Champions League Final in Goldman’s Bar

22. Mai 2013 in Beer, Circus Hostel, Events, Football, Goldman's Bar by Paul

champions

Oh boy, does this promise to be a cracker. In 1996 the German national team went to Wembley in London and won the European Championships, adopting the host’s anthem “Football’s coming home” in the process. Now the German fans are heading back across the channel, bring their best two club sides “home” to the new-look Wembley for the Champions League Final.

Yep, that’s right. This year the final of Europe’s number one club football tournament, and possibly the world’s when it comes to quality of play, is being played by Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Both teams put on some incredible performances in the semi-finals to knock out the Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and now they will battle each other for the biggest prize of all.

In recent years Dortmund appeared to have the measure of Munich, winning two Bundesliga titles in a row and winning some important games against their Bavarian rivals along the way, but this season it has all been about Bayern, as they won back the league title at a canter, and now are two games away – the Champions League final and the German cup final a week later – from a historic treble. They are definitely the favourites, but in a one-off game of football anything can happen.

We will be glued to our televisions on Saturday night to watch the game and we hope you will join us down in Goldman’s Bar to watch all the action on the big screen. A history-making evening for German football is guaranteed… all we have to find out now is which team will be bringing “old big ears” home from Wembley.

Champions League Final in Goldman’s Bar at the Circus Hostel, Kick-off: 8.45pm

The Circus in profile – Berliner Volksbank annual report

20. Mai 2013 in Circus Apartments, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Circus News by Paul

Owners_Volksbank_Web

Last week the Berliner Volksbank published their business report for 2012, which also featured a focus on tourism in Berlin and Brandenburg. Amongst the articles included in the publication was a profile of The Circus, exploring the history of the company and key elements of The Circus philosophy. It also features the above photograph of the five owners of the company (l/r: Tilman Hierath, Christian Göppert, Andrew “Jim” Hadfield, Andreas Digel and Andreas Becker), as well as some our guests, Jule from our reservations office, and Roman, head chef in our restaurant Fabisch.

You can find the report here (it is in German) with the Circus story starting on page 5. Here is Andreas’s reaction:

“When the report from the Berliner Volksbank, which contains their annual accounts and has a print run of forty thousand, landed on our desks I couldn’t help but think back to the early days of The Circus. I remember walking the streets of Berlin with my mates, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, and marching into any bank we saw to try and persuade them to lend us the twenty thousand euros we needed to get The Circus project off the ground. Each time we walked in, and each time we failed… thirteen times.

So to find ourselves in the annual report of one of Berlin’s biggest banks is one of those moments where you realize you have come a long way, and as always, we have to offer up a big thank you to all those involved in the journey.” – Andreas Becker

Eyewitness History Talk: The Second World War and its aftermath

17. Mai 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hotel, Circus Talks, Events, Fabisch, History by Paul

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On Tuesday 21st May 2013 we are extremely pleased to be welcoming to The Circus another eyewitness speaker from the Zeitzeugenbörse (Centre for Witness to Contemporary History). This is part of our monthly series events that we have been running for the past two years, in which we invite speakers to come and join us for a while and tell us their own personal stories about different moments in Berlin and German history.

This month we are delighted to welcome Dr Golkowsky who will be coming to talk to us about the Second World War and its aftermath. Dr Golkowsky was born in 1934 in Silesia, and will share stories of his experience during the war, the flight to the west, and observations on life for himself, friends and family, on both sides of the iron curtain.

We are really looking forward to another fascinating evening of personal history in Fabisch, and we hope you will join us. The talk will be in English, is open to all, and is free… although we will be collecting contributions towards our own donation to the ZZB to help them continue in their important work.

Where: Fabisch at The Circus Hotel, Rosenthaler Straße 1 (U8: Rosenthaler Platz)
When: Tue 21st May at 6.45pm

(Photo: Bundesarchiv on Wikimedia Commons)

Carnival of Cultures

16. Mai 2013 in Berlin, Events, Festivals, Food, Music, Stuff We Like by Paul

carnival

If you want to join in the raucous and rowdy celebration of Berlin’s multicultural spirit then head south from Rosenthaler Platz to Kreuzberg on Sunday to join in with parade of the Carnival of Cultures, a fabulous collection of carnival groups from around the world made up of masqueraders, musicians, dancers, DJs and artists.

