Berlin O PhiliaBerlin O PhiliaBerlin guide blog, with reviews, articles and tips about tourist attractions, flights and transportation, museums, hotels, foods, shopping, and more. Articles
Berlin, Alexanderplatz - the novel
2007-09-28 12:34:00 Berlin Alexanderplatz is a novel by Alfred Döblin, published in 1929. It is a story about a small time criminal, Franz Biberkopf, who at the beginning of the book had just got out of prison, his struggle to become a good rehabilitated citizen, and his road back to the underworld. It is situated in the ... More About: Culture , Berlin
The TV Tower (Fernsehturm) on Alexanderplatz
2007-09-26 13:44:00 The TV Tower (Fernsehturm) on Alexanderplatz is, as mentioned before, enormous. It can be seen from virtually everywhere in Berlin, and actually, it’s a very good navigation mark. It was built in 1969, and is 365 meters high (so every schoolboy could remember its height, you see…). Apart from fulfilling the former GDR’s technical need ...
Alexanderplatz
2007-09-24 17:48:00 Alexanderplatz (Alexander square) was once called Ochsenmarkt (ox market), but was named Alexanderplatz after a visit by the Russian Tsar Alexander in the beginning of the 19th century. Most of the buildings on the square were destroyed in WW2, and being in the center of East Berlin, the place was used as a showcase of ...
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
2007-09-22 13:06:00 The Berlin Hauptbahnhof (central train station) was opened in May 2006, just five years behind schedule. It is located north of the Reichstag, just about in the middle of nowhere.
Potsdamer Platz: culture, shopping and food
2007-09-20 17:47:00 Besides being an architectural gem, Potsdamer Platz is also known for its very lively scene of cultural attractions, fancy hotels, gourmet and other good restaurants, and shopping opportunities. Shopping I already raved about the Sony Store, but there is also the Arkaden, our favorite mall in the city of Berlin. It is stacked with food joints of ... More About: Food , Culture , Dame
Berlin Must-Sees: Potsdamer Platz
2007-09-18 15:27:00 Before WW2, Potsdamer Platz was a very busy square, a central transportation hub, with numerous bars, cafés and cinemas. The place was badly damaged in the war, and after the war, it became a junction of the American, British and Soviet sectors, and was cut through by the Berlin Wall. So it became a no ... More About: Culture , Sees , Dame
The Berlin Wall is Dying
2007-09-16 10:54:00 The East-Side Gallery is the only part of the original Berlin Wall that is still standing, relatively unharmed, with its beautiful historical graffiti on. Located in Friedrichshain, near the Ostbahnhof railway station, it is about 1,300 meters in length (0.8 miles), covered with over 100 paintings, some of which are real masterpieces. When we went to ... More About: Culture , Dying
Berlin Wall - East-Side Gallery
2007-09-14 10:25:00 The East -Side Gallery was created in 1990, during the first year after Berlin Wall ?s collapse. Hundreds of artists from all over the world came to Berlin, and covered some 1300 meters of the remains of November 1989 events, with 106 stunning wall-paintings, most in a graffiti-like style. The paintings are said to reflect the artists’ ... More About: Culture
The Berlin Wall
2007-09-12 19:24:00 The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) was a separation barrier between East and West Germany, which divided Berlin for 28 years. The Wall’s construction begun on August 13 1961 (funny, exactly 10 years before I was born) by the East German communist regime, as an “Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart”, and became an iconic symbol of the cold war. There ... More About: Culture
Germany: Land of Ideas
2007-09-10 12:54:00 Last year, we came to Berlin a month after the FIFA World Cup. I don’t watch much football (”soccer” in American), but I actually like the game when it’s played well (unlike the way it’s played in Israel. We do have an occasional shining star every once in a while, but they usually go to ... More About: Ideas , Culture , Germany , Land , Germ
Yitzhak Rabin Strasse
2007-09-08 10:05:00 As we were walking along the 17th June Street towards the Brandenburg Gate, we came across a familiar name on one of the street signs - Yitzhak Rabin, our former prime minister, who was assassinated on November 4th, 1995. I was there, in the demonstration after which he was shot by Yigal Amir, the disgusting ... More About: Germany
Strasse des 17. Juni (17th June Street)
2007-09-06 11:55:00 The 17th June Street is the western continuation of Unter den Linden, which runs east-west through Tiergarten. At its eastern end is the Brandenburg Gate, and at the western end is Ernst Reuter Platz in Charlottenburg. More About: Culture
News: The largest synagogue in Germany reopens in Berlin
2007-09-04 16:44:00 Germany’s largest synagogue (Jewish prayer house), Rykestrasse Synagogue, reopened last Friday in the Prenzlauer Berg district in Berlin . The synagogue underwent a few years of renovation, following decades of neglect. The event was hailed as a symbol of the revitalization of Jewish life in Germany, and even referred to as “a miracle” by Rabbi Chaim Roswaski, ... More About: News , Culture , Germany , Largest
The Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
2007-09-02 12:46:00 This monster of a memorial, which was unveiled in May 2005, is located in a very central place, near the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate. It is based on a design by Peter Eisenman, an American architect. The “Field of Stelea” is made of 2,711 concrete blocks of different heights, structured in a grid pattern. ... More About: Europe , Jews , Berlin , Memorial , Rope
International Blogday 2007: Berlin blogs
