Berlin-Kreuzberg. Anarchists and immigrants.
Thanks to a large Turkish community and more hippies, anarchists and alternative folks than you can shake a bong at, Kreuzberg feels neither east nor west. It was the black sheep of West Berlin, literally cornered up against the death strip and left alone to play loud music and draw on the walls. By now,
the protesting students of 1968 have grown grey alongside the Turkish immigrants. Every year since 1987, Kreuzberg relives its 15 minutes of fame during the traditional May Day political demonstrations, which invariably turn into a long night of stone-throwing and burning cars. Otherwise, Kreuzberg is a perfectly safe district to wander through, and it's all about backgammon at the men’s clubs, café-sitting along Landwehrkanal, and ambling down the popular Oranienstraße and Bergmannstraße drags.
This chapter also covers areas south of Kreuzberg: leafy
Treptow west along the river Spree, the
Tempelhof airport-turned-park which attracts thousands of visitors in summer, and the upcoming
Neukölln district. Here, the
Kreuzkölln area around Reuterstraße is increasingly attracting hipsters, artists, artsy boutiques and weird nightlife spots.
Getting thereThe Bergmannstraße area is best reached from Friedrichstraße station on the U6; get off at Mehringdamm, or at Platz der Luftbrücke for the Viktoriapark. For the gritty end of Kreuzberg hop on the U8 from Alexanderplatz and pop up at Kottbusser Tor. The
Kreuzkölln bars are within pubcrawling distance of Schönleinstraße and Hermannplatz stations, on the same line.
Pocket Walk: KreuzbergKreuzberg is best explored in two parts. From Platz der Luftbrücke station walk west to
Viktoriapark and climb the
Kreuzberg for views north over the city. Descend eastwards and walk along genteel
Bergmannstraße, perhaps visiting a café or the market hall, before walking south to Columbiadamm for access to the the former
Tempelhof airport, now a wonderful park.
Start a tour of the fascinating eastern end of Kreuzberg at Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station; wander north through 'little Istanbul' to
Oranienplatz and follow the park to the
Engelbecken pond where you can follow the former Wall along Bethaniendamm to
Mariannenplatz, a centre of Berlin subculture. Stroll down Waldemarstraße to café-lined
Lausitzerplatz and cross under the U-Bahn line to lively
Görlitzer Park. From here, go north into
Falckensteinstraße to discover more of Kreuzberg's street art, or head south along Ohlauer Straße and across Landwehrkanal into the trendy '
Kreuzkölln' district for cupcakes and cocktails.
Latest Comments:
Pagode
Pagode is a small self service restaurant with an authentic feeling of Bangkok's street food malls....Vicolo Bergmann
with so many Italians in the street vicolo is simply the hippest with really good pizzas and sicilian main dishes....Henne
Fried? I don't think so......Salon Schmück
Had some really good parties here. Nice staff....