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

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

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

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

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

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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)

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

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

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

Underground out of sight, in a place open until at least 6am – exactly where you want to do your drinking. Silberfisch has long been one of those bars which gives you the feeling Berlin wants you to become a vampire, sleeping all day, out all night. It’s an easy transformation. There’s something comforting in walking down the steps from Oranienburger Straße into this den to be greeted by the friendly bar staff like a long-lost Chilean miner.

DJs with remarkably good taste churn out the sounds seven days a week. Regulars sit at the bar exchanging ill-formed commentaries with whoever listens, consoling indignations with choices from the extensive drinks menu. Visitors are delighted to listen to commentary from knowledgeable locals, toasting their own diplomacy with choices from the extensive drinks menu.

It can be smoky, it can be loud, but there’s an extensive drinks menu. Specialties include Absinthe Sour (€8), Pina Colada (€7.50) and my favourite, Long Island Iced Tea (€9.50), all interspersed with Jägermeisters of course. Beer starts at €3. Exclusive to the Silberfisch however is its infamous Weltfrieden (World Peace) which is served in what can only be described a massive goblet for €15.

“After three double vodkas, bitter lemon and tonic, everyone is for world peace,” explained the barman. There are safer drinks of course, for those who want to make use of the dance floor.

The Silberfisch is best enjoyed after midnight when all the other vampires also come out to play.

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Silberfisch | Bars, Music, Relaxing | Beer from € 3.00
Oranienburger Str. 37 | Mitte | +493028387388
Sun – Thu 20:00 – 06:00, Fri – Sat 20:00 – 08:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

Buried deep under Berlin’s famous Alexanderplatz (check the Alexanderplatz article) are the remains of a 4.5 billion year old UFO hushed up by the authorities and covered up from view. Apparently the East German regime was well aware of the implications of such a startling secret on the socialist state and so it built the Fernseheturm (check the Fernsehturm article) on the very site between 1965 and 1969 to hide it from public consciousness.

In 1995 however, an artefact from the space station was discovered, leading to the formation of a team of techies and hackers trying to reconstruct the puzzle of its existence. This is the ‘c-base’ project. Those involved meet in their own “space station” at the very back of an unobtrusive Hinterhof, working round the clock to try and uncover the terrible truth hidden for years by the powers that be.

Of course there are other activities too – the c-base does not restrict itself to looking just into the existence of aliens or UFOs – but as you can understand they’re a pretty secretive bunch, loath to any publicity or attention. So keep this under your hat.

Thankfully their activities also involve the serving of beer (just €2 a bottle for “aliens”) and some wild parties which are flagged in advance on their website. You’ll have to ring the bell at the door to be let in and if you ask nicely and are “compatible” they may even give you a tour! But remember, it’s all hush hush.

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C-Base Spacestation | Bars, Relaxing | Beer for “aliens” € 2
Rungestraße 20 | Kreuzberg | +493028599300
Top secret

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

There are many places in Berlin you shouldn’t go and others you simply have to go to. What’s wonderful about this city is the sheer wealth of places which fall into both categories. Kaserne Krampnitz is most certainly one of them. Abandoned in 1992 by the Russians in the wake of German Reunification, this former military training school has been lying idle ever since, its ever-increasing overgrowth disturbed only periodically to make films such as Enemy at the Gates and Inglorious Basterds.

You won’t find this huge site mentioned in any of your travel guides, and the high unfriendly wall around it doesn’t exactly encourage unannounced guests, but visitors brave enough to venture in will be stepping in the footsteps of those history would rather forget.

The Nazis moved their army riding and driving school here from Hannover in 1937. Of course, lessons ended with the loss of the war, and their victors remained at the site until the fall of the Berlin Wall made them redundant too. Abandoned barracks, creepy club houses and former corridors of power now await exploration.

Be very careful! It has been rumoured that security keeps a watchful eye over the site and the legality of camera-clutching onlookers wandering around has yet to be tested in a court of law. (It’s not on my ‘To Do’ list.) A sign outside warns potential trespassers: “Betreten und Befahren verboten!” Of course, I could never condone trespassing or anything so naughty. If anyone asks, I didn’t send you…

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Kaserne Krampnitz | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Krampnitz | Outer – South&West
24 hours daily. Well…

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

People tend to think of Berlin as a gritty urban space but compared to other European cities, it is surprisingly green. According to city statistics, 46% of the city is either covered green space or water. Trees line the streets and nearly every district has a large Volkspark.

The Tiergarten might be the city’s lungs, but slightly further out and to the south, you can find Britzer Garten a landscaped garden park. In 1985, this was the site of the Bundesgartenschau, the Federal Horticultural Show, and following the event the space was turned into a park to give the urban residents of south West Berlin some much needed green space.

The park covers 90 hectares and features rose gardens, a labyrinth, landscaped lakes, several cafes, children’s play areas, the largest sundial in Europe and a miniature park railway. In an orchard on the edge of the park is a large windmill brought from Holland to Berlin for the Bundesgartenschau.

Spring is marked by Tulipan, the second largest tulip festival in the world, a special concert series extends over the summer months and in autumn Dahlienfeuer features over 10,000 dahlias in a riot of colors. The park is open year round, but opening hours extend later in the longer summer months.

The park is owned by the city of Berlin and run as a private enterprise. You have to pay admission but compared to some of Berlin’s other parks, you won’t find any dog walkers, cyclists, or summer barbecues and their piles of refuse here!

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Britzer Garten | Relaxing | Entrance adults € 2.00
Buckower Damm 146 | Neukölln
09:00 – 16:00 daily (longer hours in summer)

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

There aren’t a lot of communist heroes left in Berlin these days. The bronze profile of Lenin behind the Russian embassy disappeared last year with little fanfare. Another bronze statue of the leader of the October Revolution sits dejectedly in the Zapf Umzüge parking of a removals firm, on Köpenicker Straße.

The last two to occupy a space with any prominence, Marx and Engels, were unceremoniously moved to the side of Alexanderplatz (temporarily they say) to make way for an U-bahn extension.

But if bombastic Soviet style statuary gets you going, Ernst Thälmann Park may just be your answer. Unlike Lenin and his Russian revolutionaries, Marx, Engels and Thälmann were all German communists so they survived the initial purge after the Berlin Wall fell. Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany through much of the Weimar Republic years.

Today the park and statue seem forgotten by everyone except the young who use it to practice their graffiti (though it’s recently been cleaned!). But the park, built on the site of a disused gasometer in the 1980s, is a great (?) example of city planning, East German style.

The Ernst Thälmann Park, which connects the busy streets of Prenzlauer Allee and Greifswalder Str, was originally designed as a showpiece for official visitors from the “socialist brother countries”. It contains some high-rise apartments, a school, an indoor swimming pool and the Zeiss Planetarium. It was designed to be the GDR in miniature – a nexus of housing, culture, sport and relaxation.

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Ernst Thälmann Park | Relaxing
Greifswalder Str. | Prenzlauer Berg
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin