The Stadtschloss was once a German palace for William 2 prior to WW1 it was largely destroyed during WW2 and eventually demolished during the 1950’s by the East German Government to remove traces of the former Empire. In its place the Palast der Republic was built as East Germans Parliament. Opened in 1976 it was a modern building that contained galleries, restaurants, a disco and a bowling ally. The Palast was built as a symbol of East Germany’s strength and pride and many former East Germans have fond memories of their time there. Today the Palast is slowly being demolished with work expected to finish in 2008. Much of the Palast’s interior was removed in the late 1990’s after asbestos was found in the building. The empty shell was then used as an art space for a time until it was decided to demolish the building all together. Since work began on demolition there are groups who have been pushing the idea to rebuild the former Royal Palace Stadtschloss while other groups are lamenting the loss of the Palast der Republic claiming the current government is trying to wipe out Berlins socialist past in the same way the East Germans tried to wipe out Germany’s imperial past. Some people are just glad to see the back of an ugly 1970s building and would be happy if the area is replaced with grass. The German Parliament has recently decided to rebuild most of the castle with a modern interior, work will start in 2010 and it will be known as the Humboldtforum. Read the rest of this entry »
When you think of spending your night in a drain pipe you think of raw sewerage, rats and other nasties, but not at the dasparkhotel. They have very fancy drain pipes turned into cabins complete with all the comforts like double bed, lighting, woolly blankets and power, but best of all the rates are “pay as you wish” you just pay what you can to support the project. The concrete pipes are quiet spacious and there are toilets, showers and minibar close by so you have everything you need. The hotel Ottensheim on the beautiful Danube is open May to October over the warmer months, bookings are pretty much done on line and you receive a pin number to enter into the drain pipe to enter your ‘room’- sounds like fun. Read the rest of this entry »
Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie was the main crossing point for foreigners into East Berlin during the Cold War and has become the symbol of the war, with thousands of tourists flocking to the area to see the replica of the allied checkpoint building and the nearby privately run Checkpoint Charlie Museum (Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum). according to this USAToday story a former East German minister is proposing a cold war museum be built an a vacant block of land near Checkpoint Charlie. The vacant lot near the checkpoint was where the East German checkpoint watchtower once stood but was torn down in 2000 to make way for new development that ultimately never happened. The watchtower was the last original part of the checkpoint that stood at the site. Read the rest of this entry »
You may have noticed we love fun parks, we also think water slides are pretty cool too but when it comes to water slides we never imagined there would be much in the way of new styles of slides. Most slides work on the process of lay down in a tube and let gravity do its thing to get you to the bottom. The slide in the German video above differs in the fact you start off on the slide standing up, once the trap door below your feet pops open you are then propelled around a loop that seems to defy gravity. It all looks pretty cool, we would like to know where this one is so if you are familiar with it hit up our comment section below. Read the rest of this entry »
Berlin is so rich in history and one part of history that the Berliners are trying to put behind them was the horrible acts of Hitler and the Third Reich. Now there is a very interesting walking tour which traces the history of this terrible time and gives the visitor an insight of what happened and why things happened in the first half of last century. The tour takes about 3 1/2 hours and takes in some pretty chilling moments in history. You will stand above the sight of Hitler’s bunker where he spent his last weeks of life, You will see the Nazi Air Force Headquarters and the Goebbels Propaganda Ministry which was home to the German Press office and then see the SS and Gestapo headquarters before visiting the only remaining piece of the Berlin wall and finally visiting the Soviet Memorial, which celebrates Russia’s liberation of Germany. The tour runs on Tuesday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1PM visit the website for more information.
German airline Lufthansa this week opened the world’s most modern animal cargo facility at Frankfurt Airport. Located near Gat 26 the Frankfurt Animal Lounge now houses all the animals which the airline is transporting to and from the airport. This innovative move took 13 months to construct using the latest in European animal welfare rules and strict hygene and veterinary medicine requirements. The carrier transports thousands of animals every year including some 14000 cats and dogs, 1500 horses and tens of thousands of tropical fish. They also transport farm animals and many endangered and rare animals for zoos and wildlife parks. 25 vets and another 60 support staff are on hand to ensure all animals have a comfortable stay while being shipped to and form Frankfurt.
Well lets set this up first, we have found a theme park, the mascot is a mouse, the centerpiece of the park is a giant silver dome, there’s attractions representing different countries of the world and plenty of rides and fun for all. Well you have probably guessed where I’m talking of, well you are wrong, its not in the heart of Florida it’s in Germany! Europa Park is a park in Rust which is in the south western part of Germany between Freiburg and Strasbourg. The park is home to nine rollercoasters, some great shows including a very popular gladiator show, a 4d cinema and has a few other familiar attractions like jungle rafts, a Mississippi steamer and even a dwarf city and fairy tale alley. It still sounds a bit familiar doesn’t it, but there’s more- there’s a puppet boat ride, a ghost castle ride, even a pirate boat ride and they have a monorail and a castle too. The park is Europe’s second most popular park, guess what is the most popular, it has a mouse and pretty much most of the above- it’s just outside of Paris.
While you could describe Hitler as not one of the nicest people about, in fact he was one of the worst, but while in power he did start huge and lavish projects to try and win over the support of the German people. His Kraft durch Freude (strength through joy) program gave the German worker holidays on cruise ships and other leisure activities to keep the people happy and in turn working hard.
One such project was the Prora Spa complex on the island Rugen in north eastern Germany. The massive building was built between 1936 and 1939. Hitler planed that the huge resort would have space for 20,000 beds, theatres and all sorts of leisure activities. With the onset of the war the building was never completed and apart for part of it been used by the East Germans for a time the huge building sits mostly derelict along the shore of Rugen. Today the Prora complex has a formal heritage listing as a particularly striking example of Third Reich architecture. A visitors center is at the site with an exhibition about the sites history.
Well we thought we had seen it all but this takes the cake and it is in Germany of all places. It is a huge airship hanger which has been transformed into an amazing tropical island. Germany was the world leader of Airships during the first part of last century and built many huge hangers, but after the war and the horrific Hindenburg Zeppelin disaster, airships fell from popularity and development of planes took over. The country had quiet a few huge hangers, this one is monstrous, it is in fact the second largest indoor space in the world, after the Boeing Factory. Inside there is a forest, pools, walking tracks and everything you would expect to see on a Polynesian Island. The centre has bars, restaurants and even special shows. Being just 60km South of Berlin Tropical Island is a very popular weekend get away where it is 25 degrees all year round and 28 in the ‘sea’. Weekdays are cheaper and less crowded, ticket prices are around the 20 Euros for general admission and yes you can get a suntan there- the dome is UV penetrable.
At this restaurant known as ‘s Baggers in Nurnberg Germany you wont find any waiters to take your order or to bring drinks to the table, instead you will find a touch screen computer and something that looks like a food rollercoaster that bring food directly to your table. When you get a table at this futuristic restaurant you make your order via the computer at your table, your meals is then prepared by humans (not robots) in the upstairs kitchen and sent on a ride to your table. The restaurant claims that the system cuts costs and improves efficiency making for an overall better dining experience. The food served is called Franconian Style which is an old German style of cooking the name baggers comes from a potato fritter style dish. Read the rest of this entry »
