Summer in Berlin – where it can get pretty hot. Where do our orchestra musicians relax when they are in the city? Some of them reveal their secrets on where to find trees, water, wind and relaxation in the big city in our two-part summer tips here on the blog.

Violinist Avigail Bushakevitz is a big fan of Tempelhofer Feld: “It’s a strange and magical place for me. I discovered it when I was new to the city a few years ago and had my first flat next door in Neukölln. It was surprising to discover this piece of land, which is not beautiful but completely original. It’s full of Berliners who spend their free time there very creatively! I got my hands on some rollerblades and joined the hang gliders, skateboarders, urban gardeners, cyclists and meadow dreamers catching the Berlin wind.”

“Being outdoors, on foot, by bike, with the camera, with all my senses open and respect for nature, observing, learning, understanding connections,” is how violist Constanze Fiebig describes one of her most important sources of strength. Britz Garden in Neukölln is one of her favourite places in the city, and she returns there “every season”. Trumpeter Uwe Saegebarth’s summer tip is also in the middle of Berlin: “Luiseninsel in the Tiergarten – especially when the rhododendrons are in bloom.”

Our 1st concertmaster Sayako Kusaka is drawn to the Liebermann Villa on Lake Wannsee in the warmer months. Amidst a magnificent garden, the famous impressionist Max Liebermann spent his summers there, right on the water, between 1910 and 1935. The villa houses changing exhibitions from the oeuvre of the former villa owner and his entourage. Sayako’s tip: “Watching the sailboats from the dock.”

Also in Zehlendorf, violinist Na-Rie Lee enjoys wandering around Schlachtensee: “I can contemplate and really breathe there.” For her part, violinist Eva Sütterlin is drawn directly to the water further north in Berlin’s outskirts: “By boat to Lake Liepnitz in Wandlitz, to enjoy the peace and quiet far away from the noise of the city.”