Berlin’s Bright Sparks
Voyager meets eight people who are helping to make Berlin one of the most exciting cities in the wolrd – and discovers their favourite hang-outs
WORDS&PHOTOS | TATIJANA SHOAN
Annika von Taube
One of the hippest style magazines in germany, Annika von Taube’s Sleek features rich, colourful stories and daring photographs of fashion, design, art and pop culture
What drew you to Berlin? I moved to berlin 14 years ago to study art history. The art scene in berlin in the mid-1990s was already drawing international interest and it was something I wanted to explore.
Favourite aspect of Berlin: The cost of living is so low everybody can afford to go out. To stimulate the scene, the city allowed bars to stay open for 24 hours. I usually force myself to go out, then go to an art opening, meet people, go to a cool, cosy restaurant, then dancing and on to the next place. You can easily do five things a night here.
As for fashion: Berlin is famous for people buying clothes by the kilo. At one point everybody bought second-hand clothes. There was a period where there weren’t high-end shops, but people still needed to express themselves through their clothes and refurbishing used garments was the best way to do it. This gives us a unique style.
Where to shop: Konk is full of fresh new designs and they are the first to carry all the Berlin labels.
Where to have fun: Berghain. It’s in an old power plant, anything is allowed and the sound system is great. Going there for the first time is strange because if you get lost you’ll find yourself in a room with people having sex.
Frank Thiel
Artist Frank Thiel left East berlin as a political prisoner and moved to west berlin where he found his voice as an artist. he is known for his arresting photographs that depict the strength and fragility of the two distinct sides to the city
What aspects of berlin do you draw from? This city is an urban, political and spiritual patchwork of the last century; almost each generation had a new berlin. When the wall came down and the cities started to reunite it was obvious that the landscape would change in the political process. My attempt was to photograph the undertaking of reunification. my book, A berlin decade 1995-2005, is the summarisation of the last 15 years of my work.
Where to have fun: The nightlife in berlin is great so I like to go out a lot. Cookie’s is a favourite, so is Tape and Tausend.
Where to eat: For tea and coffee I like Oliv and Café 103. For dinner I suggest Cookies Cream.
Where to shop: For shopping it would be Lil Shop, which has vintage Comme des garçons and bless, which sells clothing and furniture.
Dagmar von Taube
One of germany’s leading journalists, dagmar’s intimate portraits of people appear every Sunday in the newspaper welt am Sonntag and she belongs to the new generation of intellectual writers who re-energised “culture de salon” in berlin. She recently published a book, berlin now (teneues), filled with people to know and places to see
Tell me about your adopted city? I moved here nine years ago for work and was quite depressed when I arrived. I had moved from new York and berlin was very grey in comparison. There were no lights on the street at night and no Sex and the City at all! no good grocery stores, no cash machines and everything was very complicated. In the last five years it started changing when international people began to move here, stars were visiting, cool shops and restaurants opened, Vogue did a story about street fashion. It was the sum of all parts coming together – suddenly it became chic to live here. Arthur miller’s daughter said, “For every phase in a person’s life there exists an ideal place to live.” For me that is now Berlin.
Where to eat: Borchart, grill royal and the Austria, where you feel like you’re sitting in a hut. It has the best schnapps, knodel and schnitzel.
Where to have fun: Cookies, the weekend, the greenwich bar. And berghain is unique. It’s an old factory, you check in at 2am and you leave at 10am. It has interesting people, good music, and I can’t tell you what else because you won’t be able to print it!
Sparka Lee hall
Sparka embarked on a European tour in 1988 and never returned home. now a successful costume designer, she has worked on such films as The reader, The Constant gardener and The bourne Supremacy
First impressions of Berlin: I loved the brilliant vitality of this city when I came here. There was so much art, music and fashion. I remember seeing an outdoor punk concert and later learned the government subsidised it. I thought to myself, “wow, how fabulous. I’m staying!” Any place that recognises punk as a legitimate art movement is the place for me.
The difference now: berlin has always been bohemian and in 1988 west berlin was definitely a place for people who didn’t fit into the rest of west germany. when the wall came down it was so vibrant. People weren’t sleeping, it was like anarchy, but extremely creative and has stayed that way. It’s the best city I’ve been where you can just be who you are and nobody freaks out.
Favourite part of Berlin: down by the water near watergate, you can find great shops, the kind of stores where the name is spray-painted on the door.
