Hi! My name is Katya. I love traveling and sharing my experiences on the Ostrovok blog, but I also have a deep-seated dislike for Berlin. I spent the last year in Germany and traveled the length and breadth of the country, admiring historic Munich, modern Dusseldorf and beautiful Dresden. I left Berlin for dessert and was very disappointed in it. It cannot in any way be called a visiting card of Germany, as is the case with the capitals of other European countries. There are several reasons for this.
Content
- Panel construction
- Insidious graffiti
- Eternal construction
- Questionable personalities
- Unpleasant smells
- Constant noise
- That very underground
Panel building
Architecture of western and eastern Berlin differs significantly. The neighborhoods around the central Alexanderplatz square, located in the eastern part of the city, look like Soviet-era residential areas. As you step outside, you can see the same-looking panel buildings stretching out from the square, with wide avenues lined with pedestrian zebras. Occasionally, the aesthetic is broken up by lone trees and buildings with monumental mosaics on their facades. Is it even worth the trip when you can get the same experience at home?
The neighborhoods around the central Alexanderplatz square, located in the eastern part of the city, look like Soviet-era residential areas. Photo: Ekaterina Borisova
Everywhere graffiti
For European architecture — with its stucco, wrought-iron balconies, and other facade decorations — you can go to the other side of the Spree River, to the Kreuzberg district. Once upon a time, this was not the most prosperous outskirts of West Berlin, but now it is a popular and fashionable place with numerous bars and clubs.
Theoretically, in Kreuzberg, the eye should admire beautiful buildings, but the picture is spoiled by dubious graffiti in the spirit of “here was Vasya”, which are in several layers covered the first floors of absolutely all houses. There are many worthy murals in the city, but sloppy and tasteless drawings are depressing.
In theory, Kreuzberg should be a place to admire beautiful buildings, but the picture is marred by questionable graffiti that reads, “Vasya was here.” Photo: Ekaterina Borisova
A brief history of street art in Berlin
Street art in the city gained attention in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly on the Berlin Wall. Later, artists from around the world began to visit the city to leave their messages in the form of graffiti. Now one of the parts of the wall is called the Eastside Gallery and is considered one of the most visited sights in the city.
Well, after the fall of the wall, the local street artists were not stopped, and graffiti covered more and more buildings in the newly united western and eastern parts of the city.
The eternal construction
Berlin is an eternal construction. On the one hand, the city is developing and becoming more beautiful. On the other hand, there are constantly blocked sidewalks and inconvenient crossings in the midst of a fast-moving traffic flow. It seems that construction never ends here, and all these fences are gradually moving from one building to another. By the way, the area around the Reichstag is currently being rebuilt and restored. The cherry on top is the constant noise and dust.
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The area around the Reichstag is also being rebuilt and restored. Photo: Ekaterina Borisova
Suspicious Individuals
If you think you’ve already had enough reasons not to enjoy walking around Berlin, you haven’t seen anything yet. I’ve never seen so many homeless people sleeping on sidewalks and in parks in the city center, or so many suspicious individuals trying to sell you a wilted rose or fake designer items. The poor street lighting adds to the anxiety, making it not only unpleasant but also unsafe to walk around Berlin at night.
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Unpleasant Smells
The first thing you want to do in Berlin is to go to the Mitte area, to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. At the exit from a rather shabby and for some reason smoky subway, I ran into a wall of fumes. This smell of other people’s parties yesterday haunted me all the time in Berlin — on the subway and buses, at the sights and, of course, on the streets of bar Kreuzberg.
The main advice: do not go behind the wall of the East Side Gallery. First, unlike the front part, it is decorated with the same “Vasya was here” signs, and second, it is often used as a public toilet. Therefore, the smell of alcohol and tobacco is complemented by the corresponding ammonia odors.
The first thing you want to do in Berlin is to go to the Mitte district, near the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. Photo: AlexAnton/Shutterstock.com
Constant noise
In Germany, they are very sensitive to sounds, so most German cities feel like you are in a remote sanatorium in the woods, so quiet it is. But Berlin is a very noisy city, and not only because of the bars, clubs and constant parties, but also because of the heavy traffic day and night.
I stayed in the Kreuzberg district on a quiet street far away from the places. At the same time, even with earplugs, it was impossible to sleep on weekends. Of course, this is unlikely to scare the inhabitants of megacities, but for those who are used to relative silence, it will be a real test.
The very underground
In many articles praising Berlin, you can read about the underground. They say that these are not questionable bars with shabby furniture and sticky tables from spilled beer, facades not ruined by graffiti and marginal people — this is different. But the once bold challenge to society has now lost its relevance. Berlin seems to be preserved in the aesthetics of the 1990s and early noughties. It gives the impression that you are walking through an arthouse cinema from thirty years ago.
A tent camp in a park in the Kreuzberg district. Photo: Ekaterina Borisova
Well, Berlin evokes mixed feelings, but it certainly doesn’t leave you indifferent. In any case, it’s important to check things out on the spot, as everything is individual. One thing is certain: you won’t be disappointed with the accommodation options in this city, especially if you use Ostrovok to find it.
Cover photo: Patino/Shutterstock.com