2007-08-31 20:43:00 The international Blogday 2007 is religiously observed in the Israeli Blogs phere (I might be exaggerating, just a little, but still, observed to some degree). We already completed our ceremonial participation in all our Hebrew blogs, but we want to contribute here too, as a part of the global blogging community. And, how surprising, we want ... More About: International , Berlin
Berlin Must-Sees: The Reichstag
2007-08-30 23:37:00 The Reich stag is the seat of the German Bundestag (federal government). It was constructed from 1884-1894 by the architect Paul Wallot. The inscription “Dem Deutschen Volke” was added in 1916, during WW1. More About: Berlin , Eich , Sees
Berlin Must-Sees: Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)
2007-08-28 21:59:00 The Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) was the former court cathedral of Prussia’s royal family (the House of Hohenzollern), and was supposed to be the Protestant answer to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Cathedral was build according to plans by the architects Julius Carl Raschdorff and Otto Raschdorff, between 1893 and 1905, and of course ... More About: Culture , Sees
Einstein Jahr
2007-08-26 18:47:00 When we visited Berlin in 2005, we couldn’t help but notice all the big “E”s, the Einstein quotes, and the big sign on the fence of Humboldt University saying: “Hier las Einstein” (Einstein taught here). Here are two such E’s on Unter den Linden: More About: Culture , Stein
Café Einstein: an Apple Strudel to die for
2007-08-24 18:19:00 When you’re walking along the Unter Den Linden boulevard, towards or from Brandenburg Gate, you owe yourself a visit at the well established, well known Café Einstein . More About: Apple , To Die For , Stein
Berlin must-sees: Neue Wache memorial
2007-08-22 18:15:00 The Neue Wache (on Unter den Linden 4) is the first building Karl Friedrich Schinkel built in Berlin , and is considered one of the main works of German Classicism. The building served as the main guard house and the royal guard house until the end of the monarchy in 1918. In 1930-1 it was altered to ... More About: Culture , Memorial , Sees
Berlin must-sees: Around Bebelplatz
2007-08-20 17:59:00 Bebelplatz is surrounded by the State Opera (Staatoper), St. Hedwig’s cathedral and the Alte Bibliothek (the old library), and is located across the road from the Humboldt University. More About: Culture , Berlin , Bebe , Sees
Berlin must-sees: Bebelplatz
2007-08-18 17:53:00 Bebelplatz (Bebel square) was designed by Frederick the Great, who became ruler of Germany in 1740, and was a great patron of the arts. It was first known as “Frederick’s Forum”, and later as “Opernplatz” (Opera square). In 1947 it was named Bebelplatz, after August Bebel, a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ... More About: Culture , Berlin , Bebe , Sees
Berlin must-sees: Unter den Linden
2007-08-16 17:46:00 Unter den Linden Boulevard stretches from Brandenburg Gate to Schlossbrücke (palace bridge). It exists since 1573, but rose to importance under Friedrich the Great. The linden trees (lime) were cut down by Hitler’s order (he had very different plans for that place). The buildings were pretty much destroyed in WW2. Some were reconstructed, others built ... More About: Culture , Berlin , Sees
The Long Night of Museums
2007-08-14 20:35:00 The Long Night of Museums (”Die Lange Nacht der Museen” in German), which I’ve mentioned more than once in earlier posts, is an event which occurs in Berlin twice a year - in the summer (August, usually), and in the winter (January or February). This summer’s event is on the 25th of August, and is ... More About: Culture , Atmosphere
Berlin Must-Sees: Museum Island (Museumsinsel)
2007-08-12 17:53:00 The Museum Island (Museuminsel), a UNESCO National Heritage site (since 1999) is really a very special place. It all started in 1830, when King Friedrich Wilhelm the 3 wanted to let the general public view the royal art treasures of Germany. That’s when the Old Museum (Alte Museum) was built. More About: Culture , Berlin , Must
United Buddy Bears in Jerusalem
2007-08-10 12:00:00 As we promised, we made the excruciating journey to Jerusalem to bring you some real-time photos of the lovely “United Buddy Bears ” project, which came here in the beginning of August. We came back home exhausted and probably a bit dehydrated (it’s much dryer there, so we tend to drink less. Big mistake), but with ... More About: Culture
Berlin must-sees: Pariser Platz
2007-08-08 16:23:00 Pariser Platz is the square linking The Brandenburg Gate to the Unter den Linden Boulevard. More About: Berlin , Must , Sees
Room of Silence (Raum der Stille)
2007-08-06 16:41:00 The “Room of Silence ” is located in the north side of the Brandenburg Gate. It is inspired by the meditation room in the UN building in New York. The room was opened in 1994, and offers the people passing by a chance to sit down in silence, meditate, rest and so on, and is decorated ... More About: Raum , Atmosphere
Berlin must-sees: Brandenburg Gate
2007-08-04 15:30:00 Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor) is one of the most prominent “trademarks” of Berlin . It is the only remaining city gate, and also became a symbol of the division of the city, because it was situated in the “no-man’s land” just behind the wall (click on the images to enlarge). More About: Brandenburg , Must , Sees
Berlin grocery shopping
More articles from this author:2007-08-02 15:03:00 This will probably convince you that I’m a total geek with no life, but one of the things I like most about Berlin is the fabulous experience it offers to the tiny grocery shopper - that’s me. More About: Shopping , Ping , Grocery 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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