Place to eat: A moroccan restaurant, baraka. The Arab and Eastern food is very real and pure here. Another place I like for its fresh, homemade Italian food is called Petot Europ.
Josef Voelk and Emmanuel de Bayser
When Josef and Emmanuel opened their boutique they ushered in a new movement of high fashion mixed with art. while berlin has always been known for its rugged avant garde, the Corner has added designer clothes, furniture, contemporary art, an eclectic array of books, magazines and a café
What is the Corner? Eb: It’s a new way of presenting fashion that is berlin-specific – it’s about freedom, so we like to present our merchandise by mixing fashion, art and furniture.It’s a haven for young artists and has different cultural elements that we reflect in our store. jV: we’re a meeting place for the new berlin. we throw parties and all types of berlin social circles attend. we also host events and work with magazines and galleries. we recently did an evening for designer karl Lagerfeld and his documentary, Lagerfeld Confidential.
Where to eat: Grill Royal.
Where to stay: hotel de rome is very new and glamorous. They have a great spa and wonderful views from the cocktail bar on the roof terrace. 40 Franzoesische Strasse, +49 30 2067 0940, www.thecornerberlin.de
Martin Bachmann
Six years ago martin moved from Los Angeles to berlin to become the head of Sony Pictures germany. with his move came international movie premieres, galas and glamour. berlin was being transformed from a grungy post-wall city to a cosmopolitan hub attracting film stars from around the world
What do you like about Berlin? Five years ago in new York if you said you’re from berlin they wouldn’t care, say it now and they think it’s great! Everything is suddenly happening now: restaurants, clubs, galleries, shops and premieres. It used to be very difficult to lure stars here for premieres – not anymore.
Where to shop: The Corner is great and I also like Quartier 206, which is a chic department store.
Where to eat: definitely grill royal and borchardt. There’s a great Asian place called kuchi. I also like China Club and uma ma, one side is Chinese and the other side is japanese.
Favourite area: There is an area called kreuzberg where you can find Turkish culture. This is like our version of new York’s Chinatown and it’s a great place to walk around.
Cookie
Ask any berliner what their favourite club is and they will say Cookie’s. This professional partier opened his first club in 1994 and has been successfully entertaining berliners ever since. Amazingly, Cookie’s still manages to stay underground – there’s no sign on the door and he doesn’t advertise
Moving from London to Berlin: I visited my sister in 1992, fell in love with the city and stayed. You can do anything here. It’s not important who you are or what you earn, the important thing is how you want to have fun. Anybody can afford to go out in berlin so there is always a great mix of people wherever you go. most cities have a divide, uptown/downtown or whatever, but not here. because I love clubbing I created an atmosphere I like to hang out in, I want it to feel like a living room.
Where to shop: Andreas marcudis is a shop tucked away in a courtyard in mitte that sells clothing, furniture and design objects.
Where to eat: I’m vegetarian so I like Cookies Cream, which is my restaurant above Cookie’s. I also like borchardt and Café 103. If you go on Sunday you’ll see everyone you know.
Favourite thing to do: Once a year on my birthday I go to the TV tower and drink bad coffee with my mum and look out on to berlin. Friedrichstrasse, +49 30 2749 2940, www.cookies.ch
Matthias Harder
Legendary photographer Helmut newton was as Berlin as Berlin gets. He is known for his sexually charged photographs of dominant uber-women in scenarios both decadent and decrepit. Embodying these contrasts was a theme throughout his career and is the essence of Berlin society. Matthias Harder is curator of the Helmut newton Foundation
What does the foundation mean to Berlin? It’s very moving that we’re here because 72 years ago Helmut was forced to flee and 65 years later this building was given to him for his foundation. Sadly, Helmut passed in January
2004 and we had to open in June without him, but he and his wife June put everything on track. It’s poignant that we’re in this building, for instance down the street homeless people go to eat and around the corner you’ll find the prostitutes. Contrast exists in both Helmut’s work and in Berlin, making it the perfect place for the
foundation.
Where to eat: I like the Paris Bar. Another Berlin staple is Currywurst, which is similar to a hotdog stand. Helmut loved those!
Where to have fun: I like the Kreuzberg area which has many galleries. When they have opening nights you can go from gallery to gallery with a glass of wine in your hand. Mitte is another great area, there are boutiques, galleries and cafés and it is a great place to walk around. 2 Jebensstrasse, +49 30 3186 4856, www.helmutnewton.com
