Street art is mostly unpredictable: scattered all around the city, it’s waiting to surprise you once you turn around the next corner. But there are places which serve as a sort of gallery; designated spots where several street artists regularly put up new pieces. One of these places is Dircksenstraße, or more accurately, the section of the street that connects Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt (for orientation: the pin on the map is right in the middle of that section).

Start from either side, following the elevated train tracks. Take a look at the bridge’s walls right beneath the roaring S-Bahn trains. After a few moments, you will see the first paste-ups, posters, stencils or even sculptures.

After coming here regularly, you’ll start recognizing the artists and their particular styles and motifs: One that I am always looking out for is El Bocho’s “Little Lucy”, a cute cartoon girl that is shown trying to kill her cat in various, often absurd ways. Other very distinct ones are the “It’s time to dance” figurines adorned with glitter or confetti by artist SOBR (or Sobre) from France, which you can see on the picture. Some pieces might stay for a long time, some are rather short-lived. I guess that’s the great dynamic that comes with street art.