Berlin

Mercedes-Benz Celebrates 125 Years of Automotive Excellence

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events, Art

January 29 marks an important milestone in the history of Mercedes-Benz, inventor of the motor car and the world's most famous marque – on that day back in 1886 Carl Benz filed an application in Berlin for a patent on his three-wheeled "horseless carriage". Early critics claimed the contraption had no future; 125 years and over 80,000 patent applications later they couldn't be more wrong. Tomorrow night the company will mark the historic occasion with a gala at Mercedes-Benz World in Stuttgart featuring German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the guest of honor. "The invention of Daimler and Benz changed the world for the better - and it will continue to do so," states Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. "As the inventor we also have the claim to shape the future of mobility: with fascinating brands, green technologies and new business opportunities."

The central anchor point for the celebrations is the Mercedes-Benz Museum, which in 2011 celebrates its 5th anniversary at its new home in the Mercedes-Strasse in Stuttgart. In addition to the museum's incredible collection of classics, an exhibition from the company's collection of modern and contemporary art will be on display from May through September. Many of the works feature the history, models or design of Mercedes-Benz motor cars, such as Andy Warhol's legendary series of paintings CARS, created by the artist 25 years ago on the occasion of the marque's 100th anniversary, along with new work commissioned for this latest milestone. Along with various other events and commemorations meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is donating and planting 125 trees in New Orleans City Park to aid in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.

Gallery: 125 Years of Mercedes-Benz

Tags: Andy Warhol, Berlin, cars, classic cars, events, Germany, luxury cars, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz Museum, museum, Stuttgart

A Backstage Pass to Berlin Fashion Week

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Events

Luxe German publisher teNeues offers an all-access pass to one of the world's most cutting edge fashion weeks, that of Berlin. Backstage: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin is a suitably oversized, lavishly illustrated volume featuring 120 stunning images behind the scenes at the designers' shows. Leading photographer Claudius Holzmann, who has chronicled Berlin Fashion Week from the very beginning, sifted through approximately 40,000 images to select those that "capture the extremes of creativity and passion." Beautiful models, brilliant designers, talented makeup artists, high-strung hairstylists and an army of fashion soldiers are seen staging some of the world's most glamorous spectacles. The book, a must for any dedicated follower of the fashion scene, features text in both German and English.

Tags: Berlin, coffee table books, fashion, fashion designers, fashion shows, Germany, Mercedes-Benz, models, photographer, photography, teNeues

Ferrari 612 GTO Concept by Sasha Selipanov

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

What will Ferrari's planned 2012 replacement for the big 612 Scaglietti grand tourer look like? Berlin-based Sasha Selipanov, who calls himself the Angry Car Designer, has dreamed up one appealing possibility: a killer 612 GTO concept combining the sinuous lines of Ferrari's latest models along with a nod to the famed 250 GTO. Considering that Ferrari just unveiled its 599 GTO it's practically impossible that a 612 GTO could follow suit so quickly, if at all, but that doesn't stop Selipanov's project from being beautiful. He hasn't engaged in the usual concept car game of laying out engine specs and such or gassing on about quilted Alcantara seats; concentrating instead on gorgeously rendered lines. Feast your eyes and dream on.

Gallery: Ferrari 612 GTO Concept

Tags: Berlin, car design, concept cars, Ferrari, Ferrari 250 GTO, Ferrari 599 GTO, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

Milla Jovovich Stars in New Campaign for Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet [Video]

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Following the sexy ad campaign launched by Mercedes-Benz for the SLS AMG starring Julia Stegner last year, the German auto marque is embarking on a new promo starring model / actress / signer Milla Jovovich and the cool new E-Class Cabriolet. Set to launch at Berlin Fashion Week this July, Mercedes enlisted top fashion photographer Miles Aldridge to shoot the campaign, which will feature a bespoke hat made of colorful feathers by British designer Philip Treacy. "I liked the idea [of the collaboration] from the beginning," says Aldridge. "To me the car is like a luxury object of desire - you know, something you want. And it's a sort of very slick and sleek machine that is highly photogenic and fits very well in the picture. It was difficult because we didn't really know what Philip's hat would be like until it arrived this morning in its gigantic box. It was sort of a mystery, and of course, it's like a piece of art itself. It's like a sculpture." "I've never really worked with a car as my co-star in a campaign," Jovovich adds, "and the challenge is going to be not being upstaged by the E-Class Cabriolet, so I'm going to have to work it!"

