COOL, HISTORICAL, ARTISTIC, INDIVIDUAL, CULTURAL, CREATIVE, YOUNG, EDGY, DIVERSE, UNIQUE, LAIDBACK, AFFORDABLE, CONTRADICTORY
Everyone has been raving about Berlin for the last few years and I was eager to see it for myself... Is it really that COOL or just hip? Finally, I was able to check out for myself... besides attending the International design festival, I also spent days wandering around, getting lost and taking the wrong U/S trains... And my conclusion is that they are right, Berlin is an amazing place, not only cool but given its size, it's surprisingly relaxing and calm. It is not as commercial as other big cities like London and New York, and it has the edge that London once had in the late 80s. So what makes Berlin unique?
1. Embracing its past while looking ahead: history is everywhere in Berlin, it's hard to avoid it, yet construction is also taking place all over the city. This is a city that doesn't want to forget the past (including the nasty bits) but it is also trying hard to build a better future. Many historical buildings were destroyed during the war but were rebuilt in recent years which combined the past and the future together. It is this positive attitude that makes Berlin super COOL.
2. Art is everywhere: I have never seen so much street art/ graffiti before, esp. in the East Berlin side. Street art has become part of the city's identity and it's refreshing and fascinating.
Urban waterfall
3. Contrast & contradictions: The strangest thing about Berlin is that one minute you feel like you are in a leafy 19th century European city, but then suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a Soviet/ Stalinist concrete block. The contrast is huge and immediate, it's an odd experience... Another interesting part is how the old and new are all mixed together and yet they seem to blend so well!
4. A melting pot for art, design, architecture or anything creative: I read that in the past few years, a lot of young designers from different parts of the world have moved to Berlin to take advantage of the still affordable and energetic city. What excites me is the fact it is still not very commercial, not full of chained coffee places, restaurants and shops like London. People have individual styles and look effortlesly cool without being too trendy. It almost reminds me of London back in the 80s!
5. World class museums and galleries: I used to think that London and Paris have the best museums in the world but I had to think twice after visiting Berlin. With 170 museums, it was hard to pick which ones to visit in a few days. Yet every museum I visited was unqiue but my favourite has to be the newly-opened Neues museum.
Inside the Neuemuseum
6. Great architecture - Berlin has the most diverse and interesting architecture, from Prussian to Bauhaus, Socialist Classicism and modernism, the Berlin cityscape is so fascinating! This is THE place to see work from world class living architects like I.M.Pei, David Chipperfield, Norman Foster, Jean Nouvel, Richard Rogers, Frank Gehry and more is yet to come...
International Design Festival Berlin 2010
How do you make use of an old Nazi style airport? This has been a long debate since the closure of Tempelhof Airport in 2008. Luckily, the airport has not been demolished, though the future is not entirely certain, it is currently being used as a venue for various types of events including tradeshows, concerts and even marathon. I had no idea what to expect before my arrival but was so excited as I approached the airport/ venue of DMY. I just couldn't get over how 'grand' the buiding looks! As I walked into the main terminal, I was again taken aback by the grand scale and the nostalgic factor... all I could think of was PAN-AM! I have been to various design festivals and trade fairs all over the world in the last 2 years but have never been so overwhelmed before... I think the organizer has picked the perfect venue, spacious and industrial, it gave the show a bit of an edge and rawness...
Venue: Tempelhof International airport, constructed in 1927, new terminal built in 1934-41 by Ernst Sagebiel, ceased operation in 2008
Since Berlin is such a huge city, it was impossible for me to visit all the amazing sights and museums in just a few days' time. But I would like to recommend a few MUST SEE sights if time is limited:
East side Gallery - need I explain? This site is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Berlin since painted in 1990. Due to erosion and vandalism, the paintings were in a bad state until restoration work began in recent years. The paintings look almost like new today, and Berlin has changed so much since 1989, but this was the site where new Berlin begun...
Neues Museum - This musuem is a MASTERPIECE! It is the most outstanding museum that I have ever visited (and I have visited a lot of museum around the world)! Chipperfield's architecture is subtle and does not overpower the historical remains nor the exhibits, in fact, everything blands wonderfully. In my opinion, it is perfect in every way.
Jewish Museum - Many critisized the museum's architecture looking a bit 'outdated' after only 10 years, but I like the concept and unconventional layout. I believe it is the content and experience that count. This huge museum is built in a zig-zag shape with a Holocaust Tower, a Garden of Exile (similar to the Holocaust Memorial) and a 20 m tall empty space called, 'Void'. My favourite is Menashe Kadishman's Shalechet (Fallen leaves) installation which fills the void with 10,000 coarse iron faces. Simply breathtaking and very daunting.
