RaeAllen.net

  • Teufelsberg

    Teufelsberg

    I hardly know where to start with describing Teufelsberg (or Devil’s Mountain). I went up there today on a tour led by former US Army analyst Christopher McLarren. McLarren was stationed here at Field Station Berlin during the Cold War and since settling in Berlin, has become an expert on not only it’s history as a listening post, but also on how the mountain was created, and what has happened since the station was closed in the 1990s. It was a fascinating and personal tour dotted with anecdotes of spies caught (Valery Kirukhin) and missed ( James W. Hall )

    I’ll write separately about the art work on the site but so far this has been my favourite trip in Berlin, including as it does, a walk through the Grunewald to get there.

    Links worth reading

    http://flic.kr/p/nonX2q

    from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1h3QD8A
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  • Cycling in Berlin

    Cycling in Berlin

    Just like the suburb I normally live in, cycling is very big in Berlin generally, and in Prenzlauer in particular. There are however some noticeable differences.

    1. Very few people wear helmets
      I have seen some children with helmets and two adults, but that is about it. Everyone else wears what they would normally wear out, beanies, caps, or scarves. looking at the laws, since 2011 “helmets are required by law for children under 13 years old”
    2. No-one wears lycra
      Well I assume there are some people who wear lycra, but I have yet to see anyone wearing much more than their normal street clothes. I have seen a couple of people wearing sweat pants and shirt but that is about it.
    3. Most people ride street cycles
      I assume there are bicycles with racing handlebars and skinny tyres but I haven’t really seen any around this area. What I have seen is lots of comfortable street bikes, and customisation is normally to add wooden shopping baskets or the like
    4. Nobody rides very quickly
      Most of the actually cycling I’ve seen is more in the way of a promenade through the leafy streets and cafes. I have seen people in the heavy traffic areas riding more quickly commuting from work, but no packs of riders on the roads. I assume this adds to the lack of helmets as there is little speed involved on either side most of the time.
    5. Cycling is obviously only part of the picture
      Since arriving I’ve seen numerous people smoking as they cycled along, and one guy with his shopping hanging off one handlebar, and an open bottle of beer in the other hand. They looked very civilised. I did also see some-one riding while talking on a mobile phone which I understand is illegal.

    from Tumblr http://bit.ly/PEJDHy
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  • Beer off the wood

    Quite a good beer served off a wooden keg at the currywurst stall at the local markets. It interested me that all beer and wine is served in glassware even at outdoor venues like this where you would suspect the cobblestones would be very unforgiving. Price was €2.50 for 300ml so good value as well.

    http://bit.ly/1hCCE8U

  • Eberswalderstrasse


    U Eberswalderstrasse

    Our local U-bahn stop is U Eberswalderstrasse. After the first day we stopped bothering with the timetables as we have never waited more than three minutes for a U2 train heading in the direction we wanted to take.

    http://flic.kr/p/noWS6g

  • Finches

    This finch was sitting on the back of the chair across from me – they are quite common in this area and there were a couple having a dust bath where some of the cobbles had come adrift outside our front door.

    http://flic.kr/p/nmQ2kT

  • Breakfast beer

    Being a beer drinker I’m enjoying German beer, but what interests me more is the culture around drinking beer. This is a Saturday morning market in Kolliwitzstrasse, and this is a breakfast beer as he waits for his sausages to be cooked. The beer is served by the stall cooking sausages

    It is also quite common to see people just walking around with a bottle or glass of beer

    http://flic.kr/p/nmQ2Rc

  • White Asparagus

    White asparagus is a seasonal crop, and according to the locals one of the few vegetables that is only found in the shops in April and May. Many restaurants and families have their own recipes for it’s preparation but mostly I’ve found it with a cream sauce.

    Seasonal recipes for asparagus

    http://flic.kr/p/nmQdku

  • Brücke Museum

    Main trip today was to Brücke Museum which “houses the world’s largest collection of works by Die Brücke (“The Bridge”), an early 20th-century expressionist movement. Apart from the artwork the building itself is a neat design with natural light wells illuminating the artwork on the walls.

    http://flic.kr/p/nkwaQa

    from Tumblr http://bit.ly/RSI4I8
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  • Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe


    The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe or Holocaust Memorial is opposite the Tiergarten and between Potzdamer Platz and Brandenberg Tor.

    The two hectare site is covered with 2,711 stelae, basically concrete slabs. The whole effect is quite eerie. Near the outside the slabs are short and people are sitting on them having lunch or chatting about their day. As you move into the memorial however the ground undulates and the slabs get taller so its easy to be isolated from the outside world within the massive slabs.

  • Sleeping Giant

    Sleeping Giant

    Sleeping Giant, is by Alaniz, a street artist from Argentina living in Berlin. This piece is in Friedrichshain, Berlin

    http://flic.kr/p/njYbjV

    from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1f9mz07
    via IFTTT