Spreepark – A tale of former glory and a long, long fall from grace.
On the Banks of the river Spree in Berlin sits a giant, overgrown, rusting amusement park. It began back in the DDR times and was sold after the Wende (literally […]
A unique glimpse behind the scenes
BERLIN STORIES
Berlin is a city which is forever changing, evolving and reinventing itself. This blog is where we’re able to share some more intimate moments of how it is to be in Berlin, our emotional connection to the stories you’ll find here, and to give you a glimpse of ‘behind the scenes’ in this remarkable city. We love writing these snippets, so we hope you love reading them!
Coming Home to a Cold Christmas
Christmas in Berlin So, finally back from a mammoth 6 week trip to Australia – 4 cities in 6 weeks staying in 7 houses. Wow. Many dear old friends, some […]
My favourite winter memory of Berlin!
The last month it has finally begun to get cold here in Berlin. After the longest and hottest summer on record it somehow felt like winter would never come. But […]
What is this thing called German identity?
So. The national holiday of re-unified Germany is October 3rd. A little shy of a year after the Berlin Wall ‘fell’, the country voted to ‘re-unify’. This year will mark […]
Modernising or ruining a counter culture city?
As defined by the Oxford Dictionary: Gentrification: verb (gentrifies, gentrifying, gentrified) [with object] renovate and improve (a house or district) so that it conforms to middle-class taste. (usually as adjective […]
Berlin by Water
Fun tour guide fact: Berlin has more bridges than Venice. It’s true. Berlin has a huge network of canals dating back to the pre-train era when the easiest way to […]
Mauerpark on a lazy Sunday afternoon
A rare Sunday. A day off in summer, and all to myself without family or other obligations. The day stretched out ahead of me like an invitation. It was a […]
Climbing up a former DDR Guard Tower
One of the things I love about Berlin is that this city can still surprise me. Even after years of working as a private guide I still discover new things […]
Hoppegarten – the best Berlin day out you never knew about!
There’s a kids nursery rhyme in German which says “ Hoppe hoppe Reiter, wenn er fällt den schreit er, Fällt er in dem Graben, Fressen ihm den Raben, Fällt er […]
An Oasis in the City
In Berlin if you brave using the excellent subway system during your visit – you may very well see teeny tiny houses and gardens
The Trabant Turns Sixty!
If you’d visited Berlin whilst the Wall was still up, say in the 1980’s and you’d applied for a day visa to visit the East and crossed at the Friedrichstrasse […]
Festival of Lights
Every October, Berliners start to sigh and moan about the summer being well and truly over. The days get noticeably shorter and we all dread the turning back of the […]
Urban Nation – The Newest Gallery in Berlin
So in September, a new space opened in Berlin, called Urban Nation. They call themselves a Museum of Urban Contemporary Art and have had a long and labyrinthian journey to […]
The Grand old Dame of Mühlenbeck
It’s the time of year again when the air turns crisp, the leaves begin to yellow and I begin to especially treasure every day of sun and blue skies. Especially […]
Berlin summer in 2017 – Wet and Wild!
I’ve spent the last 12 summers in Berlin. My first one I thought was fairly dodgy, fairly bleak and grey and rainy, but then I’d just moved from sunny Australia […]
Adventures in Brandenburg – Going off road
It was a gorgeous sunny day. One of those rare days at the beginning of the season where you can just feel summer is on it’s way.
Open Bärlauch Season
Spring is sprung once more and along with the flowers and buds and copious quantities of mud, there comes something else which I had never seen before moving to Germany.
Berlin through a camera – television tour tales with James Wilkinson
What to do when you’re asked to provide a private tour of Berlin for one of the most experienced travel journalists in Australia?
Breathing New Life into a Berlin Icon
The Oderberger Stadtbad Imagine Berlin at the turn of the 20th Century. It was big, dirty, teeming metropolis. The population tripled in 30 years.
Cocktail Bars in Berlin
If you enjoy a cocktail now and again, this post is a must-read in your pre-trip planning for Berlin. Life is too short for bad cocktails!
Berlin in Mourning
Usually this time of year I write about Glühwein and Christmas markets and fur boots and pocket warmers. This year is completely different.
6 Things I love about Autumn in Berlin!
Summer is over, and the quieter season begins. So curl up on the couch with some reading, grab a cup of tea and enjoy the colder months.
