So here it is – finally a really cold and white winter in Berlin. Reminds us of how close the east and the cold Russia really is. I am posting some pictures of our friend Jürgen Gässler who is a photographer in Berlin and has been here longer then the most of us – how does 30 years sound?! Check out his webpage: Cityslang.
Here in Berlin, Sundays are about leisure, relaxation, and fun. If you’re not still tripping the light fantastic at Panorama Bar or nursing a hangover over Sunday brunch, chances are you’re probably headed to the flea market. With dozens of markets scattered throughout the city, you probably won’t have to go far to partake in this Berlin Sunday tradition.
Flohmarkt am Mauerpark is a busy, sprawling market located next to the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark in Prenzlauer Berg. Bargain hunters and fashionistas alike gather here each week to peruse the seemingly endless rows of tents, kiosks, and tables. Though the variety of things for sale is impressive, it’s the huge numbers of items that can be really striking: Hundreds of rubber office stamps, boxes upon boxes of Japanese slippers, rows of tacky landscape paintings, dozens of chandeliers, towers of old reading glasses, and zippers in every size, shape and color imaginable.
Looking for some GDR-era furniture to give your flat a touch of East German chic? There are enough white plastic chairs, glass coffee tables, and geometric light fixtures to decorate every trendy dive bar in Friedrichahin. In need of that perfect one-of-a-kind t-shirt to show the world how impossibly cool yet casual you are? There is no shortage of colorful silk screened delights at the Flohmarkt. Even if you don’t know what you’re looking for… you’ll probably find three of them at the flea market.
You can find more information about the Flohmarkt am Mauerpark at www.mauerparkmarkt.de
You may not find yourself in Wedding often. Few people outside the local community visit this remarkably unglamorous, working class district in the West. Though certainly not the most stylish part of town, Wedding posesses a certain grit which gives it its charm. Like Kreuzberg without the hipsters, Wedding is the kind of place where Muslim-run corner stores will sell no alcohol, yet items of questionable legality are easily purchased in the back rooms of sketchy shopfronts. Not exactly a tourist hotspot.
High above Wedding’s busy streets and bustling markets, is an unexpected island of tranquility. The Flakturm is one of three anti-aircraft towers erected in Berlin during World War II. The massive, partially demolished concrete structure stands at the top of a man-made hill near the Gesundbrunnen Ubahn station, overlooking Wedding and Volkspark Humboldthain. A climb up a spiraling path brings you to a small park amidst the remains of the tower, where you’ll find some of the best sunset views in this remarkably flat city.
The Hackesche Höre are one of the main tourist attractins in Berlin and a pretty good area to go shopping and eat some good Döner at All in on Döner. However right now there is some construction going on and there are clearly more people then the garbage cans can handle!
… finally!
To see more about Finding Dino see the video below:
What is there to do on a Wednesday in Berlin? Mittwochsclub – seems to be the only thing going on on wednesdays. What started out as a cool Berlin “secret” location where you needed a passowrd to get in turned into a quite popular almost tourist attraction. BUT it is a great place to go on wednesdays if you need a fun night out in the middle of the week. You do not need a password. Try to be quiet outside the club to keep the neighbours from complaining if you want that location to stick around a bit longer. We wont tell you exactly where it is but somewhere close to Kopenhagener Straße and Schönhauser Allee. Have fun!
Berlin has an unemployement rate of approximately 20%. The German “support money” is called Hartz IV. Basicly the tax payers pay for your apartment (up to 350 Euros) and you get about 300-350 Euros to live. That can make it a quite nice life in Berlin especially if you consider the cheap rent and cheap food prices here. A lot of university students live from less money this is why this add by a hairdresser is not really surprising:
You will find them in the East on Kastanienallee usually quite busy. And for just 2 Euros you can get a set of fun black and white pictures. Try posing in a different mood eachtime it flashes.
And this is what you might get out of it:
Krabat- a movie inspired by a german childrens book premiered at Sony Center yesterday. We saw the movie, did the party and found out that there were 2.000 people invited to the premiere – 1.500 came and 700 of these got to go to the After Party eventhough probably only 300 followed through. It`s a nice movie to see in the falltime with some really nice pictures.
After the after party @ the after party ; )
