A visitor at the Spy Museum

It is not every day that I am very excited about a PR and marketing campaign in Germany. The one for thel launch of the Spy Museum is one of them, and from the middle of the summer the city was invaded by attention grabbing billboards announcing the event. Although I wanted to be among the first to check the fantastic spy adventures announced, I had to wait till the beginning of November until the visit was possible.  

The building in Potsdamer Platz is offering two full floors of historical installations, presenting more or less recent historical spy stories. The lengthy presentations are available in video and written format, in English and German.The visit starts with an introduction in the history of intelligence, from the old Egypt to Rome and Joshua.

Most part of the exhibition is dedicated though to the Cold War times, that made Berlin one of the European capitals of spies. Touch screens are providing interviews about the various genesis of intelligence services in the East and in the West of Germany.

Old stories are presented into a creative interior design ambiance with special effects of lights and shadows.

When the historical introductions are too long - although very interesting, especially with former Stasi operatives, the famous East German secret police - there are some practical example set toexplain to yo how the operative work can be practised. Special secret messages can be hidden in nuts. 

Or in shoes.Or in cigarettes, or in various parts of the car. Practically everywhere. If you are not too strong at heart, you may risk to become very paranoid, even the Cold War is over.

After you see the section dedicated to different gifts that can instantly kill everyone only by smelling, you may need a rehab. The famous umbrella that killed the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in Central London in 1978 is there, still waiting for a full reconstruction of facts, many years after the crime was commited with a simple touch.

True is that at the end of the long visit I really felt overwhelmed about too much information, like I was at the end of a long class in the history of intelligence. Some colourful covers of James Bond movies brought everything back to the entertainment work.

I had a different impression about what a spy museum should be, expecting more action and intelligence challenges, also for the visitor. But I am sure also that the usual glamour we associate with this kind of work is rather the result of wishful thinking. The Spy Museum in Berlin provides lessons of history and for now, it might be enough.

Foodie Berlin: Koshary Lux, Oriental Street Food

There is rarely something that can surprise me in terms of food in the Western part of Berlin, but this summer offered me many reasons to think that there are so many things on the move here too. As one day in August I was slowly walking around Savigny Platz, a colourful place with spicy smells caught my eyes and called my foodie curiosity: Koshary Lux on Grolmanstrasse 27. 

In a friendly ambiance with an even friendlier service, here it is served 'Oriental Street Food', trying to mix the shuk - market traditions - from Marrakesh, Beiruth, Algier or Cairo. The menu has one of success dishes on Friday evening - the Moroccan carot salad (with chilli and cumin), dates salad with goat cheese and celery, walnuts and baby spinach, meaty sandwiches and tomato soup. Many choices for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. For the beginning, I ordered a fresh Egyptian lime lemonade with mint that was so fresh and delicious - moderately sugarly - that I wanted one more time and the recipe too. Do not expect shawarma or falafel or humus and it is good this way.

The portions are available in both small and big portions, offered at affordable prices. Although hungry, the Koshary mix fed me enough although if not that spicy - introduced to me as moderately - I would have been tempted for one more try. It has lentils, rice and maccaroni with tangy tomato sauce, topped with caramelized onions, chickpeas and a pistachio-spice blend. Brought in a very simple metal bowl it has an interesting mixture of tastes and aromas that makes you think to busy shuks and unknown worlds.

For the end of my short first stay, I took a dessert too: a muhallabiya - milk pudding with rose water sirup, almonds and pistachios. A natural sweetness of the pudding meeting successfully the springles pistachios and almonds which offer a good balance. 

This order was enough to open the appetite for more. Maby they introduced some more meals for the autumn season. If not, still there are some things on the menu that would love to test anyway. 

Korean Food Stories at Gong Gan

I am an admirer of the fine selection of Asian restaurants from the Western side of the city, especially Kantstrasse, but when it comes to genuine Korean restaurant I was told to rather go on the other side of the Berlin. And, as usual, I take the recommendations of my friends very seriously, but for various reasons, I delayed with putting it into pratice. Only the rain and hunger brought me a couple of days ago at one of the outdoor wooden lego-like tables of the Gong Gan restaurant on Schwedter Str. 2. 

The menu choices are relatively limited with medium prices. It has a breakfast option for around 6 EUR. which includes various European toasts. 

