Our Guides
SANDEMANs NEW Europe supports local small business by helping independent free-lance tour guides find a voice for their passion. By providing marketing services for local entrepreneurs, we take away some of the stress of developing a marketing strategy and allow fantastic independent tour guides the freedom to focus on what they do best.
Meet some of them and find out why they are so passionate about sharing the best of Berlin with you!
Amy
Amy grew up in between the big, bustling metropolitan London and the quaint, countryside town of Tring in Hertfordshire. Thinking that she was a London girl through and through her boyfriend at the time persuaded her to go on holiday to Berlin… It was love at first sight, (or first kebab)! Five years of study later, after finishing her Art Practice Degree at Goldsmith´s College, she has finally made her dream come true and has moved to Berlin. She loves nothing more than spreading the Berlin “love bug” to other tourists eager to learn all about this amazing city that she is ecstatic to call home!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Barry
Barry’s life as a tour guide began with New Dublin, where many a tourist was cajoled into post-tour Guinness “sampling” and general debauchery… After a while though, he needed a change of scene, and Berlin seemed like the best bet! So, armed with a degree in Law and French, a flight to Germany was booked (If you can see any logic in this chain of events, let him know!). Since arriving here, Barry has fallen victim to a destructive cocktail of history, culture, walking and talking; he may one day write a book about this difficult time (be memorable and you may feature). What’s more, little has changed as regards post-tour antics – except for the beer, that is.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Third Reich Tour
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour
Red Berlin Tour
Potsdam Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Chris
is English, grew up in Chester before moving to Manchester where he studied Psychology as a degree. A few years after graduating, he left England to live around Europe. He has lived in Barcelona, Munich and Florence before moving to Berlin, where he has lived for a year and a half. He has remained so long in Berlin because he loves the techno, the atmosphere and culture of the city.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Alternative City Tour
Potsdam Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
David
David comes from Bexley, England. He moved to Frankfurt in 2008 and has since made Germany his home, travelling all over the country before deciding to settle down in Berlin – the place to be for any self-confessed history geek, such as himself. After going on a tour, he loved it so much he knew he had just found his calling in life! His hobbies include beard stroking and procrastinating.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Red Berlin Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Ed
Ed originally comes from a quiet, residential town in the suburbs of London, England. There wasn’t much for young people to do there, except make the most of the fact London was just a train ride away. However that wasn’t enough for Ed who was much keener to get away and go abroad. He first left home aged 18, setting off for France to work out there and try to improve his French. Ed enjoyed that but after nine months in provincial France decided that his summer had to be spent in a capital city. Without a second thought he made plans to spend it in Berlin. He had only been once before for a few days and didn’t know what to expect. No doubt he didn’t expect it to make such a strong impression that he would end up coming back every summer since! That’s what happened though: Ed has spent the last two years doing a degree in Modern Languages back in the UK, but has spent his summers working with New Berlin. Aside from helping him to learn German, Berlin mainly appeals to him for its history (after all he is a guide), its nightlife, the fine German beer and last but not least the kebabs.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Eugenio
Eugenio is from the Dominican Republic. He has been in Berlin for the past 1 and a half years and while he is not on the Pub Crawl, he is a musician and sound engineer. He came to Berlin to enjoy life and is doing great at it!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
Franziska
Originally from the beautiful city of Dresden Franziska came to Berlin almost by accident about 5 years ago. She spends most of her time in this wonderful city being a determined Law student who spends the summer months carrying her heavy books to parks and lakesides rather than the library. She loves Berlin because even after 5 years she hasn´t seen all there is to see, and because you never know what language you´ll be hearing when you get on the U-Bahn.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
George
George hails from the heartland of America, the good ol’ state of Missouri! He would make the decision to leave Mericuh in 07 for the new horizon of Europe! He would adventure through the Czech Republic teaching English for a few months before finding his new home in Berlin! George has lived in Berlin for 4 years now and has come to love the city more then any place on this planet, even maybe more than Americuh, which is saying a lot! Throughout those 4 years George has invested a lot of time into learning all he can about the history of such an amazing city, a city which shaped the world! He strives everyday to provide the newcomers to Berlin with the best tour of their lives!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Third Reich Tour
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour
Potsdam Tour
Alternative City Tour
New Berlin Pub Crawl
Hollywood
Hollywood originally came from the little city in the middle of England called Derby. He studied Music Performance and installation art at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, then after university he followed his passion for music, fashion and the arts and became a performance artist and singer for an underground record label in UK.
