Berlin City
It’s often hard to imagine Berlin as the capital of Germany. A city of constant uprising, endless innovation and unpredictable change hardly fits the bill as head of a traditionally conservative and straight-laced nation. But Berlin is an island, a glitch in the system, an anomaly on an otherwise meticulously structured landscape.
Much of this can be explained by the city’s troubled and tumultuous history. A former capital of Prussia, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, Berlin was historically divided in four sectors after World War II. Within a few years it became two halves: the East (known as the GDR) was governed by the Soviets, while the West came under Western Allied rule. The two halves co-existed uncomfortably until 1961 when Erich Honecker authorized the building of a reinforced border almost overnight. This Wall would stand for 28 years, in which time 80 people died trying to cross it.
During this period, Berlin’s history became a tale of two cities. And while a decision to reunite the city was met with unanimous praise, the two satellite states would only ever collide awkwardly. Even today, Berlin remains fractured and decentralized. There are two main shopping drags, two key cultural areas and even two kinds of traffic lights. (There have been several nostalgic campaigns to save the ‘the little green men of the East’.) Locals prefer to stick within their own kiez (area), with its own distinctive identity and character.
Much of the city’s focus has, however, shifted eastwards, with Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg a hub of social activity. As dissatisfied Ossies (East Berliners) fled their homes in 1989, a disaffected Western youth moved in to fill the vacuum. A property free-for-all ensued and Berliners partied hard. Although things have calmed down since, a legacy of hedonism remains. A creative community thrives on low rents and relaxed licensing laws, and a sense of independent innovation prevails. No other city boasts so many clubs, bars, cafés and restaurants in such concentration. Anyone with enough motivation can embark on an enterprise and there’s always room for experiment. While other European capitals have bowed down to corporates, chains such as Starbucks have struggled in Berlin. Notably absent elsewhere, this city has possibility.
Constantly in flux, Berlin never stands still. Venues open and close at the bat of an eyelid, and many prefer to remain hidden from public view. All of this can be frustrating for the visitor. Equally, there’s ample opportunity for exploration and discovery. Peer into a quiet courtyard and you’ll find a fashion boutique; wander past a disused power station at the right time of night and you’ll be dragged into a full-blown party.
In truth, nothing about Berlin really seems to fit. Who’d have thought, for instance, that a landlocked city would have so many man-made beaches? Look beyond the austere architecture and you’ll find a city of unquantifiable beauty. Historically, Berlin has defied law and conformity. Today, it defies expectation.
Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf
Stepping into West Berlin is like entering another city. In contrast to the transient bar and café scene of the East, Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf are far more established. The buildings look smarter, the cars more flash and the pace is considerably slower. This is the decadent Berlin famously portrayed by Liza Minelli et al in ‘Cabaret’ – a million miles from the bleak architecture of the east.
Following Reunification, the city’s demographic shifted with Berlin’s younger generations migrating east. Initially the change was quite dramatic, but in recent years the flux has stabilized. Club and bar openings are on the increase and the one-time disaffected youth are starting to trickle back home. That said, you’d be hard-pushed to find an East Berliner who’d consider crossing wWst and vice-versa
Berlin’s busiest shopping district is located along the Ku’damm. The fractured spire of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is the area’s most notable landmark. A one-time hang-out for junkies and unsavoury characters, the Zoologuischer Garten forms a major gateway to the West. It’s since been cleaned up, but the neon lights and tourist-trap eateries are an unforgettable reminder of a seedy past. Travel further along the never-ending street and you’ll stumble on some of the biggest names in fashion design, along with the fantastic KaDeWe – Berlin’s answer to Harrods. Berlin’s stylish design hotels (Q! and K’udamm 101) are also located in this area.. The road takes its name from the Prussian Kurfürst (‘Elector’) and was originally just a track leading from the Elector’s residence to the Grunewald. In 1886 it was remodelled by Bismarck on the grand boulevards of Paris.
Far more pleasant is the area around Savignyplatz, with its innumerable chic boutiques, restaurants and cafés. During the day, it’s the reserve of ladies-who-lunch and at night an affluent restaurant crowd descend. A pretty picture of 19th-century buildings line the tranquil streets of Bleibtreustraße, while Berlin’s major jazz clubs, concert halls and theatres can also be found nearby (the cabaret and excess of the 1920s had their roots here). Fasanenstraße also has some especially good spots.
