HOLI Festival of Colors 2013 in Berlin

May 11, 2013

Holi, the festival of colors, a Hindu religious festival to celebrate the end of the winter and the beginning of the new season, spring.

In Berlin, the festival of colors was celebrated today, Saturday 11th May 2013, and over 12.000 people gathered on a 12.000 m² area to throw colored cornmeal at each other, while dancing to Indian electro house and techno beats, religion was swapped with music.

Equality and community are the focus of attention at this day, It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you come from, on this festival, everyone is equal, equal colorful.

Continue reading

Olympus OM-D Photography Playground 2013

May 8, 2013

Olympus invited me to test their newest mirrorless compact system camera, the Olympus OM-D, at a unique and interactive exhibition on the subject of “Space and Art”.

12 international artists created a giant interactive photography playground on 7000 m² at the Opernwerkstätten in Berlin. Visitors had the opportunity, to explore the exhibition on an exceptional journey, to push their photography skills to the next level. I could use my own camera or just rent one free of charge on site, which I did.

Continue reading

Grand Opening of Apple’s Flagship Store in Berlin

May 3, 2013

Apple’s new flagship store opened its doors today in Berlin, at Kurfuerstendamm 26, which was once the first true movie theaters in the city, opened in 1913 under the name Filmbühne Wien, or Union Palast.

The Store, which is one of 406 Apple stores worldwide, 81 in Europe, is the biggest Apple store in the European region with 5000 m² sales area on 2 floors including a cinema and a briefing room.

According to Apple, about 200 employees from 20 different nations are working in that store, speaking 18 different languages. 40 Tables are showing off Apple’s products, they were made out of oak-wood from German forests and the interior and exterior walls are made of 100-year-old muschelkalk.

Continue reading

Star Trek Into Darkness German Premiere Berlin

April 29, 2013

Today was the German Premiere for the upcoming Sequel to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Saga: Star Trek Into Darkness, in the middle of the Sony Center in Berlin.

It was the biggest German Premiere so far and after the cast (Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Alice Eve, Zachary Quinto and Simon Pegg) discovered the city of Berlin over the weekend, they walked the black carpet together with director J.J. Abrams, cheered by hundreds of screaming fans.

Continue reading

25th European Kendo Championships in Berlin

April 15, 2013

After 15 years, the European Kendo Championships were back in Berlin. About 300 competitors from 30 European countries participated in this years championships from April 12th till April 14th 2013. For all of you who don’t know about Kendo, it’s that japanese sport where you try to smash your opponent’s head with a wooden stick.

Well in fact, the wooden stick is a bamboo swords called “Shinai” and it’s not only the head, but a couple of point scoring targets on the upper half of the body, which must be hit with an accurate strike or thrust. Continuation of awareness must be present and shown throughout the execution of the strike and the fighter must be mentally and physically ready to attack again.

Three referees, holding a red and a white flag, are present during every match, two of them must agree for a point to be awarded.

The winners of this years championships are Italy (Men) and Germany (Women), Congratulations!

Continue reading

Pictoplasma Berlin

April 13, 2013


Pictoplasma is the world’s leading festival of contemporary character culture and it’s taking place in Berlin right now with numerous exhibitions, conferences and screenings at over 23 project spaces, galleries and art venues throughout the city.

I found some time to visit one of those project spaces today, the PLATOON KUNSTHALLE, an art gallery constructed of 34 standard shipping containers. Inside, visitors had the opportunity to be creative, whether during a Mochimochi Monster Knitting live workshop or with chalk lying all around the place.

Continue reading

Earth Hour 2013 Berlin

March 25, 2013

Earth Hour 2013 took place on Saturday, March 23-2013 in over 7000 cities, towns and municipalities in more than 150 countries and territories around the globe and again this year, Berlin was one of those cities.

Exact at 8:30pm, the Brandenburger Tor went black for a whole hour and during this hour Singer-Songwriter Ashley Hicklin performed his song “City Lights” unplugged and a neon sign, showing the slogan “Ja zur Energiewende!” was illuminated by a group of WWF Members riding bicycles.

Continue reading

David Hasselhoff to save the Wall

March 18, 2013

A lot is happening in Berlin right now, the famous East Side Gallery, one of Berlin’s historical Landmarks, painted by many international artists, faces partial demolition.

Thousands of protesters have gathered during the last days, at the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall, to protest against a planned construction project, to remove small parts of the wall to make way for a luxury block of flats on the former GDR death strip.

On Sunday, March 17-2013, David Hasselhoff came back to Berlin, to support the protest, driving alongside the wall in a yellow van mounted with speakers while singing “Looking for Freedom”, the same song he sang at the 1989 New Year’s Party in Berlin, shortly after the wall dividing East and West Germany was torn down.

Continue reading