At the DDR museum, visitors get a sense of what life was like in the former East Germany. Vintage East German cars at the Trabi museum.
Portraits of anti-fascist figures at the German Resistance Memorial Center. The Reich Banner Black-Red-Gold association of republican war veterans, which supported the protection of the Weimar Republic. Weimar culture. Gold art deco statue at the Bröhan museum.
In contrast to edgy East Berlin, developed West Berlin can seem much more predictable. Urban Nation, a graffiti museum, seeks to capture the mystique of other neighborhoods without really succeeding, though a building facade manages to catch one’s attention. Further to the west, hipsters mingle with Asian food vendors at […]
In Berlin, Turkish immigrants live cheek by jowl alongside anarchists and political radicals. In Kreuzberg, for example, a mosque lies just a stone’s throw away from the radical counter-culture. Not far from the minaret, I came across a curious tree house. The structure originally belonged to Osman Kalin, a Turkish […]
Well off the beaten path lies Lichtenberg, where passers-by can check out Graffiti Galerie underneath the highway. More graffiti and animal motifs off to the side of the highway. Above Graffiti Galerie, I came upon a curious mural honoring the Sandinistas who are hardly a model for progressive political ideals […]
In the center of town, I came upon graffiti-plastered Haus Schwarzenberg. In Buenos Aires, I recently came upon “graffiti alley,” whose stenciled motifs are somewhat similar to Berlin’s graffiti lane.
Near Kreuzberg, I came upon the Köpi squat. Photos are strictly forbidden but I managed to snap a few shots before suspicious residents began to give me the evil eye. In another area of Kreuzberg I came upon a shop selling “stateless espresso” in the name of the Mapuche Indians of […]
In Kreuzberg, I came upon a kind of “revolutionary store” selling clothing with radical slogans, books and other items. The owner, who sat in the middle of the store frying sausages, explained that he had been in the spot for decades. A few days later I walked by the store […]
Offbeat window facade.