Many of Berlin’s better restaurants can also be found this side of town. Generally, the quality of food and location is consistently higher. While neighbourhood favourites such as Florian and Lubitsch are popular with locals, try Jules Verne for innovative fusion cuisine and Engelbecken for a lakeside retreat. While operating a safe distance from the cutting egde, both Charlottenberg and Wilmersdorf undeniably represent Berlin’s past and present glories.
Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain
Although technically part of West Berlin, Kreuzberg is culturally and spiritually more akin to the East, and traditionally an area of militant radicalism – Berlin’s May Day riots draw a strong following from this neighbourhood. In the ’70s and ’80s students famously rallied against city planners’ attemps to demolish large areas of housing. The left-wing punk scene, so synonymous with late ’80s Berlin, also found a breeding ground in Kreuzberg. Today social unrest has subsided, but the area is still popular with an alternative crowd.
Berlin has a massive Turkish community and is considered the fifth largest Turkish city in the world. Much of the population settled in Kreuzberg, where they were largely left to their own devices. Every Tuesday and Friday an open-air Turkish market takes place along the Landwehrkanal at Paul-Lincke-Ufer. Contrary to popular belief, the donar kebab was actually invented in Berlin and the legacy lives on in the rows of fantastic kebab stores that line the Mehringdam and Skalitzer Strasse. In contrast to other predominantly white suburbs, there’s something refreshingly international about Kreuzberg.
The district itself is so sprawling, it’s been split in two along the division of the old postal codes. ‘Kreuzberg 61’ covers the more affluent and conservative streets around the pretty Bergmannstraße. Fortunately, having survived the wartime bombing, many of the cobbled streets and Prussian façades remain. In a city not known for its beauty, this is a truly scenic place. Antique stores, cafés and boutique clothes shops attract visitors by day, but as daylight disappears so too does much of the action. The peaceful Viktoriapark can be found on the ‘cross-hill’ from which Kreuzberg derives its name. Schinkel’s 1821 monument to the Napoleonic Wars lies at the summit, and many nearby streets are named after battles and generals from that period.
An edgier neighbourhood around Schlesisches Tor is known as ‘Kreuzberg 36’. This is where most of the nightlife takes place. Lo-fi indie bars and rock venues line the Oranienstraße, while much of the original Kreuzberg community chooses to hang out along Wiener Straße and around Görlitzer Park. A further cycle ride east along the Spree is up-and-coming Treptow – particularly worth a visit in the summer when several riverside bars are open.
The Oberbaumbrücke links Kreuzberg to the neighbouring district of Friedrichshain, and was once a boundary between West and East. During the Cold War, the bridge was used as a border post and spy exchange point. Today, it’s the location for an annual water fight between residents of both areas, who share a friendly rivalry. Along with water, combatants have also been known to fire rotten vegetables across the river at the opposition.
The final bastions of squat-living reside in the bohemian and architecturally bleak area of Friedrichshain. To check out authentic squats, take a walk along Rigaer Straße. Hosting a massive student population, it’s also one of the cheapest places in Berlin and home to a grotty but vibrant bar scene. A great flea market also takes place every Sunday at Boxhagener Platz. The eerily atmospheric 90-metre wide Karl Marx Allee, meanwhile, provides some fine examples of GDR architecture. Originally built under Stalin’s orders as a showpiece between 1952 and 1965, it was known as Stalinallee until 1961. Amid the prefab building blocks, there are some fantastic buildings; both the Kino International and showcase Russian restaurant Café Moskau (see Party) are worth a look. Several bars and restaurants have opened along this stretch and it’s currently experiencing a regeneration.
Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg
In the past 15 years, the neighbouring districts of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg have come to represent the emerging face of modern Berlin. When the Wall fell in 1989, the city’s social focus quickly shifted towards the East and these two areas became a nucleus for political regeneration and post-Reunification celebrations. As an embittered GDR population fled to greener grass on the other side of the fence, a disaffected West Berlin youth moved in. Houses were left empty with sheets on beds and water still hot in the kettles. Squatters claimed space and the parties started. And they continue – and Berlin’s biggest concentration of bars and clubs can be found here. Admittedly many are short-lived, but there’s a sense of youthful vibrancy that seems determined never to die.
