BERLIN - Germany's media and arts scenes aren't representative of its multi-ethnic society. But that could be changing. A Berlin theater company is making sure it does, by training up young people with international backgrounds.
When German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared multiculturalism here "an utter failure" back in 2010, she might also have been referring to the country's media landscape. Recent data from the University of Bremen show that Germany's television and radio programs are much less diverse than society as a whole.
In the city of Berlin, where the creative ferment is in perpetual heat, opening a designer studio or a gourmet café that serves exceptional kuchen and eye-opening espresso is nothing new. Distinguishing oneself in such a milieu may seem daunting, but for Diana Durdic and Tasha Arana, owners and founders of the café/clothing store Sing Blackbird, this was as easy as pie–or in their case, cake.
Sing Blackbird is a rare gem, one where vintage apparel, delectable dolce, and vegan food elegantly collide. It nests in the Turkish-turned-artist district of Neukölln, where in the past few years an invasion of artists, musicians, writers, and designers from around the globe have turned its smoky kebab-studded landscape into a free-range hub of pop-up studios, funky bars, and restaurants–further piquing Berlin’s palate for tasty new trends.
Upon entering Weinschenke Weinstein, you immediately sense that this is not your average German bistro or chi chi Prenzlauer Berg dive.
It exudes the air of a restaurant that is fine and feathered with wine barrels and old vintages bottles lining the wall paired with simple wooden tables and furnishings.
Your flowers love it, it's environmentally friendly and saves on rubbish collection. And soon you will be able to add your worn-out trainers and T-shirts to the carrot peels, potato skins and eggshells on the compost heap at the end of your garden, if German sportswear manufacturer Puma gets its way.
"We are confident that in the near future we will be able to bring the first shoes, T-shirts and bags, that are either compostable or recyclable, to the market," Puma boss Franz Koch told the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche.
Licorice: it’s an acquired taste. A relative of aniseed and fennel, it’s touted for its health benefits and benevolence towards the digestive tract. Its distinct flavor and somewhat odd appearance make it a peculiar confection, but one with a seductive and dark allure. Located on Grafestrasse is Kadó – a whole store dedicated entirely to the unusual candy. It boasts over 400 kinds of licorice with imported rarities from Scandinavia, southern Italy, and Australia.
Licorice aficionados will delight at Kadó’s extensive selection ranging in flavors from salty-savory pieces to sweet and speckled with pastel colored shapes and designs. The shop’s interior, lined with over-sized glass jars and old school apothecary tins-cum-candy-jars, is reminiscent of the shops in Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, further lending to its quirky charm.
Anthropologist Sydney Mintz once said, "The mystery of food taboos is a test case for exploring a culture's gustatory selectivity."
The traditional German street food known as "currywurst" provides such a case, allowing outside observers an opportunity to taste something unique, indulge in a little post-war history, and discover how the universal need for food can bind individuals and groups together.
THE pungent scent of foie gras and pork belly mingled with the strong odor of mustard greens one chilly winter evening in the dining room of a restaurant basking in its Michelin star. The menu was worthy of an upscale Parisian bistro but the restaurant, Horvath, was actually a few train stops away, in Berlin. The city now has 13 restaurants with Michelin stars, the most of any city in Germany. The stars, many bestowed in the last few years, are a signal that the country’s culinary landscape has shifted from Munich and Hamburg.
During a muddy, rainy night in June 2010 at a campsite near the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Robert Breare was on a 20-minute trek to the toilets when he had an epiphany. "I was worried about getting back to camp and finding that someone had stolen half my things," says the English hotelier. "I thought, 'What could be better?' "When Mr. Breare returned to Surrey, he began working with his partners on a temporary hotel that could pop up for major events. Now, his company, Snoozebox, is just one of the upstarts offering luxury short-term accommodations at seasonal hot spots. Though they differ in style and motivation, they all have one thing in common: They don't stick around for long
The city of light is home to the fourth annual Paris des Chefs festival, an event that seeks to blend cooking and art by having chefs prepare food with a creative partner.
“The event’s aim is to address what inspires chefs outside of typical products and kitchen utensils. We invite chefs to choose their creative partner, and the range of duets is remarkable,” said Thomas Frébourg, a spokesman for Paris des Chefs.
"Primitive Rock 'n' Roll and Fine Food" is the motto at Three Sisters.
However, upon entering the restaurant, one senses there is nothing primitive about this place. With its lofty ceilings, whitewashed walls, and small stage featuring a grand piano, it feels more like an old-fashioned ballroom reminiscent of the American South. It masks its self-proclaimed primitive nature, exuding an elegant and distinct charm.
Italy has much to entice the intrepid oenophile. Tuscany and the Piedmont tend to rule the roost when it comes to wine, but it is the German- and Italian-speaking region of Alto Adige that hosts one of Europe’s most prestigious wine events: the Merano Wine Festival, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, Nov. 4 to 7.
Founded originally as a wine bar in 1993, Weinstein's, much like its hometown of Berlin, continues "to become." It has evolved from a simple enoteca to a restaurant now known for its fierce dedication to quality food and wine.
Dining here is more than just something to notch up on your belt of nights out on the town. Rather, it is a lesson in taste education. The menu advises you to drink - but to do it with food and thus gain a better understanding of how the two relate, and more significantly, how they reinforce one another. This sets Weinstein's apart from your typical fine and dines.
Germany is famous for its beer, but centuries-old traditions have put it well behind the US and other countries at the forefront of beer experimentation. Thanks to changing consumer tastes and some maverick brewers, though, the country is slowly catching up.
