Tuesday's lunch hour tip is the amazing Berlin Philarmonic. A short-duration concert (around an hour) happens every Tuesday at 13h, for free. People make the Philarmonie's foyer full, sitting on the stairs, on the ground and everywhere around. Little advice: bring with you a little cushion for more comfort and try to arrive early to find the good spots.

Everyone knows Berlin is a mega party city, but it is not a generic type of party that is easily found in other cities. Berlin attracts a number or eccentric weirdos, and it is great to go people watching at nearly any venue within the city. This specific image reveals a dance party, featuring American Bounce musician Katey Red and her crew performing at Sudblock.

One of the most beautiful pieces of Berlin actually is a piece of another city (Al-Hillah, Iraq). Normally Berliners are laid back and like to hang around, drink beer and chat till sunrise. Sometimes they do get excited though, and then they start taking old war-battered stones and piecing them together to (re)form walls. The results are great as can be seen all over Berlin, but the Ishtar gate in the Pergamon museum is where they’ve really outdone themselves.

This is the kind of world where I really feel safe. My Berlin home is the the place where my intimacy is, the place where I meet up friends, where I cook for them, where I love. It is the perfect shelter if I fall apart..

Secret place that is almost always empty.