The most beautiful hotel pen

Hotel give-aways are not often very appealing. But there are exceptions, like Kempinski's pens. They have state-of-the-art timeless design and feel. They really reflect the luxury brand they are serving. The pens are actually a collaboration of two heritage brands, Cross and Kempinski. I got mine from Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin.

Three wise men from Babylon

Piece of Ishtar Gate from Babylon at Berlin's Pergamon Museum.

Some bubbly

I love my drinks bubbly. On my recent Berlin visit I tasted Austrian sparkling water called Römerquelle. In addition to its nice texture, it has been nicely branded. The bottles are beautiful, not to mention their glasses. Their branded glasses have Roman soldiers as reliefs on their bottoms. I wonder can I find them in London?

A good pattern

Bauhaus

Berlin is the home of Bauhaus style. Bauhaus is my favorite design approach with its functionality and simplicity. In fact, most of the current day design and architecture is more or less based on Bauhaus principles. It is fantastic how the principles from the early 1900's still influence the design today. Even the Nazis could not destroy the movement's legacy. Less is truly more as one can see from the Stadtmitte U-bahn station sign - it is pure Bauhaus. A perfect place to find out more about this style is to visit Bauhaus Archiv in Berlin.

Colorful gods

My visit to Berlin last weekend would not have been complete without visiting one of Berlin's most interesting museums, The Pergamon Museum. I have been there many times, but still it has something new to offer on every visit.

This time there was a micro exhibition called Colorful Gods. It showcased reproductions of ancient statues that were painted unlike we have used to see them before. Most of the found ancient Greek and Roman statues are white or they have only pale traces of paint. The ancient colors have faded away in many cases because the colors used in ancient times were organic and sand and water have made their best to polish the colors away. With modern technology it has been possible to trace back the colors that were originally used. It was fascinating to see the statues, although reproductions, in color instead of black and white. One could feel the ancient times coming back to life.

Berlin patterns