Posted by astrid on Oct 19, 2011 in
other My iPhone 4S came last Friday (yes, I pre-ordered). The reason I got it (apart from needing a new phone) is the camera. It was advertised as “the best camera ever on a mobile phone” and “might be the only camera you need”. As I love taking pictures on my walks, I figured I want this. But, is it really true?
Last weekend we had a perfect blue sky weather in Berlin. We went out to test the camera along side hubs’ Samsung Galaxy S and a Point-and-Shoot camera Panasonic Lumix TZ-7. We didn’t have any specific scenarios for testing, it was all basically done on a whim, but some of the pictures really showed the capabilities (and flaws) of iPhone 4S’ camera.
Berlin TV Tower and S-Bahn
This was taken with the iPhone. I love this picture. It’s Berlin. And the phone was fast enough to capture the S-Bahn as it came to view! With my other phone, the train would’ve already left 
.
On the next picture, one was taken with the iPhone, the other with Lumix TZ-7. Can you guess which one is which? (Note: I had to resize the pictures because of some site error)
Berliner Dom -1
Berliner Dom - 2
Picture one is taken with Lumix TZ-7, picture two is iPhone 4S. You could see the iPhone one lacks a little bit of depth due to the small lens size, but overall it’s quite impressive, eh? I will show the pictures taken in low light conditions on my next posts… so stay tuned 
.
Tags: Berlin, Berlin TV Tower, Berliner Dom, camera, iPhone 4S, Panasonic Lumix TZ-7
Posted by astrid on Aug 29, 2011 in
travel Twice a year, the museums in Berlin opened their door for a long night visit, from 6pm to 2am. When I first saw this I was thinking, “Who would want to go museums in the middle of the night? Had anyone watched Night at the Museums? There must be ghosts prancing around those ancient objects at night, right?”
Boy was I so wrong.
It’s a very exciting event. This year was the third time we went to such event in Berlin. We always went on the summer ones (since I had been a wimp to brace the winter chill at 1am). And yet, every year, we always found something new and interesting to see.
The ticket was 15 euros (10 if you’re qualified for a discount – student, elderly, etc). It included the admission price for all the participating museums and access to shuttle buses & Berlin transport systems (which meant you can get ANYWHERE easily). Pretty decent price, if you asked me.
(at Vision & Fashion exhibition)
There were 106 participating museums this time around, and there’s absolutely no way you could see them all within 8 hours. What you need is a good plan of what you’d like to see and make a good route out of it.
This year we calculated that we would spend around 1-2 hours in each museum. We prepared a list of 4-6 places we’d like to visit and the possible routes to go through all of them. The route we had wasn’t the most optimum but we got to the places we’d like to go.
1. Schwules Museum
It’s a museum dedicated to the history of homosexual people (especially in Berlin). They had been through a lot, especially in the Nazi period and I think it was great that now they have equal rights and recognition here. Unfortunately almost all of their exhibition texts are in German, although you could still browse through the pictures! And the people there are nice so I’m sure you could ask around if you have questions.
2. Mauermuseum – Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
It’s probably one of the most famous museums here in Berlin. It exhibits the history of the Berlin Wall, how and why it was constructed, the escape attempts, and the fall of it. I found the museum too overcrowded, both with people and the amount of information. But if you’re interested in the history of Berlin Wall, this is the ultimate place to go.
3. Computerspielemuseum (Computer Games Museum)
Ah, my geeky gaming heart leaped when I knew this one was on the list. The museum was quite new (2010) but we hadn’t had the chance on visiting it yet. It has a permanent exhibition on how computer games evolved through the years and you could play with some of the games too! Very interesting although it was too crowded last time. They also had several live music events on that day, one of them is gwEm, a cool duo musicians from London who combined 8-bit music and heavy metal.
(music performance by GwEn at Computerspielemuseum)
4. Kunstbibliothek – Kulturforum Potsdamer Platz. Vision & Fashion Exhibition.
I love this one! I didn’t know there was an exhibition on fashion here and we were lucky to accidentally come across it. It’s about sketches, drawings, and photographs that relates to fashion from the 1980-2010. There were plenty of really pretty visions and images from the fashion designer, or inspired by the fashion designers.
5. Helmut Newton Stiftung – Museum of Photography
We went directly for the special exhibition of Helmut Newton: Polaroids. I like the Polaroids images. I like how there’s a certain feel of realness in there. No photoshopping, and it’s all about the angles, composition, and light. Such a great work from a great artist.
6. Schloss Charlottenburg
It’s a palace built in the end of 17th century for Prussia’s first Queen, Sophie Charlotte. It has a beautiful Baroque architecture and I always found it interesting to imagine how they lived in that era. It also has a beautiful park behind it, which is quite close to where we live and it’s my favorite place to go jogging .
We started exactly at 6pm, and we finished at 1:45 am. It was exhausting (be sure to wear comfortable shoes!) but it was well worth it. And I think our itinerary was good because we didn’t feel too overwhelmed since the museums we went to has different kinds of exhibitions.
(PS: If you only have an interest in one museum and you’d like to stay there the whole time, this is not the thing to do. First, it’ll be way cheaper to pay for an admission price for that one museum, and second, there will be a huge crowd. This event is good if you want to visit several museums or galleries and get an overview of it. Perhaps if you like a certain place, you could go again on the next day.)
Tags: Berlin, Lange Nacht der Museen, museums
Posted by astrid on Jun 1, 2011 in
travel 
Ever wondered how people in the 1930s going around town? This was one of the buses in Berlin during the 1930s-1950s. It’s a double decker for around 50 passengers. Absolutely diggin’ the vintage design look here.
There was an automobile exhibition in Ku-Damm last weekend, featuring vehicles from early 1900s until now, which was why the bus was on display. We had a chance to go on a 10 minutes ride around the area. It was very nice. Most of the people were the cheeky 60s, which made it felt more authentic and fun.
I love how the driver didn’t hesitate for a second when I asked him for a picture. I could feel his passion on the job. He told us he wore a completely authentic uniform too. How cool is that?
The benches on the top part of the bus were made from wood, no cushion at all… and no good suspension system either. I would bet your behind would be quite sore if you had to ride it for a whole day .
Also, I find it quite interesting to have in each warning sign the part “polizeilich”. I wonder if that actually meant someone could get arrested when they stood on the aisle or the stairs for too long?
Tags: 1930s, Berlin, vehicles
Posted by astrid on Jan 8, 2010 in
travel I love Berlin. We moved here almost two years ago and are still learning a lot about the city. There are always new things to do, new neighborhood (kiez) to explore, new restaurant to try. And I love especially just walking to the parts you were familiar with but looks very different every season.
Tags: Berlin
Posted by astrid on Jan 6, 2010 in
travel 
Berlin, -6 C, snowing. It’s been below zero for over a week here. The snow gets really thick and the ground is very cold (frozen feet galore). Seriously considering getting one of those huge winter boots :p.
Tags: Berlin, city life
Posted by astrid on Oct 30, 2008 in
inspiration 
The first rainbow I saw in Berlin. Beautiful and vivid. Here is the flickr link.
Tags: Berlin, city, inspiration, rainbow
