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(Photo: Jochen Loch / Lucia Weihnachtsmarkt)
I love Christmas, and I love Christmas Markets. It is difficult to explain why. Perhaps it is the smell of roasting chestnuts or sizzling Bratwurst. Maybe its the first sip of warm glühwein under a clear sky. It could also be the simple fact that Christmas always makes me feel young again. Anyway, the combination of twinkling lights, warming alcohol and a good sausage is enough to put a smile on my face, and thanks to an nice long advents period this year the festivities have already begun, even though December is still a week away.
One of my favourite Christmas Markets is just up the street from the Circus in the Kulturbrauerei. the Lucia Weihnachtsmarkt is celebrating their ten year anniversary in 2010, and with its atmospheric location in the courtyards of the former brewery-turned-cultural centre, it is a great place to get into the Christmas spirit. As well as the typical handicrafts and arts stalls (great for present inspiration) and different types of food and drink, the market also has some other attractions, including:
- a bungee trampoline
- merry-go-round for children and adults
- “Coat-Open-Air-Heater“ and “Swedenfire“ artworks
- Santa visits the market daily between 5 and 6 pm
- cultural program/ show daily at 8 pm, admission free
You can get to the Christmas Market either by a ten-minute walk up the hill from Rosenthaler Platz, or else jump on the Tram M1 to Eberswalder Strasse (3 stops) and walk around the corner. The Christmas Market is open from Mondays-Fridays at 3pm until 10pm, and on the weekend from 1pm until 10pm. I’ll see you at the sausage stand.
The installation o:o that is now hanging above the courtyard in the Circus Hotel comes from the good folks at Saygel & Schreiber, whose office can be found just around the corner on the Linienstrasse. During the production of a movie just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the pieces that make up o:o were found at an old East German petrol station (similar to the one in the picture below). The concept, in the words of the guys that put it together, “ is a fascination with the idea of a draw (0-0) or of being undecided in this era of the superlative…and rather than choosing a 100:100 or similar, the choice of the two zeros is reference to the calmed and unglamorous beginnings of all games and confrontations.”
Many thanks go of course to Attila and Lorenz for bringing some illumination to the hotel courtyard, and now that it goes dark so early, you can come by and take a look from the middle of the afternoon on!
Yesterday at Fabisch in the Circus Hotel we hosted a press conference for the Finanzgruppe Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, who were presenting to assorted journalists and politicians the results of their 2010 Tourism Barometer. The press conference included the presentation of some key facts from the Tourism Barometer and analysis from Heinrich Haasis, Präsident des Deutschen Sparkassen- und Giroverbandes, and Prof. Dr. Mathias Feige, Geschäftsführer der dwif-Consulting.
Interesting facts from the Tourism Barometer included:
- More than a third of Germans are willing to pay between 10 and 20 euros a day more for their holiday on the grounds of sustainability
- In 2009 Germany had 370 million overnight stays, which makes it for the second year the number one tourist destination in Europe, ahead of Italy and Spain.
- The growth of visitors to Berlin has continued, with an increase of 11.7% in the period of January to September 2010.
German readers can find out more, including downloads of the presentations and press releases on the DSGV website.
It was lots of fun to host the press conference, and thanks go to the hard work of the Fabisch team and of course, the understanding of our guests.
There was also a report yesterday on ARD mittagsmagazin about sustainability and tourism in Germany, that included a short interview with Andreas…you can watch it here.
(Photo: Karl Johannes, Neuer Mühlendamm, 1968, Diapositiv digitalisiert, Eva Rothkirch, Berlin)
Berlin has been the scene of many great historic moments, from the tragic to the uplifting, and these historical events have shaped not only the experience of Berliners but the architecture and look of the city. From the grand buildings erected on Unter den Linden and the destruction of the Second World War, to the division of the city between two competing ideologies and the past couple of decades since reunification – when the centre of Berlin often felt like the world’s biggest building site – history and the evolution of Berlin have been played out right here in the bricks and mortar of the city’s buildings.
The development of the centre of Berlin and the neighbourhood known simply as “Mitte” are documented in a new exhibition at the Stadtmuseum titled “Berlin’s vergessene Mitte”. The earliest photographs in the exhibition come from 1853 and trace the rapid changes to the neighbourhood including the rise of Berlin as a metropolis in the 1920s, through to the ambitious re-building projects of the East German government following the near total destruction of WWII, many of which have themselves been pulled down as Berlin shapes itself once more.
The exhibition looks like it should be a fascinating look back at the history of the city and how it has changed over the past 150 years.
Berlin’s vergessene Mitte runs until the 3rd March 2011. Stadtmuseum website.
