Bookstores Around the World: Berlin, Germany

Hello book lovers!

On the second installment of this series, I have some places in Berlin to talk about today. I’m super excited about this post, because I really love Berlin. It was the first place I ever tried a Pumpkin Spice Latte (it was okay), and went to a Banksy exposition, which I thought was so very underground, and my boyfriend chuckled in true German-Hipster style and said it was actually very mainstream. Berlin is a very interesting city: it’s both vibrant and dark. There is so much history ingrained in its buildings that it’s impossible not to have your heart broken by visiting the Wall, the Jewish memorials, and the various museums that present unflinching memories of WWII. But it’s also a place full of artistic expression, and oh my gosh, so very hipster. You can literally visit an abandoned amusement park, stay in a hotel decorated with books, go to a restaurant inspired by toilets (I didn’t go there).

It’s also quite perfect for bookish people. There are SO MANY bookstores (I live in a small city, so please forgive my wide-eyed childlike amazement). Here are the ones I went to!

Saint Georges English Bookshop

Website: http://www.saintgeorgesbookshop.com/
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/Ccq7xHmXxt22

Yes, that is the bookstore from my profile picture! This place is such a treat to the eyes – books from floor to the ceiling! It does make it so very difficult to find particular books, but it’s quite wonderful to just let your eyes wander from one beautiful spine to the next and get the books that call your name. While the non-fiction section is much, much larger than the fiction one, you can surely find nice things in the fiction section.

Shakespeare and Sons

Website: https://www.shakesbooks.de/ / http://www.shakespeareandsons.com/
Google Maps:

I really like this one. It took me a couple seconds to realize that “Books & Bagels” and “Shakespeare and Sons” were the same place. The atmosphere is really nice, there are chairs and tables everywhere, the food is pretty good too! A lovely place to spend some times losing yourself in stories.

Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus

Website: https://www.kulturkaufhaus.de/
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/iQpVvuJ3Z9B2

This is a regular chain bookstore, and I do like its English section – it’s quite big and I always leave with an armful of books. I love picking up new books there, which is not so easy on the other, second-hand places, and it’s a must every time I go to Berlin.

Other Bookstores Around the World

• Edinburgh, Scotland