Geographically Mitte (‘middle’) lies in the centre of the city; it was the sand islands on this particular stretch of the Spree that initially gave birth to Berlin. As it’s the meeting-point between East and West, government buildings, theatres, the opera house and many major museums are all based here. The bourgeois avenues of Friedrichstraße and Unter den Linden (named after the Linden trees that line the grand street) feature elements of Berlin’s chequered history, from the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie to the Jewish quarter of Scheunenviertel. The Museuminsel (built in the late 18th century) contains five of the city’s most important museums.
The area around Hackescher Markt and Scheunenviertel is characterized by a special type of housing known as ‘Hinterhöfe’. The pedestrian passageways that run through these courtyards are now home to innumerable cafés, galleries and clothes stores – many hidden from the street. Once an area of squats and anarchic activity, gentrification has since taken root in Mitte, which is now a thriving media district. The last remaining squat structures can be found at Tacheles. Dominated by the Fernsehturm (known to locals affectionately as the ‘Alex’), Alexanderplatz is a hub of activity and Berlin’s entry point for travellers by train. It has also become a symbol for the capital’s new eastward-leaning identity.
Cross the graphic design studios and young boutiques of Torstraße to enter the bohemian and peaceful district of Prenzlauer Berg. Unlike Mitte, the tourist industry has yet to make itself felt here – this is East Berlin at its most characteristic. Once a Gründerzeit, residential district for the working class, the area is now home to actors, artists and young families. Surprisingly, Prenzlauer Berg has the highest birth rate of any one place in Europe and it’s not uncommon to see trendy young mums pushing state-of-the-art pushchairs along the cobbled roads. As it remained largely unscathed by the bombs of World War II, many of its beautiful townhouses remain intact and these pleasant leafy streets are a popular destination for a Sunday stroll.
Known as Berlin’s café district, Prenzlauer Berg has a distinctly European feel. The area around Kollwitzplatz and the Wasserturm is particularly popular. Once a meeting-point for drug-dealers, the Helmholzplatz now hosts a high concentration of reputable bars and cafés. Fans of street art should take a look at graffiti pieces on the walls of the community centre – the work of several international artists. Severe fashion statements are made on the ultra-hip Kastanienallee – a street responsible for the image of cool Berlin portrayed in our style press.
Schonenberg and Tiergarten
The vast green expanse of Tiergarten separates Mitte and Charlottenburg and, physically at least, explains why these two areas are worlds apart. Stretching west from the Brandenburg Gate, the park has had an interesting history. Initially, it was a 16th-century hunting-ground; wealthy Berliners then chose to reside here and their dwellings were later to become the city’s embassy buildings. It was bombed in the War and denuded during the severe winter of 1945–46 when many of the trees were cut down for firewood; since then towns from all over Germany have donated trees to assist in the recovery. All roads entering Tiergarten lead to a 19th-century Prussian Victory Column, which was transferred here from the Reichstag.
The futuristic Potsdamer Platz complex was originally intended as a commercial showpiece to mark Berlin’s reunification. After being utterly destroyed during the War, the area was left as a ghostly no-man’s-land. A mass of corporate high-rise buildings, this metallic jungle still feels alien and isolated. However, Helmut Jahn’s steel and glass Sony Centre is an architectural draw and host to one of the city’s largest entertainment complexes. Many of Berlin’s major five-star hotels are also located close by. Just west of the development is the Kulturforum, home to the State Library and Berlin’s Philharmonic Orchestra. In its distorted form, this sparkling gold edifice was based on the designs of Hans Scharoun.
Largely a residential area with little to lure in the tourists, Schöneberg is one of the more tranquil quarters of Berlin. Serving as a sedate buffer to Kreuzberg and a hip alternative to Wilmersdorf, it attracts a crowd of affluent intellectuals and chic thirty-somethings. Schöneberg translates as ‘beautiful hill’ – bizarre, considering it is completely flat. Much of the area’s architecture dates back to the 19th century and an Altbauten style of building prevails – characterized by ornamental façades and balconies. It’s a welcome antidote to the sterile concrete blocks of East Berlin. A farmers’ market takes place every Wednesday and Saturday in the Winterfeldtplatz. Cafés, bookshops and boutiques can also be found nestling among the surrounding streets. Since the 1920s, Schöneberg has been home to a lively gay community (mainly focused around Motzstraße), so it’s not uncommon to see the symbolic rainbow flag displayed in many of the bar windows.
