Anika: Q&A
Natalye Childress talks to Annika Henderson (Anika) about her new album and Berlin as creative muse... Photo by Jeff Meltz It's not entirely a stretch for artists to move around within the space of the creative realm, crossing over from one medium to another, but it is somewhat rare when someone with a stable profession suddenly makes a horizontal move into the art world. Yet that is exactly what political journalist Annika Henderson did some three or four years ago, and she hasn't [...]
Photo Gallery: Good Wedding
Good Wedding is a typographic collection of positivity, joy, humour and optimism in Wedding, Berlin. This series offers a visual counterpoint to the suburb's somewhat dubious and largely undeserved reputation. Good Wedding is an expression of the unconditional fondness and fascination that Australian photographer Kate Seabrook holds for her new adopted neighbourhood. Rose-coloured glasses or not, there is plenty to love about this district, as can be seen from the images [...]
Berlin’s Ghost Stations
Marcel Krueger takes a ride on the U6 to explore Berlin's GDR-era "ghost stations"... I’ve been fascinated by the subway all my life. Maybe it’s the fact that there's nothing outside the windows; that when sitting in a subway carriage one has no other choice than to focus on the other passengers – how they look, what they’re doing, what they’re reading – or, god forbid, oneself. There’s also that unique feeling of descending into the bowels of a city and being propelled from [...]
Berlin At War
Brian Melican reviews Roger Moorhouse's excruciatingly detailed account of Berlin during World War 2... Berlin at war: the devastated city in 1945 For a comparatively young city, Berlin is by no means short on history. Paris and London may have been founded by the Romans, but the presence of the past in Berlin can be quite overwhelming – primarily, and quite paradoxically, due to the recent nature of this past. There must be nearly two million people in the city who remember the Wall [...]
Seasonal Recipes: April 2013
Thyme supperclub ease us into springtime with new potatoes, lamb and...chocolate orange dessert... This period in the calendar is perhaps the hardest for a cook. Winter crop vegetables are mostly past their best, but most of the spring harvest has yet to come in. In fact, historically, in northern Europe, early spring gave rise to the expression “the hunger gap” to designate the paucity of produce. Of the winter crop, leeks and cauliflower are still looking good and I’m hoping the [...]
Photographing Berlin’s Homeless
Jack Seemer chats to Paul-Hynes Allen about his portraits of the homeless... Photographer Paul-Hynes Allen’s work has often been rooted in the concept of the outsider – the individual apart, oftentimes “the stranger”. It’s a concept that has driven him in the pursuit of artistic progress, but helped himself also to overcome the impact and scars from a turbulent past. Hailing from Croydon, south London, he first came to Berlin in 2004 after finishing his BA at Brighton [...]
Easter in Berlin 2013
With icy winds still blowing through Berlin's snow-spattered streets, it seems hard to believe that the Easter holidays are almost here. While we patiently await the arrival of spring’s warmth and blooms, here's our round up of Easter-related festivals and events. Don't forget to wrap up warm! Medieval Festivals Between Saturday 30 March - Monday 1 April the lovely Kloster Chorin just north of Berlin will celebrate their annual medieval festival (€4 adults, €2.50 children). [...]
Jewish Museum Berlin
Paul Sullivan takes a trip through one of Berlin's darkest museums... Front Garden of the Jewish Museum by Matthias Heiderich Of all Berlin’s myriad museums and memorials, Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum is one of the most powerful and unique. Built in 1999 and opened in 2001, it’s a bold attempt to express not only the horrors of the Holocaust, but also to examine the broader history of Jewish life and culture in Germany. Located off a busy road in the city’s Kreuzberg [...]
Berlin’s Historic Market Halls
Ian Farrell explores the history - and current status - of Berlin's 19th century Markthallen... The central market hall at Alexanderplatz around 1890 The year is 1883. The newly founded nation of Germany is developing at a rapid rate, with the capital city of Berlin as its political and economic centre. On the international stage, the country is making a lot of noise establishing itself as a major player in world politics as well as science and other realms. At home, much is also [...]
Nazi Masses and the Call of Nature
Rosa Sala Rose meditates on some of the impractical aspects of the Nazi's mass rallies... The image on the right comes from the best-known example of propaganda in film history: Triumph of the Will (1935) by Leni Riefenstahl. It shows, in a way that still feels overwhelming, thousands of human beings exploited as part of a pleasant but empty geometric design. They are turned into a “closed crowd” as defined by Elias Canetti in his famous book Crowds and Power: The closed [...]