Is it possible to improve Steffi’s and Emma’s delicious breakfast buffet in the hostel?
Well not really but for the special occasion of start of Carnival at 11.11 am 11th November (a strange festival from West Germany which leaves Berliners pondering “What are these guys on?”) I donated my full crop of organic peppers which I have been cultivating on my balcony at home.
Now you may think that is not really so special but they are actually the most expensive item we have ever served at the Circus:
Price of the seedling: €1.50
Soil: €3
Plant Pot: €3
120 days @ 3 minutes a day: €36
Holiday cover for watering (6 beers): €5
TOTAL: €48.50
The total crop weighed in at a massive 52 grams which makes a kilo price of €932.69 which is up there with wagyu beef and truffles and for those of you luckily enough to have got some…
Guten Appetit!!!!
Last weekend Mr Goldman and four former Circus staff members Sean, Theo, Robin and Nate, accompanied by the Circus football team’s temperamental midfield maestro Tommy Tumbleweed, headed to London to watch the big American Football game…
Nate Dog is a hardcore 49ers fan, and when he found out eight months ago that they would be playing in London, it was not only clear that he had to go, but that he was going to take a lot of us with him. Usually it is hard when you try and plan things so far in advance, but somehow it all worked out and we all not only made the trip, but survived.
It all began on Friday morning at an hour nobody should be expected to wake up. We came together on the S-Bahn along the way to the airport. At security we ran into an old friend Foxy…and I was not sure if I was hallucinating or if it was real. If you know Foxy then you might imagine my surprise at his sudden appearance so early in the morning. Normally he is up on the bar with his shirt off.
In London Tommy had set us up with a cab to take us to Marlow, a small town not far from London. This is where Tommy grew up, and he took us for a beautiful walk around the place. The trees especially were amazingly picturesque, and the colours indescribable. We also saw the field where the England football team trains.
We then went for lunch in a local pub, where the ceilings were the perfect height for me, but less so for the others who had to pay attention to where they were walking. We had a great lunch and a beer that Tommy recommended, brewed right there in Marlow.
In the evening we went for some Mexican food at a place where we told them it was Tommy’s birthday in the hope of getting some free drinks. In the end they did make him wear a stupid hat and had the whole bar sing happy birthday for him, but we actually think they cranked the dinner price up…so they got the last laugh. After dinner we checked out another pub for a couple more drinks before bed.
The next day we got up early for some bacon and egg butties and headed to the train station for the journey into London. After dropping our bags it was time for a bad dash around the sights, including tea at the Queen’s place. Unfortunately, at Downing Street, the Prime Minister was unable to keep his appointment as he was apparently double-booked. Instead we had a wander around the Houses of Parliament and walked along the river until we came to the food market, where it was time for oysters, pies and some pints of beer.
More beers followed (BYOB) as we waited for an hour at a Pakistani restaurant but it was worth the wait…this was one of the best restaurants we have ever been to, especially the fish and the lamb chops. After the meal it was back to the hostel to get an early night, ready for the big day.
We spent the morning at Camden Market for a bit of shopping, and then to the pub to warm up for the main event. We were greeted at Wembley by an amazing scene, both the stadium of the fans, and we also had a great time watching the game, helping Wembley pay off their building debts with our “contributions” to the beer stands. The game itself picked up in the 3rd quarter, and to Nate’s enduring happiness (and the good mood of the group) the 49ers got some lucky breaks and won.
Feeling good we headed back to the hostel and stayed up until they kicked us out of the pub and sent us to bed. The alarm on Monday morning sounded alarmingly quickly, and with a bit of a hangover and fuelled with a full English breakfast we had just enough energy for a bit more sightseeing, recovery aided by a few beers and some fish and chips along the way.
It was a great weekend, exploring Marlow and London Town, and a big thanks to Tommy for sharing it with us and to Matty for showing us the best restaurant I have ever been to…and thanks to the rest of the guys for hanging out and having a good time.
Till the next trip,
Mr Goldman
Hello folks.
In case you have been wondering where the blog updates have gone, and indeed the posts from the past week or so, well we have been updating the nuts and bolts of the Circus website, and that involved moving the website from one server to another. Along the way some things got dropped…a bit like when you move house and that favourite CD is nowhere to be found. Not in any of the boxes at the new apartment, nor in the old apartment which is in any case completely empty. By the way, if anyone has a found a copy of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, somewhere between the Zionskirchplatz and Wedding, then maybe it fell out of the back of the moving lorry.
Anyway, as we get things back in shape with the website, normal blog service will of course be resumed. In the meantime, here’s a pic of our friendly bartender down in Goldman’s Bar…meet Lukas:
Spiegel International
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