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Berlin photo recs...

JTC

JTC

PFM Villager...
Going there for a long weekend this Thursday. Just me, the GLW and leaving the kids/dogs with auntie.

Not having been before, what photo must-dos are there (I'll take the Q2 and use my feet rather than lug the XT2 with various lenses).

Any value in getting one of those tiny tripods?
 
Lots of interesting architecture to photograph, e.g. around the Brandenburg gates, the Bauhaus museum. A trip out to Potsdam is worth it - Sansouci and Einsteinturm. The Jewish Museum (Libeskind) is worth visiting. Take a river boat to get an interesting perspective.
 
One of my favourite cities! Have visited many times, both pre and post-Wall dismantling. :)

Loads to photograph from the 'classical' stuff (ie Sansouci etc to the more modern, 20th century history. Great architecture around Museum Island, Berliner Dom etc. If you get the time (shame you're only on a long weekend) it's worth taking the train to Humboldthain to see the remains of the WW2 Flak Tower. Treptower Park for the Soviet War Memorial - if the weather's bad it actually looks better; really dark and almost threatening. Amazing atmosphere, the memorial is made from the red marble from which Hitler's Reich Chancellery was built.

I wouldn't bother with Checkpoint Charlie to be honest, it's become something of a slightly naff tourist trap and the guard post isn't the original either. DDR Museum is excellent.

The Neue Wache with Käthe Kollwitz's statue 'Mother with her dead son' is a deeply moving experience. I always seem to get dust in my eyes there.

Holocaust Memorial, about 5 mins walk from B'burg Gate.

This was a rare sight - I took this from a military bus in 1988 - the Brandenburg Gate, taken from the DDR side.

Brandenburg from the east by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

Have a great trip - officially envious!
 
Was there a few weeks ago and went to the Photography museum without realizing it is actually devoted to Helmut Newton, interesting portraiture some of it just on tasteful side of porn. Worth a visit though, he and his wife were certainly characters.

There is a hard hitting exhibition on top floor of Photography of the Holocaust. Museum Insel, Alexander Platz with the juxtaposition of DDR TV tower and 16th Century Marienkirche, and 1970s statue of Marx & Engels is good place for photos.

Berlin is not a pretty city, a mish mash of concrete & glass with historical buildings that randomly survived. But probs can't be beat for history & culture.

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The view from Panoramapunkt Berlin, tower next to Potsdamerplatz. (Hansa studios a stone throw from there, but not much to be seen.)

Tempelhof. Inside tours can be booked.

East Side Gallery.
 
Some great neighborhoods to visit : Prenzlauer Berg, Kreutzberg, Charlottenburg/Wilmersdorf and Mitte. Public transport is excellent.

Charlottenburg: Savignyplatz and the Ku’damm, some of the side streets have unusual artisanal shops.

Prenzlauer Berg: area in and around the Kathe Kollwitz park.

Potsdam: definitely worth a visit, some Schinkel villas to see, although we didn’t stop off Dahlem looks interesting 🧐
 
alanbeeb said:
Berlin is not a pretty city, a mish mash of concrete & glass with historical buildings that randomly survived. But probs can't be beat for history & culture.
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Agreed.

The place oozes historical significance, much of it from the last 150 years or so, which has had a profound effect on the rest of the world. One I'd forgotten about is the 'empty library' which is the site of the 1933 book-burning, where Göebbels spoke:

"The era of exaggerated Jewish intellectualism is now at an end, and the future German man will not just be a man of books. At this late hour we entrust to the flames the intellectual garbage of the past."

It's at Bebelplatz, and simply a large, glazed tile amongst the cobbles. Through it you can see rows of whitewashed, empty bookshelves - make sure you have a polarising filter! :)

Last time I was there it was good to meet up with an old friend who was in his final year of a PhD in 20th Century German History at the University. He gave me the 'tour' which was fascinating and at times deeply moving. Berlin is a city where I began to realise 'the more I learn about the place, the more I realise how much there is still to learn'. He felt it important to point out that the Berliners are not ones to shy away from the wrong-doings of their country's past, and in fact embrace them by erecting monuments as reminders to never let them happen again. One reason why the Memorial to the Dead Jews of Europe was built on a large - and extremely valuable in terms of real estate - swathe of land. It cannot be ignored.

Oh, the beer's good too ;)
 
I first came to Berlin in 1988 as part of a European road trip. The van broke down and I've been here ever since! I've long stopped going to tourist spots, but have a tendency to visit dive bars and there are an increasing amount of craft beer places popping up. I have a collection of photos taken at various events over the past few years. Berlin is still a relatively safe place to visit and to walk around at night, and public transport is indeed very good, and mostly clean. Having said that, it is so much nicer in the summer, it gets a bit dreary at this time of year.
 
Seanf said:
an increasing amount of craft beer places popping up.
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Now I'm interested. Do you have recommendations in Mitte for my trip next weel?

On Thursday we are going to see Raye at Huyleys Neue Welt.

On Friday we are going to the Frida Kahlo Immersive Experience.

On Saturday we are going to the Kleine Nachtrevue Bar.
 
