Checkpoint Charlie Berlin

October 26, 2012

The Checkpoint Charlie is one of Berlin’s most famous landmarks, which served as the only crossing point for diplomats, journalists and non-German visitors, between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War, from the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 till the fall on November 9, 1989.

In October 1961, US and Soviet tanks had a close encounter because of a dispute over whether East German guards were authorized to examine the travel documents of a U.S. diplomat passing through to East Berlin, both sides tanks faced each other in an acrimonious moment feared around the World as a possible lead up to World War III.

Today, it is a must see sight in Berlin with huge historical and emotional resonance, even accounting for the fact that there is remarkably little left to recall the atmosphere of pre-1989 days.

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City Map Graffiti – 775 years of Berlin

October 2, 2012


The City of Berlin created a huge, walkable city map which presents the Berlin of today, as part of the upcoming festivities of the 775th anniversary of Berlin which will take place on October 28th. The map is covered with huge colored pins, each one of them telling a story about the places they are stuck into and visitors can read about events happened there during the last 775 years.

The open-air exhibition called City of Diversity can be found on Schlossplatz in Berlin Mitte right beside the Humboldt Box where the new Stadtschloss (called Humboldt Forum) will arise in future.

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Giant Kites Festival Berlin

September 24, 2012

For the fist time, the “Giant Kites Festival” was held Saturday on the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. Visitors had the chance to watch some really huge (20m wide and 40m long) kites floating above the Tempelhofer Field and because is was the windiest day of the year, many visitors had brought their own kites too.

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Pillow Fight Day 2012 Berlin

April 7, 2012

Today was international pillow fights day and cities around the world celebrated this day with a massive pillow fight flashmobs on famous places and landmarks.

As you can see, in Berlin, the flashmob was held right in front of the Brandenburg Gate and about one thousand people of all ages fought a merciless war with their pillows, big and small, even though the weather was pretty cold and rainy.

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Earth Hour 2012 Berlin

March 31, 2012

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. In 2012, a new record was set, with 150 countries and territories across 6,494 towns and cities around the world.

In Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate, the Television Tower and the Red City Hall went completely dark for one hour from 8:30pm – 9:30pm on Saturday 31.03.2012. As part of the event, a map of the world was created by the WWF, using hundreds of colored-paper-surrounded tealights in front of the Brandenburg Gate. In addition, lanterns designed like the earth were handed out to the audience.

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Potsdamer Platz – Readings in Yurts

January 16, 2012

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.

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Festival of Lights 2011

October 17, 2011

Once again, one of the largest illumination festivals in the world, the Festival of Lights, takes place in Berlin and world-famous landmarks and monuments are dressed in spectacular light. German and international artists and lighting designers present extraordinary illuminations, light art and creative designs. All 81 illuminated buildings will shine in different colors until October 23th daily from 7:30pm till 0:00am.

I will update this article with more pictures during the next week.
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Light Message for Peace – 150 Years Germany – Japan

September 9, 2011

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.

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