Room with a View This view down from Schönberg in Kronberg im Taunus is always breathtaking. And what was good for Kaiserin Victoria, Queen Victoria‘s eldest daughter and wife of the least remembered German Kaiser, Friedrich, is good enough for me🌞
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Berlin: things curious & forgotten | Berlin Companion Audio-Walks App | Tagesspiegel: Aus der Zeit | Berlin Companion Podcast| To support my work, go to https://buymeacoffee.com/berlincompanion
Here’s to looking the Past straight in the eye. A photo taken nearly 102 years ago but the smiles on those children’s faces will never change. From Berlin Companion on Substack:
YOU ARE HERE: THE CHILDREN OF KREUZBERG
Strolling through the Vanished Berlin
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Berlin has always struggled to contain crime. Such is the nature of large populations, especially with various and often completely incompatible degrees of prosperity. But sometimes you can feel sorry for miscreants. Especially when a successful heist turns out to be a huge bellyache…
STOLEN FRUIT NOT THE SWEETEST
From Berlin Trivia Companion
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Temperatures below 0°C might be the perfect moment to celebrate indoors baths, especially ones with hot bathtubs and proper central heating. OTD 1902 Berlin’s 5th public baths and swimming pool opened in Prenzlauer Berg. From my Berlin Companion: IT ALL WENT SWIMMINGLY: VOLKSBAD ODERBERGER STRAßE
IT ALL WENT SWIMMINGLY: VOLKSBAD ODERBERGER STRAßE
Today in Berlin: 1 February, 1902
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When asked about the potential dangers of being funny, he allegedly said: “At least twice a day the most dignified human being is ridiculous.” Born OTD in #Berlin, one of the most important film directors in the history of the cinema: Ernst Lubitsch.
THAT LUBITSCH TOUCH
Today in Berlin: 29 January, 1892
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How about a quick trip to #Berlin's Alt-Cölln district & a walk down Neumannsgasse in 1942 (a horrid year otherwise)? The lane still exists, albeit only No. 2 remains. Old "Heyses Gäßlein" (Heyse's Tiny Lane) was named after a wealthy landlord: Peter Neumann owned several plots along the lane.
It's Monday & #Berlin froze over. But while it might not be possible to walk its streets without careful studying of Brokaw’s 1915 “The Art of Skating” beforehand, the path to the past is safe & stable. So join me on another quick time-travelling trip to a vanished mystery place in Berlin🌃
YOU ARE HERE: SCHLOßFREIHEIT BIDS FAREWELL
Strolling Through Vanished Berlin
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There are buildings whose demise would hardly be mourned. And there are those you would have loved to see, if only just briefly. This might be one of them. If only for fun. On this day in 1892 Berlin’s Hohenzollern-Panorama opened near today’s Hauptbahnhof. theberlincompanion.com/p/runde-sach...
A seemingly tranquil black-&-white Berlin photo: a 18th-century orphanage (L), a bridge that would soon be replaced by a new one, river lidos on both sides of the bridge + a by now vanished district. 1888 view down the now non-existent Waisenbrücke (Orphans' Bridge). Photo F.A. Schwartz.
I'm a huge fan of podcasts. Raised on the sound of the radio whispering in the background, I listen to podcasts like an addict. Cannot stop. Tim Harford produces podcasts which are both gripping & amusing, educating & surprising. Stories we're glad to get to know. This one has a #Berlin connection.
THE NAZIS AND BAKELITE VERMEER
How a book dedication turned a hero into a foe.
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Controversial & fearless. Outspoken, irritating, unconventional. How did this tiny, limping Jewish lady from eastern Poland managed to move millions? Regardless of whether you agree with her line of thinking or not, Rosa Luxemburg was and is a legend. #OTD in 1919 she was buried in #Berlin. Again.
RED ROSA’S LAST JOURNEY: THE SECOND FUNERAL OF ROSA LUXEMBURG
Today in Berlin: 13 June, 1919
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Inspired by drinking water;-) GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY: TIRNKWASSERVERORDNUNG
GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY: TIRNKWASSERVERORDNUNG
Trinkwasserverordnung aka TrinkvW stands for German “Drinking Water Ordinance”.
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It’s not every day that a man or a woman are born that would go on to discover a new planet. But even that event feels rarer than the birth of a person who’d refuse to take credit for the discovery. In June 9, 1812 one such man was born: Johann Gottfried Galle.
IT CAME FROM THE OUTER SPACE: A MODEST GENIUS IS BORN
Today in Berlin: June 9, 1812
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A big city is like an onion: with nearly endless layers of stories & images. Let’s unpeel another one for Berlin: where the world-famous Olympiastadion stands today, Berlin already had an Olympic Stadion before. Pity that the only thing that was missing was the Olympia itself. Twice… #OTD in 1913
PATRIOT GAMES: DEUTSCHES STADION OPENED IN BERLIN
Today in Berlin: June 8, 1913
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Imagine U live next to someone: U bump into each other in the staircase, chat about prices of apples or wine, meet when picking up children from the Kita. And then they're wrapped up by a terrorist squad & charged. Incredibly as it sounds, that's exactly what happened in Berlin #OTD in 1990.
