The AnOther Roadtrip: Berlin

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Michelberger Hotel
Michelberger HotelPhotography by Stephanie Sian Smith

AnOther’s summer roadtrip continued with a stay at The Michelberger Hotel, a reconstructed old factory at the heart of the German capital's creative scene...

AnOther’s summer roadtrip, in association with the new Canon IXUS 510 HS, continued with a stay at The Michelberger Hotel, a reconstructed old factory at the heart of the German capital's creative scene. Opened in 2009, the hotel was created by first time hotelier Tom Michelberger and stylists Anja Knauer and Sibylle Oellerich. Internationally renowned German furniture designer Werner Aisslinger, famed for his industrial aesthetic, whose studio accolades include a permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, designed the interior. Aisslinger's approach for The Michelberger celebrates imperfection, with exposed concrete walls, metal cages filled with vintage books and magazines, battered leather luggage stacked from floor-to-ceiling, cuckoo-clocks, neon signage and oversized collaged lampshades featuring tear-sheets of Helmut Newton images and Princess Diana.

"Aisslinger's approach for The Michelberger celebrates imperfection, with exposed concrete walls, metal cages filled with vintage books and magazines, battered leather luggage stacked from floor-to-ceiling"

The hotel is situated in the Ossi region of Friedrichshain, opposite Warschauer Straße, one of the oldest U-Bahn stations in Berlin and is adjacent to Oberbaum Bridge, that crosses the River Spree and conjoins the neighbouring area Kreuzberg.  The municipality was historically working class and bore huge wartime damage. Friedrichshain, meaning "Frederick's Grove", was named after Volkspark Friedrichshain – the "People’s Park" created to mark the centenary of Fredrick the Great – and is the second oldest park in Berlin. Its recent transformation – following fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany in November 1989, low rents and a burgeoning creative scene – has attracted a wealth of tastemakers. The Michelberger is in close proximity to the largest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall, The East Side Gallery, as well as many of Berlin’s most celebrated nightspots, including Club der Visionaere and Watergate. Featuring a bar, restaurant, studio, outdoor terrace and its own coconut water for rejuvenation after late nights, the hotel aims to create a home-from-home experience.

View the AnOther Roadtrip, in association with Canon here.

Text by Natalia Christina