The Brandenburg Tor is the first tourist attraction I visited on my first day in Berlin. It’s an imposing neoclassical gate that appears conspicuously in almost every postcard in the city. Throughout its existence, the Brandenburg Gate bears witness to a tumultuous history of the city and country. And at the same time, it’s an eyewitness to the historical events of a unified European continent.
There were only very few people when I arrived at the gate. The morning sun was just beginning to appear, and its rays peeked through the wide gaps. I was mesmerized by the play of lights and shadows as I looked up, admiring its magnificence. It reminded me of chiaroscuro paintings of Caravaggio and Rembrandt.
It’s hard to beat Berlin as a European mini-break destination. One of the city’s many strengths is the culture and history that surrounds you at every turn. Here’s five impressive Berlin museums that you might want to add to your itinerary for your next visit:
Pergamon Museum – Museum Island
You’ll be awed by the Pergamon Altar – an ancient Greek shrine transported from Turkey, with a freeze depicting the Gods doing battle with the Giants to decide who should rule the earth.
Jewish Museum – Lindenstraße
This is an excellently displayed and thought-provoking journey through the whole history of Jews in Germany, including, of course, the Holocaust.
My first Polaroid of 2017 is coming to you from Germany’s capital where I escaped to after spending the Holidays with my family. While I came to Berlin mainly to get some work done and catch up with friends, I managed to fit in quite a few fun activities – like visiting several of the city’s amazing Christmas markets, which I hadn’t done in over ten years.
I have to admit that it felt a bit awkward at first in light of the recent terror attack, but I decided to adapt the ‘We won’t let terrorists ruin this joyful time of year for us’ attitude that the Berliners showed, who kept flocking to the Christmas markets.
Other than Christmas markets, I went on a bar crawl in Kreuzberg and took a friend who passed through town to the observation deck of the Park Inn hotel for a panoramic view of Berlin, climbed the 285 steps of the spiral staircase to the top of the Victory Column and revisited the East Side Gallery, the longest still standing piece of the Berlin Wall which has been painted with murals by international artists. Note to self: Leave open air viewing platforms for summer visits to Berlin – the biting cold winter air up on top of both structures was brutal.
Gay travel bloggers Nomadic Boys say Berlin is super gay— and who are we to disagree? But if you want proof, how’s this? Schoneberg has been the heart of the gay Berlin community since the 1920s when it became the first ever gay village. Of course Schoneberg has many gay bars and clubs to choose from — whatever you are into, you’ll find it.
Outside of Schoneberg, alternative gay scenes have started to spring up in the East over the past 20 years — particularly Kreuzberg, Neukolln and Friedrichshain. It’s super easy to find popular gay hangouts in these neighborhoods.
It’s not all good news in Germany though — while same-sex partnership was legalized in 2001, Germany has yet to legalize same-sex marriage. Surprising, considering recent polls have indicated that a majority of Germans support it. Of course — we know you’re not necessarily looking to get married in Berlin. You want naughty fun — and here’s the best places we’ve found to get laid.