BERLIN SIDEWALK » Events

Potsdamer Platz – Readings in Yurts

Carsten — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:21:38 +0000

The Potsdamer Platz is famous for its events, movie premieres and festivities, but what I saw yesterday was a bit different, 3 big yurts were standing in the middle of the Sony Center, in front of the CineStar Event Cinema. Yurts are portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia, so it was quite interesting and I wanted to know what’s going on there.

Two of the yurts were closed, the third one had a sign, “Info Yurt”. I went in and was told that the yurts are being used by 35 authors, reading chapters of their books in front of an audience of about 25 people, as part of an event called “Readings in Yurts”. After the reading, they could ask question about the book and the author, probably because there were a lot of students in the audience. I was also told that it was last day of this event but they will be back next year.

Postdamer Platz, Berlin Wall Memorial

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo German Premiere Berlin

Carsten — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:56:59 +0000

Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara were in Berlin today at Sony Center – Potzdamer Platz, for the German Premiere of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the German title for this Movie is Verblendung which means something like blindness or delusion).

The Movie (directed by David Fincher, known for his movies Fight Club, Se7en or Social Network) is about the Journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, who are searching for a woman who has been missing, or dead, for forty years. The book, written by Stieg Larsson,was one of the best selling novels of the 20th-Century.

And in case you’re wondering, it’s not the 2009 Swedish version, it’s a completely new “rehash” straight from Hollywood.

Puss in Boots German Premiere Berlin

Carsten — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:58:54 +0000

Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and director Chris Miller walked the red carpet today at Sony Center Berlin to promote their newest Movie, Puss in Boots (Ger: Der gestiefelte Kater).

Puss in boots (Antonio Banderas), known from the famous “Shrek” series got his own Movie which tells the story of a little cat who tries to escape an orphanage with his friends Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) by stealing golden eggs from a castle in the sky.

Twilight Breaking Dawn German Premiere Berlin

Carsten — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:31:54 +0000

Today was a special day for Team Edward and Team Jacob, the German Premiere of Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 at Sony Center in Berlin with Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and director Bill Condon, unfortunately without co-star Kristen Stewart. About 3.000 screaming young (and not so young) girls had the chance to get an autograph or to take a picture with their beloved actor.

The Largest Pope Picture of the World

Carsten — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:45:34 +0000

While the current Pope is visiting Berlin, the Axel Springer AG (one of the largest multimedia companies in Europe) came up with something special; a 60 meter high poster of Benedict XVI.

The poster shows the front page of the famous German “Newspaper” BILD from April 20th, 2005 (white letters: “WE ARE POPE!”) and hangs on both sides of the Axel Springer building in the middle of Berlin.

The Largest Mosaic Picture of the World

Light Message for Peace – 150 Years Germany – Japan

Carsten — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:29:53 +0000

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the relationship between Germany and Japan, light was used to project the word “Peace” in languages from around the world on Berlin’s most representative landmark, the Brandenburg Gate. One program, 2 different Parts, with orchestral music and an amazing art-light-show, enchanted hundreds of visitors for about 30 minutes.

~~If you haven’t had the chance to watch the show today, I highly recommend to watch it tomorrow, the show will start every hour and half-hour from 8pm-11pm.~~

Magical Open-Air – 125 Years Kurfürstendamm

Carsten — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:38:13 +0000

The Kurfürstendamm received a fantastic birthday present, huge helium-filled fairytale creatures designed by the French artists’ group Plasticiens Volants, a fish, sea snakes, dragons, lizards, birds and a gigantic “Happy birthday, Ku’damm” hot air balloon with more than 40 French and Berlin-based artists in costumes or on stilts. From Halensee to Breitscheidplatz, tens of thousands celebrated this special open air theater.

Great Oberbaum Water Fight

Carsten — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:03:29 +0000

Oberbaum-Bridge 2011, a war between two districts, a war between Kreuzberg (Xberg) and Friedrichshain (Fhain), a war with everything you can throw but won’t hurt people. Since 1998, each summer, people of all kinds and all ages meet up at Oberbaum-Bridge Berlin to fight an anarchic battle with rotten fruits, water-bombs and similar harmless objects.

This year’s winner and therefore the new champion of the bridge is Kreuzberg.

Festival of Lights 2011

60 years Federal Police Birthday Party

Carsten — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:43:39 +0000

Berlin, Pariser Platz, 27°C, a small helicopter is hovering above the Brandenburg Gate, suddenly a group of GSG9 Special Forces is jumping out of the helicopter, attached with a parachute and a smoke flare gun. Thousand of tourists waiting for them to land in the middle of the Pariser Platz right in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

The Berlin Federal Police celebrated its 60th Anniversary yesterday on August 20th 2011, with a big street festival and the GSG9 paratroopers as a special event.

United Buddy Bears Berlin

Carsten — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:25:31 +0000

“We have to get to know each other better …
… it makes us understand one another better,
trust each other more, and live together more peacefully.”

Under this motto, the UNITED BUDDY BEARS promote living together in peace and harmony on their global tour. Around 140 Buddy Bears (each 2 m tall) represent as many countries recognised by the United Nations.

Since the first exhibition in Berlin in 2002, more than 25 million visitors world-wide have been able to admire the United Buddy Bears.

Each Buddy Bear has been designed by an artist on behalf of his or her native country. The international artists’ different styles are joined together in one work of art, spreading zest for life. The diverse design of the Buddy Bears – always typical for the respective countries – enables the visitors to experience a journey around the globe.

The Buddy Bears can be found on Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm.

United Sand Festival 09