Berlin BVG VBB Ticket Machines

A History of Berlin’s BVG / VBB Ticket Prices

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 […]
Weiterlesen
Julius Fucik Denkmal Bürgerpark Pankow Berlin Rechte Seite Büste Spruch

Julius Fučík Memorial

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 […]
Weiterlesen
kriegerdenkmal garde pioniere kirche am südstern berlin kreuzberg

Denkmal für die Gefallenen der Garde Pioniere

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 […]
Weiterlesen
Moskau DDR Kunst Leben Heinz Worner Niederschoeneweide treptow Koepenick crop

Cosmonauts, Communists, and the Kremlin in East Berlin

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” […]
Weiterlesen
pressecafe haus des berliner verlages alexanderplatz willi neubert relief Die Presse als Organisator ecken ansicht memhardtstrasse karl liebknecht strasse

The Pressecafe

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 […]
Weiterlesen
Hitler Jugend Hitler Youth siedlung grazer damm drittes reich nazi architektur berlin schöneberg

The Nazi legacy of the Grazer Damm

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 […]
Weiterlesen
Chernobyl Memorial Berlin Lichtenberg fennpfuhlpark tschernobyl denkmal berlin deutschland juri sinkewitsch man knie

Berlins Chernobyl Memorials

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 […]
Weiterlesen
mitte des leninplatzes berlin

Everything you didn’t know about Berlins Leninplatz

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 […]
Weiterlesen
vierter ring four ring platz des 4 juli berlin hitler autobahn zehlendorf

Vierter Ring – Hitlers unfinished Autobahn

“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 […]
Weiterlesen
close up berlin kuppelkreuz berliner dom berlin cathedral church cross st hedwig friedhof cemetery domfriedhof

Kuppelkreuz – The cross of the Berlin Cathedral

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 […]
Weiterlesen
ddr wappen glassfenster staatsratsgebaeude berlin

The Staatsratsgebäude

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 […]
Weiterlesen
ddr glas superfest ceverit bierglas logo ost deutschland

Superfest – The (almost) unbreakable East German Glass

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 […]
Weiterlesen
car port border roof grenzdach elaste bornholmer strasse border crossing prenzlauer berg berlin germany east germany

The Recycled East German Border Crossing

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 […]
Weiterlesen
german colored easter eggs

What are those coloured eggs in German supermarkets?

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 […]
Weiterlesen
froschkönig frog prince prinzenstrasse ubahn u1 berlin kreuzberg deutschland germany train

The Frog Prince of Kreuzberg

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 […]
Weiterlesen
karl marx berlin germany collage

The last depictions of Karl Marx in Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
durchschussloch berlin germany bullet hole bridge WWII war

The Bridge of Scars

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 […]
Weiterlesen
ernst thaelmann spricht nikolaiviertel fries der sozialistischen Geschichte Berlins Gerhard Thieme socialist history of berlin relief frieze berlin germany socialsim communism east berlin east germany ddr

The socialist history of Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
PDR berlin palast der republik ddr germany monogram reisebuero

The last piece of the Palast der Republik

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 […]
Weiterlesen
lenin fenster crop humboldt universitaet juristische fakultaet copy

The secret Lenin of Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
ddr wappen samlung berlin

Finding the last emblems of the German Democratic Republic in Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
berlin prenzlauer berg wasserturm water tower water reservoir entrance park

Exploring the Wasserturm in Prenzlauer Berg

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 […]
Weiterlesen
otto braun strasse berlin

Berlin: Whats that white cotton stuff in the air?

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 […]
Weiterlesen
derelict sign stern radio berlin prenzlauer berg friedrichshain

Prenzlauer Bergs Neon Music Tape

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 […]
Weiterlesen
cosmonaut mural potsdam

The Cosmonaut of Potsdam

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 […]
Weiterlesen
The Watchtowers of East Berlin

The Watchtowers of East Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
greta garbo strasse berlin park

The Abandoned Chinese Embassy | The Republic of Pankow

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 […]
Weiterlesen
honeckers window berlin alexanderplatz

Honecker’s Window

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 […]
Weiterlesen
chauseestrasse berliner mauer kaninchenfeld berlin

The Kaninchenfeld – The Brass Rabbits of the Berlin Wall

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 […]
Weiterlesen
deutsche bahn regionalzug alexanderplatz berlin

Whats that Jingle on German Trains?

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 […]
Weiterlesen
nazi eagles of berlin banner

The Nazi Eagles of Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
berlin windmills

The 8 Windmills of Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
eiergasse berlin

The Eiergasse – Berlins Shortest Street

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 […]
Weiterlesen
jaczoturm front ansicht berlin spandau

The Jaczoturm

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 […]
Weiterlesen
pilled up euro cent coins

What to do with 4 Kilos worth of change?

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 […]
Weiterlesen
coca cola tafel spitteleck berlin nachts mond

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 205: The Spitteleck

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 […]
Weiterlesen
The infamous German Christmas Pickle

The German Christmas Pickle Myth

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 […]
Weiterlesen
ram skull tuileriensaeule berlin germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 212: The Tuileriensäule

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 […]
Weiterlesen
aufsicht alte eisbahn lankwitz berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 140: The Eisbahn

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 […]
Weiterlesen
david stern juedischer friedhof schoenhauser allee

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 159: The Judengang

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 […]
Weiterlesen
runder hinterhof schoenhauser allee 88 berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 194: The Round Hinterhof

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 […]
Weiterlesen
runway lichter flughafen berlin tegel

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 63: The Meteorstraße

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 […]
Weiterlesen
german crosswalk ampel man berlin

German Traffic Lights – Youre Using Them All Wrong

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 […]
Weiterlesen
plakette mittelpunkt von berlin kreuzberg deutschland

The Geographical Center of Berlin

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 […]
Weiterlesen
kleistgrab schild

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 46: Kleists Grave

“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 […]
Weiterlesen
Müggelturm Berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 68: The Müggelturm

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 […]
Weiterlesen
Paule III Fähre Berlin, Müggelspree

Paule III – Berlins smallest Ferry

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 […]
Weiterlesen
spreetunnel schild berlin koepenick

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 94: The Spreetunnel

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 […]
Weiterlesen
facade view of the bierpinsel in steglitz, berlin, germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 11: The Bierpinsel

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 […]
Weiterlesen
old and new facade Tieranatomisches Theater

The Tieranatomisches Theater

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 […]
Weiterlesen