__In Berlin, e-strategy sessions take place at cafés and museums, nightclubs and bars. The hot zones - the central Mitte; Friedrichshain, home of the longest remaining stretch of the Wall; and Prenzlauer Berg, another district in the former GDR - are full of buildings that once served civic functions and now serve social ones. Your drink might be poured in a former power plant or Communist Party newsroom. Prost! __
Café Orange
Oranienburgerstr. 32
+49 (30) 2 38 52 42
One of the first cafés to open in this former hotbed of artist squats, Orange is now ground zero for moneyed hipness in the main nightlife and arts district. The chic, renovated building is just a few doors from the golden-domed New Synagogue.
Maria am Ostbahnhof
Str. der Pariser Kommune 8-10
+49 (30) 2 90 06 198
www.clubmaria.de
At this Friedrichshain post office-cum-nightclub, you can take a break from Maria's DJ music or bands and hang out in the lounge, or wander through the East Side Gallery, a graffiti art montage on the last large strip of the Wall. The Tempodrome, a tent next door, serves up everything from hip hop to Cuban reggae.
Cibo Matto
Rosenthalerstr. 44
+49 (30) 2 83 85 170
www.cibomatto.de
A sleek Italian restaurant with glass-brick walls and big red blown-glass light fixtures, Cibo Matto is where the digitalen toss back caipirinhas while packed onto long leather benches. It's at the Hackesche Höfe, an upmarket collection of shops, galleries, and theaters built in 1906 as a community center by Berlin's Jewish residents.
Vitra Design Museum Berlin
Kopenhagenerstr. 58
+49 (30) 4 73 77 70
www.design-museum-berlin.de
The Prenzlauer Berg Vitra - a branch of the Vitra in Weil am Rhein, one of the world's most respected design museums - was once a transformer station. Exhibits include Blow-Up: Inflatable Structures in Design, Architecture, Fashion, and Art (October 27 to January 27).
Der Rote Salon
Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
+49 (30) 2 47 76 94
www.volksbuehne-berlin.de
This Mitte district bar adjoining the Volksbühne, or People's Theater, presents everything from East German rockabilly to Brazilian salsa. The theater, damaged in WWII, was rebuilt by the GDR.
