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Tour to the Otto Weidt Museum

26. April 2013 in Berlin, Circus News, History, History Tours, Our Neighbourhood by Paul

 

otto weidt

This coming Tuesday (30th April) we have a tour once more to the Otto Weidt Museum, just down the street from the Circus. It is one of the most fascinating free tours that we offer, thanks to the commitment and knowledge of the museum guides who show us around… they really are excellent, and the story they have to tell has to be heard to be believed.

In 1936 Otto Weidt established his workshop, which he moved in 1940 to the back courtyard of Rosenthaler Straße 39 to manufacture brooms and brushes. Because one of his main customers was the German Army, Weidt managed to have his business classified as vital to the war effort. About thirty blind and deaf Jews were employed at his shop between the years of 1941 and 1943. When the Gestapo began to arrest and deport his Jewish employees, Weidt fought to secure their safety by falsifying documents, bribing officers, and even hiding them inside the factory itself.

Here’s what Andrew, our Entertainment Manager has to say about his experience of leading the tour down to the Otto Weidt museum:

“During the tour through the museum you discover stories of real people that are almost unbelievable – from the desperation of living a hidden and underground life in Berlin to amazing stories of survival – and it is thanks to the guides at the Otto Weidt that this history comes to life in such a vivid and incredible way. After the tour of the museum they then take us through the heart of the old Jewish quarter of Berlin, including the memorial that marks the collection spot for the Jewish population before their deportation to the camps.”

The tour is of course free to guests of The Circus, but places are limited, so please make sure you sign up at reception to guarantee your place.

IriS Romen – Live in Fabisch

24. April 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch, Music by Paul

pixlie

Something very special on the Fabisch stage this Friday evening, as we welcome IriS Romen to the Circus as part of our regular live music events on Friday evenings. A veteran of the Clärchens Ballhaus stage, IriS is celebrating the release of her first album “Vintage Gal Hour”, from which she will be performing some songs on Friday evening. But words cannot do justice to what you have to look forward to on Friday, so watch this video instead and we will see you there:

IriS Romen – Live in Fabisch at The Circus Hotel
Friday 26th April at 10pm
Admission: Free

Berlin – A Sporting City?

22. April 2013 in Berlin, Football, Stuff We Like by Paul

campione2

It was a nice bit of trivia whilst it lasted… for the past twelve months Berlin was the only major capital in Europe without a football team in its national top division, but with a 1-0 victory over Sandhausen this weekend Hertha BSC have returned to the Bundesliga. 1 and they have the chance to wrap up the 2nd Division Championship in the next couple of weeks as well. But although football fans throughout Germany mock the capital for its footballing prowess (or lack of), in other sports the story is much healthier.

Getting equal billing to the Hertha boys this Monday morning was the Ice Hockey players from Berlin’s Eisbären (Polar Bears), who won the fourth play-off game over the weekend to clinch their third German Championship in a row and their fifth in six years. Meanwhile, the basketball team ALBA, who share the 02 World with the Eisbären, have clinched a play-off spot and despite an indifferent season will go into the knock-out series to determine the champions knowing that they always have a chance… in March they already picked up their first silverware of the year by winning the German Cup.

Meanwhile the women’s team from the Berliner HC are currently top of the field hockey Bundesliga, a championship the men’s team won last year, and the men’s volleyball team of the Berlin Recycling Volleys came 1st in Bundesliga during the regular season and are currently battling for the German title in the play-offs. So football might not be the Hauptstadt’s forte, but on the ice, the court and the Astroturf, Berlin’s sporting men and women can compete with the best.

Congratulations to the various Berlin teams on their successes this year, and remember, once again next season you can get your tickets for Hertha BSC games at the Olympic Stadium here at The Circus, and now with added Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and VfB Stuttgart…

Eyewitness History Talk – The Legacy of a Divided Country

19. April 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hotel, Circus News, Circus Talks, Events, Fabisch, History by Paul

B 145 Bild-F079010-0037

On Tuesday 23rd April 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 Sieglinde Neff who will be coming to talk to us about her life in Berlin, first in the German Democratic Republic and then, having left illegally during the 1950s, in West Germany. She will share her experiences, including life for young people in East Germany, and the legacy of the division 24 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

