The Helmut Newton Exhibition, SUMO shows how one of the most ambitious and expensive art projects of all times was realized. In 1999, the German editor Benedikt Taschen and the famous photographer Helmut Newton collaborated to create an incredible book that has become an icon of visual art and photography for the XXth century.

This book presents some 400 pictures in 70×50 cm format. Many of these photos were unknown until those 2 passionate men made them famous. You will find portraits that will strike you by the unique emotion they carry which defines precisely Newton’s art. The SUMO book weighs in at a hefty 35 kilos and there have only been printed 10 000 copies, all of which bear Newton’s signature. The book soon became an item for art collectors and its value keeps growing.

Now, some 10 years after this project happened, Berlin offers a commemorative exhibition presenting the ‘making of’ the book. You’ll get to see all of the pictures that are in the book but also “Three Boys from Pasadera” which displays Mark Arbeit’s, Georg Holz’s and Just Loomis’ works, great photographers who became real fashion artists during the 70’s as well as Newton’s collaborators.

learn german online

Between the 15th and 23rd of August Germany’s capital will be the host for the maximum international competition in athletics to be held in the breath-taking Olympic stadium. The 12th World Championships in Athletics 2009 are organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). During those exciting summer days the world seems to be in an exceptional situation, whether the millions of spectators in many countries following the competitions on TV, or the lucky visitors who can enjoy this spectacular event live in the Olympic stadium.

More than 2,500 of the best athletes from over 200 different countries will compete in 47 exciting disciplines for the beloved medals. So you will have the possibility of enjoying spectacular competitions in the various disciplines, like sprints, middle distance and long distance events, the breath-taking hurdles, long jump, high jump, discus and javelin, etc. You will be part of all these competitions in a unique atmosphere full of emotion.

Learn German Online

Why not learn German online

This unique island is situated in the northern part of the Spreeinsel, the famous island on the river Spree, in the centre of Berlin. The Island owes its name due to all the prestigious museums there. This piece of land enjoys a kind of historical importance: in former times it was the residence dedicated to “arts and science” from Frederick William IV of Prussia around 1841. Over the centuries under the rule of different Prussian kings, the art collection and archaeological treasures became more extensive. Finally since 1918 they belonged to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (Stiftung Preu?ischer Kulturbesitz).

The festival organizers aim to present the science of yoga in all his philosophical, psychological, cultural, sporting and health aspects. They consider yoga as a sort of instrument to develop ones body, spirit and soul. Yoga is just for everyone! With practising yoga you improve your health and feeling of well-being. Besides, it guarantees you to be relaxed and to be in a good mood. In the last editions, this concept was very successful and especially nowadays yoga is the perfect way to escape from the problems of everyday life.

The festival programme stands out for the following events: the yoga session with Swami Yogananda, the most important yoga master from India, who is 99 years old but enjoys better health than today’s young people; the concert of Al Gromer Khan who will captivate you with spectacular sitar music; Jenny, Jason & Team from San Francisco will show you their ACRO-Yoga; the mantra-concert of Satyaa and Pari from Greece; the exposition of photography about India by Andre Wagner and lots more spectacular events.

The Sachsenhausen concentration camp takes its name from the Sachsenhausen district, (Oranienburg), located only at 35km from Berlin. It operated between 1936 and 1950. Sachsenhausen was destined to be the model to follow and most important of all the concentration camps. Of the 200.000 prisoners that were sent there, about 50,000 were brutally murdered. From 1936 to 1945 Sachsenhausen was controlled by the Nazi regime, but from 1945 to 1950 it fell into the hands of the occupying Soviet forces. But at first, like all the concentration camps in the area, it was built by the Nazis and designed to massively annihilate political opponents, Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and war prisoners.

The New National Gallery in Berlin houses a collection of European painting and sculpture of the twentieth century. Inside you can find paintings by famous painters such as Munch, Picasso, Klee, Kirchner and Dalí. One of the most representative works of the collection is the Potsdamer Platz, a representation of the nightlife of Berlin, founded in 1914 by Kirchner.

The permanent collection displays a series of works of the twentieth century, including cubism, expressionism, surrealism and the Bauhaus. This is an exhibition of works that represent different expressions and feelings that are reflected in each work. There are artists of great calibre like; Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Mueller, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel and Emil Nolde.

The Berlin Gay Pride, better known as Christopher Street Day, is held at the end of June (June 27th, 2009), coinciding with other notable Gay Pride Celebrations such as the New York Gay Pride, the San Francisco Gay Pride, the Paris Gay Pride , the Madrid Gay Pride along with other cities around the world.

In addition, during the weekend before the Pride parade, Berlin will host the annual Lesbisch-Schwules Stadtfest festival, turning it into the Europe’s longest running gay event. So, from June 20th the German capital will be the centre of the gay cause.

The Gay Pride will take place in the Berlin popular gay district of Schöneberg. The heart of the LBGT movement, the Nollendorfplatz will be the scene of celebrations for both weekends (19th – 21st) and 26th and 28th respectively.

The idea of this festival, which took place for the first time in Paris, comes from the French minister of culture Jack Lang from the year of 1982. It has become one of the most important international events. The Fête de la Musique unifies millions of people in over 340 cities of the world, 60 from those are in Europe, and more than 20 in Germany. They organized this festival for the first time in Berlin in 1995. Since then, the festival is one of the most important parts of the cultural and musical scene in Germany’s capital.

Normally, people are attracted by the beautiful streets where they can go shopping all day long. After visiting the main museums and monuments in the city, tourists can do lots of shopping!

There are several places to start your shopping tour: from the famous shopping street Kurfürstendamm, 3.5km long, or the Fasanenstraße street to the famous shopping centre KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens). Here you can buy almost everything: from clothes to an inexhaustible variety of food. The Arkaden (in Potsdamer Platz) is also very popular. It has a multitude of elegant shops that will make your credit card tremble!