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Tags: ad campaign, Berlin, hat, Julia Stegner, Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, Milla Jovovich, Philip Treacy, photographer

Finalists Announced for Hugo Boss Prize in Contemporary Art

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

guggenheim new york We're a step closer to finding out who will win the biannual Hugo Boss Prize, which is bestowed for achievement in contemporary art. Vying for the $100,000 award this year are the finalists just announced by the Guggenheim: Cao Fei from China, Hans-Peter Feldmann from Germany, Natascha Sadr Haghighian from Iran, Roman Ondak from the nation formerly known as Czechoslovakia, Walid Raad from Lebanon and Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand.

In addition to the cash – and possibly more valuable in the long run – the Hugo Boss Prize winner will also get a 2011 exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York. The winners are selected by a panel of art professionals that includes Ysmil Raymond, curator of the Dia Art Foundation; Udo Kittelmann, director of Berlin's Nationalgalerie and Tirad Zolghadr, an independent writer and curator.

Last year, the honor went to Emily Jacir. Previous winners include Matthew Barney, Douglas Gordon, Pierre Huyghe, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Tacita Dean.

Unlike most art prizes, this one stipulates has no age, geographic or medium-specific qualifications. It is as open as open can be.

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Tags: apichatpong weerasethakul, ApichatpongWeerasethakul, art, artist, artwork, awards, berlin, china, czech republic, czechoslovakia, CzechRepublic, douglas gordon, DouglasGordon, germany, guggenheim, hugo boss, HugoBoss, iran, lebanon, legal, matthew barney, MatthewBarney, new york, NewYork, prize, prizes, thailand

Ultra-Rare 1938 Maybach Cabriolet for Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Maybach is well known today as a modern ultra-luxury marque, having been revived by Mercedes-Benz in 1997; even more exclusive however are the original models made between 1921-1941. Less than 2,000 Maybachs were built during this period, of which fewer than 150 survive today, all in the tight grip of collectors. An ultra-rare 1938 Maybach SW 38 Cabriolet with coachwork by Spohn of Ravensburg (above) has now surfaced for sale in Germany via global online luxury marketplace JamesList for €690,000, or about $1 million. The elegant 5-passenger convertible, finished in two-tone red and aubergine, was exhibited at the 1938 Berlin motor show and sold right away to her first owner, Baron von Mylke. At the the end of the war the car was allocated to the Chinese military mission in Berlin and was acquired many years later later by a German architect who commissioned a meticulous restoration.

Tags: Berlin, Cabriolet, classic cars, ClassicCars, convertible, Germany, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz

Celebrating the Fall of the Berlin Wall

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Berlin Wall Memorial, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin Germany

It's been 20 years since the fall of The Berlin Wall, and the city's been celebrating all year, with special events, exhibits and hotel packages. I was in Berlin a few months ago, and even then, the energy around the anniversary was palpable -- strolling the sites defined by where the wall once stood, bristling with energy, it's hard to imagine the city divided. Potsdamer Platz, for example, was a barren urban wasteland and is now home to a moving temporary exhibit. And of course there are plenty of museum exhibits and memorials. (A list of special exhibitions here.)

