I ventured out of busy central Berlin – and it rose to the occasion

As the city grapples with over-tourism, a new initiative aims to promote its lesser-visited outer reaches, where a mix of funky culture, historic gems and untamed greenery awaits

“A cable car? Here in Berlin?” The man cooking my burger at Piri’s – a self-proclaimed dive bar diner in Neukölln, an inner-city neighbourhood in the south-east of the city - is sceptical. “Yeah,” says his Kiwi colleague. “My parents did it. There’s a garden or something.”

Both cooks have lived here for upwards of 10 years. They refer to Neukölln, affectionately, as “the ghetto”, seemingly oblivious to the presence of an 18th-century castle, Shloss Britz, and the 220 lush acres of Britzer Garten in the immediate vicinity – let alone the cable car, in the north-eastern district of Marzahn, a 45-minute train ride away.