Berlin

I have been to West Berlin a few hundred times but, for me, that part of the city is still a mystery. Sometimes you look into a different direction and something completely new pops up before your eyes. This is what happened to me one day when I left Kurfürstendamm U-Bahn and looked up at the subway exit at Joachimstaler Strasse. There was a prismatic building looking over the street and I had no idea what is was. After some online research, a name came to me: Verkehrskanzel.

Verkehrskanzel: Berlin’s Only Traffic Control Pulpit Left from the Fifties

Berlin (category)
4 min read
01/02/201722/01/2024

Moving to Berlin was something that changed my life completely. I didn’t know that before coming here and I wasn’t ready for all of this. But, living in Berlin changed my habits, my way of seeing things and I’m pretty sure I’m not the same guy that left Brazil anymore. And I blame Berlin for that.

How living in Berlin can make you a better person

Berlin (category)
7 min read
20/01/201714/12/2023

What if I told you that the best place to see Berlin from above is not the on the huge TV Tower in the middle of Alexanderplatz? It might sound weird at first but it makes a lot of sense after you think about it. Do you want to take pictures of Berlin with its main tourist spot in there right? So, you need to go somewhere where the TV Tower can be seen. Somewhere as tall as the tower but way less crowded. That place exists and it is the Park Inn Hotel Alexanderplatz Viewing Platform and I going to tell you everything about it now.

Berlin from Above: The Amazing View from the Park Inn Hotel Alexanderplatz Viewing Platform

Berlin (category), Germany (category)
6 min read
18/01/201708/04/2021

If you go back to Fotostrasse archives you’ll see that we love to see old videos of Berlin. This short one from Berlin in 1936 is no exception since it shows how beautiful the city used to be and focus on the changes that were happening to the German capital during the time it was governed by the Nazi party.

This is how Berlin used to look like back in 1936

Berlin (category)
3 min read
16/01/201702/03/2025

There are a lot of late night hosts on American TV but our favorite has been Conan O’Brien for quite a long time. With this in mind, you can imagine how excited we were when we realized that there would be a Conan in Berlin tour. Too bad we never manage to be in the right place at the right time but we can be happy to watch now everything that Conan did in Berlin back in September 2016.

Conan in Berlin: From a Dominatrix Session to a Nude Beach

Berlin (category)
5 min read
23/12/201621/12/2023

The abandoned boat in the Spree River has a name, even though I couldn’t find one when Fotostrasse visited the place back in July 2016. The boat is called MS Dr. Ingrid Wengler. It was named after the owner’s true love, a surgeon at the Dreifaltigkeits-Hospital in Lippstadt. She died in 1979 and she left a hole that never closed. This is why Franz Günther van de Lücht, the owner of the abandoned boat, says about his loss. But the fact that the boat that carries her name is stuck between the Molecule Man sculpture and Badeschiff leaves another one.

A Visit to an Abandoned Boat in the Spree River

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
7 min read
11/11/201621/12/2023

When I first thought about going all the way to Neheimer Strasse, my goal was to see a giant blue starling mural and the controversial "bloody refugee” mural. These murals are part of the One Wall Mural Project organized by the guys at Urban Nation, whose name might be familiar to you if you read our article about the street art museum they are planning in Berlin.

Neheimer Strasse Murals in Reinickendorf

Berlin (category)
6 min read
13/10/201602/02/2024

Our visit to Schulenburg Park and its beautiful fountain in Neukölln

Berlin (category)
5 min read
04/10/201601/09/2020

Have you ever wondered about the people you see on the subway? Who are these people and where are they going? I’m not sure if this was what Alex Soloviev had in mind when he put together his short movie about Berlin called Everyday Berlin. I’m not sure if this was his idea but it was the first thing that came to my head once I started watching it.

Everyday Berlin by Alex Soloviev

Berlin (category)
2 min read
29/09/201615/04/2024

The Berlin Wall is the reason why Berlin had some ghost stations. Most of them were on the S-Bahn line S2, the U-Bahn line U6 and the U8. Those lines travelled through what was then East Berlin on their way back into West Berlin. Trains could go through it but the stations were sealed off and heavily guarded. This happened because, when the Berlin Wall went up, some people realized that they could escape using the train lines. After the East German police realized that, they closed down the stations. This way the stations couldn’t be used as a possible mean to escape to West Berlin.