As a part time host in clubs, Hollywood found his love for House music and underground sounds. In 2006 he visited Berlin and fell deeply in love with the city and its electric vibe. After that, he came to visit every year and always had a dream of becoming a Berliner.
His dream came true in 2011 when he decided to make Berlin his permanent residence.
Hollywood can be found most of the time gallivanting around the streets of Berlin in his flamboyant gear.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
James
James was born in North England in the industrial town of Middlesbrough. He left there at 18 to study History at Manchester University. After graduating and working a 9-5 job for a year he eventually got sick of the day to day life and just sold everything and set off for strange and interesting places that the world holds. After hitching around Europe for a while he eventually washed up in Berlin and has never looked back.
Tours mastered:
NEW Berlin Pub Crawl
James
After graduating with a degree in Economics 6 years ago, James decided to take the next logical step in his career and head off to Canada to become a ski instructor. With multiple ski seasons under his belt, he opted for European city life. Attracted by Berlin’s rich history, culture and nightlife, James has now found the genius combination of spending his winters skiing in some of the world’s best resorts and summers in what he believes to be the best city in Europe.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Jakob
Rising to fame when he caught a six at the Twenty20 Cricket in Sydney, Australia, Jakob knew it was soon time to take his brand global and decided to continue studying his Law and International Studies degrees overseas. After a long process of confirming which countries he actually had travel bans from, he settled for Germany’s capital Berlin. Seeking an authentic German experience, Jakob joined a local AFL team and now plays for the German National Team.
Jakob’s first experience with New Berlin was when he infamously participated on the Free Walking Tour in -10°C and 12 inches of snow…in flip-flops. The logical next step was to join New Berlin as Pub Crawl guide, the rest is history…
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
Jonny
Jonny came to Berlin after a bit of a mad year. From the Nottinghamshire countryside, the land of Robin Hood, he moved on to Newcastle to study Politics and Sociology. A bit of a travel addict, Jonny also studied in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has traveled Europe extensively. After finishing university travel was the only option; there’s too much to list, but rest assured the tale does include getting fired from a voluntary farming job in Norway, and riding the rails to a non-existent poker match in the south of Hungary. On his travels Jonny first made it to Berlin in July 2010 and absolutely fell in love with the place. As a fan of history, politics and photography Berlin really is a place Jonny loves, and wants to make other people love, too.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour
Alternative City Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Kim
Kim grew up on the sunny beaches of Newcastle, in Australia. Newcastle was known for two things – surfing and coal mining – neither of which Kim was very good at so she moved to the big smoke of Sydney to become a lawyer. But sitting in an office really wasn’t for her so she decided to move to her favorite city in the world – Berlin – to indulge her love of history and beer. She moved here earlier this year and is loving being immersed in Berlin’s culture, nightlife and generally amazing lifestyle.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Katia
Katia was born in South Africa and after having one too many close encounters with elephants in her youth (true story), she was whisked away by her parents to start a new life in Brisbane, Australia. She then went on to study Law and History/International Relations. After working for a few years, she wanted to move to a city that was exciting and dynamic and having previously travelled to Berlin, she knew that this was the place. She loves the fact that any night of the week there is an amazing party, event or art exhibition happening and that the city has such an incredible creative and relaxed vibe. The history of the city was probably the most appealing draw card and especially its centrality in the Cold War conflict between East and West. She now calls Berlin home and never plans to leave!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Laura
Laura was born in Alcalá de Henares, a beautiful town near Madrid, Spain. She moved to Berlin eight months ago after finishing her journalism studies. After a trip around Europe three years ago, when she visited Berlin for the first time, she fell in love with the city. When she finished university, she decided to move and learn German, and has been trying ever since. She loves history, politics and literature, but is also a great fan of the nightlife in Berlin.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
Leen
grew up in the middle of nowhere in South West England, a proper country bumpkin. She studied Fine Art at Leeds University and came to Berlin to get involved and inspired by the huge art scene (and live in the party city). She loves architecture, which Berlin is great for, and hopes to do an architecture degree here in the future – depending on where the ‘river of life’ takes her! Leen hates routine and gets bored quickly so Berlin is doing pretty well keeping her attention.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Alternative City Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Leo
