Posts under ‘Europe’

An art installation that has caused outrage recently has seen Hitler return to Germany but this time in gnome form. The gnomes are a typical garden gnome but have one arm raised in a “Heil Hitler” salute and are taking over an area of Ludwigsplatz in the Bavarian City of Straubing. The artist behind the project is Ottmar Horl who has done other gnome type projects before including everything from puss in boots to rabbits and dogs. Some people complained that his new installation entitled “Dancing With the Devil” breaks German laws forbidding the use of Nazi symbolism but Horl argued that the piece was clearly mocking the Nazis, who likely would not appreciate being depicted as an army of garden gnomes. The installation is on until the 19^th of October 2009 and you can even buy your own nazi gnome at his website below. Read the rest of this entry »

Unter den Linden is one of Berlin’s premier and grandest streets. Travelling through the city east to west the street is home to some of Berlin’s most impressive buildings and monuments including the German Historic Museum and Humboldt University and the Staatsoper. The street is lined with linden trees which give the street its name, they date back to the mid 1600’s although have all been replanted several times including after the Second World War when the street was severely damaged. The Unter den Linden stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Palace of the Republic and makes a fantastic walking tour when visiting the German capital, there are several great coffee shops or Kaffeehaus along the way where you can kick back and enjoy the beautiful scenery while sipping a Latte Macchiato- a Berlin specialty.

Read the rest of this entry »

Unter den Linden is one of Berlin’s premier and grandest streets. Travelling through the city east to west the street is home to some of Berlin’s most impressive buildings and monuments including the German Historic Museum and Humboldt University and the Staatsoper. The street is lined with linden trees which give the street its name, they date back to the mid 1600’s although have all been replanted several times including after the Second World War when the street was severely damaged. The Unter den Linden stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Palace of the Republic and makes a fantastic walking tour when visiting the German capital, there are several great coffee shops or Kaffeehaus along the way where you can kick back and enjoy the beautiful scenery while sipping a Latte Macchiato- a Berlin specialty.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the things you notice most about Berlin is the huge and striking new architecture which has been created since the fall of the Berlin Wall. One of the most striking is the Bundeskanzleramt or Chancellery which opened in 2001 as part of the government’s move from Bonn to Berlin. This huge exposed concreted masterpiece of modern architecture is opposite the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate and is just as imposing. Taking four years to construct and nearly quarter of a million Euro to build it was designed by German architects Alex Shultes and Charlotte Frank. The 300 plus office building is home to the German cabinet and office of the German Chancellor who has his office on the seventh floor of the building while living on the top floor. Due to security issues the Bundeskanzleramt is not open to the public but the just to view the impressive architecture outside is well worth the visit to see it.

Read the rest of this entry »

The beautiful Baroque Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral was built on Museum Island on the river Spree between 1894 and 1905 but the site has been a church for over 600 years and has been home to many churches since. The Berliner Dom was constructed under Emperor Willem II’s reign and designed by Julius Raschdorff who had the task to design something as impressive as St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Second World War saw much damage to Berlin and the Dom was no exception, it suffered serious damage after a fire bomb hit the structure and destroyed much of the building including the dome roof. 1975 saw the start of the painstaking restoration project which saw the church reopen in 1993. The interior is not as elaborative as it was before the war but it is still simply stunning. The church has a magnificent organ and some amazing stained glass windows and also has an alter from the previous cathedral which was raised to build this new one.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hus der Kultren de Welt or House of World Cultures is another one of Berlin’s amazing architectural statements. This interesting oyster shaped building was built in 1957 as the USA’s contribution to a huge building exhibition called Interbau. This exhibition not only showed some cutting edge architecture but helped Berlin rebuild after the damage it received during World War II. Today the building designed by Hugh Stubbins is used for temporary exhibitions of culture and world art in particular no European cultures, including fine arts, theatre, literature, film and other medias. The grounds of the Haus der Kulteren de Welt also features some amazing sculptures and offer some spectacular photographic opportunities against the building and Berlin sky.

Read the rest of this entry »

No one does the sausage better than the Germans and to celebrate their skill in making these tasty cylindrical morsels the Deutsches Currywurst Museum has been set up in the Deutsch capital Berlin.  Berlin is proud of the sausage and claims to be the place where the Germany’s favourite sausage the Currywurst was invented. The brand new museum traces the history and legend of the sausage, its effects on culture, the ingredients (those that are mentionable) and offers all the smells and sights you would expect to experience in a sausage museum, and like any good museum they have a gift shop at the end of the museum where you can pick up some sausage treats and plenty of novelty items. The Currywurst museum is a fun and interactive look at the sausage and has some pretty fun displays including huge sauce drops and giant sausage and fries props, it is fun for young and old. The cinema is sure to be one of the museums highlights showing some great moments in sausage history with adverts, and a funny documentary called “Best of the Wurst”. The museum is self paced but does offer interactive tours which take about 45 minutes, currently they are only held in German but there are plans for English tours in the new year. Located on Schutzenstrabe the museum is very handy for the Berlin visitor being only 100 metres away from Checkpoint Charlie. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most dominant land marks on the Munich skyline is the two towered Cathedral Church of Our Blessed Lady which is home to the Archbishop of Munich and home to over 500 years of precious artifacts. Located in the heart of the city at the Frauenplatz the church is a very popular tourist attraction in this Bavarian city with many people taking in the spectacular views of the Alps from the 109 metre high towers.  The Cathedral can accommodate around 20,000 people under its massive roof and was built in a time when Munich was home to only about 13,000 residents.  The Cathedral suffered huge damage during the World War II but 50 years of renovation have brought the building back to its former splendor. Read the rest of this entry »

Next week there will be plenty of fun to be had in Suhl, Germany, as the 15th annual European Furry Convention takes place at the Ringburg hotel from Aug 26th to 30th.  Known as Eurofurence the event takes its name from the US event known as ConFurence, a event that spun off from sci-fi conventions in the late 1980s, but was dedicated to furry anthropomorphic creatures from a guy in a team mascot suit to cartoons of Buggs Bunny or similar. According to their website Eurofurence is the biggest annual European furry convention, an international gathering of people who share an extraordinary appreciation for anthropomorphic animal characters, so it sounds like plenty of fun. Check out their site below. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2009 Munich Oktoberfest kicks off on September 19th and celebrates the 176th year of the world’s biggest party.  This year reservations are high, even the ‘Global Financial Crisis’ cant dampen the Oktoberfest spirit – so if you are planning to attend get in early and book your table, you don’t want to miss out.  This year beer will cost between 8.30 and 8.60 euro a litre or Mass and there is bound to be about 7 million litres of it served, along with half a million chickens, 150,000 sausages, 60,000 pork knuckles and over 100 oxen. Construction of the huge tents are underway and this year there are some new rides and attractions making it bigger and more fun than ever. Some of the services stats are incredible with nearly 1000 toilets needed, 800 metres of urinals, 27 of Munich’s daily water use and 14% of their electricity. About half a million people are expected to attend every day of the 16 day event.

Read the rest of this entry »