DESIGNMAI International Design Exhibition

Despite wet weather dampening the party, Berlin's DESIGNMAI international design exhibition once again attracted design-conscious locals and international experts to the capital in their droves.

Following Berlin's recognition by UNESCO as a 'City of Design', the theme of this year's exhibition was 'design and the urban landscape'. 80 different designers displayed their ideas at the central design hall at Gleisdreieck in Kreuzberg, many designers hoping that their ideas would be commissioned for projects in and around Berlin.Other exhibitions around town gave less established designers a chance to show their cheekier side. One notable example was the Ping Pong Door from Tobias Fränzel, on display at the DESIGNMAI youngsters exhibition. al

Berlin Hbf: A big glass elephant?

The train station formally known as Lehrter Bahnhof is almost ready to be unveiled as Berlin's new main railway station just in time for, you guessed it, the World Cup.

Following its opening celebrations on May 26th, Berlin Hauptbahnhof is boasting to cater for over 300,000 S-Bahn and regional train guests a day. Nevertheless, the absence of any major tourist infrastructure surrounding the new station may annoy international tourists.

The new station is in Tiergarten, strategically located between the former East and West Berlin centres. Despite it's central position, Tiergarten is currently home to mainly diplomats and politicians - it's hotel and hostel options almost negligible when compared to the area surrounding Berlin's previous main station, Zoologischer Garten. al

Berlin's new May day festival a success.

This year's 1st of May festival was a celebration of all that is exciting in Berlin - excluding the fists. For years the 1st of May protests moved through Kreuzberg 36 in Berlin bringing violent confrontations with police and shopowners.

Now, after just three years in the making the Kreuzberger Myfest stands firmly in the way of the protests (literally), whilst at the same time celebrating the many facets of Berlin life. This year's festival included 19 stages of music and dancing throughout the day in the Oranienplatz and Mariannenplatz areas.

As can be seen below, many protesters were forced to stay peaceful and join the celebrations instead - as much as the attitude levels allowed it ofcourse! al