Brandenburger Tore

The Brandenburg Gates

3 weeks ago

Few monuments encapsulate the image of Germany (and Berlin) as much as the Brandenburg Gate. Of all the National Monuments in Germany, the neoclassical structure is by far the most […]

Berlin BVG VBB Ticket Machines

A History of Berlin’s BVG / VBB Ticket Prices

9 months ago

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 […]

Julius Fucik Denkmal Bürgerpark Pankow Berlin Rechte Seite Büste Spruch

Julius Fučík Memorial

Oct 27, 2022

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 […]

kriegerdenkmal garde pioniere kirche am südstern berlin kreuzberg

Denkmal für die Gefallenen der Garde Pioniere

Sep 29, 2022

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 […]

Moskau DDR Kunst Leben Heinz Worner Niederschoeneweide treptow Koepenick crop

Cosmonauts, Communists, and the Kremlin in East Berlin

Dec 17, 2021

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” […]

pressecafe haus des berliner verlages alexanderplatz willi neubert relief Die Presse als Organisator ecken ansicht memhardtstrasse karl liebknecht strasse

The Pressecafe

Nov 21, 2021

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 […]

Hitler Jugend Hitler Youth siedlung grazer damm drittes reich nazi architektur berlin schöneberg

The Nazi legacy of the Grazer Damm

Nov 5, 2021

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 […]

Chernobyl Memorial Berlin Lichtenberg fennpfuhlpark tschernobyl denkmal berlin deutschland juri sinkewitsch man knie

Berlins Chernobyl Memorials

Apr 25, 2021

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 […]

mitte des leninplatzes berlin

Everything you didn’t know about Berlins Leninplatz

Nov 19, 2020

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 […]

vierter ring four ring platz des 4 juli berlin hitler autobahn zehlendorf

Vierter Ring – Hitlers unfinished Autobahn

Jul 10, 2020

“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 […]

close up berlin kuppelkreuz berliner dom berlin cathedral church cross st hedwig friedhof cemetery domfriedhof

Kuppelkreuz – The cross of the Berlin Cathedral

Apr 16, 2020

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 […]

ddr wappen glassfenster staatsratsgebaeude berlin

The Staatsratsgebäude

Mar 23, 2020

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 […]

ddr glas superfest ceverit bierglas logo ost deutschland

Superfest – The (almost) unbreakable East German Glass

Mar 10, 2020

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 […]

car port border roof grenzdach elaste bornholmer strasse border crossing prenzlauer berg berlin germany east germany

The Recycled East German Border Crossing

Apr 22, 2019

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 […]

german colored easter eggs

What are those coloured eggs in German supermarkets?

Mar 26, 2019

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 […]

froschkönig frog prince prinzenstrasse ubahn u1 berlin kreuzberg deutschland germany train

The Frog Prince of Kreuzberg

Jul 5, 2018

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 […]

karl marx berlin germany collage

The last depictions of Karl Marx in Berlin

May 4, 2018

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 […]

durchschussloch berlin germany bullet hole bridge WWII war

The Bridge of Scars

Apr 19, 2018

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 […]

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

Apr 13, 2018

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 […]

PDR berlin palast der republik ddr germany monogram reisebuero

The last piece of the Palast der Republik

Mar 15, 2018

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 […]

lenin fenster crop humboldt universitaet juristische fakultaet copy

The secret Lenin of Berlin

Nov 2, 2017

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 […]

ddr wappen samlung berlin

Finding the last emblems of the German Democratic Republic in Berlin

Sep 6, 2017

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 […]

berlin prenzlauer berg wasserturm water tower water reservoir entrance park

Exploring the Wasserturm in Prenzlauer Berg

Feb 7, 2017

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 […]

otto braun strasse berlin

Berlin: Whats that white cotton stuff in the air?

Jun 1, 2016

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 […]

derelict sign stern radio berlin prenzlauer berg friedrichshain

Prenzlauer Bergs Neon Music Tape

Apr 20, 2016

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 […]

cosmonaut mural potsdam

The Cosmonaut of Potsdam

Feb 5, 2016

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 […]

The Watchtowers of East Berlin

The Watchtowers of East Berlin

Nov 2, 2015

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 […]

greta garbo strasse berlin park

The Abandoned Chinese Embassy | The Republic of Pankow

Sep 25, 2015

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 […]

honeckers window berlin alexanderplatz

Honecker’s Window

Sep 7, 2015

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 […]

chauseestrasse berliner mauer kaninchenfeld berlin

The Kaninchenfeld – The Brass Rabbits of the Berlin Wall

Jul 20, 2015

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 […]

deutsche bahn regionalzug alexanderplatz berlin

Whats that Jingle on German Trains?

Jun 19, 2015

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 […]

nazi eagles of berlin banner

The Nazi Eagles of Berlin

Jun 5, 2015

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 windmills

The 8 Windmills of Berlin

May 5, 2015

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 […]

eiergasse berlin

The Eiergasse – Berlins Shortest Street

Apr 21, 2015

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 […]

jaczoturm front ansicht berlin spandau

The Jaczoturm

Apr 10, 2015

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 […]

pilled up euro cent coins

What to do with 4 Kilos worth of change?

