Day 1: Arrival in one of the world's friendliest capitals

You arrive individually in Berlin. We'll be staying at the wonderful Hotel Henri in Charlottenburg, where you can experience the special atmosphere of Berlin. This is certainly not a standard hotel. Here, you'll experience up close what makes our capital so unique: it's simply different. In the evening, you'll meet your tour guide at the hotel and we'll head off together for dinner at a restaurant specializing in Jewish/Russian cuisine (A).

Day 2: Berlin - a city of markets and citizens

To begin with, today we'll be looking at Berlin from the point of view of everyday life. The "high culture" comes later. We'll be walking and taking the subway to places like Markthalle IX, the famous "railway goods hall" in Kreuzberg. Walter Benjamin, a native Berliner, looked for signs of modernity in the passages of Paris. Here, too, he might have found what he was looking for, albeit during the city's heyday. Today, the "Bergmann district" at the Marheineke Halle offers a wide range of shops and restaurants. Other services have also found their place here, marking daily life in the heart of the city. In the Mitte district, the Arminius-Markthalle combines nostalgia and tradition with modern impulses for a lively cohabitation. In the afternoon, a completely different dimension awaits us: we'll visit Tegel Castle, where the Humboldt brothers spent their childhood. Now a museum, it offers us a glimpse into the humanist world of the wealthy bourgeoisie. (F)

Day 3: Berlin: cradle of world cultures

At the Humboldt-Forum, inspired by Berlin's former castle, ethnological collections take center stage. And this is precisely the subject that interests us: are objects from Africa, America, Australia and Oceania legitimately on display here? There are art treasure chambers all over the world. But here, collecting and exhibiting itself are called into question. The questioning of the colonial past and of the transfer or sharing of art objects stands in opposition to the traditional nature of the exhibition. A vast field of discussion opens up before us. We'll need to take into account self-reflexive and decolonial approaches. After lunch, we'll visit a very special exhibition in the New Museum's James Simon Gallery: Uzbekistan and its rich history along the Silk Road will be presented here, with magnificent exhibits. We'll hear about Alexander the Great or the beginnings of Buddhism in Central Asia. In a way, we can see this multicultural and incredibly colorful world as a model for our urban landscapes today: always surprising, always in constant exchange with the rest of the world and always at the heart of current events. (F)

Day 4: Towards the East and Antiquity

Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with all its treasures. However, to remain competitive, major renovations and modernization are essential. So we'll have to say goodbye to the Pergamon Museum for around 10 years. We'll have one of the last opportunities to see the collections before the museum closes. We'll enjoy a panoramic tour and also have time to explore according to our personal preferences. After a break, we'll then visit Nefertiti. The Queen of the Nile, wife of the famous Akhenaton, awaits us at the New Museum. Alongside portraits of officers, priests and princesses, she offers us a glimpse into the world of the pharaohs. And a reminder: some voices are calling for his return to Egypt. What do we think?

Day 5: Mitte Art House and SAVVY Contemporary

In the heart of the city, the House of Art Mitte is an exhibition space for contemporary art from the "Stiftung Asyl für Kunst" (Asylum Foundation for Art). The director of the house, Dr. Anna Havemann, will welcome us for a visit to an unknown artistic world, far from the mainstream. The exhibition is entitled "To be - Named". Since ancient times, the name has been one of the most important elements of the human personality. In magic and literature, but also in film, video installations and theater, the name is used to define the essence of the person named. Works by artists from all over the world and from different artistic fields have been selected to explore the possibilities of decolonization through name change and renaming. We can't wait! Dr. Havemann will also be revealing some of the projects within Europacity. At the SAVVY Art Center, a place for discussion and art has been created to challenge Western cultural concepts and those of other cultures, and to gather experiences of the world and man beyond the usual scientific parameters. Alternative media are experimented with to transmit and disseminate knowledge: bodies, music, stories or food, not forgetting performative actions such as dance, theater and performance art, etc. It's all about swimming against the tide of the exclusively enlightened conception of reason. (F)

Day 6: Berlin, the city of cinema

In the 1920s, Berlin was one of Europe's most productive and innovative film centers, with the UFA and Babelsberg film studios as its symbols. Stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Gustav Gründgens starred here. It was also here that Fritz Lang's famous silent film Metropolis was made. In 1936, the city had 5253 cinemas, more than any other city. Fortunately, many of the cinemas built in the 1920s still exist today, such as the Babylon Kino on Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße. Our walk takes us through the Scheunenviertel district, past buildings constructed in the Bauhaus style to the courtyards around Hackescher Markt. Only here can you find rare examples of Art Nouveau architecture. After a break in a Tajik teahouse, we'll enjoy the bustle of the Maybachufer market. An incomparable experience. Crossing the Luisenstädtische Canal, we then travel to Humboldthain in Wedding, where we descend into the underground. Around three million people had to be protected in Berlin during the Second World War. A large number of bunkers were built for this purpose, some of which can still be visited today. An unknown world is revealed. The rest of the day is at your leisure. Why not go to the Literaturhaus with other interested travelers? We can book dinner at the famous Zollhaus restaurant to suit your requirements. (F)

Day 7: Departure from Berlin

Depending on departure time, you still have time for your own explorations. (F) Hotel and program changes reserved. (F=breakfast, D=dinner)