Anyone that’s lived in Berlin for more than 5 years will have probably noticed that the fares for the BVG / VBB seemingly increase like clockwork every April. While we’ve […]

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 […]

While traveling through Brandenburg, one can’t fail to notice how the villages and towns take care of their War memorials. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for many of Berlin’s […]

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” […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

At first glance there’s not much to see here aside from the usual Berliner Tristesse. A gas station, a busy road and a massive construction site. But on closer inspection […]

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 […]

Reichsadler. The word (unfairly) conjures up images of a Nazi Eagle and the Third Reich. Yet the Eagle as a symbol of Power has existed in the Germanic Realm for […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Spittelmarkt. East Berlin still feels like East Berlin here. The massive 6 Lane Leipziger Straße cuts through the city  while the “Komplex Leipziger Straße” – an Octuplet Set of Plattenbauten […]

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 […]

This Island isn’t meant for visitors. 250.000 m² large, a few dozen villas and a single road that goes around in a circle.  There isn’t much to see here if it weren’t […]

Winter is coming. As the temperatures slowly dip into the negative digits, a many Neu Berliner begins to regret living in this city. But Berlin comes into its own when […]

Der Judengang. The word sounds a lot harsher than it most likely means to be. That might be because of the German Language or the German oversensitivity.  While I had […]

Ill be the first to admit it – Berlin isnt a beautiful city. At least not in a classical sense. Ive yet to hear someone describe Berlin in the same […]

Totgesagte leben länger – literally translates into The condemned live longer. Nothing fits better to the “doomed” Airport Tegel than this saying. To think that Tegel Airport was mere days […]

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 […]

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 […]

“Das Paradies ist verriegelt und der Cherub hinter uns; wir müssen die Reise um die Welt machen und sehen, ob es vielleicht von hinten irgendwo wieder offen ist.” “But paradise […]

Berlin is best enjoyed from the top. Not that there are that many opportunities within the city aside from the Fernsehturm and the Weltballon. But if you venture out to […]

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 […]

Berlin has some stunningly beautiful bridges. In fact its got over 900 bridges on display (though not all of them so beautiful) – over twice as many as Venice. And […]

The 1970s Architects weren’t kind to Berlin.  While the cityscape of the east was dominated by myriads of Plattenbauten – the western half was turned into an architects playground who […]

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 […]