Windmill in Berlin-Marzahn

Marzahn was once a small village, founded in the 14th century. In 1920 it became a part of “Groß-Berlin” (Great Berlin). 1945, after WW II it belonged to the Soviet zone. In the 60s Marzahn was known for its modern housing – many young people moved there out of the old and uncomfortable houses in [...]

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The Renaissance Garden

Today has been the first day for a week with sunshine. Well, the sky got cloudy again after lunch, and when I got home from work it looked dreary again. But at least it stayed dry.
On days like these I like to browse through my flickr account. That photo was taken in the middle of [...]

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One Week and three Baltic States – A kind of Conclusion

This post is the last post of my “Travel to the Baltic States” series.
What you can see on the above photo is a wonderfully made door which caught my attention somewhere in the city of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. We went there on the last day of our one week travel. From there [...]

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A Cathedral in Ruins – Tartu, Estonia

The last part of my travel to the Baltic countries led into Estonia. The first Estonian city we visited was Tartu, a city known for its academic tradition. The University Academia Gustaviana was founded in 1632 and is one of the oldest in Northwestern Europe.
The University still forms the character of the city – you [...]

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Art Nouveau House in Riga

Riga, the capital of Latvia, is famous for its Art Nouveau houses. Art Nouveau is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art, that had its peak at the turn of the 20th century. There is a very informative article about it on Wikipedia.
However reading about it and looking at it are [...]

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Klaipeda – Lithuania’s only Seaport

Wikipeda says about Klaipeda:
“Klaipėda German: Memel) is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea. As Lithuania’s only seaport, it has ferry terminal connections to Sweden and Germany. Some of its older buildings have picturesque half-timbered construction, similar to that found in Germany, [...]

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Vilnius, the Capital of Lithuania

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, one of the three Baltic states (The others are Litvia and Estonia). The three states belonged to the Soviet Union till the late 80es. Then they became independent states.
Vilnius is full of churches. Most Lithuanians are Roman-catholics. They went to church before Lithuania became independent, and they still are [...]

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Berlin, Pariser Platz

One of the most famous places in Berlin is the so called “Pariser Platz” (Paris Place). It is the place immediately in front of the Brandenburg Gate and the end of the famous boulevard “Unter den Linden”.
The glass building on the right side is the home of the Academy of the Arts. It is not [...]

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Holocaust Memorial, Berlin

I must admit – I first had my difficulties with this memorial when I looked at it from the outside. Nothing but rows of gray stone slabs that do not bear any markings, neither names nor dates.
It had been designed by the famous architect Peter Eisenman and was openend in May 2005 to the public [...]

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Be a Tourist in your Own City!

The Martin-Gropius-Bau is one of the most famous exhibition halls in Berlin. It is named after one of the architects that built it – Martin Gropius – and was openend in 1881.
It was severely damaged in the last weeks of World War II. It is standing near the former Berlin Wall and about 10 minutes [...]

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