I learnt that the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg is the centre of Turkish immigrant life in the city. Over time, however, given the vibrant nature of the borough and - apparently - very affordable housing, the area's become inundated with young people, artists, musicians, and hipsters across the spectrum. Because of this, Kreuzberg is home to tons of great restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs. Super, super cool. 

I took an Alternative Berlin Walking Tour, and areas in Kreuzberg featured very prominently during the three hour tour. Ben was our guide - an American art graduate from Maine who came to Berlin for a holiday, and decided it was too great of a city to leave...clearly a man after my own heart. "You know how poverty soon becomes 'hip' and synonymous with an alternative-edge?" he asked us. "Well, that's what happened to Kreuzberg.". When I look closer to home, I can see how what he said rings true. Heavily immigrant neighbourhoods across London, from the African-dominated Brixton, to Bangladeshi-Bricklane, and Turk-led Dalston, have all recently acquired a 'hipster' status by the trendy youth of the city. Ahh, the cultural vibrancy in these boroughs are just so wonderful, so enchanting - and Kreuzberg is no different!

In Kreuzberg there's a beautiful symbiosis of an 'old worldly', rough-edged, gritty charm (which comes with the territory in minority populated areas, I suppose) with a fast-paced, suave, alternative 'cool' factor. I have to say that what I loved most about Kreuzberg was the overwhelming Turkish influences. Big surprise there? No, not really. My Turkophilia doubled, tripled, quadrupled, and then exploded. It was so great.

A quick note to anyone interested in visiting Berlin: I stayed in a hostel called Baxpax Kreuzberg for four of the eight days I was in Berlin. Baxpax has a couple of hostels all over the city, but this one is definitely the most exciting one (read: party hostel).  What I really loved about the hostel was that it had a really relaxed, laid-back atmosphere which made it easy to meet fellow travellers! Even though I was travelling alone, I met tons of cool people from all over the world during my time in Berlin and it really made my trip that much better. Don't stay here if you want quiet, though. There's electro, house music booming from the speakers in the reception and common area all day, and it's a party every night. WIN. I loved it, but an American brother-sister travelling duo I met in the hostel couldn't deal with the noise and checked out after their first night and moved to another hostel. Awks. As long as you're not a party pooper, I'd highly recommend a stay here!



 This astronaut/cosmonaut by Victor Ash (2007) is on the side of a massive building in Kreuzberg, and is without a doubt my favourite work of art in all of Berlin (and the world? Hmmm.) It's size is just so impressive - I was blown away when I first saw it.




Kripoe's yellow fists, as seen above, can be found all over Berlin. Apparently they stand for a rebellion against mass advertising. I loved the random placement of these particular fists, and had to take a picture! I can imagine the conversation right now -  "Yah, let's just paint on a random metal pole in the middle of the river, nbd." So perfect!

 These two are also ridiculously impressive works of art. You have to make a turn from the main street into a perpendicular road to be able to see them, and when I first did I was stunned and speechless. The sheer size hits you in the face like an out of control baseball. These buildings are massive, and just...wow. Wow.





Why Iker?! Why not Lukas? Urrrghhhhh.




Under a U-Bahn station.


 I believe this was a music/arts school. It's so funky! The walls have these very fun, colourful murals and it's such a great atmosphere.

 One of the many adorbs murals.


This was also on one of the walls in the school.


 This is the canal next to the huge Turkish market in Kreuzberg. Note the swans!



A German-Turkish flag? Two loves combined into one - I NEED THIS SHIRT IN MY LIFE.



The perfect flag returns again! 


 I cannot make a post without atleast one food item being displayed. So here's a token picture of a delicious lahmacun I had at a cute Turkish cafe. The servers were most enthusiastic to talk to me in Turkish, and I ended up having lunch and tea with the owner teehee.









2 Comments

  1. Berlin is a place which I really wanna go ! Nice and lovely post :)
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  2. Thanks for your comment! I love your Berlin posts. Ahhh it makes me feel home-sick for the place just looking at your photographs. I've been there 3 summers in a row now. I can't imagine lasting a year without visiting! xx

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