Cafe Strauss is a cafe located in the cemeteries on Bergmannstrasse in Kreuzberg. The cafe is in the old morgue building; one room for coffee and one for temporary art exhibitions. It has high ceilings, is very clean, and beautifully decorated. The coffee is great. The perfect hipster hangout – but does not have the same community feel of Cafe Finovo (which looks and feels like your grandmother’s living room.) These two cafes are sort of opposites in model/ concept, but both effective and an interesting way of re-using cemetery space to bring in more life.
Vanessa Enriquez, “Ending Time” @ the Glashaus on Bergmannstraße cemeteries.
The 11th of November is St. Martin’s Day or Martinsfeuer auf Deutsch. St. Martin was a knight who turned into a monk. He saw a beggar on the street and cut his cloak in half with his sword to share with the man during a snowstorm. This beggar was actually God and therefore Martin was blessed- and continued to spread good acts on earth. Children in Germany process around the town with lanterns they have made themselves. They also sing special lantern songs, and afterwards share sweets together at their school with their parents.
Also some art. What do you see? Look harder Freud. Georg Baselitz @ CFA Berlin