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Whenever a new post by Alina Rudya a.k.a. rrrudya pops up in my social media feed my heart gets filled with warm thoughts about Berlin. Like no other photographer that I follow, Alina has a way of capturing the city in such a charming, beautiful, often tongue-in-cheek, and always authentic way – it makes me feel really connected, not just with the city, but with her as a fellow Berlin content creator.
For iHeartBerlin’s new feature series in collaboration with Squarespace – the iconic all-in-one website and commerce building platform – we get to meet some outstanding talents in Berlin showcasing the limitless creativity that the city harbors and the endless potential of a strong online presence.
For our interview I meet Alina in one of the most beloved places of the neighborhood we both live in: the famous Mauerpark. It’s a really popular spot to capture good Berlin vibes, but also a beautiful backdrop for portraits. Usually, it’s Alina behind the camera, but today it’s two photographers pointing their cameras at each other while chatting about the job in process.
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by Frank | Photos, Stories
Photo: Hotel Plan Murin
Berliners unfortunately, spent most of the winter either with firmly cemented gray clouds in the sky or with abstruse squalls. The meteorological situation was honestly more desolate than usual. And after two years of lockdown, we felt the desire for a Berlin escapism even more. But where to? So where do you actually have snow, fresh air and almost always good weather? In the Dolomites!
Visit Südtirol invited us to explore the skiing and hiking region, and we have summarized our main highlights for you.
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by Guest Author | Accommodation, City Guide, Places, Travel, Wellness
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Today we would like to stimulate your minds with an interesting new exhibition that is currently on display at the DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin-Mitte. Curated by the aff Galerie from Berlin the show presents the work of the three photo artists Arno Schidlowski, Jens Sundheim, and Kathrin Tschirner with the themes of Wanderlust and Romanticism at its core.
For me, the topic of Romanticism has a very special meaning because one of the main artists of this era, Caspar David Friedrich, is from the same city like me, Greifswald, and some of his major works were inspired by places from or around my hometown. In my childhood, I have often been on the near-by island Rügen where Friedrich painted the iconic chalk cliffs – a natural landmark that is currently disappearing due to natural erosion.
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by Frank | Art
photos: Alicia Kassebohm
The following guest-article is brought to us by our favorite Berlin-based Yoga teacher and founder of Your Space Michaela Aue who is making the iHeartBerlin team sweat like animals and giggle like kids in all of her classes.
Berlin is Yoga heaven but Berlin men can be a Yoga hell. But before I go into this in detail let me tell you just a bit about me. I am yoga teacher living and working in Berlin for many years now. My best friend would probably describe me as a white-wearing creative chaos of some sort. For most of my adult life I have been consumed with the search of the ‘Mind-Body-Connection’. Sounds so cheesy, but it is so true. Some might call it ‘the moment of bliss’ while others call it ‘being in your center’. The balance between body and mind is probably something we can all agree on for now.
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by Guest Author | People, Stories
Not so long ago, I used to spend two hours on a train to get to my high school in Warsaw. The long commute and initial alienation were worth the thrill of being surrounded by a strange crowd. I got engrossed by it. Every morning, I’d spent at least 10 minutes of my ride in the joyful anticipation of the moment when the train rolls onto the station and I get lost within the urban flow.
This notion of pure excitement and longing for some big city action accompanies me to whatever metropoly I visit, and obviously New York was no exception. I wanted to find out if the famous city that never sleeps could cast a spell on me quite like Berlin did – getting off the plane, I was wondering if I might end up feeling like I want to stay.
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by Michalina | Photos, Stories, Travel
I’m standing in front of the tallest, most powerful water fountain I have ever seen. Water shoots into the sky like some sort of glorious tower of refreshment. I’m in Geneva, Switzerland – Germany’s neighbor to the south – at the southwestern tip of Lake Geneva. This is practically France, but more expensive. Some Italian friends drive up from nearby Milan and Turin, pick me up and we drive along the northern side of this lake through Lausanne to a lovely little town on the lake’s eastern end. A historic week of music happens here every year: the Montreux Jazz Festival. Invited by Jeep, I had the chance to get out of Berlin for a bit and explore this beautiful hotspot for music. Follow the jump for more about this unique escape from Berlin.
