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.

Flughafen Tempelhof was once the symbol of nazi-pride when Hitler notoriously comissioned construction of the smallest duty free shop in the world (and a beautiful example of fascist architecture). After the war, Tempelhof became one of the frontiers of the cold war with the U.S. battling the communists (who undoubtedly wanted to get rid of the small duty free shop altogether) via the Berlin Airlift. It turned out to be a huge succes, and enabled the allied forces to remain their presence in Berlin and save the small duty free shop. The real free-market victory will come in about two years though, when project developers will take over and start building houses, blocking my view onto the airfield.

Best record store in Berlin. A great selection of Rock, Folk, Indie, Wave, Industrial and especially the huge floor dedicated to House and Techno Records. Staff are typical Berlin-Style - not very friendly but very knowledgeable.

The typical Berlin winter is biting cold and grey. In combination with the hardness of the city and the angry natives, it feels like a hostile area. Why it's worth experiencing it? Because that's the way this city is.

The central ‘Mitte’ area of Berlin is packed tight with galleries and museums, which means you can cram a lot into a short amount of time, if that’s what you want. The best of the lot is the Me Collectors Room, which shows off large chunks of the Thomas Olbricht collection alongside other contemporary private artworks. The permanent ‘Wunderkammer’ display offers over 200 pieces from the Renaissance and the Baroque periods, with a solid focus on the strange and macabre. There’s even a Mark Ryden original that fits in nicely.