Search Results for: Second World War

Berlin is a city that still carries scars from a war that ended more than seventy years ago. You can see it on the walls of some old buildings and on all the air shelters that still exist today. Berlin Bunkers are everywhere and we’re going to talk about some of them below.

Berlin Bunkers: Abandoned Air Shelters around the German Capital

Berlin (category)
11 min read
09/03/202124/03/2025

Moritz Israel sold his shares of the department store to buy the property where the Schloss Schulzendorf can be found. In 1889, the building you can see today started being constructed in a Renaissance style. The most distinguishing feature of the building, its tower, was build during this time and, for us, looks a bit out of place. Somehow, it seems like an old school medieval castle tower, and it doesn't follow the style of the rest of the Schloss.

The Queen’s Gambit in Berlin: Every location from the Netflix filming locations in Germany

Berlin (category)
10 min read
12/01/202131/01/2024

The Berlin Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park is the biggest of the three war memorials the USSR left in Berlin after the end of the Second World War. It was built to the design of the Soviet architect Yakov Belopolsky as a memorial for 5,000 of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the Battle of Berlin between April and May 1945. It opened four years after World War II on May 8, 1949, and it used to serve as the central war memorial in East Berlin.

Exploring the Soviet Memorials located around Berlin

Berlin (category)
7 min read
25/12/202011/04/2024

While we were watching the Queen's Gambit on Netflix, some locations seem to be familiar to us. Some places that were supposed to be foreign, like Moscow and Mexico City, looked like places we recognized from our daily life here in Berlin. With this thought in mind, we decided to look for Queen's Gambit locations, and the first place we visited was the Methuen Home orphanage, also known as Schloss Schulzendorf.

Queen’s Gambit Locations: Schloss Schulzendorf as the Methuen Home orphanage

Berlin (category)
7 min read
24/11/202024/11/2020

The Soviet Memorial in the Tiergarten is one of the many war memorials that can be found around Berlin. From the prominent memorials erected by the Soviet Union after the end of the Second World War, this is the most famous and most visited since it lies close to Berlin's leading tourist destinations.

Soviet Memorial in the Tiergarten

Berlin (category)
6 min read
17/11/202008/12/2020

Vogelsang used to be more than just a Soviet military base. This place used to be a city filled with secrets and soldiers, but today it lays empty in Brandenburg while it rots away in the middle of a forest.

Vogelsang: Exploring an Abandoned Soviet Military Base north of Berlin

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
8 min read
10/11/202020/10/2026

Marx and Engels Forum is a small public park in the heart of Berlin. Named after two of the most famous and influential German philosophers, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, authors of The Communist Manifesto. The park was opened to the public in 1986. The statues found there used to have quite a significant location with the Palast der Republik, the German Democratic Republic's parliament, on its back.

From Controversy to Tourist Attraction: The Story of Berlin’s Marx and Engels Forum

Berlin (category)
4 min read
19/10/202013/03/2024

Most people that visit Berlin know the history behind the wall that divided the city during the Cold War. But there is another historic wall waiting to be discovered in the middle of the town. This is the Old City Wall of Berlin that witnesses the medieval past of the city.

The Rediscovered History of Berlin’s Old City Wall

Berlin (category)
3 min read
12/10/202026/05/2026

If you ever walked around Alexanderplatz, Altes Stadthaus, and the Alexa shopping mall, you have seen the ruins of a church. That is the Franziskaner-Klosterkirche, founded in 1250 and destroyed by Allied bombing in April 1945, in the last days of the Second World War.

Franziskaner-Klosterkirche: A Visit to the Ruined Church next to Alexanderplatz

Berlin (category)
6 min read
10/06/202014/10/2020

The St Pancras Old Church in Central London is the subject of many rumors that point it as one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. What caught my attention was the appearance and atmosphere of the countryside church in the heart of London.

A Visit to St Pancras Old Church in Central London

London (category)
9 min read
03/06/202011/02/2024

Lenin statues, with some historical importance, were the source of some impossible satires during the GDR times. East German propaganda had something to say about this Lenin statue that came from Eisleben, Martin Luther's hometown in Saxony. We know for sure that this statue was made in 1925 by the Soviet sculptor Matwej Maniser and that it was the first statue of the Soviet hero standing in German soil.

