
Midnight Berlin
Although Berlin has grabbed more headlines in the world’s press than most other capitals in the last decade, German photographer Klaus Schiedt maintains that there are vast tracts of the city which are largely unknown. So he spent the past two decades snapping those quiet corners in the witching hour, revealing both the eerie sobriety and the immense beauty of the city’s architecture. Berlin has long been famed for the dazzling diversity of its nightlife but this exhibition offers an alternative glimpse of its nocturnal character.
Vicar Street
As a music venue, Vicar Street is well known, but don’t let a lack of tickets to the next big gig stop you from popping in for a drink. The gorgeously designed main bar is big and bright, with windows on the world it seems - the most coveted seating areas are somewhere between the floor-to-ceiling windows and beside the huge roaring fire. As a lunch venue, the bar menu is substantial enough, with a moderately good wine list. Expect the usual leek and potato soup and ciabatta sandwiches. And best of all, as most people only think of going to Vicar Street for a pint before the gig starts, it’s empty most of the time.
Pipilotti Rist
Pipilotti Rist has created a total video environment, linking assorted video technologies, installation and music via a fictional Paris apartment, its occupant Himalaya Goldstein, and her body. The camera scans over, then pauses on details of the body projected above the white kitchen units, while in the living room, videos are projected out of sofas, over an old master, or on to the dining table, and photo furniture on a wall mingles with the real. If the individual elements are less captivating than the watery, maritime fantasy recently seen at the Swiss Centre, and there’s a hint of gimmickry, there’s no shortage of things to watch.
Café Saarein
For the last 20 years, Café Saarein has been Amsterdam’s only ‘women only’ café/bar. But with new owners and a recent renovation, the doors are now also open to the opposite sex. The split-level Saarein is the perfect local: cosy, comfortable, supplying snacks and a pool table, and located in the painfully scenic Jordaan neighbourhood.



