photograph courtesy of billpeterson

Who says Germans can’t dance? Hordes of tango enthusiasts in Berlin do, with a dramatic snap of the head and a turn to the right.

Berlin is widely known as Europe’s tango capital. On any given night, you can tango to your heart’s content, as singles or in pairs, at close to 30 different venues. Check out the slick tango kultur Web site for current offerings and a monthly overview that’s handy to have in your pocket in case of an urge-to-tango emergency. Want to know exactly how big each venue is? This site, which is in English, will let you know.

Looking to tango-hop? Both Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg are particular hotspots.

Popularity: 4% [?]

photograph courtesy of plumilla

In Berlin’s hip Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, sometimes it seems a sight easier to pick up cheap Asian food than to actually find a traditional German restaurant. But when the result is great sushi for half the price, who are we to complain?

Tabeyo Sushi-Bar, close to café- and bar-lined Lychenerstrasse and the Kulturbrauerei entertainment complex, offers 50 percent off sushi all the time, and what that means to raw-fish lovers is basic sushi rolls (6 pieces) for less than €2, inside-out and special rolls for less than €6 and nigiri for a measly €1. You might well ask if there is something fishy going on here, but the quality at Tabeyo is anything but cut-rate, with dishes expertly prepared using the freshest ingredients.

We started with pots of warming green tea and delicious miso soup, thick with green onions, seaweed and silky-smooth chunks of tofu, before moving on to the main event of spicy tuna and salmon rolls. We washed it all down with cold Sapporos and were delighted when the bill came to just over €10 per person.

The ambiance comes for free. The small restaurant was recently renovated, and the low-lit, black-and-red interior offers a warm, quiet retreat; even the random fake palm trees and a giant plastic fish on the wall don’t disrupt the mood.

Tabeyo is located at Danziger Strasse 14 and stays open until midnight every night.

Popularity: 5% [?]