If you are interested in art and furniture and are in Berlin, don’t miss the Hoffmann Collection (Sammlung Hoffmann). It is not a museum but a private and very impressive collection of contemporary art from around the world. The collection is owned by Erika Hoffmann and on Saturdays she opens her spetacular 1.800 m2 apartment in a courtyard in Mitte for visitors. In the apartment - which once was a sewing-machine factory and a manufacturer of medical equipment – Erika Hoffmann presents works in various media, including painting, video, photography and sculpture.

Erica Hoffman and her husband Rolf Hoffmann began collecting art in 1968. They moved to the old factory in East Berlin in 1995 and two years later they opened their private home to the public. Erika Hoffmann has continued to collect art and continued the open-door-policy after the death of her husband a few years ago.

Upon arrival all visitors have to put on oversized felt slippers that are provided in the reception before they are allowed into the apartment. To ensure that all guests enjoy an intimate experience, the capacity on the guided tour is limited to ten people. The guide acts more like a moderator and encourages discussions among the visitors. He or she demands something from the visitor and might even confront you and ask: “How does this piece of art communicate to you?” So you'd better be well-prepared and in good form when you visit the Hoffmann Collection if you don’t want to make a fool of your self in front a group of dedicated and educated art lovers.

There is a raw industrial feel to Erica Hoffmann’s apartment. The rooms are huge with high ceilings and concrete walls and staircases. The floors are wooden and the range of furniture is extremely limited but the selection is delicate. Though the apartment has many similarities with a gallery there are small signs that indicate that someone is living here. There is a piano in one room, a messy desk in Erika Hoffmann's office and a pile of newspapers in the giant diningroom (Erika Hoffmann reads Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and not tabloids).

In July each year Erika Hoffmann changes the selection of work and rearranges the furnishings. To go on a guided tour in the Hoffmann Collection you have to book in advance. The entrance fee is 6 € and the tour lasts about 2 hours.

Sammlung Hoffmann, Sophie-Gips-Höfe, Aufgang C, Sophienstrasse 21, Berlin-Mitte.
www.sophie-gips.de

Author David Rich Momondo 

The Michelin restaurant-guide has been extremely generous towards Tokyo. In the Tokyo-guide – Michelin’s first guide outside Europe and the United States – nothing less than 191 Michelin-stars are awarded to 150 Tokyo-restaurants. No city has ever been awarded this many Michelin stars, and Tokyo totally outbattles Paris on the gastronomical battlefield. Previously, Paris had the most stars, at 97.

"Tokyo is a shining star in the world of cuisine," Michelin Guides Director Jean-Luc Naret said at a news conference in the Japanese capital. He declared Tokyo "the world leader in gourmet dining."

Eight restaurants in Tokyo, including two sushi eateries, received Michelin’s highest three-star rating. About 60 percent of the restaurants in the Michelin guide serve Japanese food, while a majority of the other restaurants are French.

It has been hard work doing the research for the Tokyo-guide. Five Michelin inspectors (three European and two Japanese) went undercover in Tokyo for a year and a half and eat their way through 1,500 of the city's estimated 160,000 restaurants to decide on the ratings. Bad job!

Tokyo’s 3-star restaurants are:

Joel Robuchon, French
Sushi Mizutani, sushi
Kanda, Japanese
Hamadaya, classic Japanese
L'Osier, French
Koju, Japanese
Quintessence, French
Sukiyabashi Jiro, sushi

See all the Michelin rankings in Tokyo here [PDF].

Related articles:

Tokyo doesn’t want Michelin-stars

Paris hits back on the gastronomical battlefield 

Author David Rich Momondo
 

Do as Miro, Picasso, Gaudi, Hemmingway and other famous artistes and enjoy your absinthe at Barcelona’s legendary Bar Marsella. This authentic little bar in Barcelona’s Raval-district looks as if it hasn’t chanced a bit since it opened in 1820. It’s often very crowded at Marsella that is extremely popular among local students, young alternatives, failed artists and ....... tourists, who all share a common interest in absinthe and the drink's sideeffects.

You order the absinthe in the bar and the bartender will bring a glass full of potent absinthe, a sugar cube, a bottle of water and a spoon. Wet the sugar in the absinthe, lay the spoon on your glass, place the sugarcube atop and then light it on fire for thirty seconds. After the sugar starts to break down mix it into the absinthe until it dissolves and add as much water as you feel like.

It might be difficult to find Marsella’s entrance that looks like a covered window, but once you’ve found it and entered, a unique and rather hallucinatory bar-visit awaits you.
Marsella, Carrer Sant Pau 65

Author David Rich Momondo

Santralistanbul is the name of Istanbul’s new and impressive center for contemporary culture and arts, which opened in September 2007. Santralistanbul is located on the tip of Istanbul’s coastline known as the Golden Horn – the earliest industrial zone of Istanbul.

The center is founded by Istanbul Bilgi University and is the first of its kind in Istanbul. The ambitions are great as indicated by the name Santralistanbul. In Turkish “santral” means power plant and the vision is that Santralistanbul shall be “electrifying” and give Istanbul a more central role in the arts and culture networks worldwide. However, Bilgi University also expects Santralistanbul to stimulate urban regeneration in the traditional and religious neighborhood Eyüp. The reference to "power plant" not only relates to the ambitious visions but also to Santralistanbul's location in the former and now renovated Silahtaraga Power Plant that was established in 1911 as the first in Istanbul during the Ottoman period. 

The power plant is a colossal structure and covers a land of 118.000 sqm. Much of the campus is still under construction and in addition to the new Museum of Contemporary Art, Santralistanbul is also going to house university classrooms and departments; a Museum of Energy; a public library; a park; multiple cinemas; a dance hall; open air performance spaces; restaurants; a shopping street and artists’ residences. These are expected to give residency to 1.000 local and foreign architects, designers, thinkers, scientists and cultural professionals every year.

Santralistanbul, Eski Silahtaraga Elektrik Santrali
Kazim Karabekir Cad. No:1
www.santralistanbul.org 

Author David Rich Momondo