Sometimes you just have to switch off your mobile and try to relax. For example, by walking through the streets of Berlin at night and take a look at all the illuminated buildings and sites. The Festival of Lights has become one of the most important international public events in Berlin. Until Sunday, October 24th, numerous illuminations transform the German capital into a sparkling metropolis, where Berlin’s famous landmarks, buildings and sites are the stars of the show – including the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Cathedral and the TV tower. Overall, more than 60 buildings will be illuminated. Here are some impressions of the Festival of Lights shot on my tonight’s walk from Hauptbahnhof to Hackescher Markt.

Today, the 50th edition of the consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin is starting. Until coming Wednesday, September 8th, more than 1,423 exhibitors are showing consumer electronics and home appliances on the exhibition site. Key themes on display at the IFA 2010 include HDTV, 3D TV, the networked home, TV/internet convergence and mobile media. One of the highlights is the new Android tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab which the manufacturer presented on Wednesday at the SoHo house in Berlin. In the home appliances sector, the focus is on design, ease-of-use and ergonomics. Other important trends cutting across market segments and discussed in conference sessions are digital lifestyles, smart homes, and energy efficiency. Here is some more information for visitors of the IFA 2010 show.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa has finally kicked off. Soccer fans in Germany can watch the games on TV at home, on big screen in a pub or via live stream on the web. In this overview you will find all the information you need to watch the World Cup matches live in Germany: Public and commercial broadcasting stations covering the tournament, providers selling web and TV sticks to PC and laptop users, web radio stations with live coverage and podcasts as well as locations of public showings in Berlin and Hamburg.

A small crowd gathered at the Media Markt store at Alexa mall in Berlin (close to Alexanderplatz) to buy the Apple iPad on the first day of sale. However, you could still see the running of a few hasty Apple fans and even one guy tripping. Media Markt did not say how many iPad devices they had in store today, it might already be sold out.

This weekend I exchanged my cell phone for my camera and hit the road for Kreuzberg, that quarter of Berlin that is famous for its multicultural life and spirit. Just as every other year the Carnival of Cultures is presenting the cultural and ethnic diversity of Berlin and promoting the peaceful coexistence of its different cultures. Members of Berlin’s ethnic communities make their cultures – traditional or modern – visible to Berliners and Berlin visitors equally. As home to more than 450,000 people from around the world Berlin is the most international city in Germany. Here are some of my impressions of this year’s street parade.

The iPhone App by Berlin recommendation platform Townster is available for free and does two things for users: It helps them find the good places to eat and drink in Berlin, and it includes a game that should make going out even more fun. Via GPS, the app lists restaurants, cafés, fast food joints, bars, and pubs in the users’ immediate surroundings and shows them on a map, including location details and user reviews.

Finding out where the next party is, how to get to the next shopping center or what the old building in front of you is – with a smartphone at hand you always have access to information you need on your way. All you need is an adequate mobile data plan and the right apps installed on your handheld. We present ten apps for the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that help Berliners and Berlin visitors to get around. At the end of this article you will find recommendations to free WiFi hotspots in Berlin and to cheap mobile data plans (prepaid and postpaid) with a short minimum term commitment of German providers.

With more and more people having a netbook or a smartphone with WiFi support and more and more people taking their mobiles on their trips to other countries, WiFi hotspots become hot again. For example, by using a free WiFi hotspot in Berlin mobile phone or netbook users from other countries save high data roaming expenses – all it might take to access the internet for free is to get a password at the counter and order one or two coffees during the online session. We have updated our overview of cafes, bars and hotels in Berlin that offer free WiFi to their guests.

Sunday, classic hangover day, one might say. But of course, not only New York is a city that never sleeps. There are parties worth going to every day of the week without an exception. But where to go? During the last couple of years, Berlin got famous especially for its electronic music partys. Some tourists only consider visiting Berlin, because they want to see the huge, factory-like seeming halls of “Berghain” – or maybe just the legendary face-tattoo-bouncer, whose communication skills appear to be limited to minimalistic nods. To find interesting events, the websites of city magazines like zitty, tip or – especially recommendable – 030 are always reliable options. A little bit more thrilling is certainly “restrealitaet”, which means “rest of reality” in English…

Berlin will not get a city-wide WiFi network. The Berlin Senate has decided that there are not enough street lights in town to which WiFi antennas could be attached. Thus, setting up such a WiFi network will be too expensive for any network operator or investor, the Berlin Senate says. The Phone Guide Germany tells you at which locations in Berlin you will find free WiFi connections to the web and offers an overview of cheap prepaid price plans for accessing the internet via GPRS or UMTS.