Karl-Marx Allee - In order to fully embrace the 'Stalin effect', it is essential to visit the socialist boulevard built between 1952-60. Since I have lived in Moscow before, I can say that this place truly remained me of Russia. The resemblance gave me the chill... it's almost like time stood still here. Even though Berlin is longer divided, this still 'feels' completely different from West Berlin. Amazing.
Least favourite:
DDR museum - Honestly, this place is a rip-off, unless you are into kitsch objects! I regretted as soon as I stepped into this tiny 'interactive' museum (I can't even believe it is called a 'museum'). Totally pointless... I would rather watch 'Goodbye Lenin' instead...
Famous Sights:
Berliner Dom & Alexanderplatz tower
Brandenburg gate built in 1788 - 1791 by Carl Gotthard Langhans
Holocaust memorial built in 2003-04 by Peter Eisenman with Buro Happold engineers
Remains of the Berlin wall & a map of the wall
Eastside Gallery and the 'famous 'kiss'
Reichstag (German Parliament building), renovated & completed in 1999 by Norman Foster
Museums and art galleries:
Alte Nationalgalarie built in1869 - 1876 by August Stüler
Neues Museum (New Museum) rebuilt in 2003-2009 by David Chipperfield
Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Musuem), extension completed in 2004 by I.M. Pei
Bode Museum originally completed in 1904, reopened in 2006 Ernst von Ihne
Topography of Terror rebuilt in 2004-2010 by architect, Ursula Wilms & landscape architect, Heinz W. Hallmann
Hamburger Bahnhof (Museum for Contemporary Art) originally opened in 1919 as a rail terminal station, was reconstructed by Josef Paul Kleihues and reopened in 1996
Martin-Gropius-Bau opened in 1881, originally designed by Martin Gropius and Heino Schmieden, but reconstructed several times by different architects.
Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) built 2001 by Daniel Libeskind
Berlinische Galerie, a former glass warehouse from the 50s, renovated in 2004
Bauhaus Achive built in 1976-9 by Walter Gropius
DDR Museum
Museum für Fotografie (Museum of photography/ Helmut Newton Foundation)
Johanna Breede photography gallery
Food and restaurants:
Breakfast at Cafe Literaturhaus
A taste of the 'East' in Cafe Sibylle
Organic Currywurst at Witty's
Asian flavours at Monsieur Vuong
Cool shops:
Ampelmann souvenir shop at Hackesche Höfe
What a shop front!
I love these shoes!
Architectural wonders:
Palais am Festungsgraben in built 1751-1753 by Christian Friedrich Feldmann
Villa Grisebach Auktionen built in 1891-92 by Hans Grisebach
Kaisersaal (Emperor’s Hall), remains of the Hotel Esplanade at the Sony Center
The Art Nouveau style Hackesche Höfe built in 1906-7 by Kurt Berndt and August Endell
Another Art Nouveau style Wittenbergplatz station built in 1913 by Alfred Grenander
Volksbühne (people's theatre) originally built in 1913-14 by Oskar Kaufmann, rebuilt in 1950 - 1954 by Hans Richter and opened in 2009
The Art Deco style Ellington Hotel built in 1928-31 by Erich Mendelsohn
Babylon Kino built in 1927-9 by Hans Poelzig, renovated and reopened in 2001
Stalin style architecture on Karl-Marx-Allee
Kino International built in 1961–63 by Josef Kaiser
Cafe Moskau built in 1961-1964 by Josef Kaiser
Kongresshalle (Now: Berliner Congress Center) built 1961-4 by Hermann Henselmann
Bewag Umspannwerk built in 1986-9 by Berliner Kraft & Licht Bewag
Marie-Elisabeth Lüders House built in 1998-2003 by Stephan Braunfels
Sony Center completed in 2000 by Helmut Jahn
Am Kupfergraben 10 gallery built in 2003-7 by David Chipperfield
Residential buildings:
Public and urban art:
Fountain built in 1905-10 by Reinhold Felderhoff on Invalidenstraße
Mural by Walter Womacka, Haus Des Lehrers (House of the teachers) built in 1961-4 by Hermann Henselmann
Sinkende Mauer (Sinking Wall) installed in 1997 by Christophe Girot
East side hotel
Interesting graffiti at a housing estate
Chanel...
Other interesting sights:
Giant strawberry!
The iconic traffic sign
Subway train interior...
Cyclers' paradise
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