Berlin aLIVE

Marlene Dietrich had one in her repertoire, Paolo Conte also, and even Robbie Williams supposedly has one, too: a song about Berlin. The list of the mostly German, but also international artists who in the course of time have extolled Berlin in song is long indeed, and can be traced back to the early 19th century. What in the world does this city have that makes all the world think they’ve got to serenade it?More ...

Berlin is different. A bit louder, a bit more colorful and a bit crazier than Hamburg or Munich. Hartmut Häussermann, professor of urban and regional sociology at the Humboldt University about neighbourhood development and migration in the German capital.More ...

A day in Berlin? You can hardly describe it in terms of a particular pattern. You continually discover new and unfamiliar sides of Germany’s capital city; although Berlin is not always beautiful, it does have charm, and this is what enfolds and caresses me from day to day, like the fragrance of a beguiling plant.More ...

In many guidebooks, an occupied former department store is mentioned in one breath together with the East Side Gallery or Checkpoint Charlie . Year in, year out, Tacheles draws about 400,000 visitors from around the world, all of them hoping to experience “alternative Berlin” here and watch artists and former squatters going about their lives and work.More ...

October 3, 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of German reunification. Needless to say, the former East Germany has seen many changes since 1990 - in Berlin it's often impossible to imagine what the eastern districts looked like back then. Photographer Klaus Baedicker has kept track of the changes throughout the years.More ...

Sausage with curry ketchup is a fast-food favorite in Germany, and Berlin claims the specialty as its own. An author who spent three years researching the currywurst phenomenon in Berlin has just published a new book.More ...

Cultural encounter and exchange are to be found in many places in Berlin. Enrique G la G portrays some interesting parks and locations that typify Berlin life.More ...

Every Sunday, about 2000 people from all over the world meet to sing karaoke in Berlin’s Mauerpark.More ...

Disguised as a guide to Berlin for foreigners, the blog www.ichwerdeeinberliner.com pokes fun at the scene. Bionade, asymmetrical haircuts, watching Tatort with a pose of ironic distance – all the clichés about Berlin’s alternative elite are put in a nutshell.More ...

Ximo, 23 years old, comes from sunny Valencia and has been living in Berlin since mid-January. He works in the German capital as a foreign correspondent for the Spanish news agency EFE. Winter in Berlin is harsh indeed, totally different from his homeland.More ...

Rocío, a woman from Mexico, tells why it is that Latinos really get to know their homeland and the rest of their continent in Berlin, and what Alemañol is all about.More ...

Rocío Guadalupe Bravo Salazar, 25, from the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico reports on what she has noticed about Germany. She is studying political science at Berlin’s Free University.More ...