The Anarchic, Radical Chic of Mitte

An extended stroll through Berlin's Mitte district is most rewarding. Nowhere in the city - with the possible exception of Kreuzberg - are the changes Berlin has undergone more striking and more in your face. Mitte went from a derelict neighborhood to the epicenter of all things hip. And yet, remnants of the old Mitte, as anarchic and radical as it once was right after the Wende are still very much in evidence. What's more, these remnants have merged with the new Mitte, coexisting next to swanky shops and ritzy hotels and apartments buildings. 

And it is precisely this edgy, exciting blend that make Mitte so fascinating ...

... may it last just a little longer ...

A shop on Novalisstrasse 

A newly completed building that is part of the Forum Museum Island, architect: David Chipperfield

One of the last remaining clubs in Mitte, Schokoladen

Courtyard of a building on Torstrasse 

Confiserie Orientale on Linienstrasse 

The former Hollmannsche Wilhelminen Amalien Stiftung, now converted into luxury apartments 

Entrance to one of the last non-renovated buildings on Auguststrasse 

Hamlet on the streets, a theatre performance on Museum Island 

A fire escape on a building on Max Beer Strasse 

Cafe Altes Europa on Grosse Hamburger Strasse 

The wonderful Vietnamese hideaway, Chen Che, on Rosenthaler Strasse 

... on Steinstrasse ... 

... on Almstadtstrasse ... 

... a bridge near Alexanderplatz 

... on Mulackstrasse ... 

The infamous Sodom&Gomorrha on Torstrasse 

The trendy Kaffee Burger, which calls itself a Tanzwirtschaft 

The Happy Shop on Torstrasse 

Dog memorial and emergency water bowls on Rosa Luxemburg Strasse 

The newly completed Simon Palais, part of the Forum Museum Island project, architect: David Chipperfield 

Architects to Watch: Sohrab Zafari

Berlin based Sohrab Zafari is a German architect of Persian descent. Of late, he's made quite a splash with some spectacular projects that he designed - the majority of them in Germany - and most notably, the so-called Housing at the Old City Wall in Berlin, which some say stands a good chance of being voted 'Berlin's Most Beautiful Building' next month. 

...and here it is: 

To find out more about Sohrab Zafari, click HERE. 

Townhouses - Friedrichswerder

Friedrichswerder - what sounds like a backwater in Brandenburg is, in fact, the historic name of a specific part of Mitte, precisely the area between Hausvogtei Square and Boulevard Unter den Linden. It's one of those neighbourhoods where Berlin doesn't feel like Berlin at all, and that's meant a lot more positively than it sounds. Here, real estate developers and architects really went to town - literally - giving it their all. Here, you'll find high-end designer stores ('Apool'), elegant little cafes ('Pax'), restaurants graced with Michelin stars ('Meisterstück') and for those lucky enough to call this neighbourhood their home, Ralph Lauren is ready to supply the furniture, as his Home Accessories boutique is located smack in the centre of Friedrichswerder. 

Friedrichswerder also is the area where a year ago, Berlin's most expensive apartment to date had been sold for just over 6m Euros. In my book, it's the area where you'll find New Berlin's (read: post 1990) most interesting, if not most daring, architecture, the Embassy Quarter excepted. 

Unfortunately, the photos below can only give you a faint idea of the architecture, I advise you, however, to enlarge each image by clicking on it: 

The Berlin Palace (aka Humboldt Forum)

Much has been made of the fact that Germany is rebuilding a palace which once belonged to an aristocratic dynasty that went out with the end of WWI. Backward looking, was the judgement of the detractors of the project while those who were in favor didn't exactly brim with enthusiasm, either. All that's changed now that the fabulous Neil Macgregor, director of the British Museum and generally regarded as one of the world's most formidable authorities on art as well as on history, has been appointed as the Humboldt's Forum founding director. 

Seldom, if ever, has a (cultural) decision in Berlin been greeted by such an overwhelmingly positive response by the public and the media. Critics and supporters of the project alike are unanimous in their endorsement of Macgregor. Starting this October, he will spearhead  a committee that decides over the future shape and form of the Humboldt Forum, after all one of Europe's most ambitious cultural undertakings. 

Neil Macgregor

The Humboldt Forum will include Berlin's ethnological and Asian collections, currently on show in the Dahlem Museums, but it will also offer room for dialogue and debate as well as the history of Berlin which, being a city of immigrants (Prussians, Huguenots, Jews, Russians, Sorbs, Turks, etc.), blends in with the overall theme of the Humboldt Forum which, in a nutshell, is 'telling the history of the world'. According to Macgregor, 'this can only be done in 5 cities worldwide - London, New York, St. Petersburg, Paris, and Berlin'. 

The appointment of Macgregor comes just weeks after the director of the Tate Modern, Chris Deacon, was appointed to succeed Frank Castorf at Berlin's legendary Volksbühne. 

Although the construction site of Berlin's Palace is massive (see the images below), it is one of just a handful which is actually on schedule. The Palace is slated to open in 2019. The majority of the cost (800m) is covered by private donations. One single private donor who didn't want his name disclosed shelled out the money for the dome, which has only recently been completed. 

The topping-out ceremony took place last Saturday. And this is what the Palace looks like at the moment (please click on each image to enlarge): 

The Two Faces of Tiergarten

The Tiergarten is Berlin's saving grace! 

Well aware of Berlin's other assets, the older I get, the more I appreciate the many green spaces this city offers, of which my favorite is definitely Tiergarten. For the simple reason because although it does feel like you're walking through a forest - you're still in the center of town! In fact, Tiergarten is the center of town!

So, with Tiergarten you can have the cake and eat it, too: rural life at the heart of The City, so you won't miss a thing! Especially on sultry summer days like ones we just had, I particularly appreciate Tiergarten, for no matter how hot and muggy it gets and no matter how packed the city is - there's always a cool, leafy deserted, spot to be found in Tiergarten ... but the best thing is, that Tiergarten  does have two faces, so depending on your mood, you can go where the mood takes you:

 ... wild: 

... lose yourself in its wild side, which sometimes feels like you're crisscrossing a rainforest ...

...and formal:

... or marvel at the beauty of its formal side ...

... on Luise Island: 

at the Rose Garden: 

... at the Venus Bassin, with the fabulous Composers' Memorial in front:  

... Tiergarten is dotted by a number of pretty statues to honor poets, composers, etc., among them:  

Lessing

Lortzing