With Berlin offering so many diverse and outstanding ice cream options, it is very tempting to simply have ice cream for every meal every day. And hey, if you have the cherry yogurt at Vanille Marille, that’s fruit plus protein! But I would say that limiting yourself to 3 scoops per week is a good standard.