Ewan Pearson – Secret Berlin
Ewan Pearson on the top five gems he's unearthed since relocating to the German capital.
Tempelhof International Airport
Smack bang in the middle of Berlin is this inner-city airport, perhaps my favourite building in the city. Begun in the 1920s, it was rebuilt by Albert Speer as part of his grand design for 'Germania' and despite never being entirely finished it's ended up being the 20th biggest building on the planet. The Berlin Airlift operated out of here in 1948, as the Western powers provided the city's residents with food and other essentials while the Russians blockaded land and water routes as the Cold War began to bite. With a huge international airport planned for outside the city sometime next decade, Tempelhof is to be closed this November, sadly. What will happen to it then is unclear. The stunning buildings are well worth a look before it does.
Pergamon Museum
Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin
www.smb.spk-berlin.de
Not exactly a secret this, it's one of the most amazing and famous museums in the world, specialising in ancient archeological treasures from classical and Middle Eastern history. They have Greek and Roman art and artifacts, the Pergamon Altar - with its incredible frieze - and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon, completely reconstructed so you can walk through it and along a processional way as if you were entering the city 3000 years ago.
Café Kreuzberg
Ohlauer Strasse 37, Berlin
My friend Wyndham calls this “the best bar in the world”. That may be stretching it a bit, but it's a perfect little hole in the wall in Neuköln with a great music selection.
Bücherbogen
Stadtbahnbogen 593, Berlin
Great art, architecture, design, film and theatre bookshop underneath a railway arch at Savignyplatz in the Western part of the city.
Lapidarium
Schönhauserallee 23, Berlin
Just around the corner from where I live, a 19th century Jewish cemetery which had fallen into disrepair in the 1990s is the site for this tiny modern exhibition space, built on the foundations of the original cemetery buildings. It houses a collection of 64 old gravestones and an explanation of Jewish funeral rituals.
Published: 4/08/2008
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