Van Loon

A berth in the Urbanhafen by the Baerwaldbruecke

Van Loon lies at Baerwaldstrasse 70 in Kreuzberg, more precisely by the Baerwaldbruecke in the Urbanhafen, opposite the Carl-Herz-Ufer. The Landwehrkanal to which the ship is moored was built between 1845 and 1850 to plans by Peter Joseph Lenne and runs a good ten kilometres. The Urbanhafen itself was laid out in 1896, at the time to handle coal for the housing blocks of what was then a workers district; today it is a green bay between Kottbusser Tor and Graefestrasse. The paths along the bank are currently being rebuilt for around five million euros, with wider and step-free routes, new seating areas and a terrace at the water. Only one stretch is closed at a time, so the restaurant ships stay reachable throughout. Karsten Sahner moored the first Van Loon here in the early nineties, and that ship lay at this spot for more than twenty years. The vessel of today is a new build that the owners had made to their own plans and their own design, so what is historic at this address is the berth rather than the hull.

A buffet on board and a brunch that casts off

The breakfast buffet is called Brunchy Lunchy and costs 21.50 euros a head. On the table stand freshly made scrambled eggs with various additions, cold cuts and cheese, fresh salads and sweet desserts, alongside vegetarian and vegan dishes; drinks come separately. A ticket is booked in advance for it, while the regular menu needs no reservation at all. The real particularity of Van Loon, though, is what can happen next, because the same buffet is also served as a brunch cruise on the salon ship Philippa. The bridge tour runs from the Urbanhafen along the Landwehrkanal and the Spree past the government quarter, the Berlin cathedral, the Museumsinsel, the East Side Gallery and the Oberbaumbruecke and back again. Up to a hundred guests fit on board and another hundred and twenty on deck. Below lies a lounge with large windows onto the water and a room with a fireplace, above it a sun deck and a wooden terrace straight over the canal. The decks are covered, and the ship is not step-free.