City Icons – A Contemporary Souvenir of Berlin

City Icons – A Contemporary Souvenir of Berlin

When you think of Berlin souvenirs you probably think of plastic TV towers and tacky T-shirts. None of these things really capture the spirit of the city as we see it, and I’m sure none of you would be interested in any of those.

The Italian label Palomar came up with a new design souvenir titled City Icons that really took us by surprise. They completely rethought the concept of a city snow globe, creating a series of contemporary objects that highlight an architectural icon of the city that is not your typical tourist sight. The series that was designed by Paolo Dell’Elce and curator by Marco Sammicheli includes sleek black snow globes of cities such as Paris, London, Sydney, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Barcelona and of course also Berlin. But instead of the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben or the Sagrada Familia you will see the minimalistic shapes of buildings that are maybe not on mainstream tourist’s itineraries but are nonetheless iconic for the respective cities.

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The Stories behind Berlin’s Icons

The Stories behind Berlin’s Icons

photo: Camilla Bundgaard.

Perhaps one of the main thoughts when thinking about Berlin, at least for young people that is, are its popular nightclubs, music venues, events, clubs and techno parties. In fact, Berlin has been gaining a reputation of this wild and sleepless city where the party never ends. However, Berlin is much more than just an endless rave – not to mention that it was the capital of Nazi Germany and it was also infamously divided during the Cold War – and its historical landmarks are a crucial part of what makes Berlin such an interesting city. So, although we usually try not to write about mainstream tourist sights, through the big urban icons listed in this piece you will get to understand a little bit of the history behind them.

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Has Berlin become too Touristy?

Has Berlin become too Touristy?

photo: Christian Schirrmacher / CC

Since the early 90s, after the Wall in Berlin fell, the city has seen slow growth in tourism, still not compared to that of London or Paris, but which in the last few years rocketed to the sky. And that of course hasn’t left the ready-to-complain Berliners without something to say about it: Locals nag about the city having become too busy, too noisy, and of course overpriced. The Berliners’ sentiment for foreigners has gone so far that there are even anti-tourists movements who hold real protests, against the city’s enemy: you. But how serious are Berliners in their detest of visitors?

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9 Cool Alternatives to Typical Berlin Tourist Sights

9 Cool Alternatives to Typical Berlin Tourist Sights

You know the drill: Someone is coming to Berlin for the first time, and you, with them, have to visit the same typical, commonplace “Berlin musts” for the thousandth time, along with flocks of tourists who push you in order to make their 13th shot of the same angle of the Berliner Dome. To save us all the distress of touring around what everyone is expected to see in the city, we gathered their alternatives one can visit instead, through which the real Berlin is revealed. (disclaimer: maybe your mom will not enjoy it).

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