Since we're now entering the anniversary of the season of unrest that led to the wall's euphoric end, on November 9th, 1989, this is the time to go relive one of the last century's landmark historic events, in a city with uniquely troubled modern history. The Westin Grand Berlin is offering a package that includes the opportunity to take hammer and chisel to a portion of the wall that the hotel has artfully (if a bit jarringly) placed right in front of its portico. This cushy hotel is convenient to the Brandenburg Gate and to other Wall memorials.

Gallery: Fall of the Berlin Wall, 20th Anniversary

A Piece of the Wall at Berlin's Westin Grand

Break Off Your Own Piece of the Berlin Wall at the Westin

The Brandenburg Gate, Once Sealed Behind the Berlin Wall

Tags: berlin, berlin wall, BerlinWall, history, hoteldeals, westin, westinhotels

Seeing Through a Mystery Boutique in Berlin

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Lux Tips

"Look into the window and guess what this store sells," said Henrik Tidefjärd, who runs Berlinagenten, a tour company focused on urban insider experiences in Berlin.

We were standing in the Mitte in trendy East Berlin, and although I'm a maestro in the art of parting with my money at retail, I was pretty much stumped.

The only object in the window display was a bike, so that was my first guess, but no. Beyond that, I could see a couple of comfortable black leather couches, some wooden cabinets, a mannequin head and a sign that said The Whitest Boy Alive. (Sorry about the glare in the picture there, it was a cloudy day. Check out the gallery below if you want to see what other evidence I had to consider.)

A shopper I am, but a detective I am not. I gave up, and Henrick pointed out the telling clue on the mannequin head: glasses. We were standing at the Berlin home of ic! Berlin the trendy high-end German glasses manufacturer. (I see Berlin, get it?) A further clue that I'd missed was a sheet of stamped metal propped in the window, as the company manufactures its incredibly lightweight glasses without screws. (Screwless-spring-hinge-insert-system, says the company's quirky literature -- as best as I can piece it together from it, the whole enterprise got started in 1996.) ic Berlin! regularly wins design awards for its hand-crafted eyewear, which are all made in the city, and run in the $400-$600 price range.

Just a few blocks down Henrik led me to another store whose product I was able to figure out immediately: Mykita. In 2003, there was apparently a great schism between the five founders of ic! Berlin, and two, Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling went on to found Mykita, which also hand-creates lightweight glasses without screws. Find either company's screwless specs at their East Berlin locations, through fine opticians or, in the case of Mykita at a second retail store just opened in Vienna.

Gallery: Glasses Made in Berlin

Tags: berlin, cool summer, coolsummer, sunglasses

Ritz-Carlton Berlin Special Package Celebrates Fall of the Wall

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Ritz-Carlton Berlin is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a special "The Wall" travel deal, good through December 29, 2009. The package includes one night in a superior room, an upscale breakfast, a ticket to the Berlin Wall Museum and a souvenir piece of the toppled wall. Other amenities are a piccolo bottle of the famous Rotkäppchen sparkling wine and a pack of Zetti sweet crunchy chocolate chips, both of which are well-known former GDR brands that went on to conquer the West , as well as a DVD of the film Good Bye Lenin!, which received nominations for the Golden Globe and Academy Awards. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with a "Gorbachev Cocktail."

Guests can book special city tours separately, such as the "Trabi-Safari," in which visitors can go sightseeing in a Trabant, a car produced in what was formerly East Germany. There also is a guided tour along the traces of the former border, either on foot or by bike. The package is priced at about $335 for a single room or $385 for a double room. To make reservations, call 800-241-3333, e-mail berlin.reservation@ritzcarlton.com or visit www.ritzcarlton.com.

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Tags: Berlin, Berlin Wall, BerlinWall, europe, Germany, journeys, Ritz, Ritz-Carlton, travel

Historic Berlin Museum To Open After Decades-Long Closure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

If you need an excuse to head to Berlin, Germany this fall, here's a great reason. The Neues Museum will open up in October for the first time since before World War II. The museum was first unveiled last week after a six-year restoration to repair damage done during World War II. USA Today reports that British architect David Chipperfield symbolically handed over the empty building's key to city museum officials. The museum is one of five in Museum Island, one of Berlin's famed cultural destinations. All five museums haven't been open to the public at the same time since 1939. The German government is working on a $1.5 billion updating of the entire Museum Island compound that won't be finished for at least another decade.

