Or the Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum, named after the famous Grimm brothers who wrote fairy tales such as Rapunzel, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Red Cap (Little Red Riding Hood). This is a fitting name for a central library of the university that once managed the German State Library – Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. Read more…
The valley of the River Wupper, that’s what its name means. The little town is very narrow and stretches along both banks of the river. Once an industrial and mining powerhouse it is now a quiet town of less than half a million people. There are plenty of neo-classical buildings Read more…
Its full name is the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism, but it was too long to fit into a title to attract your attention. One can explore the history of national socialism through its well curated an brings you through a journey in history. The exhibition Read more…
John F. Kennedy famously proclaimed the words “Ich bin ein Berliner” during a speech in West Berlin. In his speech, he described how Berlin was at the forefront of the battle between the ideologies of East and West. What he meant to say was that he was one with the Read more…
What better way to celebrate Einheitstag on October 3rd in Berlin than a long weekend of Rotbratwurst mit Brotchen and basking in the sun with an ice cold Paulaner’s? Less than one generation ago, the Berlin Wall fell and the image of a divided German people still haunt our memories. Read more…
Called “Tag des offenen Denkmals” in Germany, I discovered this gem by pure coincidence. I was itching to visit the Berliner U-Bahn museum at Olympia-stadion Station in the west end of Berlin. The museum only opened every second weekend of the month so I thought the second Saturday of September Read more…
Dividing Germany’s capital city, Berlin, for nearly three decades, the Berlin Wall divided not only land, but a people between two contrasting ideologies. Is it East versus West, or Regan versus Gorbachev? Berlin was at the battlefronts of the Cold War, a city a spies, and a city of dreams. Read more…
“Näschte Halt, Alexanderplatz, übergang zur U2, U8, zum Regionalverkehr, zur S-Bahn mit verbindung zum Hauptbahnhof, und zum Bus mit verbindung zum Flughafen Tegel. Change here for bus service to Tegel Airport.” ~ U5 announcement for Alexanderplatz Station I’ve been on the U5 to Alexanderplatz so many times I can memorise Read more…
Constructed for the 1936 Summer Olympics, the Olympiastadion in Berlin was the largest stadium in the world when it was built. This gigantic 100,000 seat stadium was Hitler’s showcase to the world and he wanted to be take seriously. Built on the western end of the east-west axis of ‘Germania’, Read more…
Olympiastadion – Germania and Beyond This was the first bit of serious research I’ve done looking into the history of Nazi Germany and how its architectural styles reflect its ideology when I was in Berlin. It’s not very long so I won’t write too much of an introduction.