Visiting a Former Espionage Centre
Teufelsberg. The Devils Mountain. The name conjures all sorts of images – usually dark, deserted and dangerous. Perhaps haunted…
Markets in Berlin
Let’s be honest, it wasn’t a great summer in Berlin this year. It wasn’t awful exactly, but it was colder and wetter than ideal. But the reward comes now. Thankfully.
Peacock Island
A short bus ride from Berlin city lies a charming oasis of green and quiet where Peacocks roam free and Prussian kings live on in memory.
Football Fever
Every two years, something extraordinary happens in Berlin in summer. A collective fever takes over and symptoms spring up all over the city. Football.
When Snow Gets Fluffy
Spring in Berlin brings to mind many things. Rebirth, hope, renewal. All of a sudden the trees have leaves again. Seemingly overnight.
My Yearly Ode to Spring
Aah, my yearly ode to the miracle of spring in Berlin. The grey winter seems to drag on forever, grey and rainy and then suddenly, it’s over.
A stroll down a dark memory lane
The Bayern Quarter is an unassuming neighbourhood, most known for JFK’s iconic 1963 speech where he proudly declared he was a jam donut.
I spy with my little eye – Espionage museum
Espionage. Code words, secret meetings, hidden agendas, danger. It sounds like a James Bond movie, but is something which in Berlin was very real.
Evensong at the Berlin Cathedral
The Berliner Dom is a rather unique piece of architecture in Berlin. Its impressive curved dome soars above the former Royal quarter of Berlin.
A wintry start to the new year
Wow, another year over, another one begins. Resolutions are made (and let’s face it, quickly broken) and the season turns towards slowly longer days. And colder days.
walking the hallways of history
Walk through the former National Socialist government district in Berlin on a private tour with me, and a lot of what I do is explain what no longer exists.
Berlin Diversity – Reminders of Place
Going on holiday is wonderful. I love it. I used to be a constant traveller, somewhat of a nomad, forever changing cities, countries, people and places. But not any more.
Bearpit Karaoke on a Sunday
Mauer Park fleamarket is a Berlin institution. But there is another reason to go to Mauerpark on a Sunday, which has nothing to do with the markets themselves.
Trekking in a Late Afternoon Wonderland
The European forest, what a wonderful creature! A living being – breathing, growing, changing, dying, decaying as we watch. Berlin has amazing natural spaces.
Street Art in Berlin
Whether you call it street art, urban art, graffiti or vandalism, the act of painting/glueing/drawing on buildings and other public spaces in Berlin has decades of long and colourful history.
The Stasi – A legacy of mass surveillance
Stasi. A word of power in East Germany. The Stasi were a formidable force of the Cold War, and some argue the most effective counter espionage system in European history.
Cecilienhof – a convergence of layers
Aaah Potsdam, the chosen summer residence (and sometime full time residence) of various Prussian kings and German emperors. The jewel in the Prussian summer crown.
Spargelzeit – Asparagus is here. Enjoy!
Spargelzeit. Aparagus Time. I think this is my favourite time of year in Berlin. If you’ve not eaten white asparagus German style yet, you must come taste it for yourself!
The Belvedere – the best view in Potsdam
In Potsdam there are so many palaces, gardens, follies and gazebos it’s hard to know where to begin. But with a private guide at your side you have a headstart.
10 things I love about living in Berlin
One of the best things about a holiday away is coming home to Berlin. I just touched down back in Berlin after a long, well earned Australian family break. Berlin.
Boros Bunkner
If you’re wandering through part of Berlin’s Mitte district, down a little street near the Friedrichstadtpalast theatre, you will come across an extraordinary sight.
Weissensee Cemetery – a journey back in time
Walking into the enormous Weissensee Cemetery is like stepping into another world, in many ways stepping back in time.
Berlins Christmas Markets – Deck the Halls!
December rolls round again. The days get colder. Significantly colder. And darker – sunset is around 4pm so the nights feel loooong.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years ago
It’s the first week of November and things are positively buzzing in Berlin – because on the weekend it will be 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Autumn Musings – My Favourite Season in Berlin
Autumn in Berlin. Red and gold leaves. This has without a doubt become my favourite season in the ten years I’ve been guiding in this city.
Olympic Fascination – Walking in the Footsteps of Athletes
Let me state openly – I am no sports fan. I have never attended a live sport event, and avoid watching them on TV. It’s just not my thing.