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A Giant Reunion (literally) In Berlin To Celebrate The Fall Of The Wall

above: The Giant and Giantess (enormous marionettes by Royal de Luxe) reuniting.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall, an unusual, and BIG, event took place in Germany in the first week of October.

In the first four days of October nearly two million people celebrated “The Berlin reunion” with the BIG GIANT and the LITTLE GIANTESS. Sunday the GIANTS’ tale ended with their celebratory parade through the government quarter. When the LITTLE GIANTESS and the DEEP SEE DIVER left Berlin by boat, hundreds of thousands said Good bye to the two fascinating GIANTS from the waterfront between Moltkebrücke and Elsenbrücke.

the press release:
spielzeit’europa | Berliner Festspiele and the legendary French street theatre company Royal de Luxe will present a theatrical event in October on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On their journey through Berlin the two giant marionettes measuring up to 15-meters high, the Little Giantess and the Big Giant, tell a fairytale of finding each other again after a long separation. The event takes place under the patronage of the cultural minister Bernd Neumann and comprises the main event celebrating German Unification Day. Royal de Luxe will enchant Berlin’s public with their enormous figures and will revive the emotions of 1989.

Brigitte Fuerle, artistic director of spielzeit’europa, will present “The Giants Arrive – A Fairy Tale for Berlin” from 1 - 4 October open air and with free admission. At important locations throughout the German capital, such as the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden and the Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall), Royal de Luxe will tell a story particularly created for Berlin: ”We chose to deal with the theme of a drastic separation rather than an explicitly political one,” explained Jean Luc Courcoult, artistic director of Royal de Luxe. One day sea monsters ripped the city in two. One of these parts was then surrounded by a wall, causing the Big Giant to become separated from the Little Giantess. But then the Big Giant went searching…

“In a poetic and moving fairytale told in an incomparable manner and with a tender gaze, the giants render the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall into an unforgettable event. An event that deals with the great fortune and vast emotions of 1989 as a gift to the city and its people, as well as with the painful past and with all viewers from near and far. An October fairy tale for Berlin.” Brigitte Fuerle, artistic director of spielzeit’europa.

For 30 years Royal de Luxe have been representing exceptional street theatre, which the company practices throughout the world. Under the group’s founder and artistic director, Jean Luc Courcoult, in recent years Royal de Luxe have created fantastic theatre events using enormous human and animal figures that are guided by up to 40 actors and that move with incredible liveliness. In this way they delighted all of London in 2006 and went on to transform the streets of Santiago de Chile into a gigantic theatre festival in 2007. As part of spielzeit’europa in 2008 Royal de Luxe created the installation “La Révolte des Mannequins,” by which they captivated the pedestrians in front of KaDeWe’s display windows for an entire week.

“The Little Giantess and the Big Giant will bring magic to Berlin.” Joachim Sartorius, director of the Berliner Festspiele

The Story:

A moving and impressive celebration using the amazing giant marionettes created by Royal de Luxe, the photos tell the beautiful story better than I can.

The Giantess is awoke from sleep, showered and dressed and marched through town where she travels in a boat and slicker, eats a lolly and rides a scooter before meeting up with the Giant.

The Giant emerges from the water, where his helmet is removed and he is marched through town, awakened by music and finally led to Brandenberg gate where he will be reunited with the Giantess.

After being reunited, the Giant and Giantess spend the evening at The Brandenburg gate.

The next day they are awakened, each marched through the town and finally placed on a boat together where they sail off and bid farewell to Berlin.

A special thanks to Nina for her beautiful video of the event, shown below.

all photos courtesy of the official site

Where To Stay In Berlin? How About An Art Gallery That Sleeps Fifty. The Arte Luise Kunsthotel.

NOTE: This post was updated in 2012
Often called a "gallery where you can spent the night" in one of the city's most exciting neighborhoods, The Arte Luise Kunsthotel in Berlin has 50 rooms -- each of which have been designed by a different artist.

Room sizes and prices vary - as do the talent of the artists.

Nevertheless if you're looking for an unconventional hotel, this is the place.

Situated within view of the Reichstag building, the Spree river, Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden, and the Brandenburg Gate, this is a historical area that has been recently attracting attention with top-flight architecture, both old and new, on both sides of the Spree.

Comprising a neo-classical residential palais from 1825 and an addition from 2003, the hotel offers almost 50 rooms, a generous lobby, and an art gallery for holding events.

Above: The Lobby with sculptures by the Dutch artist Hans van Meeuwen and (below) a wall piece Markus Linnenbrink

Their single and double rooms and the suites are not only comfortable, but in the "bel-étage" of the old building, they are decidedly expansive. The rooms have a shower or bathtub, TV, free wireless Internet, and-in the new building-even air-conditioning. In the tradition of the "Künstlerheim" we additionally offer a few simple, very favorably priced single and double rooms in the mansard.

All rooms were decorated by a renown artist, whereby the entire room was included in the concept. Thus, every room is an original, and all rooms are only united by the high artistic standards with which the concepts have been carried out. Sculptures in the lobby and philosophy in the stairwell accompany guests en route.

The Stairwell of the Philosopher:

At the reception desk a young, competent team is at our guests´ disposal around the clock. The in-house restaurant "Habel" offers lovingly prepared German-Mediterranean cuisine, which is also served on the broad terrace in the hotel courtyard in the summer.

The Brasserie Habel:

Below are some of the higher priced rooms, the artists who designed them and the names of the rooms (double rooms with shower).

A. Paeslack (The Poor Poet):

Andrej Bitter (Tiergarten):

Elvira bach (Three Women In Red):

Hans van Meeuwen (Nest):

Heiner Meyer (Glamour):

Nathalie Daoust (Cabaret):

Nora Stalzer (Loop):

Oliver Jordan (Philosophenzimmer):

Stefan Jung (Zoom):

Thomas Baumgärtel (Banana Sprayer):

Volker Marz (A Tribute to Edward Hopper):

Wolfgang Petrick (Endmoräne Berlin / Endtime moraine Berlin):

A Hotel and Its Artists
Guests walking into a room at the hotel "Arte Luise Kunsthotel" find themselves within a work of art. Each room is unique, each room an artistic proposition, a museum, a gallery, an artwork and a place to inhabit.

A Berlin philosopher has added a dialectical dimension to the public areas of Luise. Sculptures greet guests in the hotel lobby. The director of a well-known public art gallery wrote about us, "This hotel is a place for art and an artwork of its own."

This has been made possible by over 50 artists who accepted the hotel's invitation to make a contribution. In designing different rooms artists have created scenarios that go beyond their work in the studio and reflect on the time, place, and situation of the traveler. The entire room is taken into consideration, usually including the furniture and other decorations.

The artists receive approx. 5% of the profit from "their" room as payment - a so-called artist obolus - a one-time compensation for materials and other costs, and a number of free overnight stays.

Most rooms are recommissioned every 2-5 years.

As the worldwide media response and the numerous guests of our house attest to the success of the unique project. This is our motivation for continuing to improve the quality of the hotel and offer new platforms for all manifestations of art with an outstanding niveau.