Berlin's 775 Geburtstag (Birthday)

In 2012 Berlin celebrated its 775th birthday. That age depends on when you consider Berlin to have been founded but the first documented mention of the town of Cölln in 1237 is considered a dependable date. However the oldest church still standing in Berlin (Nikolaikirche) celebrates its 800th anniversary this year.... and I come from Canada which began its formal existence in 1867:)

  A number of events were happening in the city and I went to see a fire performance around the old city centre. At the same time, the Titanick street theatre group had a number of performance areas in Alexanderplatz where they created medieval versions of the “beyond” as well as interpreting the nightmare world of Hieronymos Bosch and Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. I found this next to the French fire performance troupe, Compagnie Carabosse. I didn't follow what the theme of these performances was at the time so to come across this was interesting, surreal and curious.

I need to brush up on my Dante I think.

  Across the platz was an amazing looking fire and water creation with someone dressed in a large head dress. By the time I got over there it had finished unfortunately. Below is the stage with water cannons and fire mortars around.

 After the performance.

  Part of the fire performance area was in a large field next to the Berlin Dom. There were numerous furnaces with funnels operated by performers who would send giant fire balls into the sky.

Strings of fire pots.

A mechanical array of fire pots. It raises to this position and then unfolds down to a large circular shape.

  Titanick was interesting but if I knew the theme I'm sure it would have been better. The Compagnie Carabosse performances were visually great, I hope to see more of them another day. -Andy

Colani Truck

I finally came across one of the Colani designed big rig Mercedes trucks a few months ago. If you haven't heard of him before, be sure to check out his other designs. He is a true visionary of industrial design and is credited with steering vehicle design and products towards a more organic and nature inspired esthetic. Its wonderful that something as avant guarde as this would be built.

 This is the first glimpse I've had with one of his creations and its amazing:

 A visit to the web site that documents some of his work will not be a short one. And there's more here.
 -Andy

Prinzessinnen garten in Kreuzberg

In the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg there's a corner plot of land that was left untouched for many decades. Its right on the corner of a major roundabout and Ubahn station (Moritzplatz) and on the main drag of great cafe's and bars. You'd think because of this that it would have been snapped up by developers and built on years ago, sadly that is a possible fate in the near future... But for the past few years its been the site of a community garden called Prinzessinnen Garten a great example of urban community gardens. They have developed a brilliant system using beer crates as planter boxes which provides enough soil for the plant but is also portable. Lets also not forget the history of this city and the fact that no one really knows what's in the soil in any location so planting in the ground is risky unless you can afford to have it tested and potentially cleaned.

 
 As it was an empty lot, a good number of sapling trees have grown up and provide a great shady spot in summer. There is a small stage, cafe and restaurant amongst the trees. The food is made from seasonal ingredients that have traveled about 20 metres :). So its fresh, good and virtually carbon free.

Vertical thinking for limited space:)

  In December, with the growing season over, it becomes a Christmas Market and circus for the alternative (less commercial) side of consumerism. -Andy

48 hour Stunden Neukolln

In Berlin in mid June there are a large number of artists who participate in the 48 hour Stunden Neukolln. The area called Neukolln is the hub of the creative centre of Berlin and has a large number of ateliers/studios. For 2 days these studios are open to the public to visit and see each artists work. There were way too many to see in two days so I'm sure I'll find all new work next year. A stand out among the crowd this year was Invalid Robot Factory. This is a collective of finish artists who take discarded materials and create sculptures. The "invalid robots" with walkers were quite well done and did many laps of the main room. Some very fine wood carving skills and mechanical abilities:

Life size wooden sculpture with great detail.

All discarded tree stumps and branches.

 Well worth a visit to their studio to check out the latest in Finnish creativity and make sure to check out the site for the Stunden Neukölln weekend this year.
-Andy

Exploring the neighbourhoods of Berlin.

A few photo's of subjects that caught my attention over the last 6 months.

Windy evening in September

Foggy night in December

"The deeper the roots the stronger the branches"

Until next time, Andy