Image by Ciarán Fahey

More than 20 years after it was taken down, the Berlin Wall continues to be the city’s principal attraction for visitors.

The success of sights like Checkpoint Charlie and the recently repainted East Side Gallery has convinced the city powers to rebuild it – some of it at least – as a memorial on Bernauer Straße, where a section of the original Wall still stands.As expected, flocks of tourists eagerly make their way to the site, perhaps in their hurry overlooking a discreet installation in the former “ghost station” of Nordbahnhof.

Pictures and placards in German and English tell the incredible tales from the division of the city’s public transport system and the madness which ensued once the Wall went up in 1961. (The 50th anniversary of its construction took place on August 13th last.)

Barbed wire and bricked-up entrances were the order of the day, as the East German government sealed off all possible escape routes to the West, creating these ghost stations where trains passed through East Berlin on their way from one section of West Berlin to another. Passengers could only glimpse out at the dimly lit eeriness patrolled by border guards as they whizzed by.

Stories of courageous escapes, explanations, diagrams and multimedia all feature in this fascinating but small exhibition of the crazy realities of life in the shadow of the Wall. Best of all – it’s free!

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Nordbahnhof | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Gartenstraße | Mitte
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

As city squares go, they don’t come much uglier than Alexanderplatz. Surrounded by a rash of imposing GDR-style unimaginative blocks, with perhaps Berlin’s ugliest fountain plonked in the middle, this is not the place to come for a romantic stroll. Much like the “Friendship Between Peoples Fountain” in fact, Alex looks terrible but means well.

Its real beauty engages on a more personal level thanks to the excitement of people milling around, the tourists and punks, the trams trundling through, and the tempting (even for vegetarians!) smell of roast Bratwurst which emanates thanks to the sausage sellers scattered around. Effectively the centre of a decentralised city, Alexanderplatz changes to suit the seasons and the whims of the people at any given time.

In November 1989, the largest demonstration before the fall of the Berlin Wall took place here and was pivotal to the fall of the East German regime. Its biggest gatherings these days occur at the various fairs and markets which call it home throughout the year. Glühwein-swilling at Christmas, chocolate-swilling at Easter, and beer-swilling any other time, there’s always something for swillers to swill!

Overlooked by the Fernsehturn, Alexanderplatz is also home to the funky World Time Clock, erected in 1969 and a popular meeting place for Berliners since. I presume this is so they know exactly how many minutes late you are. Germans don’t like to be left waiting as I’ve found out on numerous occasions, but thankfully for latecomers, Alex has plenty of distractions.

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Alexanderplatz | Art & culture, Relaxing, Shopping | Free
Alexanderplatz | Mitte
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

There isn’t a lot that needs to be said about this monument; although it tends to be one that lots of people overlook. The bronze sculpture Der verlassene Raum by the artist Karl Biedermann was commissioned in 1988 in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the Pogromnacht (Night of Broken Glass) – which saw Jewish homes, business and synagogues throughout Germany destroyed by SA Stormtroopers.

Near the Tiergarten, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe overwhelms you with its size and scale. Its concrete slabs tower over you erasing your path and your existence as you lose yourself to the labyrinth. In contrast, this small memorial on Koppenplatz accomplishes the opposite somehow. The slightly oversized table and chairs, one pushed back, one overturned, impress you with the immediacy of the situation. The residents have just left, probably to one of the nearby assembly points in the neighborhood.

The floor is ringed with the words of Nelly Sachs, the Berlin born, Nobel Prize winning poet. They read: …oh the houses of death / invitingly appointed / for the host who was once a guest / Oh you fingers, / laying the threshold / like a knife between life and death / Oh you chimney stacks, / Oh you fingers, / And the body of Israel going up in smoke!

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Der verlassene Raum | Art & culture | Free
Koppenplatz | Mitte
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

The Neues Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island finally reopened in 2009 after having been closed for over 70 years. The museum was closed as a precaution in 1939, prior to WWII, and after suffering much damage during the war was left by the successive regimes as a ruin. Finally in the 1990s, a massive renovation project began, overseen by the British architect David Chipperfield. Finally Nefertiti, the famous bust of the erstwhile Egyptian Queen, whose ownership is still disputed by the Egyptian government, had a worthy resting place.

