Fotoeins Fotografie

Elbis, Wilmersdorf, Berlin, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

Berlin Döner: Elbis Yaprak Kebap

Above/featured: Ayran mango-yogurt drink, Döner Kebap sandwich; 2€ coin for size comparison.

It is not out of the way; it is worth my time and effort to schlep on over to the other side of the city for Döner. For meat-eaters, the Berlin experience is incomplete without a good Döner.

Although hunger might demand immediate satisfaction, resolve remains supreme, and the combination of compulsion and temptation produces enough forward momentum to the goal.

Must.
Have.
Döner.

Look, I know the good ol’ days of good-quality 5€ Döner are long gone, but German friends have taught me well.

Yaprak Döner: seasoned veal, cut into layers of thin slices (“leaf-style”) and stacked onto a giant skewer (“spit”) that’s spun slowly within a vertical grill. The grilled meat is then “shaved” thin top-down into wide slivers that’s got a little bit of crunch on the surface.

Turkish “Pide-Brot” bread covered with caraway and sesame seeds: lightly grilled for that big crunch exterior, warmed to reveal its soft velvet interior. Turkish pide in hand has to be firm and secure, like a steady boat delivering the meaty goods. Although not made in-house, their bread is custom-made to order from a Turkish bakery elsewhere in the city.

There is the Berlin way, to which I’m greatly accustomed after 20-plus years: “Komplett mit allen Sossen”, which consists of diced tomato and cucumber, sliced slivers of red onion, shredded red cabbage and lettuce; garlic sauce, hot sauce.

There is also the Turkish way, of which I should be more mindful: “Tomaten, rote Zwiebeln, Petersilie, Sumach, Zitronensaft; ohne Sosse” (tomato, red onion, parsley, sumac, lemon juice; no sauce).

With a big Berlin Döner on my plate, it is impossible to fit or “get around” this Döner in that first bite. Knife and fork? Blasphemy! No, the method is small bites to manage and savour the majestic beaut that is good Döner in good Brot.

I’m coming back to Berlin for their no-sauce number 12: this must be the way.

Berliner Strasse in Wilmersdorf, “conveniently” located between 2 U-Bahn stations.

Choices.

Number 1, the Berlin way or …

… or number 12, the Turkish way ?

Elbis, Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

A big number 1 Döner Kebap with a small cold soda on a hot summer day.

Getting there

Public transport with BVG: U-Bahn U7 or U9 line to station “Berliner Strasse”; bus M43 or 143 to stop “Kufsteiner Strasse”. Elbis accepts payment with cash, credit cards, and European debit cards.

Elbis celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2025; video in German.

( View this location on Open Street Map )

I received neither pre-visit support nor post-visit compensation for the deliciousness on display here. I made all images above on 26 May and 24 June 2026. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-z6z. Last edit: 31 Aug 2026.

Vienna Votive: “Infinity of Light” by Billi Thanner

By definition, a “votive” is an object offered in fulfillment of a solemn promise.

Having survived an assassination attempt in 1853, Austria’s Emperor Franz Joseph promised to construct a church in gratitude. That’s how Vienna’s Votive Church came to be in 1879 with the design by first-time architect Heinrich Ferstel.

Suspended Infinity

In mid-December 2025, Austrian artist Billi Thanner unveiled her light sculpture, “Unendlichkeit des Lichtes” (Infinity of Light), placed between the two towers of the Votive Church. The art work is a 28- by 6-metre aluminum loop weighing 800 kilograms, and includes almost 5000 lights. The sculpture wraps around both towers in a figure-eight; but sitting on its side, the visual is also the mathematical symbol for infinity (∞).

The significance for the number 8 is its representation of the time taken by light to travel from the Sun to the Earth. As for “infinity”, Thanner explains:

Licht ist für mich das Leben. Und irgendwann kam der Impuls: die Unendlichkeit im Licht sichtbar machen. Nicht abstrakt, sondern real im Stadtraum — zwischen den beiden Türmen dieser Kirche

Light is life itself. The impulse came to me at some point: to make infinity visible in the light. Not in its abstract nature, but something real in the urban space — between the two towers of this church.)

What’s a little unusual is that this sculpture and its installation have been financed entirely through private sources: no public money and no church donations. Thanner also waived her commission fee, essentially making this years-long project one out of total independence and personal dedication.

While the sculpture’s attachment to a church building makes a direct association with religion or spirituality, I feel there’s something simpler and more fundamental. Billi Thanner’s sculpture reminds us to do better for and to be better with each other as people. That’s in part a promise I made after accompanying my parents to the end. I’m inspired by Thanner’s light to try a little more with every passing day, despite spectacular failure and disappointment.

The light sculpture will remain in place until May 2027.

Infinity of Light, Billi Thanner, Votivkirche, 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund, Wien, Vienna, Austria, Österreich, fotoeins.com

Votive Church from Sigmund-Freud-Park, 28 Jun 2026; image corrected for geometric distortion.

Votive Church from Sigmund-Freud-Park, 18 Jul 2026.

7.5-minute video: light-display recorded 18 Jul 2026. The dynamic display appears to occur at the top of every hour at night, but I didn’t go out to check past midnight (heh).

Für mich war diese Skulptur nie nur eine Lichtinstallation. Sie ist eine Möglichkeit, Menschen für einen Moment an Hoffnung, Freude und ihre Verbundenheit zu erinnern. Gerade in einer Zeit, in der vieles trennt, kann Kunst Räume öffnen, die Menschen wieder miteinander in Verbindung bringen.

(For me, this sculpture was never just a light installation. It’s a way to remind people, if only for a moment, of hope, joy, and their close connections. In these divisive times, art can open spaces that bring people together again.)

– Billi Thanner.

I received neither pre-visit support nor post-visit compensation fot this entry. I made all media above on 28 June and 18 July 2026 with an iPhone15. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-z2V.

Daphne and Apollo, One Wall 2018, Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

Berlin: “Daphne & Apollo” mural in Kreuzberg

• “Daphne and Apollo”, by Francisco Bosoletti 🇦🇷 & Young Jarus 🇨🇦.
• Commissioned by Urban Berlin for the “One Wall” project in 2018.
• The mural appears on the south wall of an apartment building in Kreuzberg (Bezirk Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg), facing Gitschiner Strasse and the Berliner U-Bahn Stammstrecke.
• Characters from “Metamorphoses” by Roman poet and writer Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), written in Latin and published about 8 CE.

Part 1: original photo, corrected for geometric distortion.

Part 2: corrected photo converted to monochrome.

Part 3: black- and white-points reversed in monochrome image.

The mural is located between U-Bahn stations Prinzenstrasse and Kottbusser Tor. If you’d like to see the mural illuminated in natural light, it’s best to visit between 11am and 2pm (when the sun is at or near zenith). In addition to the Google Map below, here is the corresponding view on Open Street Map.

I made original images above on 7 Jun 2026 with an iPhone15; I edited images with Polarr Pro and Preview. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-z1A.