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FTRC.BLOG / Unexpected Berlin: History, Street Art & Schnitzel

Unexpected Berlin: History, Street Art & Schnitzel

This page serves as your guide to Berlin, a city that is always reinventing itself. I have explored its intriguing history and vibrant neighborhoods and discovered some hidden gems that you won’t find in a typical guidebook.

We’ll explore beyond the iconic Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag Building to discover quirky museums, street art, and remnants of the Berlin Wall. Have you ever heard of the Stasi Museum? It’s a chilling reminder of Berlin’s divided past. We’ll also explore the Museum in der Kulturbrauerei, where you can learn about the surprisingly vibrant heavy metal scene in East Germany.

Of course, every trip to Berlin is complete with indulging in delicious food. I’ll share my favorite spots to find the biggest schnitzel in the city and, maybe, the best burgers Berlin has to offer.

So, come along with me and experience the unique energy of Berlin. Whether you’re a history buff, an art enthusiast, or just looking for an adventure, this page will inspire you to explore this captivating city.

If you are a walk along where the Berlin Wall used to be around Bernauer Strasse, you will see a meat mural that might be our favorite street art piece in Berlin. This enormous painting shows the side of buildings being cut by a large knife with the shape of the city being represented in some white tissue. For us, this shows how the Berlin Wall was a scar running along the city.

If Walls Could Talk… — A Meat Mural by Marcus Haas where the Berlin Wall used to be

If you walk along where the Berlin Wall used to be around Bernauer Strasse, you will see a meat mural that might be our favorite street art piece in Berlin. This enormous painting shows the side of buildings cut by a large knife, with the city's shape represented in some white tissue.

The Best Photo Spots in Berlin: Where to take pictures in the German Capital

The Best Photo Spots in Berlin: Where to take pictures in the German Capital

If you’re like us, you travel with a camera and carry it all the time. With smartphones becoming cheaper, everybody takes a camera, but we only see selfies everywhere. Because of all this, it became hard to surprise somebody with travel pictures since most people only go to the same places and take the same…&nbs…

Why you need to visit the Olympiastadion even if you dont care about sports_

Why you need to visit the Olympiastadion Berlin even if you don’t care about sports

Olympiastadion Berlin is the largest stadium in Germany, and it has a, somewhat, dark history to it since it was originally built for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. That one where the Nazi Party decided to show what they were all about when it came to propaganda. Nowadays, the stadium is the home ground of…&nb…

Far away from the tourists the flock Berlin there is a neighborhood called Kaulsdorf, and it’s there that you will find the lonely hippo known as Knautschke after a famous hippo that was born in the Berlin Zoo back in 1943. Knautschke has the entire Freibad Wernersee to himself but, when I was there, I didn’t see he enjoying much of it. Maybe it was cold; maybe it was the fact that the pool was frozen. Maybe he was just waiting for a time where he would have company, but this will, probably, never happen.

Freibad Wernersee: The Abandoned Pool where a Hippo rests forever

Far away from the tourists that flock to Berlin is a neighborhood called Kaulsdorf. There, you will find the lonely hippo, Knautschke, after a famous hippo born in the Berlin Zoo in 1943. Knautschke has the entire Freibad Wernersee to himself, but I didn’t see him enjoying much of it when I was there. Maybe…&nbs…

The first time that I went to Steglitz was to visit a Primark since they only had one shop in Berlin and the shop was in this part of the city that I had never been before. That visit was 2012, and it was then that my obsession with the Bierpinsel started. That day was the first time that I had seen anything as weird looking as that building, and it was, also, my first contact with Architectural Brutalism. After that building, it was love at first sight.

The Bierpinsel: History and Future of Berlin’s Unusual Landmark

The first time I went to Steglitz was to visit a Primark since they only had one shop in Berlin, and the shop was in this part of the city that I had never been to before. That visit was in 2012, and it was then that my obsession with the Bierpinsel started.

While I was browsing through these books, I realized that I have been to a lot of different places in Berlin and that, maybe, I should just write down my list of places to see in Berlin. Yeah, so this is my list of places to see in the beautiful German capital. These are the places that I bring my friends when they are visiting me; these are some of the places that I bring my family when they come here. These places are here because I like them. I might like the food there; I may like the experience of being there, I might like the history behind. And I believe that you should visit them.

52 Places to See in Berlin: One for each week of the year

A few weeks ago, I went to a bookstore to protect myself from the rain that was getting intense. Inside, there was an entire section with books about Berlin. Most of them are the same places to see in Berlin. Most of these places are common sense for travelers. Everybody knows them, and most books… Read Mor…

The Central Animal Laboratory of the Freie Universität is one of the best examples of Brutalist architecture in Berlin, and we visited the building at the end of December 2016 to see this strange looking building in the middle of Lichterfelde. It took us a while to find it, but once you see it, there is no way of ignoring it based on its monstrous appearance and the contrast with the area surrounding it.

Mäusebunker: The Monstrous Building Berlin Tried to Forget

The Central Animal Laboratory of the Freie Universität, known as the Mäusebunker, is one of Berlin's best examples of Brutalist architecture. We visited the building at the end of December 2016 to see this strange-looking structure in the middle of Lichterfelde.

If you want to find Lenin in West-Berlin, you will have to walk between trucks and factories in the industrial park south of Neukölln. It feels like Lenin is left out of the city but, somehow, I believe that he is in the right place. Far away from the tourists and close to the people who work in Berlin.

The Only Place to Find a Lenin Statue in West-Berlin

If you want to find a Lenin statue in West Berlin, you must walk between trucks and factories in the industrial park south of Neukölln. It feels like Lenin is left out of the city but, somehow, I believe that he is in the right place. Far away from the tourists and close to the… Read More »Unexpected …

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