Late last year as construction work got started on the extension of the subway U5 several pieces of “degenerate art” were uncovered in the basement of a private house near the Rotes Rathaus on Alexanderplatz. The eleven sculptures had been confiscated by the Nazis, as they were deemed too Jewish or un-German from museums and private collections. It is still unclear how the ended up in someone’s basement, perhaps a mystery for future historians to uncover.

The works include a bronze cubist sculpture of a female dancer by Marg Moll, “Hagar” by Karl Kanppe and “A Likeness of the Actress Anni Mewes” by Edwin Scharff. Although the works have been cleaned and preserved for the exhibition, they still show evidence of having been buried in the rubble of the city for the last 60+ years.

See them now as they are not part of the permanent collection!

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Entartete Kunst | Art & culture, Relaxing | Museum entrance € 10
Bodestraße 1 – 3 | Mitte
Sun – Wed 10:00 – 18:00, Thu – Sat 10:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

Next time you are on Alexanderplatz (check the Alexanderplatz article) don’t forget to look up. Socialist art adorns a number of the buildings surrounding the square. Most likely all the work you see was done by one man, Walter Womacka. The mosaic depicting the socialist vision of a brighter future on the Haus des Lehrers? Womacka. The fountain some guidebooks claim locals call “the whore’s brooch”? Womacka. The space-agey bronze frieze on the side of Haus des Reisens? You guessed it, Womacka!

A short journey away from Alexanderplatz sits the former State Council of the GDR, now ironically the European School of Management, an upper-crusty, private business school, home to some beautiful Womacka stained glass windows. Unfortunately you need permission to get in, though you can sneak a peak behind the guard before she sullenly throws you out. No worries, as just across Unter den Linden at the main building of the Humboldt University, a much more egalitarian place of higher learning, you will find another glorious stained glass by Womacka, featuring socialist superstars admonishing Germany’s best and brightest to strive for a better future.

Finally, if you head back over to Alexanderplatz you can find two more socialist era bronzes, although not by Staatskünstler Womacka. One is the rather large and imposing statue of Marx and Engels at their eponymous forum. Across the river at the Hochschule für Musik you will find depictions of Karl Liebknecht’s pre-mature proclamation of the German Free Socialist Republic from the Berlin City Palace in 1918.

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Public art in East Berlin | Art & culture | Free
Alexanderplatz | Mitte
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

In the western part of Berlin, near Bahnhof Zoo, is the famous Kaiser Wihelm Memorial Church, a partially restored bombed out ruin that today stands as a reminder of the horrors of war. In the eastern part of the city lies another ruin of a much older church that today remains largely forgotten. Just across a busy six lane thoroughfare from Alexanderplatz lies a leafy oasis, a quiet spot away from the crush of the city.

Construction on the original Fransican Abbey began in 1250 and it was a fine example of early gothic style until it was destroyed by Allied bombing on 3 April 1945. Today the ruin stands as another reminder of the war that left the city devastated. The space now stands as an open art exhibition space in a garden-like atmosphere. In summer theatre productions are also performed.

Nearby, you can also find two more reminders of Berlin’s history. The first, directly behind the church is the original Berlin Wall, which surrounded the old cities of Berlin and Cölln. Nearby, in a quiet stretch of residential housing, is Berlin’s oldest restaurant Zur Letzten Instanz. The restaurant dates to 1561, though the current building is a post-war reconstruction. The interior is also quaintly period, though I’d stick to the Biergarten outside. I can’t vouch for the menu personally, it tends towards typically Berlin cuisine. You’ll probably find delicacies like Eisbein, often translated as pig knuckle, and once eloquently described to me by a friend as a fatty, pink, meaty marshmallow.

Guten Appetit!

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Franziskaner Klosterkirche | Art & culture, Relaxing, Theaters, Restaurants
Klosterstraße 73A | Mitte
April – Nov, Tue – Sat 12:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

Germany is little more than 230 years old but it’s certainly made its mark on history in this time. Examining the complicated but fascinating past of this nation of kingdoms, duchies and city states, and the factors which spawned its existence, is the Deutsches Historisches Museum, looking back over 2,000 years of the Germanic peoples.

“Wir sind ein Volk” (We are one people) is an oft-used slogan, particularly before the reunification of East and West Germany in 1989, but I’ve come to realise “Germans” are anything but. It seems Germany is made of a mish-mash of different peoples, cultures and traditions. Berliners pride themselves on being different for one.