Mar 27, 2015

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 […]

coca cola tafel spitteleck berlin nachts mond

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 205: The Spitteleck

Mar 17, 2015

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 […]

The infamous German Christmas Pickle

The German Christmas Pickle Myth

Dec 24, 2014

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 […]

ram skull tuileriensaeule berlin germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 212: The Tuileriensäule

Jan 17, 2014

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 […]

aufsicht alte eisbahn lankwitz berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 140: The Eisbahn

Nov 20, 2013

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 […]

david stern juedischer friedhof schoenhauser allee

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 159: The Judengang

Nov 13, 2013

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 […]

runder hinterhof schoenhauser allee 88 berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 194: The Round Hinterhof

Nov 6, 2013

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 […]

runway lichter flughafen berlin tegel

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 63: The Meteorstraße

Oct 22, 2013

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 […]

german crosswalk ampel man berlin

German Traffic Lights – Youre Using Them All Wrong

Oct 18, 2013

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 […]

plakette mittelpunkt von berlin kreuzberg deutschland

The Geographical Center of Berlin

Oct 2, 2013

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 […]

kleistgrab schild

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 46: Kleists Grave

Sep 20, 2013

“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 […]

Müggelturm Berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 68: The Müggelturm

Sep 6, 2013

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 […]

Paule III Fähre Berlin, Müggelspree

Paule III – Berlins smallest Ferry

Aug 28, 2013

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 […]

spreetunnel schild berlin koepenick

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 94: The Spreetunnel

Jul 2, 2013

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 […]

facade view of the bierpinsel in steglitz, berlin, germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 11: The Bierpinsel

Apr 17, 2013

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 […]

old and new facade Tieranatomisches Theater

The Tieranatomisches Theater

Mar 26, 2013

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 […]

BVG Ticket Machine on a Ferry

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 67: The MS Tempelhof

Mar 15, 2013

Anyone who has ever taken Public Transport in Berlin has seen the F Logo. But what does it mean? You see it almost every time you take a Bus, Tram, […]

A cobblestone marker of the Berlin Wall

Park am Nordbahnhof

Feb 8, 2013

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 […]

First Floor of the Rathaus Schöneberg in Berlin, Germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 79: The Paternoster

Jan 25, 2013

I am claustrophobic. I hate enclosed spaces – especially elevators. Whenever I have the chance – I try to take the stairs just to avoid being stuck in a metal […]

The Photoautomat on Prenzlauer Allee, Berlin, Germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 88: The Black and White Fotoautomat

Dec 21, 2012

The Fotoautomat. Youre not a Berlin Hipster if you haven’t taken your picture in one of these machines. The Fotoautomat has always been a part of Berlin (and the rest […]

Entrance to the Zellengefängnis Moabit on Invalidenstraße

Zellengefängnis Moabit

Dec 7, 2012

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 […]

Courtyard of the Kunsthof Berlin Germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr.101: The Tadschikische Teestube *Rebirth*

Nov 28, 2012

The Tadschikische Teestube  officialy closed on the 30th of April 2012 – but it seems like Berlin just got a reprieve. I “revied” the Tadschikische Teestube in early Febuary of […]

Staircase of the former ULAP in Berlin

ULAP Park

Nov 23, 2012

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 […]

The Madenautomat in Wedding, Berlin, Germany

The Madenautomat

Nov 16, 2012

In the US you can find Pizza Vending Machines. Dubai has a Gold Vending Machine. And Berlin? Berlin has Cigarette Vending Machines – and the “Madenautomat” – a vending machine […]

Close up of the Ernst Thälmann Denkmal in Berlin, Germany

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 22: The Ernst Thälmann Monument

Nov 2, 2012

The Ernst Thälmann Monument. One of the few remaining monuments of the former DDR in Berlin. Lonely and imposing, it dominates its surroundings – behind it a series of east […]

camera shake night photo berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 77: Das Parkdeck der Neukölln Arcaden

Oct 23, 2012

**Update** Since this piece was written in 2012 – the Parkdeck in Neukölln has been transformed into the Hipster Hangout called “Klunkerkranich”. While the views remain the same – the […]

The Berliner Dom with the Fernsehturm in the background

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 113: Der Berliner Dom

Sep 24, 2012

So im slowly continuing my quest to visit all the “111 Places in Berlin” and while I while I love Book, I think it misses out on several interesting places […]

Russian Orthodox Cross and Moon ontop of the St. Konstantin und Helena Church in Berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr. 112: St.Konstantin und Helena Kirche in Berlin

Jun 11, 2012

No, that 112 is not a mistake. While I love the 111 Places in Berlin Book, I think it misses out on some true hidden gems, so I decided to add […]

Decorative Lights hanging inside the Tadschikische Teestube

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 101: Die Tadschikische Teestube

Feb 13, 2012

Good News Everybody! The Tadschikische Teestube is Opening its doors again in a New Location on the 24th of November 2012!  They are now located in the Oranienburger Str. 27 […]

Oils and Sesame Seeds in the Cocolo Ramenbar

Berlin – Cocolo Ramenbar

Feb 1, 2012

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). […]