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Berlin

Berlin was one of the first cities in the world to develop a gay scene and, as early as the 1920s, the notorious Eldorado club in Motzstraße (still one of the city’s gay centres) attracted stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Christopher Isherwood. Isherwood’s book Berlin Stories offers a fascinating glimpse of the era and was the inspiration for the Oscar winning movie Cabaret.

Hitler brought this period of decadence to a close in the 30s, but by the late 1960s Berlin was again regarded as a gay Mecca. In general, the people of Berlin have an extremely laid-back attitude towards homosexuality and the gay community tends to be fairly well integrated into city life as a whole. In fact Berlin elected its first openly gay mayor, the Social Democrat Klaus Wouwereit, in 2001, and he continues to hold the post today.

Shopping and Culture
The German capital is world famous for its Christmas markets, which combine traditional Christmas shopping with fun-fairs and mulled wine – you can even take the novelty wine mug home with you!

There's plenty of culture to take in too - why not see a gig in The O2 World Arena or take a look at queer history in the LGBT museum, www.schwulesmuseum.de.

Scene
Berlin comes alive at night and there's so much to choose from. Hafen is Berlin’s original gay hangout and definitely check out 'The Weekend Club' in GMF on Sundays.

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Brandenburg Gate
While the only remaining city gate of Berlin formerly used to represent the separation of the city between East and West Berlin, since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 the Brandenburg Gate has now come to symbolise German unity. In addition, this gate made of sandstone is one of the finest examples of German classicism.

Museum Island
Berlin’s Museum Island is the northern tip of the Spree Island - and it is also a magnificent work of art itself, involving five world-renowned museums gathered in an extraordinary ensemble. Since 1999, the museum has been the only architectural and cultural ensemble that is considered part of world heritage by UNESCO.

At the southern part of the island, near the Schlossbrücke bridge and the Berlin Cathedral, the Old Museum can be found, which is located nearby the Lustgarten. In the northern part, there is the New Museum as well as the Alte Nationalgalerie. On the Kupfergraben side of the island can be found the Pergamon Museum. And last but not least there is the Bode Museum.

East Side Gallery
An East German Trabant car, which appears to be breaking through the concrete. Honecker and Breschnew locked in a kiss of brotherly, socialistic love. With the East Side Gallery, a segment of the Berlin Wall has been turned into the longest open air gallery in the world.

The Kunstmeile, or art mile in English, is located along the banks of the river Spree in Friedrichshain is 1316 metre long is also the longest segment of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. Right after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery was painted by 118 artists from 21 different countries. Using various artistic means, the artists commented on the political events that took place in 1989 and 1990 in over 100 works of art found on the eastern side of the wall.

Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium is the central venue for major events in Berlin and also serves as home field to the football club Hertha BSC Berlin.

Mauerpark
The 'death strip' has become a zone of life. The name of the park. which literally means wall park, dates back to the Berlin Wall which was erected in 1961 to demarcate the boundary between the former districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding. As there are relatively few green spaces in densely populated Prenzlauer Berg, Mauerpark has developed into a popular place of recreation after German reunification. During the summer, many young people gather in the park; at the weekend, it is a popular place for flea market peddlers, bowlers, amateur football and basketball players, jugglers and musicians as well as karaoke enthusiasts.

What remains of the wall at the Jahn Stadium serves as an exercise area for graffiti artists. During the summer, Mauerpark is also a popular destination at night, although it is almost completely unlit.

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