Too late for a toast, I wanted to seriously start the investigation of the state of the art of the Korean food in Berlin with something original. Like the famous Bibimbap, that was brought to me relatively fast, but with metal chopsticks which is not necessarily my choice no.1 in hygienic terms. Warned to 'mix up' the content, I had a look at the ingredients: rice, tofu, shreds of carrots, finely sliced onions, salad, hot sauce, some crest, ruccola (ingredient which I bet is not part of the original recipe). It went out good, with the green leaves balancing the hotness of the sauce. The original bibimbap also has an egg on the top, and various sorts of bean pasta too, and used to be served on the eve of the lunar new year as a mixture of all the leftover found in the house. It is mostly known in the meaty variant. The overall impression was good and healty, but not unforgettable.

What left unforgettable memories to my palate was the gree hot macha tea. Original green tea, served moderatelly hot, sugarless and with that original taste that I only remember from my genuine foodie Japanese adventures. Most probably, from now on I will look for a long time for this taste. 

Design-wise, the place looks from inside as a crowded antiquities shop, but looking for my outdoor bench seems like an interesting place to explore. There is also a lego corner, where I assume is enjoyable for everyone's inner child. The ambiance was pleasant, with nice service and jazz musical background from the 1920s. 

Gong Gan is open daily between 9 and 19 from Monday to Thursday and between 9 and 22 from Friday to Saturday. Although not sure if I will be back soon, at least this restaurant opened the series of what I hope to be many other tasty reviews of Korean food in Berlin.

Berlin has its own museum of architecture

With the beautiful autumn in full bloom, and some vacation days to be completely on my own, I discovered that I don't need to travel too far away to discover new things. All I have to do is to take a metro till, let's say Senefelderplatz, cross the street and go up to the stairs of the whitish buildish with a big written sign: Pfefferberg on it.

In just a couple of seconds I was in a little piazza created on the first open air floor, on the precincts of a former brewery, Pfefferberg, one of the many beer Berlin brands at the beginning of the 20th century. In 2000, the entire complex of building went throgh a radical reconstruction work and turned into a complex made out of different houses with different destinations. In addition to the old brewery, there is also a theatre, an Italian restaurant, architecture bureaus, conference spaces... 

There is also a boutique hostel, Pfefferberg hostel, with 24/7 reception and bar, stucked between the typical brewery reddish buildings. As the complex is one step away from the main street, I suppose that the guests of the hotel can get a lot of silence in the middle of an usually busy part of the city. 

From a house to another, there is a lot to see and to photograph. There are enough many people around, many of them curious tourists - like me.

As usually in Berlin, a bit of green can change everything, especially the serious attitude of the buildings, testimonies of the fast forward industrial revolution from the beginning of the last century. 

In one of the houses, I discover an interesting photo exhibition about the former Red Army locations in East Germany, a project of two Italian artists: Stefano Corso and Dario-Jacopo Lagana. Included as part of the events organised this week for Berlin Art Week, it offers some historical insighs about a historical stage that most probably will be soon forgotten. 

But one of the reasons why I am right now around is that I wanted to visit the one and only Berlin's Museum for Architecture Drawings. Opened in 2013, the builing is bordering the Christinenstrasse side of the complex. When I saw it the first time, I was dramatically surprised, for the clear contrast of volumes and style with the rest of the area. It is made of several blocks of cast raw concrete, in a permanent game of regression and progression, with a glass penthouse on the top reflecting the sky. The relief of the facade gives a certain old air to the ensemble. 

Upon entering the lobby, you feel you are in an old English club, with the wooden panels walls and the many interesting architecture books. The foyer is supposed to function as a library, with two of the four floors used as exhibitional spaces. The rest has the function of offices and archives, the property of Tchoban Foundation who is curating the museum. 

This week, there is still running an exhibition of drawings of American architects, among which Lloys Morgan's Waldorf Astoria, the imaginary worlds of Achilles Rizzoli and some plans by Frank Lloyd Wright. The game between natural and artificial lights creates a special ambiance in the building that can inspire creativity and a much longer stay.

As I am about to leave, I spotted the Swedish group of girls on the opposite corner of the building, that keep doing their own drawings of the construction. Envying them for their talent - and patience too for spending such a beautiful autumn afternoon working their assignments - I promise to return for a new exhibition. After all, it is never too late to return to my own architecture childhood dreams. Berlinl is the city of all possibilities, isn't it?

