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foooood in germany

berlin burger international

it’s this tiny place in the corner of sonnenallee with pannierstr. you order on the counter and wait for them to howl your name while trying to secure a place in the few biergarten tables outside on the sidewalk. your eyes wander hungrily up and down the table, to the neighbour’s plates. these are grown-up burgers, they slip from their hands and squirt ketchup everywhere as they try to eat them, an inevitable mess in the making. you smile in anticipation and wait some more while you watch the passers-by and briefly consider moving to this street. there’s that croissant place, the cakes place, the paleo place, the turkish market around the corner… pretty neat street, not bad at all.

you’re pulled out of your reverie when a strange sounding version of your name is shouted from inside. a few heads turn, eyebrows knitted. was it their name? nah, you’ve been here long enough, it’s probably yours. so you stride in, grab the bounty and plenty of napkins. just look, aren’t they a beauty? so you pull back your sleeves, press the bun into the burger with both hands, close your eyes and dig in.
every bite is like a blast of flavours in your mouth. the veggies, the meat, the sauces. it’s… really intense, and you’re torn between enjoying it slowly or inhaling it with superhuman speed.

after the first couple of times you’ve learned to drop the fries and soda… tempting as they might be, your taste buds can’t handle that much stimulation in a meal. just the burger is just right, and it ends all too quickly. now where did you put those napkins?

berlin burger international

berlin burger international
pannierstr. 5
12043 berlin – neukölln

open monday through saturday, 13h-23h

Categories
in germany

words of wisdom

Categories
in germany photography

berlin is analogue, potsdamer platz is digital

In the wild 1920s, the pleasure-seeking population would meet here in the cafes, varietés, cinemas and with the “women of the night”. And today? Let’s just say this: Potsdamer Platz is without a doubt, the place in Berlin that feels the least like Berlin. Berlin is eternally unfinished, raw, surprising, a little rough around the edges, confusing, ugly and yet beautiful. Potsdamer Platz on the other hand represents the highly polished picture of the modern urban dream that can be found all over the world. It has slick and smooth facades but it’s also disposable and hollow somehow. In the language of photography: Berlin is analogue and Potsdamer Platz is digital. But you should photograph it anyway, and then jump quickly back into Berlin!

quote from the awesome lomography city guide to berlin (thanks silvia!)

Categories
in germany

walking on history, I: bebelplatz

“That was but a prelude; where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people.”

the quote is by heinrich heine, a german-jewish poet. it was written in 1820, over a century before the nazi book burnings that took place in the square where it is now displayed. heine’s books where among those destroyed, along with titles by karl marx, bertolt brecht, thomas mann, ernest hemingway, etc.

more from this series.

Categories
in germany photography

fuji instax

i got a fuji instax last week, a very generous present from our last guests. i’ve had my eyes on one for years… my polaroid stock is running dangerously low, and i’m not buying impossible project film until they get their act together, so instax was the logical option. yet for months i’ve hesitated. i like the simplicity of instant photography, the immediate results and the easy scrapbooking, but my back didn’t really need another big camera to carry around…

now that i have one, i love it! it’s big and bulky, but much lighter than it looks. and the photos, such sharpness and bright colors! my jaw drops every time the colors come to life in the little white square.

i took these photos on the instax’s inaugural tour through the olympic stadium (click for bigger):

(the visit was unplanned, so i’ll let you enjoy the pictures and leave the history of the place for another time, lest this cheerful post be damped by somber memories.)