On se left you see se Siegessäule
Brian Melican finds erudite humour in a book by German comedian and former tour guide Tilman Birr... A few weeks back, I came across a review of a book called On se left you see se Siegessäule: Erlebnisse eines Stadtbilderkärers whose title intrigued me enough to procure it. As an Englishman who has learnt German, just the moniker on its own was enough to bring a wry smile to my face: read in German, the title gives you the typical accent of a German trying (and failing) to master that [...]
Seasonal Recipes: January 2013
Thyme Supperclub offers a light seasonal recipe to balance all the post-Christmas feasting... After the excess of the Christmas feasts, January calls for food that is healing and cleansing. For me, this means dishes sharp with citrus flavours, fragrant with herbs, and perhaps a little kick of chilli. Asian food hits the spot perfectly, particularly Thai or Japanese-influenced dishes. They feel so clean. I don’t just mean that they are healthy, although of course many of them are. But [...]
Images of Berlin, 2012
Paul Sullivan selects some of his favourite images of Berlin taken in 2012... I've never photographed as much as I did in 2012. My camera was barely out of my hands for most of the year, even though I probably travelled less (internationally speaking) than any year in the previous decade. I cycled and walked day and night through the centre and fringes of the city, exploring everything from lakes and woodlands to abandoned buildings and residential estates. I never knew quite was I [...]
The Film Studios of Oskar Meßter
NotMsParker (aka Beata Gontarczyk-Krampe) explores the former studios of Oskar Meßter, the "father of German cinema"... The year is 1866. Mr. Eduard Meßter and his lovely wife Marie Wilhelmine, a comfortably wealthy couple running a prosperous optical instruments business in Berlin-Mitte, welcome a new member of their family: a boy whom they christen Oskar. In 1896 Oskar, a 30-year-old with extensive knowledge of all things optical and with an insatiable interest in all things [...]
Berlin’s Kork-Yogis
Tam Eastley investigates the Kork-Yogis taking over Berlin's street signs... One of the many Kork-Yogis spotted in Berlin by Tam Eastley I first noticed them in the spring of 2010. My best friend Lisa was visiting from San Francisco, and we were walking to my favourite pizza place on the corner of Hertzbergstrasse and Richardplatz in the heart of Rixdorf. Lisa was taking note of every aspect of her surroundings, gazing at cobblestones, gushing at the urban garden in front of a block [...]
Ethical Shopping in Berlin
Natalie Holmes rounds up a selection of Berlin shops with a local, sustainable, eco and fair trade twist... DeDeRon - photo by Natalie Holmes Vintage & second hand DeDeRon, as the name suggests, specialises in curiosities from the former DDR, as well as vintage items from way-back-when and newer but equally interesting pieces. Charming turn-of-the-century Christmas tree decorations compete for space with vintage east and west versions of flavoured soda powder – apparently de [...]
Beelitz Heilstätten: The Phantom Sanatorium
Catherine Lupton explores Beelitz's abandoned Sanatorium and the history left behind... Image by Catherine Lupton The vast abandoned sanatorium / hospital complex Beelitz Heilstätten, southwest of Berlin, is surely one of the city’s most flagrantly open secrets. Easily reached by train from Wannsee, Beelitz is a mythical destination for aficionados of urban exploration (urbex): the clandestine visiting, photographing and filming of abandoned buildings, as well as being an oddly [...]
On the Heerstrasse
Marcel Krueger discovers an abundance of history along West Berlin's Heerstrasse... Theodor-Heuss-Platz West Berlin's Heerstrasse isn't much to look at. A mundane, five-lane expressway connecting the trade fair with the district of Spandau in the west, it eventually morphs into federal highway No. 5, transporting its human cargo towards the northern city of Hamburg. But to stroll alongside this Ballardian mesh of concrete and speeding metal is to cut a cross-section through 150 [...]
Berlin’s Christmas Markets 2012
The temperature has gone sub-zero and anything you plan on consuming had better taste of cinnamon or come mit Schuss. With Berlin playing host to over sixty Christmas markets annually, there’s no shortage of places for you to get your fix of Lebkuchen and gifts in the frosty open air… Best Of The Big Hitters Gendarmenmarkt The sparkliest of them all, lit with all the double-domed grandeur you’d expect from a setting in between the Deutschen and Franzozichen Dome. Visitors get a [...]
Prenzlauer Berg: A Personal Memoir
Rhea Boyden offers a personal memoir on life in Prenzlauer Berg through the 90s and beyond... Ellen Riorden, the author's mother. At my secondary school in Ireland there was always a big emphasis on the study of German history and geography, and I always loved both classes. We learned all about Bismarck the Iron Chancellor, the Berlin Airlift, and we learned to draw the route of the River Rhine on a bare map. We studied the details of the most important industries in Germany from [...]