Well, @dan m just nailed the sights I was going to suggest : D
I went there as a student just after the wall came down, i.e. 33yrs ago now (!) and most recently only a handful of years ago. It's a fantastic place - and travel is easy, it's flat as a flat thing, hire a bicycle. Cycling-around Berlin is a great way to explore the city it is today. Oh - and as a visitor you can buy a 48hr, all-transport ticket which is good-value; it'll cover your transfer from the airport, for a start.

My other suggestion is take a very compact tripod - I favour a Manfrotto pixi, slips in the pocket, works well as a handhold on a viewfinder-scale camera - and take your camera with your for a walkabout at night.
 
martin clark said:
Its a fantastic place - a d travel is easy, its flat as a flat thing, hire a bicycle
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Try not to get run over by bicycles! The cycle lanes are on the pavements and not always much space, it was downright dangerous in places. And then there are all the e-scooters too.

The U-bahn and S-bahn are very easy to navigate, especially with the BVG Fahrinfo app which you can also buy tickets on.
 
alanbeeb said:
Was there a few weeks ago and went to the Photography museum without realizing it is actually devoted to Helmut Newton, interesting portraiture some of it just on tasteful side of porn. Worth a visit though, he and his wife were certainly characters.

There is a hard hitting exhibition on top floor of Photography of the Holocaust. Museum Insel, Alexander Platz with the juxtaposition of DDR TV tower and 16th Century Marienkirche, and 1970s statue of Marx & Engels is good place for photos.

Berlin is not a pretty city, a mish mash of concrete & glass with historical buildings that randomly survived. But probs can't be beat for history & culture.

53273452645_c192216f82_c.jpg


53273341214_8858493de8_c.jpg
Click to expand...
alanbeeb said:
Try not to get run over by bicycles! The cycle lanes are on the pavements and not always much space, it was downright dangerous in places. And then there are all the e-scooters too.

The U-bahn and S-bahn are very easy to navigate, especially with the BVG Fahrinfo app which you can also buy tickets on.
Click to expand...
 
Bananahead said:
Now I'm interested. Do you have recommendations in Mitte for my trip next weel?

On Thursday we are going to see Raye at Huyleys Neue Welt.

On Friday we are going to the Frida Kahlo Immersive Experience.

On Saturday we are going to the Kleine Nachtrevue Bar.
Click to expand...

I just consulted my beer buddy with a good memory and got quite a list of places we have visited recently. A mixture of big corporates and small independents:

Eschenbräu (Wedding, https://eschenbraeu.de/)

Muted Horn (Tempelhof, https://themutedhorn.com/

Heisenpeters (Kreuzberg, https://www.heidenpeters.de/)

BRLO (4x in Berlin, https://en.brlo.de/

Leuchtturm (Schöneberg, https://www.leuchtturm-kneipe.de/)

Felsenkeller (Schöneberg)

Kasck (part of the BRLO chain, in Friedrichshain, https://www.brlo.de/gastronomien/brlo-kaschk)

Lager Lager (Tempelhof, https://www.lagerlagerberlin.de/lager-lager)

Hopfenreich (Kreuzberg, http://hopfenreich.de/de/home-de/)

Hops and Barley (Friedrichshain, https://hops-and-barley-berlin.de/home.html)

Lemke (Mitte, https://www.lemke.berlin/en/)

Protokol (Friedrichshain, http://protokollberlin.de/)

If you manage all of them, I will be impressed!

Huxleys is a pretty dull venue but I've seen a few bands in there over the years.

Sean
 
JTC said:
Going there for a long weekend this Thursday. Just me, the GLW and leaving the kids/dogs with auntie.

Not having been before, what photo must-dos are there (I'll take the Q2 and use my feet rather than lug the XT2 with various lenses).

Any value in getting one of those tiny tripods?
Click to expand...
Don't forget your suitcase...


We went there some years ago on recommendation of No.2 daughter. Really interesting place, and the other folk here have given an excellent run-down of the possibilities. Did anyone mention the dome of the Reichstag? We went there late in the evening, not that long before closing, and there was hardly anyone there.
 
Quite a lot of the attractions you have to book your timeslot in advance, sometimes weeks ahead.... We couldn't get a slot at the Reichstag in October, nor the Pergamon Museum which I think is closed now for refurb.
 
Have visited Berlin twice now, and found it a great place to walk around on both occasions.
Huge amout of photo opportunities.
Both trips were 'music based' being Yello's first official gig @ 'Kraftwerk' and Nils Frahm at his studio - theatre.
As has been said, it's easy to walk around, and the trains are good value with the correct ticket that Martin has pointed to.
When I got back a client gave me a book which I have now read three times over to digest it all - "Stasiland" by Anna Funder.
IT gives a real insight as to just what and how Berlin and the wall / Stasi happened.
A bit 'dry' as a read, but does have real and explained detail, mentioning many of the sites / buildings you will see.
She manages to interview a lot of people that were both captured, escaped, were tortured and even several members of the Stasi.
Stasiland by Anna Funder
There are superb music shops as well!
 
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