A turbulent past certainly provides plenty of material when bringing it all together in the Zeughaus, Unter den Linden’s oldest building.

Various thematic temporary shows compliment the permanent exhibition on three floors over 10,000 square metres. In effect, it’s principal aim is to show the natives what makes them tick: “To help the citizens of our country to gain a clear idea of who they are as Germans and Europeans, as inhabitants of a region and members of a worldwide civilization.”

As I said already, there’s no lack of material. It’s a history barely plausible and shocking at times, but always compelling.

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German Historical Museum | Art & culture | Day ticket € 6
Unter den Linden 2 | Mitte | +493020304444
10:00 – 18:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Natalia Irina Roman

Subway platform. Crowded. Around seven pm, Tuesday. It seems that everybody is trying to squeeze in here. It might even be true, when one of those rainy Berlin days. We’re at the U2 station Stadtmitte. It’s a busy one, with two arteries – the U2 platform and the U6, bound together by a seemingly never ending tunnel.

Between the U2 platform and the tunnel there is an in situ stage, created by musicians who stop there from time to time. Accordion. Saxophone. Electric Piano. Violin. Or three guitars. The great acoustic embraces the distracted passer byes and sometimes, awakens them from their daily routine. Not sure what makes the acoustic so great – the walls or the need for this embrace.

This article is not meant to bring you to Stadtmitte. It’s meant to be remembered when one happens to be there spontaneously. And when you do remember it, smile and stop for six minutes. To listen.

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Stadtmitte Subway | Art & culture, Music, Relaxing | Free
Friedrichstr. 193A | Mitte
Irregular

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Natalia Irina Roman

CUE is a mobile and open platform where one can improvise, meet other artists or just have a drink and watch the work of others. Interdisciplinary jam session is an improvisation of video, sound, light and performance. Imagine visuals projected over a musician playing the saxophone and an actress performing a pantomime. One is free to add to the composition. Every square of the location can become a stage. And it does.

These improvisations take place every first Friday of the month and the location differs: during summer CUE happens also outdoors, but this is an exception. Generally, one can count on an indoor location, with some video equipment and many visual artists, actors, and musicians. Best is to bring your own equipment and to be spontaneous.

Some time ago CUE took place a couple of times in Tacheles (check the Tacheles article) as well, the graffiti art house in Oranienburgerstr. The platform could not have been a better choice, the whole art house is an improvisation of its own.

If you are curious, take a look at the CUE website for a video featuring the mixture of music, visuals and people. Keep in mind that CUE is a jam session, and like all improvisations, it can always be different.

Tip: make sure to check their website, the events are irregular.

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CUE Berlin | Art & culture, Festivals & events | Free
Adress varies | Mitte
Varies check website

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sharon Mertins

I remember my first visit to Berlin in 1996 when I was 19, walking down Oranienburger Strasse, siitting in shabby little bars and being surrounded by orange mohawks, leather trousers, washed down buildings, and protest banners. The view of the ‘Tacheles’ from those little bars is one of the most colorful pictures my brain has ever taken.

These days, Mitte consists mostly of fancy boutiques and high end restaurants and galleries. Nice, but I can’t help feeling a certain nostalgia for years that I never lived in Berlin. Maybe I was left with that teenage wonder……

Despite all the changes, however, hints of that old Berlin can still be found… In the middle of newly renovated buildings and modern supermarkets, lives the ‘Schokoladen’ with it’s run down walls decorated with pink paper lights and overgrown vines. Walking into the ‘hof’ is like stepping back into the roaring 90′s when it started; soon after the fall of the wall and at the beginning of that period of no limitations for a bohemian artistic lifestyle. The walls are still a washed down grey, and the windows still haven’t been painted. During the week, the space is used as galleries for local artists and every weekend they hold concerts with independent bands, and parties.

It’s the kind of place with crowded little smoky rooms filled with people dancing, and where stepping out for air is a necessity.

It has outlived it’s old neighbours, but is fighting to keep it’s doors to the past open.

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Schokoladen Mitte | Art & culture, Bars, Festivals & events
Ackerstrasse 169 | Mitte
Concerts Fri – Sun 19:00 | See website for events

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin