Half a year in Berlin without being/becoming a hippie artist – how did we do it? I recently read an article in Time magazine (Nov. 16, 2009) about the hip Berlin and how artists, designers and writers are transforming the German capital. Based on the article you could think that there is nothing else than bohemian creative people developing the countercultures in this city. “Berlin is like Paris in the 30s”, “Berlin is like New York in the 60s”, the designers moved from other European countries were saying (somewhere else I read that Berlin is like New York in the 80s).
I didn’t really get indulged in this artsy scene, and having read the article I felt like having missed something essential of the city. Now that we only have one week left in Berlin it’s time to do the closing of the books: should I have made more wanna-be actor friends?
Despite a couple of things (such as smoking in the bars and tipping system), life in Berlin is a great and high-quality combination of culture and ecological living. The two things I appreciate the most in this city.
1.) Culture: Latest Discoveries.
- Little concerts all around the city every day. Even without artsy people as friends you can freeride and enjoy their concentration to Berlin. I especially fell in love with a Norwegian singer-song writer Sandra Kolstad in one of these randomly chosen events.
- Gemäldegalerie. As we are surrounded by modern architecture and innovators in contemporary art, Gemäldegalerie (picture gallery) is a great escape offering an outstanding collection of old European art from especially Dutch and Italian masters.
- With a huge selection of what to do and see, you are also bound to make bad choices every now and then. This was the case when I found myself watching a 2-hours long performance that was supposed to be a dance but where dancers were hardly moving (=boring!). To be honest, I was wondering if the piece got some public money and I hoped not – my 12 euros were already too much.
2.) Ecological Living
- Biocompany. With an organic food shop in every neighbourhood ecological consumption is easy and not that expensive either. Germany is definitely a forerunner in these things.
-Bike paths. While in my home city Tampere, the development of cycling lanes was impossible due to the extensive criticism based on non-sense, in the ten-times bigger Berlin, biking is a pleasure: good separate biking lanes, cars giving way, and with thousands of other bikers you are not alone.
One week to make the most of Berlin. I’ll let you know if I made my way to Museuminsel, Emil Nolde Museum, rave party, Brücke Museum, second-hand shops, Mauerpark flee market, Sunday brunch, jazz concert, or Charlottenburg. I don’t have time to have artsy friends; I have 160 museums to explore…
I didn’t really get indulged in this artsy scene, and having read the article I felt like having missed something essential of the city. Now that we only have one week left in Berlin it’s time to do the closing of the books: should I have made more wanna-be actor friends?
Despite a couple of things (such as smoking in the bars and tipping system), life in Berlin is a great and high-quality combination of culture and ecological living. The two things I appreciate the most in this city.
1.) Culture: Latest Discoveries.
- Little concerts all around the city every day. Even without artsy people as friends you can freeride and enjoy their concentration to Berlin. I especially fell in love with a Norwegian singer-song writer Sandra Kolstad in one of these randomly chosen events.
- Gemäldegalerie. As we are surrounded by modern architecture and innovators in contemporary art, Gemäldegalerie (picture gallery) is a great escape offering an outstanding collection of old European art from especially Dutch and Italian masters.
- With a huge selection of what to do and see, you are also bound to make bad choices every now and then. This was the case when I found myself watching a 2-hours long performance that was supposed to be a dance but where dancers were hardly moving (=boring!). To be honest, I was wondering if the piece got some public money and I hoped not – my 12 euros were already too much.
2.) Ecological Living
- Biocompany. With an organic food shop in every neighbourhood ecological consumption is easy and not that expensive either. Germany is definitely a forerunner in these things.
-Bike paths. While in my home city Tampere, the development of cycling lanes was impossible due to the extensive criticism based on non-sense, in the ten-times bigger Berlin, biking is a pleasure: good separate biking lanes, cars giving way, and with thousands of other bikers you are not alone.
One week to make the most of Berlin. I’ll let you know if I made my way to Museuminsel, Emil Nolde Museum, rave party, Brücke Museum, second-hand shops, Mauerpark flee market, Sunday brunch, jazz concert, or Charlottenburg. I don’t have time to have artsy friends; I have 160 museums to explore…