Growing up in the fast city and the big smoke, this London boy decided no more wastemans, fish & chips, minding the gap and bring on the U-Bahn, currywurst and dodgy haircuts. With a one-way ticket booked, bag of vinyl packed, history books read and German dictionary in hand – this bad man rocked up and has never looked back. Leo is a fine specimen and his tours are solid like a rock. Blam!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Alternative City Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Lewis
Name: Lewis
Place of Birth: Amsterdam
Degree: Human Psychology
Skills: Tennis, Running without interruptions, Song-writing, Preaching
Languages: Dutch, English, German
Arrived in Berlin: By train, by accident – 05.06.2007 1100 hrs
Leaving Berlin: Unknown
Objective: Educate, Enlighten, Evolve
Aliases: Max, Jeff, Beef (to some)
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Third Reich Tour
Red Berlin Tour
Potsdam Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Matt
In 2005 Matt left the UK for continental Europe. He lived in Spain for the first year, but having met a host of amazing German people, he chose to come to Berlin. As it turns out he somehow never really left. Taken aback by the city of Berlin, its culture and the prospect of exploring a new country, he decided to stay, which just happened to conveniently coincide with the football World Cup.
He has spent the best part of five years living in various German cities, but it is Berlin where he truly feels at home. It’s really not hard to see why! Having learned the language he is now doing a Masters degree in European Politics.
His inherent love for the Berlin summer, drinking beer in the park, dancing at open air parties and getting to know Germans, means that he quite literally could n’t imagine living anywhere else!!!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Robbie
Robbie, originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, moved to Berlin summer ’11. After exploring his keen interest in hospitality and management back home in the UK, he decided it was time to immerse himself in a culture completely different to that of his home country. After travelling extensively around Europe, he finally decided to settle in Berlin. It was an easy choice to make, though. Who can resist the city’s vibrant music scene and ‘underground’ culture?! He can now be found guiding unsuspecting travellers around the streets of Berlin on our infamous Pub Crawl, dedicating himself to sharing his love of the city, whilst searching for keen Scottish football enthusiasts!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
Rob
Rob is a confirmed lover of Berlin, and has been living in the city on and of for two years. He first came here to stay for a couple of weeks, and ended up staying for a couple of years. Back in Manchester, England, he was a music journalist and writer, but Berlin has inspired him to start working on a novel set in the city. He hopes to be able to help you share in his excitement about living in the most creative city in the world.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Rob
Originally hailing from the beautiful Norfolk, in the east of England, Rob studied English Literature at Leeds University, and was sent to Berlin for the first time on exchange back in 2007. He quickly developed a passion for all things “Berlin”, be they historical or musical, and so now spends his time between furthering his career as a music producer, and showing others what makes Berlin the best place to live on earth.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Third Reich Tour
Alternative City Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Sadie
Sadie, having grown-up in the big smoke of London, is a self acknowledged city-girl, chocoholic and tea addict! After completing a degree in French and Art and dipping her toes into the corporate world of London City, she decided that there must be more to life than staring at a computer all day. She bought herself a world map, played a game of ‘Pin the Tail on the Country’, and landed in Berlin! After two days, she was hooked! Sadie now spends her days retracing the steps of Berlin’s fascinating history, sampling every known version of Black Forest Gateau and making the most of Berlin’s amazing culture, nightlife and generally laid back lifestyle!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Sam
Sam is from the beautiful seaside town of Bournemouth which is on the south coast of England. He studied English and Politics at York University. Like everyone who comes to Berlin, Sam soon fell in love with the city and has lived here for a year. He studies Politics and History at Humboldt University and is extremely enthusiastic about Berlin, its history, its politics and of course, its beer.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Third Reich Tour
Potsdam Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Sarah
A born and bred Irishwoman, Sarah hails from the petite midland town of Tipperary, and emigrated in 2011 with a degree in Fine Art and Painting under her belt. Having already spent as much time as possible during those college years travelling abroad, the decision to move to Berlin came easily and she hasn’t looked back since!
