Photo from TreeHugger

The impressive dome of the German Reichstag will soon lit the skyline of Berlin relying solely on energy sources such as water, wind and solar energy.

German parliamentarians have decided to make the Reichstag the greenest parliament building in the world by replacing conventional power - that it has largely relied upon until now - with renewable energy sources. The swap to green power sources will happen from late summer 2008.

The Reichstag has been the home of Germany's parliament for nine years. From 1994-99 it was reconstructed and extended by Norman Foster adding the impressive and accessible glass cupola, which has become one of Berlin’s newest landmarks. The building already boasts several green features such as passive use of solar power and natural light which combined with the well-insulated 19th-century walls retain warmth in winter and reduce the need for air conditioning in summer.

Today the Reichstag is one of the Berlin's biggest crowd-draws. If you want to avoid the endless queue outside book a table at restaurant Käfer and you can get straight into the building. The restaurant’s champagne brunch may be your best bet.

What do you do when your country is bankrupt and is in desperate need of foreign currency? Well, you sell the buildings that house your foreign embassies. At least this is what North Korea has done with parts of its Berlin embassy, which will be turned into a hostel.

The Cityhostel Berlin is expected to open in June 2008 and will have around 100 rooms covering two floors in the former embassy building.

The embassy was built in the 1970s on Glinka Strasse in the old East Berlin and consisted of two buildings. After the Cold War, staff numbers at the embassy were cut and one of buildings was sold and is now being turned into the Cityhostel Berlin. The other building on the site still houses the North Korean embassy .

We hope that the money North Korea recieves from selling out of its embassies will be spend on improving the miserable living conditions in North Korea, but we fear that the money will be converted into sustaining Kim Jong-Il’s repressive regime and the ”Dear Leader’s” reputed exorbitant private consumption.

The history of the building and Cityhostel Berlin's location right next to the North Korean embassy will probably be attractive to many. Communist kitsch is a big thing in Berlin where the Ostalgie vibe has been going on for several years and in May 2007 the city got its first DDR design-hostel.

Author David Rich Momondo

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If you are interested in art and furniture and are in Berlin, don’t miss the Hoffmann Collection (Sammlung Hoffmann). It is not a museum but a private and very impressive collection of contemporary art from around the world. The collection is owned by Erika Hoffmann and on Saturdays she opens her spetacular 1.800 m2 apartment in a courtyard in Mitte for visitors. In the apartment - which once was a sewing-machine factory and a manufacturer of medical equipment – Erika Hoffmann presents works in various media, including painting, video, photography and sculpture.

Erica Hoffman and her husband Rolf Hoffmann began collecting art in 1968. They moved to the old factory in East Berlin in 1995 and two years later they opened their private home to the public. Erika Hoffmann has continued to collect art and continued the open-door-policy after the death of her husband a few years ago.

Upon arrival all visitors have to put on oversized felt slippers that are provided in the reception before they are allowed into the apartment. To ensure that all guests enjoy an intimate experience, the capacity on the guided tour is limited to ten people. The guide acts more like a moderator and encourages discussions among the visitors. He or she demands something from the visitor and might even confront you and ask: “How does this piece of art communicate to you?” So you'd better be well-prepared and in good form when you visit the Hoffmann Collection if you don’t want to make a fool of your self in front a group of dedicated and educated art lovers.

There is a raw industrial feel to Erica Hoffmann’s apartment. The rooms are huge with high ceilings and concrete walls and staircases. The floors are wooden and the range of furniture is extremely limited but the selection is delicate. Though the apartment has many similarities with a gallery there are small signs that indicate that someone is living here. There is a piano in one room, a messy desk in Erika Hoffmann's office and a pile of newspapers in the giant diningroom (Erika Hoffmann reads Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and not tabloids).

In July each year Erika Hoffmann changes the selection of work and rearranges the furnishings. To go on a guided tour in the Hoffmann Collection you have to book in advance. The entrance fee is 6 € and the tour lasts about 2 hours.

Sammlung Hoffmann, Sophie-Gips-Höfe, Aufgang C, Sophienstrasse 21, Berlin-Mitte.
www.sophie-gips.de

Author David Rich Momondo 

If you fancy cheap beer and table-tennis - then visit Dr. Pong in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg. At this ultra-popular bar you’ll probably spend most of the night with a table-tennis bat in one hand and a beer in the other.
Dr. Pong is situated in a trashy and run-down room with raw concrete walls and floors (on the website it looks a lot more polished than it actually is). The main attraction of the bar is placed in the centre of the room – a rather decayed table-tennis, which every night constitutes the battleground for competitive “round-the-table-games” between the arty and studenty crowd. Everybody can join in but remember - fair play is taken seriously!   
The table-tennis goes on until the early hours and you can expect the bartenders and DJs to grab a bat and join in after they’ve closed down the bar.

Dr. Pong, Eberswalder Strasse 21, Prenzlauer Berg
www.drpong.net

Author David Rich Momondo

Af: Walther Griesé, franklymag.com 

Hvid er nytårets farve verden over, og Benjamin Aillery fra de europæiske White Parties fortæller, at de starter nytåret allerede d. 28. december.
Her fester de på et af FRANKLYs favoritsteder i Berlin, spis-i-sengen-clubben La Loca, hvor de lokker med en ti-retters menu og de sexede Bangaluu-dansere.
De fortsætter med et White Party d. 29. december på Gran Canaria’s hippeste club Heaven og et pool party d. 30. december. Så de har næppe meget energi tilbage til selve nytårsaften …

Laloca@bangaluu, Nordbahnhof 3, Berlin – laloca-party.com