T-0 12

"K2T Wisata"

Located in Stuttgart, T-0 12 is one of the coolest clubs in Germany. Spread over three floors, T-O12 is a dream in monochrome. Designed by architecture firm Ippolito Fleiz Group and graphic designers i-d buero, T-0 12 was top ranked by Playboy and Glamour magazine.

 

The interior is a glossy mysterious, pitch-dark space with stark white furnishings and huge black-and-white murals in contrast to the all black-floors and ceilings. The bar area glitters with mirrors and tiny lights that stimulate the senses. Features nice atmosphere, T-0 12 provides top level DJs which will keep you moving well into the early hours of the morning. Official website: www.t-o12.com

Tour the best of Berlin

"K2T Wisata"

Berlin is a big city where there is a lot to discover. Even after living there for months, or sometimes years, you will realize there is still always something new to see, a concert to attend, an exhibit you have not yet visited or an area you have not toured.

But what if you are only taking a trip to Berlin for a weekend or just a couple of days? With low cost airlines putting up all their winter season specials and promotions, you may find yourself all of a sudden booking a flight to Berlin and a hotel in Berlin, and planning tourism in the city without knowing what to expect.

Berlin is a German city, the capital of Germany, but many say it is completely different from the rest of Germany. It is a city that is all about history, with its rich past including the rising and falling of the Berlin wall, and the city being the main division and joint at the same time for the former Eastern Germany and Western Germany.

Aside from history, Berlin is also about art, about being able to express oneself and free to do so. Many move to Berlin because they feel like they can be more free, accepted and tolerated when living in Berlin, since it is a very diverse and cosmopolitan city.

The aspect of the city is very eclectic, combining traditional historical architecture and huge old buildings with more modern and functional architecture of recent times. The combination of both styles has not been planned or carefully studied, but is the result of the transformations and modernization of the city, so it is a good way to track how Berlin moved from the past into the XXI century.

If you are interested in the city’s history, its past and its present, but you do not have much time to see it all, you might be interested in our Berlin Half-Day Sightseeing Tour and GDR Museum, which will give you a chance to see the best of Berlin in a 3-hour long tour in Berlin. This way, you only need to allow half a day of your visit to see the best of tourism in Berlin.

>> BOOK YOUR BERLIN TOUR

We meet after breakfast, 10 in the morning in the Kurfurstendamm/corner Rankestrasse – opposite the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The Kurfurstendamm – or Ku’damn, as known by the locals – is considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin and is, therefore, one of its most famous streets. If arriving by metro –the Berliner U-Bahn – take the exit in Kurfurstendamm or the one in Zoologischer Garden.

From there we hop on our bus for a comprehensive morning guided tour in Berlin, seeing its most iconic attractions and landmarks. Our fully narrated tour will first take you to the Branderburg Gate – in German, Brandenburger Tor – an old entrance to the city of Berlin, built in the late 18th century resembling the main entrance of the Acropolis of Athens, and one of the main symbols of both Berlin and Germany.

We will next visit the Reichstag, which houses the German Bundestag -Parliament and the Federal Government-. Since 1999 it houses the Parliament, and features a cupola from where those who visit the Reichstag can see Parliament workers in action at their main hall – a symbol of the government’s transparency.

Checkpoint Charlie will be our next stop. You have probably heard that name already, as it is the most renowned crossing point for the former Berlin Wall, which was only used – during the Cold War – by the Allies, the military, foreigners, GDR officials and employees of the Permanent Representation; but it was also the scenery of spectacular escape attempts from Eastern to Western Germany.

We will from there ride through Berlin to the Tiegarten. Get to know the largest park in Berlin and, if you are lucky to take the tour on a sunny or warm day, you will see Berliners walking around, enjoying the sun, chatting, on a picnic or doing sports in all parts of the 210 hectares that are part of this urban oasis.

From the Tiegarten we will ride to Potsdamer Platz – in English, Potsdam Square. A very popular attraction of the modern Berlin, also called the “New Berlin”, Potsdam Square is surrounded by big modern buildings, as well as a great variety of restaurants, shops, theatres and cinemas.

Continuing with the modern parts of Berlin we will next visit the city’s main boulevard, Unter den Linden, and learn about the origin of its name, which in English means “under the linden trees”. This iconic boulevard in central Mitte district is a great place for shopping, with the major commercial stores and famous shopping malls located on both sides of the road.

