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.

One of my favorite sophisticated-but-casual places in Berlin. Everything is delicious and the restaurant is cozy and minimal at the same time. It is the right place to have a wonderful dinner with somebody special without being too anxious about the dress code :)

Excellent place for cured meats, cheese, whine and more from regional and European producers.

Beautiful atellier-stores around weserstrasse, this is from a very nice girl that make "sculpure hats" as she said. Excellent record store across the street also.

Peres Projects mostly showcases young, emerging artists and is at the forefront of fusing art with fashion, celebrity and the love of a good party, which seems to work very well in Berlin. Having recently moved into an ex-Soviet building on Karl Marx Allee, the giant new space contrasts brilliantly with the commanding facade.