Bauhaus by Bike

You've seen them often: Berlin tourists-on-bikes pedalling determinedly across Potsdamer Platz, sailing down Unter den Linden or whizzing along the East Side Gallery. But, far from the madding crowd, is a 90-minute bike tour with a difference. 

This is the tour I mentioned in my last blog, and it's one that fewer tourists discover. The combined bike/audio guide tour starts from the Haus am Waldsee, then traces a path through the leafy villa colony of Zehlendorf, taking you past 12 private homes designed by Bauhaus artists Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Hermann Muthesius.

photo: Viola F. Ording

The route loops around the beautiful Schlachtensee lake, and the concentration of 1920s Bauhaus homes in this residential neighborhood makes it unique in all of Germany. Some have the romantic charm of English country homes; others have the strict functional lines we associate with purist Bauhaus.

The tour was designed by Katja Blomberg, curator of the Haus am Waldsee, who was inspired by a walking/audio guide tour through a residential neighborhood in Chicago, studded with homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Blomberg liked the unpretentious tone of the Chicago audio guide and decided that was exactly what she needed for her Zehlendorf Bauhaus tour. The research and commentary were prepared with the help of students from the Universität der Künste.

An ideal combination of city biking, nature, history and architecture. Nothing spells "Serene Weekend" quite like it.

The Haus am Waldsee is at Argentinsiche Allee 30 (U3 to Krumme Lanke). You can either bring your own bike or rent one at the museum. Rentals are daily from 11 am to 4 pm and cost 5 EUR for two hours. The audio guide is available only in German.

Listen to the Water Grass: Berlin's Haus am Waldsee

At the Haus am Waldsee, you never quite know which of the natural and man-made objects in the garden are actually the work of an artist's imagination. Take for instance the reeds and rushes at the water's edge. When their stalks rustle in the breeze, the whispering sound in the stillness is like the opening bars of a piece of music. Nature's magnum opus? Not quite. The tall grasses were planted by Austrian composer, Peter Ablinger, one of the international artists this museum has featured.


The Haus am Waldsee has been one of my most treasured finds this season. Like many Berliners, I had completely overlooked the 1920s grey villa while biking past it numerous times in hot summers, headed toward the Schlachtensee for a dip in the lake.

Far from the star attractions in the Museumsinsel in Berlin Mitte or the Kulturforum at Potsdamer Platz, the Haus am Waldsee basks in quiet seclusion at the edge of the Grunewald forest, waiting to be discovered.

Originally a private villa, the museum was one of the first to exhibit "degenerate art" after the collapse of the Third Reich. One of its earliest exhibitions (in 1946, when Berlin was still in ruins) was dedicated to the work of Käthe Kollwitz. Around that time, the first performance of the Berlin Philharmonic after the war's end took place here. Today, the Haus am Waldsee is a premier exhibition space for international contemporary artists, designers, musicians and writers.

photo copyright: Pablo Sanz Almoguera

When I visited yesterday, the museum was getting ready for the next exhibition beginning September 10, so there were no visitors -- a perfect opportunity to have the idyllic sculpture garden behind the villa all to myself. The garden is a 10.000 square-meter tree-shaded park that meanders to the Waldsee lake shore.

One of the coolest exhibits in the sculpture garden is the LoftCube.  The vision of Berlin-based designer Werner Aisslinger, the Loftcube is the prototype of a "flying building," which can be lowered by helicopter on to tall building rooftops. If Berlin were to one day look like Tokyo, this would be ideal for urban nomads with a passion for minimalism.

I tried to imagine moving in to the LoftCube in the sculpture garden of the Haus am Waldsee -- surrounded by oaks and pines, looking out at the lake, the whispering reeds for company. Sort of like living in a designer treehouse. Not bad on a sun-dappled September day.

photo copyright: Pablo Sanz Almoguera

photo copyright: Pablo Sanz Almoguera

Stay tuned for my next post on an architectural bike tour you can plan, starting from the Haus am Waldsee.

The Haus am Waldsee is at Argentinische Allee 30, 14163 Berlin. Take U3 to Krumme Lanke, walk south on Argentinische Allee, about 5 minutes. Open, Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00-18:00, Wednesday from 11:00-20:00. Closed on Monday. Entrance to the exhibition is 5 EUR. You don't have to be an art-lover to enjoy the cafe's outdoor seating in the sculpture garden -- it's absolutely delightful.