Our tour will then conclude with a visit to the GDR Museum. If you are fascinated by the history of the city of Berlin and the former division between Eastern and Western Germany, then this museum is for you, as it is dedicated to the history of the former German Democratic Republic – Eastern Germany – showing you what life was like in this former socialist state.

The GDR Museum is also considered the most interactive museum of Berlin, so you can really get hands-on and experience history by exploring each of the rooms. You will be able to zap TV channels to see East or West German programs, open drawers, look behind cupboards and try the engine of an old “Trabant” car from Eastern Germany.

>> BOOK YOUR BERLIN TOUR

With a combination of sightseeing and museums, our tour in Berlin is the perfect introduction of the city to first-time visitors.

Dream Voyage Aboard Disney's Newest Ship

"K2T Wisata"

The Disney Dream, the newest addition to the Disney Cruise Line, will be taking to the seas with its 4,000 passengers for the first time Jan. 26, 2011. The Maiden Voyage is almost booked to capacity. The next available cruise date is Jan. 30, 2011, but cabin reservations are going fast. This is only the beginning. Disney Cruise Line is building a fourth cruise liner with its Maiden Voyage set for April, 2012. Disney Fantasy is accepting reservations now so you can be aboard for the first of its many voyages.

Disney Dream's contruction began in March 2009 at a world-renowned German shipyard in Papenburg. Don't know where Papenburg is? It is in the upper northwest corner of Germany on the river Ems bordering the Netherlands. The ship reflects the glamour of the golden age of cruising during the 1930's. Although that means nothing to the little ones, the adults will appreciate the elegance and sophistication that was a part of the era incorporated into the ships decor. Comparing the Dream to its sister ships, Wonder and Magic, it is approximately 40% larger. Total number of beds on the Disney Dream is 5007, 1,900 more than Disney Magic or the Disney Wonder. All that additional space makes Disney Dream two decks taller and over 150 feet longer.

There is something for everyone onboard. An adults-only entertainment area called The District is home to 5 distinct lounges and nightclubs. Kids clubs, activity centers for tweens and teens, and a plethora of unique interactive programs and wondrously themed immersive spaces, musical live shows, first-run films, Digital 3-D movies and fun-filled family deck parties are all a part of the experience. To top it off, and your kids are going to love this, Disney Dream features the first water coaster at sea called "The AquaDuck". A 4-deck drop from the top of the ship that safely carries its riders over the side of the ship and back. How's that for a thrill. Not for the faint at heart or those who have a fear of heights.

So, grab those mouse ears and brush up on your Disney characters, your in for a wild ride of "can you buy me this Dad" and "let's go Mom" and "smile for the camera". At least you won't be worried about how much the food costs or trying to figure out what's left on your dining plan because it is all inclusive.

Disney Dream is scheduled to sail to Bremerhaven, where shipbuilder Meyer Werft will officially deliver the ship to Disney on Dec. 9. Final supplies will be loaded, and the remaining crew members will board the ship before it sets sail for its home in Port Canaveral, Fla. The ship is scheduled to arrive just after the New Year.

Vitra’s Home

"K2T Wisata"

Vitra’s Home Collection presents their new showroom in Weil Am Rhein, Germany. The eccentricity and modernistic structure was designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. Vitra House is a part of the ever-expanding Vitra Campus that started as an industrial park with the manufacturing facilities. The furniture’s brand already features buildings by Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando and etc.

 

Vitra House is geared toward the general public. The five-story structure is comprised of 12 separate houses and will display products that are designed primarily for the private home. For more information and photos click here

 

The island of Rügen

"K2T Wisata"

Cast your eye over the map of the Baltic Sea and you’ll find a galaxy of islands that tempt the visitor. Of the nine countries that fringe the Baltic, only Lithuania and Latvia do not have populated offshore islands.

In total over half a million Europeans live on islands in the Baltic region, with four islands each having a population of over 50,000. The latter include Rügen, which is Germany’s largest offshore island. At the other extreme are small communities like the Estonian island of Ruhnu, where no more than a few families overwinter on a remote fragment of land far from civilisation.