The Neues Museum will be home to Berlin's extensive Egyptian collection including a 3,300-year-old bust of queen Nefertiti. The $250 million restoration used much of the original material that survived wartime bombing and exposure to the weather. The goal was not to completely restore the building but to bring it into the modern age with its entire history intact.

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Tags: berlin, museum island, MuseumIsland, neues museum, NeuesMuseum

The Danube Express, Europe's Newest Luxury Train

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Danube Express (above), billed as the "first five-star hotel on wheels to be launched in central Europe for almost 30 years," just completed its maiden voyage from Budapest to Berlin. The Express' classic train cars were retrofitted with hand-built wood-paneled sleeping compartments with en suite baths at a cost of $200,000 apiece, the London Times reports. There's also a VIP compartment with velvet and copper accents that was formerly the private quarters of Hungary's last Communist president, which costs $5,000 for the journey. Other destinations including Prague, Vienna and Istanbul will be added soon.

Tags: Berlin, Budapest, Danube Express, DanubeExpress, Europe, Hungary, Luxury travel, LuxuryTravel, Train

Learn French In Germany Package

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Go to Germany to learn French? That's the offer from the Hôtel Concorde Berlin which is offering guests a brief French immersion with their "Luxury French Lesson" package. The five-star hotel is a a member of Paris-based Concorde Hotels & Resorts and is located on the Kurfürstendamm shopping boulevard/. The package starts at $371 and includes two overnight stay in an Executive room with a buffet breakfast in the St. Germain restaurant, a two-hour French language class at Berlitz Language School, a guided city tour focusing on French history in Berlin, and a tree-course dinner at the French brasserie le Faubourg. Plus the hotel staff speaks French and will help you practice. The package is available through August 24, 2008.

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Tags: berlin, french, germany, hotel, hotel concorde

High Style, High Security At The Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

What is your biggest concern when traveling? Is it cleanliness, service, security ... If security is what you crave then you'll want the Presidential Suite at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski next time you are in Berlin. The suite is in their Security Wing which includes a special lounge for chauffeurs and bodyguards. The suite has a telecommunications system independent of the building, a security hub with video monitoring, bulletproof walls and windows, and a self-sufficient power supply. You will be pampered too, the suite has a spacious living, sumptuous master bedroom, a Finnish sauna, a massage/fitness area, private safe room, dining and conference area and a kitchen for the butler. Your posh fortress will run you over $25,000 per night.

[via Executive Travel Sky Guide]

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Tags: berlin, hotel adlon, HotelAdlon, presidential suite, travel

US World Cup Team to Stay in Hamburg

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

While the German team stays in Berlin, the US World Cup Team has made arrangements to stay at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Hamburg, Germany. The hotel is located in the center of the city and, while not having quite the same historical significance of the Schlosshotel Berlin, it is hardly lacking. The 282-room hotel occupies the top floors of the Levantehaus building, an old but historic warehouse that has been stripped and luxuriously finished. Ultramodern with a hint of old-fashioned charm in its decor, the rooms are largely minimalist. It offers all the usual amenities found in modern hotels, including high speed internet and satellite television, as well as an indoor pool and health club.

The largest room at the Hyatt is the Presidential Suite. At 1,500-square feet, the suite offers views of the city from the living room and, in addition to the highly detailed decor throughout the suite, a marble bath with a waterfall shower. Access to a private concierge is also provided.

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Tags: berlin, germany, hamburg, hotel, hyatt, park hyatt hamburg, presidential suite, PresidentialSuite, sports, tournament, ultramodern, united states, us team, world cup

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