All the locations that we found Lenin in Berlin

Berlin (category)
7 min read
22/04/202013/08/2026

36 Hours in Neukölln: Berlin Coolest Neighborhood - After lunch, I’d take a walk around the area with a beer in my hand and explore the beauty of the Landwehrkanal that splits Neukölln from Kreuzberg. It’s easy to sit by the water and have some brews while you see the trees, the boats and the people walking by. It’s one of my favorite pastimes during the summer months, and I feel like you should try it as well.

36 Hours in Neukölln: Exploring Berlin’s Coolest Neighborhood

Berlin (category)
12 min read
08/04/202013/03/2024

It doesn’t look like much, but the building of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defence was considered to be a masterpiece of post-war architecture. Today, the building is better known as one of the most famous ruins of Yugoslavian history, and we went there to take a look at this vital piece of recent history.

Ruins of Yugoslavian Army Headquarters

Belgrade (category), Serbia (category)
6 min read
19/03/202018/11/2025

Where can we find the Waldhotel Winden from Dark_Fotostrasse_

Where can we find the Waldhotel Winden from Dark?

Berlin (category)
5 min read
16/03/202010/03/2024

The Cologne Cathedral has a long pilgrimage tradition in the Christianity, dating back to the Middle Ages. All of this because this is where you can find one of the most precious relics of Catholicism: the Shrine of the Three Holy Kings, which was brought to Cologne in 1164.

A Visit to the Magnificent Cologne Cathedral

Köln (category)
9 min read
10/03/202021/09/2026

The III. Städtischer Friedhof Stubenrauchstraße is a state-owned cemetery that was created back in 1881 when Friedenau was still a rural community. It was expanded a few times until it reached its current size in 1912. Today, it’s the final resting place of numerous painters, writers, actors, and musicians. Besides, Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), you will find the last resting place of Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), Helmut Newton (1920–2004), and many more.

Marlene Dietrich Grave in Berlin: a visit to Städtischer Friedhof in Friedenau

Berlin (category)
4 min read
23/02/202003/04/2024

When you cross the Piazza Affari in Milan, you will need to stop and take a picture of a huge middle finger statue in front of the Palazzo Mezzanotte. This provocative art piece is the work of Maurizio Cattelan. It receives the name of L.O.V.E., but the Italians decided to call it Il Dito.

Il Dito in Milan: Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità in Piazza Affari

Milano (category)
5 min read
16/02/202002/03/2020

Auschwitz-Birkenau is the best-known place of martyrdom and destruction in the world. This Nazi German death camp in Oświęcim has become a symbol of the Holocaust, of horror and of genocide. The name of the camp stands as a cultural code that defines the breakdown of our civilization and culture.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: Symbols of Suffering, Stories of Survival

Poland (category)
12 min read
27/01/202012/03/2024

Budapest is a fantastic city, so rich in history that it might be complicated for some people to wrap their heads around and focus on exploring the city. This is why, after a couple of visits, we decided to come up with a brief list of our favorite places to visit and things to do in Budapest.

Our Favorite Places to Visit and Things to Do in Budapest

Budapest (category)
7 min read
30/09/201915/02/2024

Today, in 2019, there are still plans to restore parts of it and even open a new pier in the original location. But all these plans were seen to be unrealistic by the West Pier Trust. But you can still go to the beach and sit between the last columns of the pier and watch the burnt down ruins of the West Pier in the distance. They don’t look that far, but, at the same time, they feel like they are a million miles away.

The Ruined West Pier in Brighton

Brighton (category)
6 min read
15/09/201921/12/2023

Located in the hill south of Budapest, Memento Park seems to be the place that communist statues go to die. There, Lenin stands next to Karl Marx and Engels, together with crucial Hungarian communist leaders. All of this behind brick walls that make up a surreal and unique open-air museum that feels more authentic than most sights in the city.

Memento Park: A Surreal Time Capsule of Budapest’s Communist Past

Budapest (category)
6 min read
14/08/201916/07/2024