West Berlin gets new popularity
For decades, West Berlin was the glamorous side of the city behind the Iron Curtain. That changed when the Wall came down. The Berlinale moved from the premiere cinema Zoo Palast to Potsdamer Platz, the Kurfürstendamm, once the meeting place for Berlin's chic crowd, lost its glamour as artists and creatives discovered the East for themselves. Berlin-Mitte developed into a promenade. Galleries, fashion shops and design studios moved to the East, including Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain – partly because rents were cheap and there was a lot of pioneering spirit here. This has been changing again for some time now. The East has established itself, and rents are now sometimes even higher than in the West. For some time now, investors have been rediscovering the West around Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf. Berlin's City West is adorning itself again. The Zoo Palast has made a brilliant start. And the Waldorf Astoria, a 5-star hotel, opened on Breitscheidtplatz last year. Now the »25h Hotel« and the »Bikini-Haus« will follow.
First, our film team met designer Werner Aisslinger at the »25h Hotel«. He and his team helped design the hotel, which is currently the centre of attraction – not least because of the »Monkey Bar«. Very interesting concept and a great view! We also went to »Bikini-Berlin«, which is due to open in spring. A concept mall that we are already looking forward to. So forget the East: let's go to the West!