Lavish dinner at Himmelspagode

Last week, I was heading to Briesetal part of my project covering 100 Places to See in Germany when I passed near a huge pagoda in the middle of Hohen Neuendorf. At first, was thinking that maybe I was dreaming or was it too hot for my imagination, but realized that it was exactly what I saw. Too busy to stop for an investigation, I decided to keep it on the top of the return agenda. Meanwhile, we kept debating whether it is a temple or a restaurant, with most of the voices saying that it should be a restaurant. 

Many hours later, we were at the gates, and took one of the places on the outside terrasse of the Himmelspagode, ready to enjoy the pleasant summer afternoon wind and our meals. The menu was not making our choices easy - with various choices of Thai, Chinese and sushi. While waiting for the food, had a look indoors - slightly air conditioned - instantly transported in the middle of a (foodie) Chinese bedtime story: 400 places, three floors, one reserved for private business lunches and other events, enormous candelalbra and a big pond with tortues and red fish. The three big halls: Kaisersaal, Pekingsaal and Himmelsaal are carefully decorated in the classical Chinese style, with engraved mirrors and colourful glass paintings inspired by flora and fauna. 

One of the many waiters bringing the orders with a smile, dressed in colourful traditional clothes, brought us fortune cookies. With the classical music on the background, we tried to understand the message sent to us...

Hopefully, the food arrived fast and we gave up our intensive thinking. Out of the dishes we ordered, sushi was not the strongest point of the menu, but eating sushi at a Chinese restaurant is always a problematic choice. Instead, my fried noodles with black sesame were simple with moderate amounts of onions, and some pinches of carrots. The rice was not as oily as the Asian imbiss next my office door, with enough veggies to make it rich in taste.

While waiting for the sweet parts, I enjoyed my cold coffee - not the usual Vietnamese coffee I am so in love with. Rich in icecream and fatty cream that diminishes the strong coffeine taste.  

As usual, the sweets are for me the most important part of an Asian meal. I simply cannot have enough of them, with their moderate sweetness and combination of fruits. Our co-shared meals included baked balls of sticky rice filled with a mousse of red beans. Balanced taste with the natural sweetness of the honey and pineapple. 

The baked bananas - my choice - were not such a big surprise, maybe too fried, or too oily and the banana were too mashed for my taste. Maybe I was just having enough of all the food and of the long hours - around four - spent on the balcony of the pagoda with a view over the outdoors lake surrounding the circular building. 

The restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday, from 11.30 to 23.00. It has another two (much smaller) restaurants in Berlin, at the KaDeWe and Kaiser Pagoda in Potsdamer Allee. The prices are moderately to high, but given the good service, the ambiance and the quality of the food, it is one of those places that you always keep in mind to return, whatever the price and the distance. 

After-work fish&chips at Arminius Markthalle

The best thing about starting to work in a place completely different than your own is that there are a lot of new places you add on your to do and to taste list. Alt Moabit is a place I visited the last summer intensively too, but this time, I can observe it early in the morning when the streets are waking up - my favourite moment of the day to check places - and late in the afternoon when everyone is coming back home. The foodie offer around seems to be richer than expected to stay tunned for a lot of tasty reviews in the next days and weeks. As for the beginning, I decided to start with Arminius Markthalle, situated very close to the Tiergarten City Hall. An old red bricked construction opened officially in 1891, it was destroyed during the WWII bombings and completely reintroduced in the local circuit only after 2010. It was named after a Germanic hero from old tales.

What I see first here is not an exposure of German traditional food, but a mix of various styles and influences. As a way to celebrate the Royal visit of Queen Elisabeth in Berlin, I order a small portion of fish&chips. The best is to come on the plate with coffee mugs filled with various sauces. The Chinese sour sweet is the best for me, but cooking-wise the ketchup and mayo are also well done and suit better the content of my plate. Did not try the season's malt vinegar as I did not feel it is really what my digestive system needs to. Talking about the food as such, the French fries were good, well done, fresh and not very oily. The fish, although much better than anything I tried in Germany till now, were a bit too crumby and too hot, maybe the result of being too frozen before preparation. The menu  includes various fish-based sandwiches and burgers, at moderate prices - but high for a market - so maybe will be back to try something else one of the next days.

Moving on the next counter, I find myself in the middle of various Italian wines, with colourful etiquettes.

If you buy a comics book from the rich second hand counter, you can finish quietly a good bottle of wine for the day. The doctors say themselves that drunk in moderation, wine is good for your health.

From a British-looking - and talking - counter, last autumn pickles are starring from the jar.

The place is not that busy, almost empty in some areas, but blame it the cold weather and the cheap competition of the many cheap Turkish shops nearby. Every weekend there are many events organised here, many on foodie-related topics. 

