Dominating the south-east corner of the Tiergarten – the large and very welcome green park in the centre of the city – is the Sony Center, at Potsdamer Platz. Designed by Helmut Jahn, it towers over the Philharmonie concert halls. The tallest (103 metre) glass skyscraper is occupied by the offices of DB (German railways). Two things attracted my attention as I walked through the central forum: first, the breathtaking prices charged for simple food in the Center's three or four restaurants; and then, the remarkable patterns created by the steel and glass of the seven discrete buildings on the site, and in particular by the spectacular tent-like roof. So like many other visitors there I tried to bring it all together into some pattern pictures.
Later, after spending a very pleasant hour or so in the excellent Helmut Newton museum, immediately west of the Tiergarten (Zoologischer Garten U-Bahn and S-Bahn), I emerged to find some unexpected late afternoon sunshine. Walking down to Ku'Damm – as everyone calls the upmarket Kurfürstendamm shopping street – I found a couple of hotel buildings which made good pattern pictures. Not being a good shopper, and certainly not a designer shopper, I can't comment on the Ku'Damm shopping experience except to say that I find any ‘shopping street' in full flow a terrifying place, and I'm always happy to be able to escape... |
