It's all about U (1)

 

In my last post I detailed a walk around the far reaches of Prenzlauer Berg, following part of the Wall with some eating, drinking and park life along the way.  My intention was to produce a series of ‘walk’ posts, however, last Saturday I made a journey on the U1 and felt inspired to write a post about some of the delights accessible from the stations along its route.

Warschauer Strasse

The first station (or last, depending which end you get on at).  The bridge here is always a hive of activity with passengers from the U- and S-Bahn stations scurrying to and from Friedrichshain.  Just a few steps away is the RAW complex containing Urban Spree, a gallery, night clubs, performance spaces, a skate hall and climbing wall and couple of chilled-out beer gardens and cafes.  Occasionally, it also provides the location for events such as Bite Club and Mobile Kino.

 

Beer Garden at Urban Spree

 

 

Bar in the complex

The East Side Gallery, a 1.3km section of the Berlin Wall, runs parallel to the river, along Mühlenstrasse to Ostbahnhof.  Some of its murals, painted in 1990 by artists from around the world, are now iconic images.  Sadly, capitalist bullying seems to be doing for the gallery; sections have already been removed to accommodate first O2 World and more recently a hideous and controversial yuppie apartment building.

From Warschauer Strasse, the train creaks along the quirky, turreted Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree with a view towards Treptow and the Molecule Man in one direction and a panorama of the river and Fernsehturm in the other.  The tracks, heading into Kreuzberg, are elevated along the length of Skalitzer Strasse and remain above ground until just past Gleisdreieck.

Schlesisches Tor

There are no particular ‘attractions’ as such at this end of town but there are some funky streets to explore and cool Kreuzberg bars to repair to.

Görlitzer Bahnhof

Walking from the station (increasingly the haunt of drug dealers who seem to have drifted towards it from Görlitzer Park), Lausitzer Platz with its huge red brick church, has plenty of cafes and bars as well as a weekly organic market.  Just past the square, on Eisenbahnstrasse, is Markthalle Neun, an original market hall and serious ‘foodie’ destination.  There is a lunchtime ‘kantine’ on weekdays and a weekly market on Friday and Saturday; it’s also home to the popular ‘Street Food Thursday’ and,  since June, a ‘breakfast market’, on the third Sunday of every month.

 

Markthalle Neun - A picture from last winter

On Spreewaldplatz is the cosy, candlelit Café Marx.  Although there can be a bit of a wait (I think they have a very small kitchen), the friendliness and laid-back ambience make up for it.

 

Café Marx - another 'archive' shot

 

Just around the corner, on Wienerstrasse, is Jumbo Second Hand.  I used to like spending time in here but in recent years it has become laughably expensive, so I only go to browse these days.

Kottbusser Tor

This lively junction is at the heart of the neighbourhood’s Turkish community.  Probably the most popular destination from here is the market held along the Maybachufer every Tuesday and Friday when the locals turn out to buy fresh meat, fish and vegetables.  The market gets its fair share of tourists and sometimes it can be difficult to actually move but it’s always worth a visit for the bustling, chaotic atmosphere.  Besides all the fresh produce, there are housewares, fabric, clothes and jewellery as well as plenty of food stalls.

 

 

Some canal-side chilling

 

Prinzenstrasse

From here, there is an attractive walk along the canal back in the direction of the market.  The broad, sloping bank here gets crowded with sunbathers on a warm afternoon.

I’ve not really explored the areas around the next three stations: Hallesches Tor, Möckernbrucke and Gleisdreieck, but within reach of Hallesches Tor are Mehringdamm and the shops and cafes of Bergmannstrasse.  However, these are best accessed via the U7 stations of Mehringdamm and Gneisenaustrasse.

Kurfürstenstrasse

The area around the junction with Potsdamerstrasse is notoriously seedy; sex workers ply their trade in the streets around the station, but a hundred metres or so to the west things get a little more salubrious.

Café Einstein, a Viennese restaurant and coffee house, is in another of those beautiful old villas with polished parquet floors, a lovely garden and of course excellent cakes.

Nollendorfplatz

The core of the long-standing gay community – a plaque at the station commemorates homosexual victims of Nazi persecution.  No. 17 Nollendorfstrasse, is the house in which Christopher Isherwood lived and wrote, and gained inspiration for ‘Goodbye to Berlin’.   This was one of the very first places I visited in the city when I came here for the first time in 2004; after reading the novel at university, I felt it a duty to pay homage.

 

The 'Rosa Winkel' plaque at Nollendorfplatz station

On Winterfeldtplatz a farmers’market is held every Wednesday and Saturday.  The Saturday market is the largest, with stalls continuing down Goltzstrasse alongside the church.  Leading away from the square, Goltzstrasse and Akazienstrasse have some nice cafes and shops and a mellow vibe on a Saturday.

 

Choosing those essential gladioli in the market

 

In the opposite direction from Winterfeldtplatz, Garage in Ahornstrasse is a vast vintage emporium in which I’ve squandered many a happy afternoon.

Wittenbergplatz

The station has some appealing Art-Nouveau tiling, but the obvious attraction here is the monolithic KaDeWe department store.  The food hall on the top floor offers some mouthwatering specialities.

It’s a fairly short walk along Tauentzienstrasse with its broken chain ‘Berlin’ sculpture towards Kurfurstendamm but the shopping and tourist crowds make ducking into the U-Bahn a much more attractive option.

 

The memorial church at the top of the Kurfürstendamm

 

Kurfürstendamm

Although the Kurfürstendamm, with its predictable chain stores and general tourist hubbub, is often derided, it has wide, tree-lined pavements and there are a couple of worthwhile destinations in its environs.  At the top of the street is the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche with its famous broken spire, the result of an Allied bombing raid in WWII. 

In the corner of a rather unremarkable shopping mall is the entrance to the ‘Story of Berlin’ – an interesting wander around the city from its beginnings right up until the present.  You can sit in a Trabi and have your photograph taken, and afterwards go for a guided tour around an eerie and claustrophobic Cold War nuclear bunker. 

Uhlandstrasse

The end station if travelling from east to west.

In nearby Fasanenstrasse is the excellent Käthe Kollwitz museum.  The artist’s life is documented in a thoughtfully-arranged display and there is a comprehensive collection of her work.

Next door is the Literaturhaus, an oasis of calm.  There is a basement bookshop and regular literary events are held here.  On a warm day, the garden is a tranquil and very civilised place to stop for drinks or a light lunch.    

 

Garden at the Literaturhaus