Tag: berlin

Categories
in germany

friedrichstraße


“in berlin, people live in their kiez“, someone told us when we’d just arrived to the city. we didn’t really notice it in the first year, so eager that we were to discover the whole of berlin… but now, we can definitely see a trend – we’re spending more and more time in our own neighbourhood, limiting our explorations to the sphere that is reachable by bike, and unconsciously avoiding longer metro rides. neukölln is a bit like little istanbul, with its multiplying donër shops and plethora of boutiques selling the latest in muslim fashion. but the rest of berlin is… different.

all of this to say that i miss some parts of it, like the imposing façades that line up friedrichstraße, which seem to convey this idea of a solid, lasting germany… it’s been a while since we were last there. we should make an effort got get out of the kiez more! :)

Categories
in germany photography

bits of blue…

… from summers past.

Categories
foooood in germany

thai park

after the clouds cleared out on sunday, we made our way to the thai park. the park would be a very normal (and boring) park, if it wasn’t for the the thai community, who gathers here weekly to mingle. the whole thing reminds us so much of the filipino ladies in hong kong!

anyway, as you can probably imagine, it wouldn’t be a gathering without food! happy to feed all nationalities, the ladies there have their tiny gas cookers and thermo boxes ready, smiling at the curious passerby.

here’s what we had yesterday:



clockwise from top-left: baozi, pink lotus buns, crispy slices of banana fried in coconut flakes and amazing pad thai made on the spot!

it was all so good… and the baozi! i almost couldn’t believe my eyes (or my luck!), i’d been missing them :) all of this while laying around in a towel, enjoying the sun and the laughter of our nearby neighbours, buzzing in a language we didn’t understand… it was perfection, the perfect afternoon.

Categories
in germany photography

summer light


never-ending light, from 5:30am till about 9pm. we’re soaking it all in. :)

Categories
in germany

the modernist housing estates of berlin

the museum island is berlin’s most famous unesco site, its central location and abundance of interesting museums ensuring its place in all guidebooks. but did you know that berlin has another, less well-known unesco attraction?

spread over 6 locations around the city, the modernist housing estates are a group of buildings built between 1910 and 1933, (especially during the weimar republic) which represent the building reform movement in berlin. here’s how unesco describes them:

The housing estates reflect, with the highest degree of quality, the combination of urbanism, architecture, garden design and aesthetic research typical of early 20th century modernism, as well as the application of new hygienic and social standards.

the estates were built at the end of the first world war (when demand for housing in berlin was higher than ever), by cooperatives and non-profit organizations in the (once) outer, rural areas of the city. they were innovative in their design but especially for the open-housing concept of “garden towns and cities” – in contrast with the 19th century corridor-like streets. the main architects involved were bruno taut, martin wagner, and walter gropius (one of the founders of the bauhaus school).

the pictures on this post are from the estate closest to our house, the Hufeisensiedlung. Hufeisen means “horseshoe” – which is what it resembles when you look at it from above!