Embassies are among Berlin’s modern architectural highlights, as the city suddenly found itself the capital of a reunified Germany after the fall of the Wall. The Nordic Embassies complex – comprising the embassies of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in one connected structure, completed in 1999 – is particularly enticing.

A Miniloft guest waxed ecstatic over Chi Sing’s mango and coconut shake, so, our curiosity piqued, we headed over to check out the fashionable tranquility at the invitingly chic Vietnamese restaurant.

The former dead zone where the Berlin Wall once stood is being creatively rebuilt – a Wall memorial and museum, new buildings galore, and ... beach volleyball courts?

Berlin is a metropolis of 3 million people – and encircled by forests and lakes. There are a half-dozen beautiful lakes accessible by S-Bahn, and even dozens more can be reached by a short trip with a regional train or bus.

The Miniloft’s neighborhood is fast becoming a culinary hotbed! On top of Weinbar Rutz and Alpenstueck, this former food wasteland can now boast Reinstoff, newly opened and tucked away from the street in a courtyard.

For photography buffs, C/O Berlin is the place to go. It’s housed in the former “Royal Post” office, a beautiful cupola-ed yellow brick building, and since its founding in 2000 has been presenting the work of renowned and upcoming photographers.

Tiergarten, Berlin’s most lovely (and gigantic) park, is just a stone’s throw along off-street paths from the Minilofts. Britta and Matthew go jogging (Britta) and rollerskiing (Matthew) there almost every morning, Designed as a hunting ground in the 1830s and deforested as a source of firewood after WWII, today the park is back to its original beauty.

Hip and unique, Berlin’s small fashion designers specialize in smart and edgy creations that are earning them ever more repute in the international fashion world.

This treasure trove of a shop is jam packed with goodies from the ‘60s and ‘70s, with a decidedly Ost Berlin twist – vintage clothing and shoes, an oddball collection of furnishings and knick-knacks (cool lamps, an alligator-head purse, bright orange shampoo bottles), as well as a wide assortment of gloves, belts, scarves and ties.

You can get a cheap Döner sandwich on almost every corner of Berlin, but for a really special Turkish meal head to Hasir.