The Salon Berlin in Tel Aviv

© Goethe-Institut

Ask a typical citizen of Tel Aviv what they think of Berlin, and they will be enthusiastic. Particularly in younger circles the fondness for the German capital is almost a matter of good form. For many Israelis it symbolises plenty of open space, cheap living costs and a new start in “old European air” without suppressing the past. Anyone who didn’t relocate to Berlin themselves long ago should at least be able feel a little bit like that here in “Salon Berlin”.

© Goethe-Institut

There are retro clothes for sale and a bar with minimalist beer prices, bands play in the back room, there is dancing, readings and exhibitions are organised and films are shown. Its eccentric visitors (who have long since become mainstream) are supposed to feel as if they were in a second living room – or in Kreuzberg.