Besides the impressive wine choices that are calling my expert name from the four corners of the hall, there are also a couple of beer options, just in the middle of the hall. 

Many are brought from all over the world, inviting the expert Berliner tasters to experience the multi-kulti in their glasses. 

Unexpecteldy for a food hall, there is a fancy designed corner where you can rest in a vintage glamour ambiance. There is also a theatre inside the hall, and a couple of stands away, a local politician is waiting for its supporters to ask him questions. As long as I was around, there were not too many offers. 

This big table, with a candelabra is the best way to get people together. If you are now in the area, you can easily make new friends.

Besides these fancy options, one can find at the market some usual offers too, especially for Berlin: fruits and vegetables, some fresh smoothies and various Turkish delights, various sorts of cheeses - did not see any difference compared to the usual offer in a Kaiser's shop - many meat and a supermarket-like offer of fish. There are also nice flowers and some fast food - imbiss - with take away Asian foods. The restaurants are usually open only after 12 o'clock during the week. 

The markets in Berlin, and the one in Arminius Markthalle is no different, are very quiet, lacking the human touch and sound of the similar places in France or Italy. Don't expect to see fish alive in the plastic pond or vendors that will call your name to buy their products. Visiting a market in Berlin is a different experience and as for now, I take it as such. 

A visit at the Bauhaus Archiv-Museum

I am a very big admirer of the Bauhaus movement, both as a cultural and an artistic/architectural standard and since I move to Germany I rarely miss the opportunity to document their traces, including by an early visit to Dessau. However, the Bauhaus Archives were somehow missed, probably because I was - wrongly - thinking that there must be only about documents and nothing new can be brought to me already extensive knowledge about the movement. However, one Monday of the last week, I decided that I have to change this, and took the bus till the Museum. First, I had a short meditation on the Herkules bridge, taking the full advantage of the sunny morning. The chaise-longues near the river were inviting to stay more, but decided to keep with the schedule this time.

At the entrance, the project re-use in process to be finished, is aimed to show the different layers of the movement and also to offer a new temporary exhibition place.

The irregular and outsanding building of the museum is one of a kind in Berlin. Initially set for Darmstadt but moved to Berlin in the 1970s, it was planned by the founder of Bauhaus, Martin Gropius, who did not live to see it finalized. The local authorities were not that keen to accept it, and was finished thanks to private contributions. It was the first such archive of the Bauhaus and it used most of the archives donated by Gropius himself as well as by other members of the movement. 

In the middle of the green area, with trees and a small park, the building is a patch of concrete white. The entrance is done through a serpent-like platform, called 'Eternity', in the middle of two independent agglomeration of blocks, parallel and equal to each other, united by a middle section. 

From the top of the platform, I was able to see the simple geometry of the two-story structure hosting the 800 square meters of exhibitional space. 

According to the special wishes of Gropius, this unique post-war modernist building should be renovated and changed only by respecting particular technical and artistic directions.

Inside the museum, a new exhibition introduced over 100 new objects added to the Museum collection. Among them, many black and white photography by Nathan Lerner, Josef Hartwig sculptures, collections of wooden toys and studies about colours, sketches by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, or the beautiful paper umbrella by Ferdinand Kramer. 

What I admire about this movement is its extensive interest for almost any topic related to arts, from the fine investigation and reevaluation of the properties of metals - an example being Takehiko Mizutani Study in the property of metals, made of sheets of brass superposed - till the focus on how to better teach arts. The archives are carefully tracing the different stages of the movement of the trajectory of some important representatives, such as Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, Oskar Schlemmer or Paul Klee. Not to miss also the Marcel Breuer chairs or the spectacular light installation by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy or the project of Germany's Pavillion at the World Expo 1929. The full archives can be also consulted at the library, upon request.

Interior design and architecture are one of the most famous changes brought by Bauhaus and that changed the faces of many cities from around the world (the White City of Tel Aviv not mentioned in the exhibition is the most famous example). According to Gropius, building means designing life processes and an art of living. He was pledging for 'organic designing of objects in keeping with their own present-day laws, without any romantic goss or fanciful frills', 'limitation to typical primary forms', use of 'colours that anyone can understand', 'simplicity and multiplicity', 'economical utilization of space, material, time and money'.

We can hardly understand the contemporary architecture today without Bauhaus and the Archives are a good inspiration for anyone trying to learn more about, either as a curious tourist or as an artist/architect-in-the making.