travel background

Whilst backpacking through Europe last year my main aim was to visit all the well-known landmarks and see as much of the cities I visited as possible. When researching travel and tourism for design and visual culture this year it has brought up a lot of issues with authenticity and escapism.

Is something as authentic when you don’t know they history behind the landmark? Why was I so bothered by the landmarks and not the culture? Within the media we are bombarded with travel images and create pre-conceived perceptions of cities before I even visit them. I had seen so much of Berlin before the Summer I visited I wanted to see this in person. All the images below are my own, unless otherwise, I enjoyed going to Berlin with an SLR, a digital is just no good to me in comparison…

This time around, Berlin was much more insightful, yes I visited the tourist hotspots, but also focused on the culture, its people and alternative and interesting places that are off the beaten track. My aim in this research project is to show you both tourist Berlin full of history and information but also alternative Berlin full of culture, modernity and quirks that you wouldn’t find in the average tourist handbook.