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 23rd April at 6.45pm

(Photo credit: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F079010-0037 / CC-BY-SA)

Café Conversations at The Circus Hostel

15. April 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus News, Circus Talks, History by Paul

Cafe Conversations

Tomorrow evening sees the start of a new series of events at The Circus Hostel, that is tied into our current monthly programme of Circus Talks that takes place across the road at The Circus Hotel. In a couple of weeks we will be welcoming the next of our “Eyewitnesses” to Fabisch (keep an eye out here on the blog for details) but our new event brings one of Brewer’s Berlin Tours expert guides to the café to talk about a particular period in the city’s history. Tomorrow the topic of the talk is The Rise of the Third Reich, and it promises to be an informative and interesting evening.

As always at The Circus the event is free, and guests can also join us an hour earlier for free dinner as part of our daily “Dinner Time”.

Circus Talks – Café Conversations
in association with Brewer’s Berlin Tours
at The Circus Hostel, Weinbergsweg 1a (UBhf Rosenthaler Platz)
16th April 2013 at 8pm

A Perfect Day with… Andreas

12. April 2013 in Berlin, Perfect Day, Staff picks, Stuff We Like by Paul

Andreas_Nolas

The next in our series of Perfect Days, written by members of the Circus team, brings us to Andreas Becker – one of the managing partners of the company – and thankfully the days are getting warmer so that he can get back on his bike…

UP IN TIME FOR BREAKFAST…

My perfect day would be a mild April morning with the temperature in the late teens, and I’d go down to the garage, kick start the old Moto Guzzi and go for a ride through the city along the Street of the 17th June towards the Cafe am Neuen See to have my breakfast – either with a loveable person or, if not possible, a good a magazine. It is a green oasis right in the heart of the city, and the lake and the rowing boats are idyllic.

GOOD MORNING BERLIN…

After breakfast I would jump back on the Guzzi and – if it is a weekday – I would probably do a bit of window shopping, including Murkurdis, where I always hang out for a coffee on the terrace outside. Or perhaps I would head for KaDeWe and a stop-off at the classy Imbiss on the the 6th floor, before heading towards the motorbike shops along Bundesallee. A day away from the Circus means a day of floating through the city on the back of my bike… total pleasure.

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Pictoplasma is back in Berlin

8. April 2013 in Art, Berlin, Events, Festivals by Paul

Pictoplasma

As the Kunstbox at The Circus Hostel is no more, we are unfortunately not able to host the wonderful folks from Pictoplasma for their festival this year, although of course we are really looking forward to the invasion of weird and wonderful character art and will be wandering the neighbourhood to check out what is going on.

Pictoplasma is “The world’s leading Festival of contemporary character culture” and is taking place in Berlin from 10-14 April. At the conference there is a mix of artist talks and screenings, and there are also four club nights to keep you entertained long into the evening, but one of our favourite parts is the Character Walk:

“The Festival’s CHARACTER WALK, an exhibition tour through 23+ project spaces, galleries and art venues throughout the city, presents character driven exhibitions by many of the participating conference speakers and international artists, featuring originals, installations, sculptures and limited editions. As a premiere the tour is no longer limited to the Mitte district, but also ventures off into the creative scene of Kreuzberg and Neukölln.”

We will have some maps if you want to explore the character walk, or check out the list of exhibitions on the Pictoplasma website.

The Berlin Half Marathon

5. April 2013 in Berlin, Events, Stuff We Like by Paul

Jogging

In 2013 the Berlin Half Marathon is celebrating its 33rd year, and as always we have a good number of guests staying with us who will be getting up on the morning of Sunday 7th April ready to take the challenge. The route leads from Karl Marx Allee past the Television tower and along Unter den Linden and through the Tiergarten to Schloss Charlottenburg, before heading south to the Ku’damm and back towards Mitte and the finish. During the 21km the runners will pass many of the famous sights of Berlin, which makes this one of the most spectacular half marathon courses anywhere in the world, and as Berlin is pretty flat, hopefully one of the quickest as well.

Alongside the running – which is of course the main event – there is loads of music, performances and other fun and games, and if you want to head down into town and cheer the runners on, click on the map below for the full route from the Berlin Half Marathon website. Good luck everyone!

Half Marathon

(Photograph above: © visitBerlin | Scholvien)

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