Bei Schlawinchen

On Schönleinstraße, dolls, old bicycles, and instruments hang on the walls, a foosball table stands in the middle, and the drink selection ranges from beer to cocktails at affordable prices. The pub has been running for decades without a closing time, appears in Sven Regener's novel Herr Lehmann, and is considered by many to be the last stop of a long evening.

Pub on Kottbusser Damm

Bei Schlawinchen is located at Schönleinstraße 34 in Kreuzberg, directly behind Kottbusser Damm and a few steps from the Schönleinstraße subway station. The Landwehrkanal runs within shouting distance, the Maybachufer market takes place a few hundred meters further, and the border to Neukölln is on the other side of the street. From the outside, the place seems small, inside, dolls, old bicycles, and musical instruments hang on the walls and ceiling until hardly any surface remains free. This decor has grown over the years and was not designed as decoration, which makes the difference to recreated neighborhood pubs. In the middle of the room stands a foosball table, which is permanently occupied on busy evenings. There are hardly any parking spaces; most guests come on foot or by U8 subway. Schönleinstraße itself is quiet and residential; the hustle and bustle only begins at the corner of Kottbusser Damm, where vegetable shops and snack bars line the sidewalks. Hermannplatz is a good ten-minute walk away, and those coming from Maybachufer only need to cross the canal.

Affordable Drinks and No End

The drink selection for a pub of this size is unusually wide, ranging from beer to shots to cocktails, with prices remaining affordable. There isn’t much food; the focus is clearly on the bar and the foosball table. Bei Schlawinchen has had no closing time for decades; a sign on the wall measured its continuous operation in decades years ago, and that’s precisely what established the establishment’s reputation. The pub is also mentioned in Sven Regener’s novel Herr Lehmann, which has given it recognition beyond Kreuzberg. The clientele is mixed and changes over the hours: neighborhood locals in the afternoon, going-out crowd at night, and in the early morning hours, everyone who finds themselves at locked doors elsewhere. The establishment can be reached by phone at 030 6932015; payment is best made in cash. First-time visitors should take their time to look at the walls, as half the history of the house is hidden among the objects. For many guests, the place is therefore not a destination for the entire evening, but the stop where an evening ends or a morning begins. Anyone who wants to play foosball simply joins in.