UPDATED 4 JANUARY 2008: Berlin remains the finger-on-the-pulse place that everyone should visit themselves. It's quite possibliy the most exciting city in Europe. We enjoyed the nightlife, its restaurants and the value in our shopping bags. In contrast to Dublin, Berlin is incredibly easy to get around with its integrated public transport ticketing system.
I WANT TO walk the streets because Berlin has a real "graffiti culture" that blows forth from paint cans. As the guys as Visual Orgasm know, this kind of art seems to evaporate as fast as the cleaning crews operate. Fintan Friel pointed out some of the best examples of graffiti in Berlin during our short break there.
- Walk Kurfürstendamm. I want to see the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church), which lies at the very beginning of Kurfürstendamm, on Breitscheidplatz (underground station Kurfürstendamm). The church was bombed out in World War II and its ruin has been preserved in the damaged state. (31 Dec 04 update: done.)
- Visit Neue Nationalgalerie. The New National Gallery is one of the last buildings by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. (2 Jan 05 update: walked by and resolved to visit again.)
- Go browsing in shops. Besides Kurfürstendamm and Friedrichstraße, I have to stumble upon an interesting set of shops. Every part of the city has its own center which might be worth a visit.
- Eat brotchen for breakfast, bratwurst for lunch, and Zigeurner Schnitzel for dinner. Enjoy several large glasses of Weißbier. (31 Mar 04 update: done.)
- Walk south from the old Checkpoint Charlie to the approximate place I stood one week after the Berlin Wall was breached in 1989. (1 Apr 04 update: done.)
- Send a postcard to Adolf Hitler, Reichstag, Berlin. (1 Apr 04 update: done)
Staying in Alexanderplatz. It is a workman's retreat.
Visual Orgasm -- documenting graffiti to the fullest, without condoning its proliferation on public or private property.
Fintan Friel -- Any Minute Now even simple street art can inspire.
Matthew Ingram -- "Virtual Graffiti Museum"
Bonus Link: Berlin photostream.
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