Sunset, Chinese Cuisine in Berlin & Christoph Niemann

The group went to see the sunset at the top of Victoria park the other day. It kind of became more about taking pictures than enjoying the sunset, though.

Beautiful sunset and the shining Benz

To my surprise, there actually are some authentic Chinese restaurant in town. Interestingly, I have only seen Chinese people in one of the four Chinese restaurants that we went to. Unlike most Chinese restaurants in the United States where menus are written in Chinese and English, the menus here are in German and English. We also had another speaker–Christoph Niemann, a freelance illustrator who has worked for New Yorker, Time, MoMA, etc.

Illustrator Christoph Niemann

He showed us some of his amazing works and we were able to get to know his production process. But what inspires me most is his stressing on the importance of your real passion. “You could do something as your job for one or two years, but you will not be able to compete with these who has the passion on the long run.” Christoph Niemann sets a great example of what could a person achieve when he does something he loves and something he is good at.

Graffitis!

One of the most extrusive signs of Berlin is its vibrant graffitis. The paintings on the Berlin wall remains the largest canvas in the world.

The door of my subject’s apartment was covered by colorful paintings.

Walls covered in graffitis are everywhere in Berlin. People seldom pay special interest to them except for us tourists.

An interesting article by Smashing magazine explains the history of Berlin street art.

 

 

In the past few days we also had the chance to meet with this WSJ journalist Mary M. Lane. She is twenty-six years old and now responsible for the art beat of Wall Street Journal in Europe.

 

WSJ journalist Mary M. Lane

The important lesson from her is that do not expect to enter the field that you have the most interest in when you start as a journalist. Start from where the newspaper need you to be and find a way to your interest afterwards.

Tranquil city & John MacDougall

 

 

 

Berlin is a city of tranquility.

As a country with temperate continental climate, it is neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. In the sunny days of summer, Berliners are relaxing/reading in every corner of this beautiful city.

  

 

AFP photo journalist John MacDougall:

MacDougall gave us a lot insightful suggestions about being a journalist. One suggestion that fits into my previous experience in photo journalism is that try not to invent a scene, but to record what happens in front of you. One important part in our work is to “hold it back” and remember our role as observers.

 

When asked whether he would like to devote his time and energy to long and complicated photo stories, MacDougall said no because “if you are to do a complicated photo story, you need to get back to your subject and your photos a lot, but I have my family, which is what I need to get back to consistently”. In other words, he chose family over work.

For me, this is an enlightenment about how to balance the relationship between work and family. The point is to accept what goes along with your decision: more family time, less hard work(and probably less achievements?).

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Alexanderplaz, Berlin

 

 

 

Alexanderplaz is not only a busy transportation hub in mitte, Berlin, but also a large public square that allow people to give out speeches, protests, enjoy their time with their families or doing all these at the same time.

 

Policemen at the gathering on Alexanderplaz.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a trade agreement that is presently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States. It aims at removing trade barriers in a wide range of economic sectors to make it easier to buy and sell goods and services between the EU and the US.

Demonstrators.

 

 

 

Kids being lifted up by their parents to see the stage.

The plaza is served as a multi-function platform where kids could play around while serious discussions are happening.

Berlin: Bike City at First Sight

There are tremendous bike riders on the pathways in Berlin.

School children rides a bike to and from school.

Probably going to work?

Age is not stopping Berliners from riding bikes.

Bike riders also need to wait for the traffic sign–both as pedestrians and as other vehicles.

It is interesting to see the bike riders in the stream of cars. They move swiftly, dodging the heavy vehicles that are sharing the road with them.

Cyclists in the Velothon Berlin, the second largest bicycle race of its kind in Europe. This bicycle race is actually a city marathon and it is said that this race attracts more than 13,000 participants and 250,000 spectators every year. Whenever the cyclists passed by, we would stop, spectate and clap. So did the other passers-by we encountered. This race has indeed become a festival for Berliners.

The interesting parking spots for bikes along the road in Berlin.

       

An Berliner resting with his bike.