Image by Ciarán Fahey

Ambling along the cobbled streets of Prenzlauer Berg, between the pretty houses, you may be surprised to stumble upon two towers rising majestically from an idyllic leafy park. Known locally as ‘Thin Hermann’ and ‘Fat Hermann’, these are in fact two water towers, Berlin’s oldest, built in 1856 and 1877 respectively, with the “fatter” in operation until 1952.

It housed its workers in novel apartments and these are much sought after as living quarters to this day. In 1933 opponents of the Nazis were rounded up and held without trial in a now-demolished machine house before being murdered. Surrounding street names recall the resistance.

Dark past notwithstanding, the small park itself is beautiful, home to the snazziest kids’ playground I’ve ever seen (with trampolines!) and a short stroll up the mound (built on the former water storage tank) to the skinnier tower offers great views of the locality and my beloved Fernsehturm (the TV tower). See the Fernsehturm article.

Benches invite quiet contemplation and rabbits hop nonchalantly around the shrubbery. I tried talking to them but they just hopped away – typical Berliners. Never mind. No part of Berlin’s beauty is complete without the garish grounding of its graffiti and the bottom of the tower bears the marks of street artists.

Faraway sounds of the city: construction work, the rumbling of car tyres on cobbles, the laughter of children in the park’s Kita (Kindergarten), drift up from below, but these just reinforce the fact that here, you really are away from it all.

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Wassertürme P’Berg | Relaxing | Free
Knaackstraße, 23 | Prenzlauer Berg
24 hours daily

Image by Ciarán Fahey

More than 20 years after it was taken down, the Berlin Wall continues to be the city’s principal attraction for visitors.

The success of sights like Checkpoint Charlie and the recently repainted East Side Gallery has convinced the city powers to rebuild it – some of it at least – as a memorial on Bernauer Straße, where a section of the original Wall still stands.As expected, flocks of tourists eagerly make their way to the site, perhaps in their hurry overlooking a discreet installation in the former “ghost station” of Nordbahnhof.

Pictures and placards in German and English tell the incredible tales from the division of the city’s public transport system and the madness which ensued once the Wall went up in 1961. (The 50th anniversary of its construction took place on August 13th last.)

Barbed wire and bricked-up entrances were the order of the day, as the East German government sealed off all possible escape routes to the West, creating these ghost stations where trains passed through East Berlin on their way from one section of West Berlin to another. Passengers could only glimpse out at the dimly lit eeriness patrolled by border guards as they whizzed by.

Stories of courageous escapes, explanations, diagrams and multimedia all feature in this fascinating but small exhibition of the crazy realities of life in the shadow of the Wall. Best of all – it’s free!

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Nordbahnhof | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Gartenstraße | Mitte
24 hours daily

Image by Ciarán Fahey

For me one of Berlin’s most fascinating sites is also one of its lesser-known – the former Stasi Prison in Hohenschönhausen. A tour of this so-called “detention facility” with one of its former inmates helps lift the lid on the chilling methods of East Germany’s secret police as they sought to protect their raison d’être. It never fails to cast a shiver down my spine.

Some 250,000 political prisoners passed through its doors over 40 years, many never to be heard from again, before it was finally shut down on October 3rd, 1990. Ordinary people were subjected to all sorts of unthinkable psychological torture, with the prison authorities becoming sadistic experts in interrogation and intimidation.

East Germany’s Ministry for State Security (Stasi) had been set up to protect the socialist state and it did so with brutal efficiency. Anyone could be snatched without warning, and kept for months in total isolation with only the prospect of further interrogation to break the monotony. Many former prisoners later died of leukemia-related illnesses, believed to have been contracted from X-ray machine radiation. Some of those who survived now offer guided tours so the terrible secrets of a dark past can be revealed and never forgotten.

Most of the tours are in German, but excellent tours in English are available daily. It really is a fascinating insight into the inner workings of a state in constant paranoia. Registration is now in a new office opposite the prison.

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Stasi Prison | Art & culture, Relaxing | Tour € 5
Genslerstraße 13A | Outer – North&East | +493098608230
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 15:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 16:00, Tours in English daily at 14:30

Image by Ciarán Fahey

For a quiet place to get lost in your own thoughts and imagination, there can be few quieter than the utterly charming Visual Café in Pankow.

Shuffling feet and the intermittent growl of the coffee machine are all you’re likely to hear. No music affronts the senses as there’d be very little point – most of the customers are students, staff or friends of the neighbouring Visual Hands school for the deaf and hearing-impaired. Indeed the Visual Café is actually run by the school and those involved with its laudable programme of courses, events and activities. But back to the café – it’s simply delightful.

Communication is by sign language but there’s no need to be fluent. The ridiculously-friendly staff make it easy to feel at home. I was able to communicate without difficultly.

Before you know it, you’ve whiled away an hour or three over a very reasonably-priced coffee (€1), latte (€2.20), beer (€2) or coke (€1.50). For something more substantial (and a good deal healthier), the day’s range of tempting homemade hearty soups are written on the board, and also excellent value.

The real charm of this hidden gem however, is the peace and quiet in a very tasteful and comforting environment. Contemporary wooden furniture is accompanied by classic couches which are decidedly hard to escape from. Not that you’ll want to.

Word of warning – opening times are haphazard, and you may be disappointed to find them closed on occasion, but they were very much open when I dropped in last week.

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Visual Café | Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Coffee € 1.00
Schulzestraße 1 | Outer – North&East | +493044328500
14:00 – 20:00 daily (usually)

Image by Ciarán Fahey

As city squares go, they don’t come much uglier than Alexanderplatz. Surrounded by a rash of imposing GDR-style unimaginative blocks, with perhaps Berlin’s ugliest fountain plonked in the middle, this is not the place to come for a romantic stroll. Much like the “Friendship Between Peoples Fountain” in fact, Alex looks terrible but means well.

Its real beauty engages on a more personal level thanks to the excitement of people milling around, the tourists and punks, the trams trundling through, and the tempting (even for vegetarians!) smell of roast Bratwurst which emanates thanks to the sausage sellers scattered around. Effectively the centre of a decentralised city, Alexanderplatz changes to suit the seasons and the whims of the people at any given time.

In November 1989, the largest demonstration before the fall of the Berlin Wall took place here and was pivotal to the fall of the East German regime. Its biggest gatherings these days occur at the various fairs and markets which call it home throughout the year. Glühwein-swilling at Christmas, chocolate-swilling at Easter, and beer-swilling any other time, there’s always something for swillers to swill!

Overlooked by the Fernsehturn, Alexanderplatz is also home to the funky World Time Clock, erected in 1969 and a popular meeting place for Berliners since. I presume this is so they know exactly how many minutes late you are. Germans don’t like to be left waiting as I’ve found out on numerous occasions, but thankfully for latecomers, Alex has plenty of distractions.

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Alexanderplatz | Art & culture, Relaxing, Shopping | Free
Alexanderplatz | Mitte
24 hours daily