On the last day of September, students of brewing from all over the world celebrated in a quiet corner of central Berlin, spending the afternoon at picnic tables filled with mugs of India Pale Ale and plates of German food. In Munich, hundreds of kilometers to the south, the country's most famous beer festival, Oktoberfest, was in full swing. But these revellers were far away in both spirit and distance.
"This Wheel's on Fire" was the theme song of the 1990s British sitcomAbsolutely Fabulous. The main characters, Eddy and Patsy, desire nothing more than to insert themselves into London's high-end fashion scene. Instead, they manage only to get sloshed, stain their designer apparel, and wreak havoc on anyone who comes in their way, namely Eddy's daughter, Saffron. Although their qualities are certainly less than admirable, they do possess one redeeming attribute—their choice of poison is Veuve Clicquot champagne.
Much as in the AbFab theme song, the wheels of the Veuve Clicquot Rolling Diner were on fire recently, rolling down Berlin's gritty streets. The company brought together an eclectic class of people while serving inventive and seriously delicious street food paired with world-class champagne.
BERLIN - More often than not, summer in Berlin is hardly summery. So I've found that one great way to escape the unseasonal elements is to seek refuge in one of the capital's many art museums. There, it's not only warm and dry, but in many cases offers a rare opportunity to view works by internationally famous artists. And with the Euro 2012 nearly over and the Olympics still several weeks off, there is no excuse for not adding a cultural interlude to an otherwise sporty season.
I set out to explore some of Berlin's artsy hotspots and found a few jems.
BERLIN - Better known for its dismal climate and general darkness, Berlin has recently discovered its sunnier side. DW's Stuart Braun gets beached in the capital.
"People on Sunday," the classic 1930 silent film depicting a Berlin summer day as the masses pour into parks, forests or down to the cool lake waters of Wannsee, remains one of the most resilient images of Weimar-era Berlin.
Models don choc frocks for tasty Zurich fashion show
With a jaw-dropping fashion show, they proved on Thursday evening that chocolate is not just to be savoured, it is also to be flaunted. French chocolatier Jean-Claude Jeanson and designer Stéphane Martello, alias Mister Crochet, spent 120 hours creating the most spectacular choco-dress to appear on the Zurich catwalk. As is typical of his style, Martello sought inspiration in nature to create a flamboyant bird’s nest gown from 200 metres of wire covered with tissue. A sort of magician’s hat writ large, the roomy nest concealed three live white pigeons.
BERLIN - Twenty people in a dim, narrow, smoky room, each focused respectfully ahead as the musician sings and plays his guitar. Charitable applause follows when the refrain ends, people grab their drinks, light up again, a few more enter the room. It's a Monday night in Berlin, the back room - more a cupboard - of a bar where local musos ply their trade, a room below an apartment that won't sustain amplified music, unless the bar is looking to get shut down.
Berlin forces its musicians, and audiences, to compromise - and improvise. Apart from the bigger main venues and purpose-built concert halls, the rabbit warren of small bars-cum-music locales in Berlin are forces of innovation, nocturnal caves, cubbyholes and basements willed improbably out of the chaotic, crowded tenement-scape.
BERLIN - Berlin’s rich and diverse literary scene is a crucial component of the city’s creative makeup. Since reunification, it has attracted a number of established and aspiring writers — all drawn to its openness and support for artistic expression.
Much of the literary scene may be inaccessible to visitors who don’t speak German, but several events catering to English speakers (and readers) are now part of the city’s cultural calendar. A few coming up offer a sampler of literary life in the city.
On Jan. 18, the Berlin-based writer and performer Gaby Bila Günther performs as Lady Gaby at the King Kong Klub. Known for her flamboyant and upbeat verse, she will serve as host to a night of street theater, rock ‘n’ roll and cabaret performance art.
Read more at The New York Times
BERLIN - The world’s second largest importer of coffee, Germany has embraced more than just beans. Coffee culture has slowly worked its way to the German capital, and the selection of specialty roasts offered in Berlin is more varied than ever, thanks to an influx of expat-run cafes. Following are three coffee entrepreneurs who give the traditional afternoon kaffee and kuchen new verve.
BERLIN - Licorice: it’s an acquired taste. A relative of aniseed and fennel, it’s touted for its health benefits and benevolence towards the digestive tract. Its distinct flavor and somewhat odd appearance make it a peculiar confection, but one with a seductive and dark allure. Located on Grafestrasse is Kadó – a whole store dedicated entirely to the unusual candy. It boasts over 400 kinds of licorice with imported rarities from Scandinavia, southern Italy, and Australia.
BERLIN - In a dimly lit room, a table is set for 14 hungry strangers. Flutes of prosecco and small plates of fried green tomatoes appear and relieve the predinner tension as guests — Berliners and travelers alike — sip, sample and chat. The aroma of bone marrow, pork belly and roasted squash floats in from the kitchen to the table, courtesy of Natalie Mouzarkel, the chef. This is the Owling Supper Club — a restaurant within a home, and, to a degree, a secret.
BERLIN - In a dimly lit room, a table is set for 14 hungry strangers. Flutes of prosecco and small plates of fried green tomatoes appear and relieve the predinner tension as guests — Berliners and travelers alike — sip, sample and chat. The aroma of bone marrow, pork belly and roasted squash floats in from the kitchen to the table, courtesy of Natalie Mouzarkel, the chef. This is the Owling Supper Club — a restaurant within a home, and, to a degree, a secret.
