While many memorials and pieces of public art that were erected during the reign of the German Democratic Republic were removed or altered after German reunification, more than just a handful have seemingly escaped that fate and continue stand in all their glory in the […]

If there’s one policy from the German Democratic Republic that has left a lasting positive impression, then it would be the “Kunst im öffentlichen Raum” and the “Kunst am Bau” movement to promote Art in Public Spaces and Architecture. While not confined to East Germany […]

Berlin has rapidly changed over the past decade. Historic buildings that stood for over a century have been torn down to make way for luxury apartments and hotels, while the ghosts of a long abandoned past have risen again in the shape of a disneyfied […]

There’s hardly a corner in Berlin that’s been left untouched by the legacy of the Nazis – be it through Hitlers and Speers architectural fantasy of building a new world capital called Germania, or the natural conclusion of the city being laid to waste at […]

35 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the event the aftermath have had consequences that still impact us to this day. The area around (and) Chernobyl itself has become a urbex Disneyland for many adventurers and the catastrophe has been made into an HBO series […]

As the German art critic and author Karl Scheffler once put it – “Berlin is damned always to become and never to be” – and even 110 years later this statement couldn’t ring truer. No matter where you go in Berlin, if you just lightly scratch the historical surface of […]

“Germania” – the mythical capital of the Third Reich. Looking back at the plans that Albert Speer came up with for Adolf Hitler in 1935, one can only wonder how the Nazis thought they could ever realize their supersized construction plans. From the monstrous Volkshalle […]

Few buildings in Berlin define the “skyline” and the city as much as the Berlin Cathedral. The imposing Neo-renaisance Cathedral is a tourist magnet, only dwarfed in visitor numbers by the Cathedral in Cologne. While many simply enjoy the building from the outside – few […]

Berlin is a city of change. It always has been, and it most likely always will be. Berlin evolved from a small village in a swamp to the capital of the Prussian empire, to the largest industrial city in Europe – and at one point […]

While most can and will consider German reunification a “success story”, the merger of the two German states also meant the loss of identity, purpose, and direction for many. There are plenty of articles, books and documentaries out there which deal with the subject of […]

The year 2019 marks 58 years since the construction, and 30 years since the fall of the Berlin wall. The 160km long wall ploughed its way through and around the capital – giving residents of the western sector only 14 bordering crossings to leave into […]

Have you ever strolled through a German supermarket and spotted those weird colored eggs? Do Germans sell easter eggs all year around? I’ve been living here long enough and have asked myself that question plenty of times. I’ve never been quite brave enough to actually […]

A solitary frog prince sits patiently on a porcelain ball, high above the masses waiting for their U-Bahn to arrive.  What might seem like a quirky detail of an otherwise almost unremarkable U-Bahn station in Berlin, is actually one of the last original remnants of the […]

The year 2018 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, as well as the 170th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto. Few people have had such a lasting – and controversial – effect on world history. While many can debate about the pros […]

Over 7 decades have passed since the Battle of Berlin and at first glance one wouldn’t notice. Division, reunification, the building boom of the 90’s and the gentrification and modernisation of the 00’s have sanitised the city. But only at first glance. The battle to […]

The Nikolaiviertel. A charming little haven in the center of Berlin. So quiet and yet seemingly out of place – surrounded by the iconic TV Tower, the socialist high rises on the Leipziger Straße and the drabness of Alexanderplatz. Despite its relatively small size, the […]

Berlin is a city of change. Some for the better, some for the worse. Few time periods have left their mark on city as much as the years immediately after the German reunification. Investors, banks and the opportunistic saw a golden era of profit upon […]

The year 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia, with which Lenin and his comrades toppled the Russian Empire and ushered in the reign of the Soviet Union. This centenary anniversary posed an excellent chance to showcase one of Berlin’s hidden […]

Berlin is a city that bears the scars of its history. Be it remnants of its imperial history, bullet scared facades (like the Bridge of Scars)or tragic memorials. While it seems like virtually every other building is either listed as a protected monument or has […]

Every Kiez in Berlin has one or two buildings which define the area – be it the Fernsehturm in Mitte, the Karstadt Building in Neukölln, The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Charlottenburg or the Dong Xuan Center in Lichtenberg. No other building exemplifies Prenzlauer Berg like the Wasserturm – […]

Its the same spectacle every year: Berlins streets are flooded with some weird cotton pollen just as the summer starts kicking in. When a light breeze brushes through the streets – the fluffy white clouds spread out and one could be lead to believe that […]