The island of Rügen

The beaches of Rügen. Photo: Franz Rossman

Rügen is splendid in summer, with its magnificent chalk cliffs, long avenues of horse chestnut trees and beech woods. But let’s face it: the Baltic is no Riviera so don’t go to Rügen if your style is more Saint-Tropez. Brigitte Bardot and Binz would not be natural partners. Yet Rügen has its own appeal, and while the island does not have fiery southern warmth, it does boast enviably long sunshine hours in the summer months.

But in our book, Rügen comes into its own in winter, when the tourist crowds have gone and island life slumbers.

We took time out last week to explore Rügen, our visit happily coinciding with the first substantial snowfall of the winter. Autumnal beech woods morphed overnight from red to white, and the steam trains that chug every hour through eastern Rügen seemed to puff even harder than usual in the cold weather.

Rügen’s eastern end

Our favourite corner of Rügen is the island’s easternmost extremity, an area of shallow bays and long peninsulas called Mönchgut. To really get away from it all, head for Klein Zicker, a little village with that end-of-the-world feel, where almost every house lets out rooms to visitors.

The sole hotel in the village, called Zum Trauten Fischerheim, has discount winter rates that, for stays of two nights and more, effectively bundle in dinner for free as part of an all-inclusive dinner, bed and breakfast package.

If Klein Zicker is too remote for your tastes, try chic Sellin, well placed on the steam railway east of Binz. The town boasts what we think is probably the finest pier anywhere in the Baltic region. In Sellin, our favorite spot to linger is the Pension Tatjana, which brings a dash of Russian (or more correctly Belarusian) flair to Sellin. Tatjana hails from Vitebsk and her Sellin guesthouse is a Rügen instititution. On cold winter days, the little Russian-style café on the ground floor of the guesthouse seems like the cosiest place on earth.

Getting there

Rügen is easy to reach, for the island is linked to the German mainland by both a new road bridge and a causeway that carries a rail line. Direct trains from Berlin and Hamburg to Binz, a popular summer resort on the Rügen coast, take just four hours.

The island is also served by seasonal ferry services from the German mainland, the neighboring island of Usedom (which is part German and part Polish territory) and from the Danish island of Bornholm. Rügen also enjoys year-round ferry links with Sweden, Lithuania, Russia and the German island of Hiddensee.

Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany

"K2T Wisata"

The new monochromatic buck up structure at Porscheplatz is designed to be a specific icon of the “Porsche Idea” presented, pressure organic its complexity, inside. more than three decades proximate the original Porsche Museum opened in Stuttgart, Germany, the family-owned automaker invested more than $130 million in an all-new facility to present the storied saga of the marque. The new museum is designed to be appreciative further than 200,000 visitors each year. In addition to the 80 historic vehicles on yawning display, the inspiring digs houses a workshop whereas restoration, historical archives and generous conference areas. We were invited to a idiosyncratic preview of the new Porsche Museum useful days before the doors officially opened last date. chance us inside being a tour after the jump.

The first Porsche Museum opened its doors in 1976. Located imprint Zuffenhausen, a parish of Stuttgart, the private museum was trifling and intimate. undoubted was identical high-reaching enough thanks to about 20 exhibits, although experienced were literally hundreds of near-pristine cars in storage out of the public’s eye. Nearly five years ago, Porsche recognize out to build an all-new museum.

IFA Berlin 2010

"K2T Wisata"

IFA Berlin 2010 is the world’s largest electronics trade fairs in the world. It took place from 3rd to 8th September and some 1164 exhibitors presented their products. The IFA Germany offered a unique combination of markets and the ideal platform for international traders, buyers, consumers and industry. Visitors had opportunities to interact with the world’s famous manufacturers and explore the most-up-to-date products.

The event featured seven different segments: IFA Home Entertainment, IFA Audio Entertainment, IFA Home Appliance, IFA My Media, IFA Public Media, IFA Communication and IFA Technology and Components, presented the comprehensive range of brands, products and novelties.

Samsung stand was designed by Editorial. Eight huge “leaves” form a semi-circle space, embodying the ultra flat, lightweight, brilliance, and eco attributes. Inside, the monument becomes a moving three-dimensional stage for the Samsung brand. The double mirroring by 180 degrees doubles the room in depth and height and pulls it optically upwards, thus creating the effect of a huge dome with brilliantly colorful, moving “windows”.