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Ostalgie and Viet-Turkish veg cuisine

A weekend in Berlin

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How do you define Berlin? The titles certainly do not lack: youth capital, green city of Europe, cradle of underground culture and techno, multicultural melting pot... . If it is true the rule that there are infinite and very personal versions of a city, equal to the number of those who live or visit, Berlin has struck me for three elements: the ostalgie; the corners of Vietnam and Turkey and the veg-vegetarian culinary landscape that offer.

Ostalgie: memories of a past neighbour.

In the Nineties this term was spread, which identifies nostalgia for the GDR, to be understood not as a desire to restore the past (even if someone theorizes a return to that political model), but as a rediscovery and appreciation of aesthetics, uses and customs of a part of History of the city. The German capital is full of references to this tradition: in traffic can happen to be lined up behind a noisy Trabant, the utilitarian of the people become a cult symbol of the East, while they cross the pedestrians, chased by the Ampelmännchen, the little man of the traffic lights by now transformed into a brand of the city.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Karen Cabrera (@das_kaleidoskop)

Looking up from the streets, it is in the architectural style of the buildings that the GDR continues to exist. For those who have lived west of the Courtain (or for those who were born after this scheme fell) it will seem surreal the rigor and linearity of the residential buildings, in full Soviet rationalist style, they are located both near the central Alexanderplatz and in the suburbs, visible from the railway that connects the airport.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Arjang Varahram - l❤Berlin (@a.c.germany)

Even in the monuments the memory remains: at the Marx-Engels-Forum there are (and not smeared!) two statues depicting the authors of the Communist Manifesto; the facade of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, one of the most prestigious conservatories in Europe, It is decorated with bas-reliefs depicting Lenin and Marx speaking to the crowd. Or: in the hall of the Staatsratsgebäude, now a university building but formerly the seat of the State Council of the GDR, you can admire a stained glass window depicting workers and fighters of the people: it seems that Berlin does not want to hide its Soviet soul, but that instead he shows it, with the knowledge, perhaps wrong in the eyes of a non-Berlin, to have reckoned with his recent past.

Berlin-Saigon axis: Vietnamese flavours.

There is a line that connects Vietnam and Germany: both nations, in fact, have been divided by the clash between the Western and the Socialist bloc. Berlin was for years the destination of immigration of the Vietnamese people: in the Fifties the first North Vietnamese war refugees arrived in the East; in the Sixties instead many South Vietnamese students came to study in the West, where they later found employment. Effective and decades-long integration policies (residence and work permits, language courses, vocational training, economic aid) have made it one of the most integrated and numerous foreign communities in the city: their presence has changed and enriched not only the view, but also the taste!

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Espen Eichhöfer (@espeneichhoefer)

There is no Straße in Berlin that does not host a showcase of a Vietnamese restaurant! A cuisine with sweet and decisive flavors, with a wide vegetarian proposal: fifty shades of Pho, the soup of noodles made from bean sprouts, mint and lime, which can be found in the take-aways of the city; not to be missed are Gỏi cuốn, the rolls of rice sheets filled with fragrant herbs and crunchy vegetables. All drowned in sweet and sour or spicy sauces. Even the desire for sweet is satisfied: the Bánh da lơn, made with coconut, sweet beans, rice and starch, can only close your break. Immerse yourself in this oriental experience, YO! PHO (a short walk from the Oberbaumbrücke) is the ideal place: a modern and dynamic environment, in the heart of the historic multicultural district of Kreuzberg.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da YO!PHO (@yo.pho42)

The Turkish capital of Europe: not just Döner kebab.

Over two hundred thousand Turks live in Berlin; one and a half million are those who have chosen to live on German soil: how did such a large community form? After the Second World War, the reconstruction of Germany proceeded slowly because the male population had been decimated during the war. The need for workers attracted Italians, Greeks and, indeed, Turks: coming from the rural areas of Turkey, they were employed in German industries with temporary contracts. In the Seventies, however, many decided to stay in Germany, reuniting with families: this process was not favored either by the local population or the government. With the new millennium, however, the melting pot has gained speed and today we can say that, like the Vietnamese one, the Turkish community represents a vital and important soul of Berlin.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Berlin Etkinlikleri (@berlinetkinlikleri)

Turkish cuisine is also well represented in the city streets and, surprisingly, offers a wide selection of vegetarian dishes! So not only kiosks of Döner kebab, which are in step with the times offering also a veg version of the typical Turkish dish, but also restaurants and bistros where you can breathe the cozy Middle Eastern atmosphere. Not far from the Hackesche Höfe, lively Art Nouveau courtyards communicating with each other, there is Alay by Hasir: welcomed by a lounge bar, ideal for a quiet evening, we continue towards damask halls and velvet sofas. Dishes to share on the table: chickpea hummus, eggplant Babaganoush, Dolma (rolls of vine leaves), Çiğ köfte (meatballs made with mint and bulgur). Not to mention the typical sweets, in which the pistachio reigns: baklava drowned in honey and kunefe are the end of the gastronomic adventure in Turkey.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da ALAY BY HASIR (@alaybyhasir)

Enclosing in a definition the different souls of Berlin is impossible: it would not give proper importance to each of its individual elements that, together, make it one of the most fascinating cities in Europe.

Images Federico Ingemi