Sarah spends most of her time here sampling Germany’s finest beers, eating falafels, drawing on walls and purposely getting lost in new parts of town. She loves Berlin for its diverse and eclectic people and culture, artistic opportunities, and the lack of pub closing hours! She believes that it is the best place in Europe to be an aspiring artist at the moment, especially when you can have so much fun on the way!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
Sebastian
Sebastian is a global nomad and living cultural melting pot. Half Italian, half British and born in sunny Madrid, he has also lived in Paris, Taipei, London, and St Petersburg. While travelling one summer he happened upon Berlin, not knowing what to expect. Drawn in by the city’s rich history, incredible mix of cultures, vibrant musical and artistic scene, and laid back and friendly atmosphere, he immediately knew he had to come back to stay. Having spent an entire life of roaming from place to place, Seb has found a home in a city he loves and has hung up his travelling boots – for now! In his spare time, Seb is an aspiring jazz saxophonist.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Sophie
Originally from the lovely land of Wales, where the sheep are plentiful and the hills roll… but it rains a lot, and so she decided to move to Berlin. Sophie studied history at Aberystwyth University, focusing in her third year on Berlin and the construction of the Wall, and so she thought she would come to the city to see for herself! She loves music, travelling, sleeping and general life fun and… that’s all folks! Love and buttons to all!
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Steve
Steve grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland. After studying sociology at university, playing music and working for a few years, he hit the rail road and set his sights on middle and eastern Europe. Many months were spent traversing sun-scorched countrysides, exploring foreign cities and making great friends. Like any other ‘dreamer’, however, Steve had a strong inclination that Berlin would provide the flair and excitement he was looking for! Arriving here last summer with some friends, he now calls this city home. His new nocturnal lifestyle allows him plenty of time for ‘crawl’ guiding, gig-going and late night jamming. Delighted.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Pub Crawl
Taylor
Taylor originally hails from the tiny country town of Finley in New South Wales, Australia. After completing a BA-English at Curtin University in Perth with Majors in Theatre and Film, he immediately tried very unsuccessfully to become a professional actor. After that he followed a very natural progression from an Arts degree and became a Finance Broker where he single-handedly caused the Global financial crisis of 2007. Realizing he had better use his talents for good instead of evil he soon set off around the world.
Taylor first arrived in Berlin in July 2009 and within 6 hours the city had sucker-punched him fair in the chops with its sublime awesomeness. He fell in love with the History, Culture and Lifestyle of Berlin and knew one day he would live here. After completing his travels 5 months later and still not speaking a word of German, he moved to Berlin on the 14th November, 2009.
While Taylor still knows his native land of Australia is the greatest country on earth, he is very happy to now call his home Berlin, the greatest city on earth. Unfortunately his German is still not much better. Das ist gut, ja?
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Third Reich Tour
The Essential Bike Tour
Eco Bus Tour
Zabi
Originally hailing from London, Zabi studied Politics and German at the University of Bath and spent his time after university discovering and living in some beautiful cities around the UK and Germany, moving from Bath, to Munich, to Bristol, to Edinburgh and finally discovering Berlin. Having lived in Berlin since May 2010, he is not about to leave any time soon. With a fascination for German history and producing and DJing electronic music, this is the perfect home away from home.
Tours mastered:
New Berlin Free Tour
Alternative City Tour