Right at the border between Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain, above the heads of the masses lies one of Prenzlauer Bergs more visible mysteries. Thousands of people have passed the intersection Greifswalder Straße / Am Friedrichshain – looking up and wondering “what the hell is that […]

Potsdams a nice place – but it’s just not quite as cool as its younger brother Berlin. Whatever Potsdam does it’s always seemingly second class to Berlin. Its got the original Brandenburger Tor (Potsdam 1770, Berlin 1788, Königsberg 1860), the Stadschloß they restored is cheaper […]

When the DDR erected the „Antifaschistischer Schutzwall“ – aka the Berlin Wall in 1961, the 160 Kilometer long fortification was overlooked by 302 Watchtowers. The East German Watchtowers weren’t only used for guarding the Berlin Wall, but served as Guard-posts for Prisons, Storage Facilities and a wide […]

1973 was an important year for East Germany. After years of political turmoil, the DDR was finally accepted as a member state (the 133rd) to the UN. With this, the DDR had achieved a massive step forward in what it so desperately craved for the […]

Berlin is not a city of skyscrapers – and it seems like most of the action happens underground. With German reunification, the city had wide-reaching plans to modernize the Alexanderplatz and rid it of its socialist character. 17 Skyscrapers up to 150 meters in height […]

If you’ve ever taken the Deutsche Bahn Trains in Berlin, chances are you’ve at least once heard a synth organ blast out a strange Volksmusik tune. What the hell is that jingle that they play on German Trains? Turns out that they dont just play […]

Berlin used to be swamped with Windmills. It might be hard to believe but by the year 1860, over 150 Windmills sprouted up in and around Berlin. But whats left of them today? Aside form a few street names not much – but 8 Windmills […]

Berlin is full of famous streets. The illustrious Kurfürstendam with its luxury shops. The historical “Unter den Linden” lined with Embassies leading up to the Brandenburg Gate, or the Oranienburger Straße with its hookers and alternative vibe (thanks to gentrification thats almost gone – the […]

Not many Berliners know of the Jaczoturm – and even amongst the locals in Spandau it remains somewhat unknown. Hidden along the entrance of the Jaczoschlucht at the border of Wilhelmstadt to Gatow, stands a small tower commemorating the “Schildhornsage” – one of the most important legends/events […]

Im an accidental Numismatic. Over the course of +3 years, ive been collecting all the 1,2 and 5 Cent coins that have crossed my path. What do you do with these coins? Finnland, The Netherlands and Belgium all have abolished their public use (while they are […]

A few years back when my family was living in San Francisco, I encountered this interesting  so-called, “German” tradition – The German Christmas Pickle.  My Mother, on the hunt for some Christmas Tree Ornaments  ended up  in bizarre store somewhere in downtown San Francisco and came […]

Recht und Ordnung. Law and Order. There’s nothing that a German loves more – or at least that’s the stereotype that everybody spreads around. While there apparently are many ways to earn the ire of an old German Grandmother – the quickest way (so the […]

Berlin Mitte. U-Bahn Station Mitte. The Rotes Rathaus. They are all liars. All of them claim to be the center of Berlin but none of them are. People have always been fascinated with the concept of the Center – be it the spiritual, geographical, or […]

I Hate the Sea and Everything in it, but I have a soft spot for Ferries (see the MS Tempelhof) and other obscure modes of transportation. When I heard that the BVG wanted to scuttle the obscurest ferry  in all of Germany at the end […]

Brazingly walking through doors like you know where you are going and belong there is a very good characteristic to have – especially in Berlin. You can find the most interesting  places hidden behind doors and through hinterhöfe, all you need is a bit of […]

Berlin has over 2500 public recreational and green spaces – over one-third of the city is made up of forests, parks and rivers. Those are more parks than you will ever be able to visit. Now most people visiting Berlin will be familiar with the […]

Moabit continues to surprise me. Despite officially belonging to the Bezirk Mitte ive never been really drawn in to explore the area. Like so many areas of Berlin, Moabit doesn’t have the best of reputations (im looking at you Lichtenberg and Wedding) but as ive […]

Hidden in the shadows of Berlins Hauptbahnhof, lies a small park and a lonely staircase with trees growing out of it. Unless you lost your way and somehow ended up underneath the railway bridge – or by off-chance decided to take a shortcut to the […]

Its no big secret but I hate fish, so youll be hard pressed to find me in a Japanese Restaurant (due to their pescy habit of serving mostly fish-based dishes). Nevertheless I was dragged down a dark industrial looking street to the Cocolo Ramenbar (which […]