INGRID FROM MARZAHN
Today in Berlin: 6 June, 1990
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That feeling we all know: sitting at home, unkempt but happy, enjoying a nice meal & an occasional burp, when a sudden knock on the door rips U out of Ur slumber. An unexpected guest ante portas! That's how Friedrich Wilhelm II must've felt as someone told him Ali Aziz Efendi'd just arrived in town.
THE TURKISH SURPRISE
Today in Berlin: June 4, 1797
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Feeling a tad weary, a bit bleak today? Whatever U do, don't follow in #Berlin-born Prussian polymath's Alexander von Humboldt' footsteps & try one of his famous self-experiments: in 1790s Humboldt put a zinc electrode in his mouth & a silver one up the hole on the opposite, well, pole.
#OTD 1913 a very special railway line opened in #Berlin: at least half of its passengers - despite travelling in what you could call comfy conditions (sleeper carriage, no less), left the train a bit stiff… Get your earphones ready: today sth to listen to:-)
TAKE THE L-TRAIN: LAST STOP "STAHNSDORF"
Today in Berlin: June 3, 1913
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02.06.1967 - a watershed moment in Berlin’s/German history. Would student protest movement have radicalised as it did without a policeman pulling a trigger that night? Legitimate protest was quenched with cruelty many of its perpetrators knew only too well: from the darkest chapter in history.
THE LETHAL LEBERWURST: WHEN THE SHAH CAME TO BERLIN
Today in Berlin: 2 June, 1967
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In Berlin 2 things are certain: at least once a week your S-Bahn line won’t run, &, if you don’t keep your bike in the flat OR nail it to the ground + surround it with a repellent magnetic dome, sooner or later it will be stolen. A tradition of bike-theft in Berlin began exactly 137 yrs ago today.
BICYCLE THIEVES
Today in Berlin: 29 May, 1888
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No other city in Europe can compete: #Berlin is the greenest capital on the continent. With its woods and parks, it is unsurpassed. #OTD 1923 one of the largest of the parks opened. theberlincompanion.com/p/light-in-t...
LIGHT IN THE PARK: THE OPENING OF PEOPLE'S PARK JUNGFERNHEIDE
Today in Berlin: 27 May, 1923
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Good morning #Berlin & Beyond! A Blast from The Past An old double-decker bus type MAN SD200-SD80 (or so I am told) passing by in 2025. Berliner Allee, Berlin-Weißensee.
Widely popular series “The Queen’s Gambit” revived keen interest in chess. Filmed in #Berlin, it inspired a lot of city exploration: Karl-Marx-Allee, Frankfurter Tor, Taut school in Lichtenberg, Haus Cumberland, etc. But the link btw chess & Berlin is stronger Another page from my Berlin Calendar.
CHECK, MATE: EMANUEL LASKER'S BERLIN WALL
Today in Berlin: 26 May, 1894
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Go swimming. Not in #Berlin lakes but an indoor pool: one whose architecture will leave you floating on your back, marvelling at the endless beauty of the roof construction (something you might not be doing on a daily basis anyway). #OTD 1930 Stadtbad Mitte opened for service. Subscribe, y'all🌞
DIVING IN: THE OPENING OF BERLIN'S MOST BEAUTIFUL INDOOR POOL AND BATHS
Today in Berlin: May 24, 1930
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Were this 1910 you would see me rushing to #Berlin-Johannisthal to watch people like Alfred Frey, Mellie Beese or Robert Thelen perform their magic. Were it 1910 on May 23, I wish I were on Potsdamer Platz or Unter den Linden watching this historic event: Berlin Calendar Strikes Again
HERR FREY FLIES AROUND: FROM JOHANNISTHAL TO BERLIN AND BACK
Today in Berlin: 23 May 1910
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Were this 1910 you would see me rushing to #Berlin-Johannisthal to watch people like Alfred Frey, Mellie Beese or Robert Thelen perform their magic. Were it 1910 on May 23, I wish I were on Potsdamer Platz or Unter den Linden watching this historic event:
HERR FREY FLIES AROUND: FROM JOHANNISTHAL TO BERLIN AND BACK
Today in Berlin: 23 May 1910
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Warszawa-Express. Always wins the race😉 Berlin-Köpenick (Hirschgarten)
A legendary automobile racing car, fast cars, young count and a tragic crash. This is the stuff that some of the best headlines are made of. Exactly 93 years ago today in Berlin. Berlin Calendar keeps chugging along.🚂📅📅📅
WHEELS ON FIRE: DEATH OF THE YOUNG COUNT LOBKOWICZ
Today in Berlin: May 22, 1932
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