Spies have invaded the zeitgeist in Berlin.
Germany’s dynamic capital, whose name simultaneously conjures up the Cold War and hipster cool, is suddenly a hot spot for television shows, especially those about espionage. The city also unveiled a new spy museum in September.
The current installment of Showtime’s hit political thriller, “Homeland,” takes place in modern-day Europe’s cradle of power, marking the first time an American TV series has filmed a full season entirely in Germany.
“Berlin is a city charged with ghosts like no other, and that makes it the ideal location to explore the emotional and geopolitical terrain of Season 5,” showrunner Alex Gansa said in press materials for the prescient cable drama.
Over the summer, SundanceTV debuted the fantastic German-language series “Deutschland 83.” It revolves around an East German soldier sent to do the secret police’s bidding on the flip side of the Berlin Wall during the Reagan era.
Cable network Epix will start shooting its new 10-part drama, “Berlin Station,” this fall. Richard Armitage (“The Hobbit”) stars as a CIA case officer tasked with ferreting out an overseas informant.
Some of the tricks of the trade depicted in these shows are on display at the new Spy Museum Berlin.
The 32,000-square-foot facility at centrally located Potsdamer Platz is full of cloak-and-dagger curiosities, from lethal umbrellas and covert cameras to code-cracking machines.
Visitors can learn about poisons and drugs that have been used for centuries to get people to talk. Or to get them to stop talking, permanently.
One of the exhibits, many of which are interactive and kid-friendly, details how East Germany’s secret police archived the body odors of dissidents.
Among the offerings at the museum cafe: the favorite dish of Mata Hari, the Dutch dancer whose alleged espionage during World War I landed her a fatal date in front of a French firing squad.
Spy Museum Berlin is open daily, admission 18 euros (about $20); www.deutsches-spionagemuseum.de/en.
Lori Rackl is a freelance reporter.
