A trip to Berlin (1) Going from Hermannplatz to Kottbusser Tor

LaWendula on the move…Yesterday I visited my hometown Berlin. It was windy, wet and grey, no good weather for photos. I decided to take a trip on the U1, the line 1, a famous highline that runs thru Kreuzberg. There is a song about the stations of the U1. But first I am at the station „Hermannplatz“, which was once called the most dangerous station in Berlin. It’s not true. In fact it’s quite harmless. This kind of swimming hall architecture many Berlin underground stations have, it’s kind of nice, I think. A vintage feeling. To get to line 1, first I have to drive to „Möckernbrücke“, it really is a bridge over the Landwehrkanal. Swimmingpool feelin‘ again! I change trains and get high. ;) Line 1 is a high line most of the times. I take the train to “Warschauerstrasse” which is the end of line 1. The windows of the trains are covered with little Brandenburg Gates to keep folks from “scratching”. The little boy kept talking about the Spreewald, a forest area in the south of Berlin. Getting of at „Kottbusser Tor“, I am in the middle of the real Kreuzberg, the famous SO36, where I lived as a child. It’s grey, dreary, colourful, noisy and never seems to change. Is someone getting a photo taken? No, just using the photo booth as a small hideaway for drinking his daily dose of spirit. My little photo eye is always searching for art in small corners, where no-one’s expecting it. The most ugly building in Kreuzberg and not even the pink paint will do. This is a bookstore I like. I have found many a bargain inside. There is also a gallery in the backyard. The actual exhibition is called “in other words” and is about translations. I loved that and listened to the foreign sounds for a while. To be continued…