Bernauer Straße – The Berlin Wall Memorial

The Bernauer Straße is a street in Berlin’s Mitte district, it was named after the City of Bernau which is located about 10 km northeast of Berlin. During the old GDR times, the Wall was erected alongside this street and it became famous for numerous escapes from windows of nearby apartments and houses in the eastern part of the city.

Now, a part of it was turned into a memorial park, explaining the history of a divided Berlin, with a newly constructed Visitor and Information Center, a viewing platform and an exhibition about the time when the Berlin Wall was built in August 1961.

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Japanese Embassy Cherry Blossoms

It’s this time of the year again, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom throughout the city and instead of taking part in the annual Cherry Blossom Celebration at Berlin’s Gardens of the World, I thought I should pay the Japanese Embassy a visit.

Built between 1938 and 1942 and designed by Ludwig Moshammer, damaged during WWII and rebuilt in 1987, the Japanese Embassy is one of 166 foreign representations in Berlin.

And as the national flower of Japan, it’s pretty obvious that even “little Japan” has its very own Cherry Blossom Trees.

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Bikini Berlin – Shop Different

A new shopping mall opened its doors to the public today in Berlin, located in the western area of downtown Berlin (near Kurfürstendamm), next to the Berlin Zoo, the newly reopened Zoo Palast and facing the new Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

The Bikini Berlin is Berlin’s first Concept Mall, on about 17,000m², you can find a collection of carefully selected and perfectly matched boutiques, concept and flagship stores as well as restaurants and service providers.

You also have a great view on Berlin’s Zoo and its animal kingdom through a panoramic window while drinking a coffee at the bar or enjoying the sun on the terrace.

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The Molecule Man

The Molecule Man is a sculpture, designed by the American artist Jonathan Borofsky. The thirty meters high metal sculpture stands between the Oberbaum- and the Elsen Bridge and was placed there in 1999.

The holes, which cover the three bodies are described as “the molecules of all human beings coming together to create our existence”.

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Checkpoint Charlie Berlin

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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13.4.1981 by Olaf Metzel

Another abstract sculpture can be seen beside the Universal Music Headquarters in Berlin, a chaotic arrangement of crowd control barriers (which were highly charged symbolically in the turbulent inner-political atmosphere of the former West Berlin) with a shopping cart on the top.

The sculpture, named 13.4.1981, was designed by Olaf Metzel in 1987 as part of Berlin’s 750th anniversary celebration called “Sculpture Boulevard” and was first erected at the crossing Kurfürstendamm / Joachimstaler Platz, six years after a violent demonstration took place at precisely the same crossing.

The Christian Democrat mayor at the time, Eberhard Diepgen, declared the work to be “a pile of junk” and called for an immediate removal. Then, after 14 years, the sculpture was erected again, but this time beside the Universal Music Headquarters, with a wonderful look on the Spree.

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Color Changing Berlin

Winter is coming, well not yet, but soon. Right now, fall is in the air and Berlin changes its color from green to red and yellow. Sometimes, I take a walk in the park early in the morning and this time, it was Berlin’s Tiergarten (German for Animal Garden) which surrounds the Victors Column in the borough of Mitte.

Walking through all these beautiful colored trees gives you a relaxed feeling and what else do you need for a good start in the day.

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nhow Hotel Berlin

A Hotel designed for musicians located directly on the banks of the river Spree right beside Universal Music and the MTV Headquarters. The nhow Hotel Berlin is really a special kind of architecture.

nhow stands for a new generation of hotels: offbeat, lively, dynamic and with a local flair that simultaneously has worldwide appeal. nhow centers on music and design and is the only hotel in Europe offering two professional music studios.

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Madame Tussauds Berlin

Madame Tussauds, founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud, displaying waxworks of historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars and famous murderers has now grown to become a major tourist attraction around the world with branches in Amsterdam, Bangkok, Berlin, Blackpool, Dubai, Hamburg, Hollywood, Hong Kong, Hot Springs, AR, Las Vegas, Moscow, New York City, Shanghai, Vienna and Washington, D.C.

Madame Tussauds Berlin is your chance to experience the real glamour and elegance of Berlin and the World of celebrity. You will find a total of 82 figures featuring predominantly historical dignitaries, cultural icons and A-list celebrities.

Meet and interact with the people that shaped German history and culture and learn about their achievements through hands-on exhibits and immersive sets.

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Kunsthaus Tacheles Berlin

The legendary tourist attraction Art House Tacheles was closed last month after serving as a home for many artists from around the world for more than 20 years and I went there to take a couple of pictures before the whole thing will be demolished in the near future.

The Kunsthaus Tacheles was an art center and nightclub that was opened in East Berlin after the Berlin Wall came down in the spring of 1990. Tacheles is a large (9000 square meter) building on Oranienburger Straße in the district known as Mitte. The exterior of the building was damaged from shelling in World War II, and much of the damage was never repaired. Huge, colorful graffiti-style murals are painted on the exterior walls, and modern art sculptures are featured inside.

The Kunsthaus was formerly a department store in the Jewish quarter (Scheunenviertel) of Berlin, next to the synagogue, it was originally called Friedrichsstadtpassagen. After serving as a Nazi prison, the building was taken over by artists, who called it “Tacheles”, Yiddish for “straight talking.”

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