velvet, chiffon & caviar

booked through the internet for two nights at the Radisson SAS hotel, Leipzig, a town in the Saxony area, an important centre for the publishing community and book trade.
checked in, hunger striked. went down to the lobby lounge and ordered some quick food. simple sandwiches, refreshingly tasty.
lying back on the velvet cushions, glancing out towards the large viewing windows towards the town centre, the contrast between hasty crowd and the light music, wrapped around with chiffon finished interior, was simply too comforting.
on the manual in the restaurant next door, they have salmon, truffles and caviar, suggested to be accompanied with wines of a specific brand and vintage...all without a price!
i thought the air dried beef sandwich was enough to keep me happy for the day.

wind sculpture

these metal profiles became animated objects whenever there's a breeze.
wind, something you can't see, but you can feel its presence.
small intervention, dramatic effect.

Leipzig, HBF

was the largest Railway station in Germany before the opening of the Berlin HBF. finely decorated with immense level of detailng.
with light luggages, we were preparing to take a taxi to the hotel we were going to stay, the SAS Raddison. Upon presenting the address to the driver, she replied that the distance was so close that she advised it's better off for us to travel there on foot, especially under such a lovely day.

it took us some 20 mins to get there from HBF.unusal for people who live in Hong Kong, getting used to sheltered walkways, and air conditioned space. but itwas a healthy walk, and good to breathe some fresh air.

HBF, Berlin

DB, HBF, abbreviations that one will see when travelling form city to city in Germany. Deutsche Bahn, the German railway network, is probably one of the most efficient system on Earth (maybe at a neck to neck tie with the JR Japan Rail). During our trip, we need to make a journey from Berlin to Leipzig, a former East German city, and what's better than travelling on a train running at over 180 km/h yet enjoying over a glass of Pilsner !! what's more important was that you can actually book your ticket in advance with DISCOUNTS! reserve your seats, and even print out your own tickets!!! comparing that we still need to pay extra (about 10% more) here in Hong Kong when you book tickets to the movie thru the internet, you know there is something seriously wrong with the city here in Hong Kong.

DB has a really helpful website in English which can guide you thru step by step.

as for the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, which was just recently opened in time for the WorldCup 2006, its scale was simply ...massive! with the dozens of platforms interweaving in all directions, the skylight above, and the numerous shops lining either side on different levels, it just felt like inside a huge robotic castle, expecting to see androids, cyborgs everywhere.

will post more photos on this later.

btw, a day to remember! we finally have more than 1000 viewings since opening!

the red glows...

on stepping out of the liftcar, what was visible was none other than a faint glow of red light, subdued music of pure instrumentals broadcasting in the background. the only clue that we have reached the designated floor was thru the illuminated digital number on the call panel inside the lift.

turning our heads and checking our orientation, we noticed that all walls were painted in white, no extra inch of cosmectic decoration, the only colour was coming from the thickly woven carpet in red under our feet.

the instant we made a further step, the corridor suddenly came alive, as if inside the intestine of a gigantic dormant creature, woken up by adventurers venturing in. panels affixed to walls started to glow until the entire windowless corridor was filled with an intense crimson red.

we made our way past the corner and arrived at the door, pulling out a small, black twig from my pocket, given to us by the tall, charming blonde a moment ago, and placed it near the door handle, without touching, a click was sounded, and the little indicator lamp on the door turned from red to green.

we turned the handle and entered...

yes, the hotel we were staying for the night....
it's name?
Hotel Q!

German cuisine - Lubitsch

located at no.47 Bleibtreustrabe, we did not stumble onto this restaurant accidentally.
didn't have a clue as to which restaurant to go to for our first dinner in Berlin, we decided to consult the highly informative "Style City - Berlin". Being in Charlottenburg the whole day, in order not to travel too far, we had a few choices, finally we picked the Lubitsch, not only for its reputation, but also because one of the owner is an art dealer, Volker Diehl...to kill two birds in one stone.
the place was not difficult to find at all, located in a quiet neighbourhood, the warm, soothing interior lights announced its presence.



not a large restaurant at all, accommodating maybe a dozen tables. finely decorated interior with a team of friendly and reassuring staff. the chef, Florian Maria Schymczky, has a strings of famous fans, including Prince Charles and the late Helmut Newton.



picked the chilled tomato soup as a starter...refreshing and simply delicious!

Swiss Hotel, the statues

not far away from Kranzlereck, still on Ku'damm...

Kranzlereck - Helmut Jahn

In Kurfurstendamm, we came across a number of unique buildings, and one which stood out from the rest was definitely the Kranzlereck (Kurfurstendamm 18-21). the sharpness at the wedge shaped definitely caught the wandering eyes.

the curious thing was that the most outstanding part of the building did not serve a specific function, like a decorative architectural feature. not very German, the thought crossed my mind...

the building was designed by Helmut Jahn, a German architect, studied under Mies Van de Rohe, and later settled in Chicago in the 60s.

the church in blue

next to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche is this octagonal concrete church, designed by Architect Egon Eiermann. it presented itself as a stark contrast to the original church, while its modernist appearance might not appeal to all, due to its lack of transparency on the outside (to be more precise, the external wall is in fact fitted with thousands of patterned blue stained glass, but it just doesn't reveal to you what's inside), it possess a mysterious attraction to curious eyes.

once inside, the setting was simply overwhelming! right in front is a golden figure of Christ, created by Karl Hemmeter, in a background of glowing blue grid.

we have today all the technology on LED to create special lighting effects, but this piece of architecture relies on nothing but the natural light and the stained glass facade, and yet its effect is one of the most stunning in terms of a contemporary interior of a religious building.

to create such effect, the artificial lighting in the interior is dimmed to the minimum, for without darkness, one can not feel the presence of light. the antagonistic duality exist, one can not live without the other.

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche

at the cross section of Ku'damm & Kurfurstenstrabe stands this church monumnet. after walking on Ku'damm for a whlie, this monumnent basically becomes a beacon that beckons you. the church was destroyed by bomb during the 2nd World War, and to remind the people of the War, it was decided the church not to be rebuilt and to erect a new octagonal church in blue glass next to it.

last night, Germany lost to Italy in the WorldCup, but they displayed the quality of a future champion!
France vs Portugal tonight, difficult to call which one will proceed to the final...

clarity. when time stood still

"we will never get out of here."
3 hours since arriving at Berlin, we were still in the Charlottenburg area, not far from Savignyplatz. Although the area was probably nothing more than a quiet, residential area with finely decorated restaurants on the street level here and there, there seemed to be endless stories behind every windows, curtains, doorways and corners.

as we walked along one such side street, suddenly felt the absence of irritable noise, no engines revving, only the occasional whispers of birds in a considerate octave. the clouds above, high in heaven, moved in slow motion, one can not resist to raise one's head to marvel at the slow moving, white fluffy cotton.

then eyes were fixed onto a scene, a solitary tree, rested on awhite background, the facade of the 5, maybe 6 stories building lost its details, exist there perhaps only to compliment the presence of the tree.

it suddenly occurred to me that the same scene, same setting, must have crossed the minds of countless individuals at this very spot, only at a very different time and perhaps under very different circumstances...

as if time stood still, all was quiet, all surroundings faded into a blur...

Italian in Berlin

the most popular food in Berlin, we later found out, is not Bratwurst or all other forms of sausages but is italian food. and there's a handful of Italian restaurants in the Ku'damm area.
Italy vs Germany next week in the semi-final of Worldcup 2006. hard to tell who will come out as the victor...