Berlin’s latest attraction: The Computer Game Museum

by Sean McLachlan on

If you’re under thirty, computer games have always been a part of your life, but for us old farts wise elders, we remember the first time we took hold of a joystick and moved a spaceship through an asteroid field, or ran a ravenous little yellow circle around a maze while being chased by ghosts. If you’re under twenty, you probably don’t even know what games I’m talking about.

Here’s your chance to learn. The Computer Game Museum has just opened in Berlin. The Computerspiele Museum, as it’s called in German, presents the history of gaming from its early days on room-sized computers in the 50s and 60s, through the arcade craze of the 80s and on up to today. There are even experimental installation pieces examining possibilities for the next generation of gaming, such as RaveSnake, an eight-player game controlled by cell phones via Bluetooth. The developers call this a new genre of “party games for the sidewalk.”

The museum has an archive of about 14,000 games, and some are set up so visitors can play them. According to a detailed article by Deutsche Welle, this is the second incarnation of the museum. It was previously open for a few years in the 90s before shutting down. In following years it created temporary exhibitions for other museums until it got a space of its own and opened on Friday.

In case you’re wondering, the screenshot is of Pong, a table tennis simulator that was one of the earliest games available to the general public, being released in 1972. That’s before even my time!

[Photo courtesy user Bumm13 via Wikimedia Commons]

First gay museum in the U.S. opens in San Francisco

by Sean McLachlan on

Less than a month after President Obama repealed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the U.S. has gotten its first gay museum. The GLBT History Museum is located in the Castro District of San Francisco. Run by the GLBT Historical Society, it features 1,600 sq. ft. of exhibition and activity space.

Yesterday was its grand opening and visitors got to see two exhibitions: Our Vast Queer Past: Celebrating GLBT History and Great Collections of the GLBT Historical Society Archives.

The GLBT Historical Society has some history of its own. It was founded in 1985 and has one of the largest archives of its kind. Currently there is only one other gay museum in the world. The Schwules Museum in Berlin is the first museum dedicated exclusively to GLBT history. It had its first exhibition in the Berlin Museum in 1984 and moved to its own space in 1985.

[Photo courtesy GLBT Historical Society ]

Daily Pampering: Mandarin Oriental’s ultimate car package in Munich

by Melanie Nayer on

Feel the need for speed? Mandarin Oriental, Munich, has a package just for you.

The luxury hotel group put together this ultimate dream package for car enthusiasts which includes four days’ use of a sleek Mercedes Benz to tour the scenic areas of Southern Germany, plus visits to some of the world’s most important car museums and factories: Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Porsche. The world famous BMW Welt and BMW museum, as well as Audi’s largest plant in Ingolstadt, is just an hour’s drive away from Munich and the hotel.

While you’re rocking the open roadways, stop off at Stuttgart, a two and a half hour drive from the Mandarin Oriental, Munich and home to the fantastic Porsche and Mercedes Benz Museums. The Porsche Museum has approximately 80 world-famous and iconic vehicles while the Mercedes Benz museum has 1500 exciting exhibits.
The dream drive package also includes a night at The Brenner’s Park-Hotel & Spa in Baden-Baden, a small retreat surrounded by its own private parkland on the banks of the river Oos. This hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, and is located an hour from Stuttgart.

The price of this daily pampering: Package costs starts at EUR 1,477 (approximately $1900 USD) per room and includes:

  • 2 nights at Mandarin Oriental, Munich including breakfast at Restaurant Mark’s
  • 1 night at Brenner’s Park-Hotel in Baden-Baden including breakfast
  • 1 Mercedes Benz limousine for self driving for three days
  • 1 tour of the BMW Welt and BMW museum in Munich
  • 1 tour of the Audi museum and factory in Ingolstadt
  • 1 tour of the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart
  • 1 tour of the Mercedes Benz Museum and factory in Stuttgart

* Private tours and driving sessions can be arranged on request at an extra charge

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

British tour company criticized for offering ‘Hitler tour’ around Germany

by Melanie Nayer on

Would you spend $3100 to tour sites only associated with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler? One British tour group put together a trip that does just that, and is under fire by critics over the distasteful offering.

The tour takes 30 tourists on a luxury $3100 trip through Germany to visit sites associated with Hitler, according to a report in The Australian. The articles says the eight-day trip in June – titled “Face of Evil: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” – has been sanctioned by German authorities.

The tour includes more than just visiting a few concentration camps, which is common on many other tour groups through Germany. The concentration camps, which for many are a must-see when in Germany, are a significant part of history. But can you say the same for Hitler’s lakeside villa where he planned the Sachsenhausen concentration camp? That’s one stop on the Hitler tour, along with the spot where Hitler committed suicide.

Tour leaders say the trip is for those with a true interest in the history of the Holocaust era and will prevent any Neo-Nazi members from taking the tour; critics say the trip is a “perverse pilgrimage” to honor Hitler.

We want to know what you think:

Would you pay $3100 to take a “Hitler tour” of Germany, or do you think this tour should be taken off the tourist itinerary offerings?

Legoland California announces Star Wars attraction

by Leigh Caldwell on

Legoland California will be the first Legoland theme park to launch a Star Wars Miniland area. The Star Wars Miniland, which will have models of favorite Star Wars scenes constructed entirely of Legos, is set to open March 31.

Eight famous Star Wars scenes will be built in a 1:20 scale. The project will take more than 1.5 million Legos and, we’re guessing, a dash of The Force.

The scenes will encompass the stories told in all six Star Wars movies and the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated TV series and be arranged chronologically. The models will be up to 6 feet tall, and some of them will be built to move or perform other actions when theme park visitors press buttons at the exhibit.

Legoland California also promises life-size models of Chewbacca, R2D2 and Darth Vader for family photo ops.

Two more Legoland parks – Legoland Deutschland in Gunzburg, Germany, and Legoland Billund in Billund, Denmark – will introduce Star Wars Minilands later this year.