Having visited the palace of Versailles in France, I had a feeling that I would not be impressed by King Frederick II’s Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany. Sure enough, when we pulled up to the old villa, I thought, well this is pretty good, but it isn’t so much. Then our tour guide told us […]
Berlin’s Kreuzberg Kultur: Shopping and Eating
Bordering the Berlin Wall, Kreuzberg borough was home to students, artists, leftist radicals and a large Turkish population throughout the 1960s-1080s. When the wall fell, the area became, once again, the center of Berlin. Though Kruezberg is still an eclectic area, rising rents are making it increasingly difficult for alternative businesses and artists to survive […]
Berlin’s Schoenberg District and Kulturforum Berlin
As I was searching for a place to stay for a week in Berlin , I was drawn to Schoenberg (in former West Berlin, near Charlottenberg) because of its central location (near Potsdamer Platz) and the choice of excellent hotels in the area. As I researched the area, I discovered how unique and colorful Schoenberg’s history […]
Foodie Break: Street Food in Berlin
When I’m out and about in a different country, I make it a point to eat lots of street food. This is one of the best ways to put my finger on the foodie pulse of a city, to begin to discover the building blocks of a country’s culinary culture. Berlin is home to some […]
Fabulous Flohmarkts (flea markets) in Berlin
Few things are more exciting than digging for treasures from times gone by at European flea markets. From mid-century vases to old photo albums, antique pill boxes to vintage sunglasses, you never know what you might find. Each treasure holds a story, so as I inspect each artifact, I imagine who has owned it and […]
Contemporary Art in Berlin at the Hamburger Banhof
As a contemporary art affectionado, the Hamburger Banhof was a must see for me in Berlin. The building itself and the museum’s vast collection far exceeded my expectations. The current manifestation of Berlin’s “Museum für Gegenwart” (Museum for Contemporary Art) opened in the former Hamburger train station on November 2, 1996.The building was constructed in […]
Bernaeur Strasse and the Berlin Wall Memorial
I was 10 and living in suburban America when the Berlin wall fell. I remember learning about it in school and not quite understanding what it was all about. The Wall made another brief appearance during an undergraduate European history course (I understood it better that time around) and I began to appreciate the symbolism […]
An Afternoon around Berlin’s Alexanderplatz
After strolling along the Spree River, standing in awe at the base of the Berliner Dom (Berlin’s celebrated cathedral) and bargaining for a large fur hat (a throwback from communist East Germany) from a local street vendor, I found myself in need of a good lunchtime wurst (sausage). My friend suggested we wander over to the […]
Berlin-Brandenburg’s Explosive Past
On December 15, 2008, several bombs were discovered hidden in a Parisian luxury department store. At this moment, it looks as though an Afghani extremist group placed them there. Fortunately, the bombs were found before they could do any damage. Other parts of Europe have problems with bombs too, but they often have nothing to […]
Postcards from Berlin
We were in Berlin last week, and luckily, we were there for the “night lights”. During this week, Berlin’s most famous monuments are flooded with colorful lights at night. This city is a mix of modern and old, east and west. It is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe and its vitality is […]