Insider Guides recently enjoyed an extraordinary tour of the historic 'Funkhaus' in Berlin, nestled along the Spree river in the charming Treptow region. Our guide, Christian, led us through this iconic complex, once the radio broadcaster of East Berlin, constructed between 1951-56 with 3500 employees at its peak.   Biggest purposely built sound studio in the world.   Industrial event art space for 10,000 persons.   MONOM is Berlin's Center for Spatial Sound, home to the world's most advanced spatial sound instrument.   Club and chill out room.   Since ..read more

Insider guides were treated to a fantastic educational tour all around the historic district of Mitte exploring French influence in Berlin since the arrival of the Hugenots in 1685. At one time 1 in every 5 Berliners was a French Huguenot! Originally they settled in the Friedrichstadt area just outside what was then the city walls, now very much in the central area around the aptly named Gendarmenmarkt. The next great period of influence was Napoleon's reign over Berlin from 1806 to 1814. It was during this time that the Jewish community benefited enormously from the Emancipation Edict of 181 ..read more

Max und Moritz Compliments to the kitchen and staff of Max and Moritz for providing great food and excellent libations for the entire Insider team on Friday last. What a wonderful atmosphere to celebrate! Max and Moritz is a legendary Berlin culinary institution, operational since 1902. Think of all the changes it has seen in the last 121 years. We were all impressed by the high quality of food served and the top class service throughout. Max and Moritz is always worth a visit ..read more

Kudos to our guide Dr. Thomas James for managing to book one of the last guiding slots for Insider guides in the Pergamon museum before it closes for a min. of 14 years! Why so long? Well it all has to do with it being built on a swamp originally. Most of the next 14 years will be spent 'underpinning' this museum. We will dearly miss guiding groups there, as we now focus on creating a new tour showcasing all the other wonders of Museum Island. Stay tuned ..read more

Annual Insider /Fat Tire BBQ 2023 What a wonderful evening we had, chillin' and grillin' with friends and colleagues. A big shout out to chief organiser, Grillmeister/King of Spatulas, and sports director for the evening, Mike Stack. We had perfect weather which at dusk brought out a swarm of June Bugs. Never heard of the before, now we're experts on them! Tempelhofer Feld - what a location. Get yourself down there. No other city center location can give you a horizon like on the photo above. For anyone unfamiliar with ithis location, here a snippet from Insider's CityGuide: 'This former airp ..read more

Insider guides are always exploring. After many years of guiding tours all around the the Russian embassy, we finally got access to the inside of the building. The Russian Embassy Originally built in the 18th century as a palace for a high-ranking Prussian military officer, it was bought in 1837 by Tsar Nicholas I. As foreign property ownership was not allowed at the time in Prussia, he conveniently became an honorary citizen of Berlin. During WWII the building was used by Alfred Rosenberg, head of the Ministry for Occupied Eastern Territories. In 1942 it was destroyed during All ..read more

Humboldt Forum Again – So much to see, so little time. Insider’s Educational Nr. 4 in 2023. We decided to hold a second Insider educational at the Humboldt Forum because there were so many spaces not visited first time round. Remember this is a vast complex of museums and exhibitions. Our main focus this time was the Ethnological Collections and Asian Art Museum, the Ts’uu – Cedar Exhibition, the Benin Bronze Room, and the Against the Current, a North American Indian/First Nations Exhibition. Starting outside with the Sanchi East Gate replica. Sanchi is a Buddist complex north east of Bophal ..read more

Welcome to Berlin! If you are new to the city, or it’s been a while since your last visit you may notice things are a little different here than other European cities. Here are seven basic tips to get you navigating the capital like a local. Transportation 1. Obey the Ampelmann This is the Ampelmann. Isn’t he cute? He was an East German invention designed to make street-safety fun for children. When he’s green and happy, like the picture above, it means it is safe to cross the street. But when he is red and sticking his arms out, stay off the road. The trouble is, that the wides ..read more

Humboldt Forum – A Lesson in Contradictions, Conflict and Compromise. Insider’s Educational Nr. 3 in 2023. Access to the rooftop is (still) free and easy to organise (book at reception), even last minute. You get a fabulous view over Berlin. From here you can really see how the modern city radiates outwards from this point. There is a rooftop restaurant/café, an excellent place to mark sundown. Hofgespräche. With our Insider guide extraordinaire, Tarek Ibrahim, we discuss the vision for the Humboldt Forum. The past is fairly clear but the present, not so sure. Is it a musuem, a site for cult ..read more

The long name to Berlin's newest and most excellent documentation/exhibition centre reflects some of the conceptual stages it went through from 1993 to its opening in 2021. Insider Tour guides were treated to an eye-opening and thoughtful tour of the exhibition by their wonderful guide, Emma. The first floor chronicles refugee causes and experiences world wide. The second floor deals almost exclusively with the estimated 12.5 million Germans who were expelled and displaced from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Rumania and other countries at the end of WWII. During that post-war time of total devast ..read more