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Gas Lamps in Berlin: Does Your Street Still Burn Gas?
Berlin still has more than 16,000 gas street lamps, almost all in the former West, and only about 3,300 are meant to stay. Type your street to see where yours stand.
Yusuf Ucuz
4 days ago6 min read


Where to See the Berlin TV Tower: Free Views Beyond Mitte
The TV Tower keeps showing up at the end of Berlin streets. These free viewpoints outside Mitte line it up with an avenue, a river or a hill, and each needs its own hour.
Yusuf Ucuz
5 days ago8 min read


Berlin Address Books: How to Find Out Who Lived in Your Building
Who lived in your flat in 1910? In Berlin you can usually find out, much of it free online. Here is the order I would search in, from the old address books to the building file.
Yusuf Ucuz
6 days ago6 min read


The Berlin Bear: Why the City Has One, and Where to See the Bears Worth Finding
The bear is on every flag and souvenir in Berlin, but few visitors know why. Here is how a pun put it on the coat of arms, and the handful of bears worth a detour on a short trip.
Yusuf Ucuz
Nov 36 min read


Wild Boar in Berlin: What to Do When You Meet One, and How to Keep Them Out
A boar walked into a Köpenick shopping centre in March 2026. Here is how to handle a meeting on the path, keep your dog and garden safe, and who to call in Berlin.
Yusuf Ucuz
Nov 27 min read


The Berlin Clock: How to Read the Lamp Clock by the Europa-Center
Four rows of lamps, no numbers and no hands. Here is how to read the Berlin clock in about a minute, where to find it, and why its inventor ended up rebuilding the light bulb.
Yusuf Ucuz
Nov 15 min read


Parcel Customs in Berlin: What You Pay and How to Get It Out
A parcel from outside the EU costs more from 1 November. Here is what you pay at each value, how the €45 gift limit works, and the four ways to get a parcel out of the Zollamt before it goes back.
Yusuf Ucuz
Oct 317 min read


What to Wear in Berlin in Winter: Dress for Wind, Wet and Ice
I went through ten winters of hourly weather at Tempelhof. A Berlin winter is a damp, windy 0 to 5°C with a few hard spells, so here is the coat, the boots and the layers I would pack, plus a grid that sets them by week and hour.
Yusuf Ucuz
Oct 306 min read


Power Cut in Berlin: Where to Go When Your Kiez Goes Dark
In January 2026 the power went out in Zehlendorf, Wannsee, Nikolassee and Lichterfelde for more than four days, and the phones went with it. What a Katastrophenschutz-Leuchtturm is, why only 25 of Berlin's 56 are ready, and how to find yours by postcode.
Yusuf Ucuz
Oct 296 min read
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