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by Keith | Music, Photos, Travel
We love to travel with a cultural agenda. Visiting Venice for the Art Biennale or Milan for Design Week was so inspiring and we love to look back at the photos we collected there. Art and design events are a wonderful bridge to get to know a new city and I always try to visit creative spaces, galleries or museums when I travel to a new city to get in contact with the creative local scene.
In the beginning of October I had the chance to discover a new town in my repertoire of creative hotspots: Liege. The third biggest city in Belgium (after Brussels which is known for politics and Antwerp which is known for fashion) is the so called “Latin” city of the country. They had a big wave of South European migration in the 60s that made the city quite connected with Italy. While visiting the Reciprocity Design Triennale I could almost physically feel this connection because I was always surrounded by Italians. This year’s edition had a main focus on design with a social impact. Bringing designers and citizens together in the process of public service innovation was one of the most focused topics in the exhibitions we saw. This was really inspiring for me as somebody who works with Berlin, because I love to learn more about how creative ideas can be a positive factor in the social development of a city.
What impressed me the most about the Reciprocity were the stunning locations they choose for their different exhibitions. From an old school theater with murals from the 20s, a church turned into a museum and a monumental swimming pool which is now a space for public events. Our friend and Blogfabrik colleague Eylül Aslan joined us for this trip. Discover her unique photographic impressions and some more insights and pictures from Liege after the jump.
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by Claudio | Art, Travel
Street art is an essential part of the Berlin DNA and a powerful output of the local creative culture. Particularly popular to tourists and locals alike are giant murals embellishing the old firewalls. Some of these murals even get certain fame and have the potential to become even a steady landmark of the city.
But street art in opposition to public art (art created and funded by an institution or the government) is not supposed to become a landmark or to be perceived as steady. No wonder that the famous artist Blu decided to paint over his magnificent work leaving nothing else than a black shadow behind. Read more of our thoughts about that in this article.
But even if some street art might disappear over time there is still place and space for new art. For the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall the Italian region Puglia decided to give Berlin a unique present. They commissioned the Italian artist Agostino Iacurci from this region to create a unique work of art representing the human aspects of the unification. His beautiful work where he combines his typical urban motives with the natural idyll of his home is now on display on a wall at Moritzplatz, near the former border check-point Heinrich-Heine-Straße.
We had the chance to speak to the artist and visit the artwork while it was created. Check out more images of the artwork after the jump and some information about a little contest where you can win a trip to Italy’s finest beaches in Puglia.
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by Claudio | Art
photo: Kristine Thiemann
The days are getting shorter, it’s cold outside and we are facing at least three months of Berlin winter.
So a few weeks back, I jumped to the opportunity of a little getaway weekend in France. A couple of days in Paris and a few relaxing nights in Deauville near the ocean sounded simply perfect. Little did I know about all the extravaganza the tiny village had in store for me, even a piece of Berlin crossed my path on the nomadic coast… Read on…
by Lia | Art, Travel
photo: Roberto Bolle at Arena di Verona by Luciano Romano
In the summer months it’s always noticeable that there is a little less going on in town than usual. Even the Berlin visitors are taking little excursions to other European places and before you stay here and get bored maybe you should also plan your next short trip. Today we have one suggestion for you: The beautiful city of Verona in Northern Italy. It’s not only the home of the fictional tragic couple of Romeo and Juliet, but also one of the most charming Italian cities to visit and only such a short flight away from Berlin.
The romantic, historic city is a total contrast to the rough urban landscapes of Berlin. One historic building aligns itself with the next and you will quickly feel like you are lost in another time. Among the many highlights of the city the one location that is going to be in every “Top 10 Things to do in Verona” lists (I checked…) is the Arena di Verona. Find out more about it after the jump.
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by Frank | Music, Theater, Travel
