Berlin's rooftop bar scene has a problem: the city is flat. Unlike Barcelona or New York, there are no natural hills from which to survey the skyline. What Berlin has instead is height from an unusual combination of sources—old shopping centres, repurposed factories, and the occasional hotel with the good sense to open its top floor to the public. Klunkerkranich won Berlin's rooftop argument for an entire decade by putting a bar on top of a Neukölln shopping centre and charging almost nothing. The formula worked because it asked nothing of its guests except that they show up.
Solar and Monkey Bar have made the case for a more polished version of the same idea. At 17 floors and 10 floors respectively, they offer the views Berlin's flat geography usually denies. The key metric for a Berlin rooftop is not the view—it's what happens when the sun goes down and the temperature drops. The best ones have good heating, good blankets, and no rush. The worst ones close at 10pm and never recover from the decision.
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