Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Berlinale film festival in February. The Beisheim Center, with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, is
modelled after classic American skyscrapers.
Sony Center
damer Strasse; 200, Potsdamer Platz, Potsdamer Platz)
is fronted by a 26-floor, glass-
and-steel tower that's the highest building on Potsdamer Platz. It integrates rare relics from
Potsdamer Platz's prewar era, such as a section of the facade of the
Hotel Esplanade
(vis-
ible from Bellevuestrasse) and the opulent
Kaisersaal
, whose 75m move to its current loca-
tion required some wizardly technology. The heart of the Sony Center is a central plaza can-
opied by a tentlike glass roof with supporting beams radiating like bicycle spokes. The plaza
and its many cafes lend themselves to hanging out and people-watching.
Museum für Film und Fernsehen
From silent movies to sci-fi, Germany's long and illustrious film history gets the star treat-
9030;
www.deutsche-kinemathek.de
; Potsdamer Strasse 2; adult/concession €7/4.50; 10am-6pm
Tue, Wed & Fri-Sun, to 8pm Thu; 200, Potsdamer Platz, Potsdamer Platz)
. The tour kicks off
with an appropriate sense of drama as it sends you through a dizzying mirrored walkway
that conjures visions of
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
Major themes include pioneers and
early divas, silent-era classics such as Fritz Lang's
Metropolis,
Leni Riefenstahl's ground-
breaking Nazi-era documentary
Olympia,
German exiles in Hollywood and post-WWII
movies. Stealing the show, as she did in real life, is femme fatale Marlene Dietrich, whose
glamour lives on through her original costumes, personal finery, photographs and docu-
ments. The
TV exhibit
upstairs has more niche appeal but is still fun if you always wanted
to know what
Star Trek
sounds like in German.
Be sure to make use of the excellent free audioguide as you work your way through vari-
ous themed galleries. Admission is free from 4pm to 8pm Thursdays. The museum is part of
the Filmhaus, which also harbours a film school, the Arsenal cinemas, a library, museum
shop and bistro.
