Zenner House: Berlin’s New Nightlife & Culture Hub in Historic Building at Treptower Park

Zenner House: Berlin’s New Nightlife & Culture Hub in Historic Building at Treptower Park

Berliners love to recycle. We love a factory-converted-club or just getting that Pfandbon from all the bottles from last weekend. Well, this summer Berlin is recycling another event space rife with the memories of parties past. Built over 200 years ago and once called the “Sanssouci of the East,” the ZENNER House was one of the go-to spots for party animals of the 1800s. The Villa was home to celebrations such as the Stralauer Fischung one of the city’s wildest festivals, which was banned in 1873. The ZENNER is scheduled to open a 1,500 seat Biergarten on the banks of the Spree in Treptower Park this May under the management of Sebastian Heil and Tony Ettelt, previous operators of two already well-renowned Berlin venues: Salon Zur Wilde Renate and Else.

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A Guide to the Best Running Routes in Berlin

A Guide to the Best Running Routes in Berlin

photo: Vismante Ruzgaite. 

Whether you are just getting into running or are already a regular runner, Berlin is the right place for you. The city has one of the largest and most dedicated running communities in the world. Berlin is the only city in Europe besides London to be part of the World Marathon Majors, the world’s most prestigious running events. Some of the most popular running groups were born in Berlin and then spread around the world. Nowadays, running goes beyond sports, it’s a lifestyle. Everywhere you go in Berlin, you can really feel the presence of the running culture. For me, running has been a great way to discover a city, to connect with its people and of course, stay fit!

I am happy to share with you my top 5 running routes in Berlin that I enjoy the most.

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A Guide to Berlin’s Best Picnic Spots

A Guide to Berlin’s Best Picnic Spots

Thankful for the fact that this year’s summer filter seems to be slightly more lasting and graces the Hauptstadt with more gorgeous rays of sunshine than unexpected raindrops, we’re bringing you the ultimate guide to Berlin’s best picknick locations! Grab some snacks and a blanket and get out there! Whether with the squad or solo, it’s practically a sin to ignore Berlin’s abundance of green!

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20 Dancers for the XX Century – Boris Charmatz at Treptower Park

20 Dancers for the XX Century – Boris Charmatz at Treptower Park

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon I took my new bike to the Sowjet Monument of Honor at Treptower Park. This time not for a normal bike trip though. The Foreign Affairs Festival is in town and celebrates the arts of music dance and theater bringing rare pearls of contemporary culture from all over the world to Berlin.

One chapter of the festival is contributed by Boris Charmatz and his Dancing Museum. This artistic association tries to document, preserve and work with art history in an unusual way. Questioning the potential of remembering the historic background, the dancers and the essentials of the choreography itself, Charmatz created a diverse parcours across 20th century dance history. The dances ranging from Meyerhold’s biomechanics, folk dance and Vogueing to contemporary dance where shown and explained by the dancers themselves.  This way they became art pieces, curators and museum guides in one person. Impression from the dancers and some short thoughts after the jump.

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Exploring Berlin – Soviet Monument of Honor

Exploring Berlin – Soviet Monument of Honor

photo: Steve Blackburn / CC

With longer daylight hours comes more time for nice walks in town. Most of the people living in Berlin have probably already taken plenty of walks through Mitte, visited the Museum Island or strolled through Mauerpark. But just a few have ventured out to Treptower Park to discover this impressive historical gem from the former GDR: The Soviet Monument of Honor. This monument was built in 1949 and is one out of three monuments built to remember the fallen soldiers from the red army.

What makes this monument so impressive is not only the giant statue of the child-saving soldier with the massive sword resembling more a knight from a fairy tale than of a Sowjet soldier. The gates to the monument are crystal-shaped pyramides that look like they were constructed for a space station from an alien nation. I guess the fascination for space and the idea of a Soviet world imperium already existed back then, continuing in the Cold War in the following decades.

I recommend to visit this place inside Treptower Park on a cloud free day to enjoy the view. The whole area and especially the soldier statues can give you goosebumps. I think getting in touch with this part of Berlin’s history is a stimulating experience not to be missed. More pictures after the jump.

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