Berlin Ghost Stations: Potsdamer Platz 1989

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
4 min read
07/09/201611/01/2024

The Berlin Wall was a scar that can still be seen today in the german capital. It split the city into east and west, capitalism and communism, from 1961 to 1989. When it fell, it united the country again and made Germany what it is today.

Berlin Wall: One Year After it was built

Berlin (category)
3 min read
25/08/201630/01/2024

In early August, If you arrived in Berlin via Hauptbahnhof you would be greeted by a pack of wolves. Bronze and iron statues, some of them with more than 2 meters in height, would be looming over passengers with guns and Nazi salutes. A sign would tell you that the Wolves are Back. But why are these Wolves back in Berlin?

The Wolves are Back in Berlin with Rainer Opolka

Berlin (category)
4 min read
16/08/201612/06/2026

After the First World War, Berlin had this moment of glory during the twenties. Those years were so important to the city that some people call it The Golden Twenties and they are right when it comes to the name. Because of all of this, this video from the Summer of 1929 in Berlin is a special one.

A trip back in time to the Summer of 1929 in Berlin

Berlin (category)
3 min read
13/08/201614/12/2023

No swimming is allowed at the Freibad Lichtenberg since it was closed down in the late 1980’s. Some say it was the end of the Berlin Wall but who knows for sure? Today you can visit it and think about better times for this abandoned pool in the middle of Lichtenberg.

The Abandoned Freibad Lichtenberg Pool is gone

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
4 min read
31/07/201613/05/2024

Since we moved to Berlin, early in 2012, we have been researching how this city used to look like before all the wars. This week we stumbled upon this really interesting short movie that shows Berlin streets between 1900 and 1914, a little before the First World War.

Berlin Streets Between 1900 and 1914 in Video

Berlin (category)
2 min read
27/07/201620/11/2023

BER-402/ KB/22.7.90/Berlin: Rockspektakel "The Wall"/ Rund 300 000 Zuschauer aus ganz Europa und Übersee waren auf den ehemaligen "Todesstreifen" zwischen Brandenburger Tor und Leipziger Platz gekommen, um die Neuinszenierung der Rockoper "The Wall" von Ex-"Pink-Floyd" Chef Roger Waters zu erleben. Das gigantische Happening war zugleich Auftakt einer weltweiten Spendenaktion des World War Memorial Found for Disaster Relief (Fond für Katastrophenopfer). Die Show auf dem Potsdamer Platz in der Nacht vom 21. zum 22. Juli wurde vom Fernsehen live in alle Welt gestrahlt. [Berlin, Potsdamer Platz.- Aufführung der Rockoper "The Wall" auf dem ehemaligen Todesstreifen]

Why Roger Waters’ 1990 Berlin Concert Was a Once-in-a-Lifetime Mega Event

Berlin (category)
8 min read
21/07/201601/06/2026

You may not know his name but I'm pretty sure you have seen the man on the pictures here. If you have been to Berlin a few times and decided to enjoy the amazing nightlife this city has to offer you have come across Komet Bernhard at least once. His is less than a symbol but more than a mascot to the Berlin Nightlife and you will understand what I mean after you watch the documentary below.

Komet Bernhard: A Legend of Berlin’s Nightlife

Berlin (category)
3 min read
13/07/201601/09/2026

Cycling in Berlin: Why Berlin is not a paradise for your bike

Berlin (category), Cycling (category), Tips and Tricks (category)
11 min read
27/06/201602/06/2025

Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art, it will open it’s doors in 2017 in Schöneberg as the Berlin Street Art Museum and we know it’s going to be an amazing place.

Berlin Street Art Museum: Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art

Berlin (category), Germany (category)
2 min read
09/06/201615/03/2024

Berlin’s Toughest Race: Popraci in Neukölln

Berlin (category), Germany (category)
5 min read
28/05/201604/09/2017

There are no trains at the Güterbahnhof Pankow-Heinersdorf but they used to come here a lot before somebody figured out how to make them drive in the other direction. Yes, this place was built to allow trains to go the other direction and it is one of the only remaining buildings with this history in Germany.

Exploring the abandoned Güterbahnhof Pankow-Heinersdorf

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
4 min read
29/04/201619/02/2025