Around the Parade, from Friday to Monday there is a great programme of events going on around the neighbourhood… more about which you can find on the Carnival website. But never fear, if you head down on the U8 to Kreuzberg over the weekend you will have a great time of tasty food, super tunes, and over a million people throughout the four days who have realized as well that there is only one place in the city to be.

(Photo image: © visitBerlin | Koschel)

Two Wheels Good

15. Mai 2013 in Berlin, Circus Apartments, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Circus News by Paul

twowheels1

So you’ve come to Berlin and want to explore the city. The weather is fine, so you don’t want to join the crowds on the U-Bahn or sit in a stuffy bus, but at the same time you have realized that the walk from the East Side Gallery to the Bauhaus Archive might be a little too much for your feet to take. Never fear, we have you covered. We already offered the chance to rent bicycles, segways and Elmotos here at the Circus, and now we have a new member of our two-wheeled family – the Pedelec, thanks to the good folks at Lautlos durch Deutschland.

Unlike the Elmotos they have pedals, and unlike our bikes they have a motor… so if you manage to actually find a hill here in Berlin (next mountain to the east, somewhere in Russia) then you can let the Pedelec take the strain. When you are feeling fit and good, like a 2012 Bradley Wiggins, then the Pedelec works just like a normal bike as you cruise through the streets.

If you want to rent two wheels for your tour of the city, the prices are as follows (per day): Bike €12, Segway €15, Pedelec €18, and Elmoto €20… and if you need MORE WHEELS FOR YOUR MONEY… we also have rollerblades, for the low, low price of a fiver a day. Get moving through the city!

A virtual tour around a Circus Apartment

14. Mai 2013 in Circus Apartments, Circus News, Design, Photography, Stuff We Like by Paul

panorama

We are extremely proud of our apartments on Choriner Straße, and in the first year that they have been opened we have really enjoyed welcoming guests to the newest member of the Circus family, and hearing how much people have enjoyed the space and the facilities that they have to offer. But what if you want to have a look around but you haven’t arrived yet and are a long way away? Thanks to the good folks at Spree 3D you can have a poke around one of our 6 person apartments (which goes by the name of Heinrich) on the Apartments homepage. Click on the picture above to take a look, or follow this link, and thanks again to Daniel and everyone at Spree 3D for the chance to offer this virtual tour.

Eurovision. Song. Contest. Party.

13. Mai 2013 in Circus Hostel, Circus News, Events, Goldman's Bar, Music by Paul

Oh baby! Coming up this Saturday in Goldman’s Bar is arguably our favourite party of the year… because it is time for the EUROVISION SONG CONTEST. This year the festival of cheesy tunes is being hosted by Sweden, which seems fitting as that was the land that gave us the most Eurovision of all Eurovision acts, ABBA. Whether or not any of this year’s contestants can reach those heights remains to be seen, but if you want to catch all the fun, and get inspired to sing a song or two of your own, then get down to the bar on Saturday night and join the fun. Here’s what is going on:

Eurovision

Open Screening for Filmmakers and Fans

10. Mai 2013 in Berlin, Events, Film by Paul

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Coming up next Wednesday 15th May at the Sputnik Kino in Kreuzberg is an event that sounds quite scary if you are the filmmakers involved… basically they get the chance to present their short films to an audience – there is no application, pre-selection or jury – and they will be simply judged by those watching. Any type of film can be presented, but if enough of the audience show the red card then the screening will be stopped. Nerve-wracking!

After the screenings there will be a short Q & A to give the filmmakers and the audience the chance to talk about the films, and this is a great opportunity not only for the filmmakers themselves to test their work, but also for those of us interested in film to get an idea of what is being created. The screenings start at 8.30pm and admission is free.

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