Berlin Architecture in Photos

We've done a lot of wandering around the streets of Berlin in the last 7 months and along the way we've taken quite a few photos of the buildings around town. There are loads of interesting buildings dotted around the city and we've enjoyed just wandering around and discovering new places. Here is a collection of a few of our favourite architectural photos we've collected over the last few months.

Heilig Kreuz Kirche (Holy Cross Church) kreuzberg

A beautiful promenade of houses in central Berlin

An interesting residential building in Kreuzberg

Otto Bock Science Center near Potsdamer Platz

The Nhow Hotel on the river Spree

The Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee

The Humbolt Box on Museum Island

Berlin  Dom Cathedral

The Berlin TV Tower

The Kanzleramts Building as seen from the Bundestag building

Box window design in Pankow

Curvy balconies in Prenzlauer Berg

A  beautiful façade in Prenzlauer Berg

The Southern Spree Riverfront

The Southern Spree Riverfront buildings

Autumn in Berlin

The weather really started to change as soon as October came. It was as if someone knocked the 'summer is over' switch and bam! There was a week of really chilly weather early October and I remember thinking to myself that we're gonna have a cold winter. Our first autumn in Berlin however, has turned out to be rather pleasant. There have been a few rainy days and a couple of cold windy moments but we can't really complain because the sun has been shining most of the time.

Being English, I grew up in a similar climate to Berlin so it's not much of a surprise that I am coping with the cooler weather. I've got my thermals on stand-by for the pending freezing winters though and I hope it isn't as harsh as last winter apparently was (I was busy enjoying Mexico at the time). Whilst we wait for the temperature to drop however, I thought I would share some of the lovely autumn photos we've taken around the city (I can't take credit for the majority, they were mainly taken by my 'padawan').  

Autumn leaves on the ground

In fact, both my 'padawan' and I much prefer cooler weather and I suffer quite a lot in the heat. It's kind of ironic the fact that I chose to live in Madrid for 6 years previously. I didn't particularly go there for the sun and I really suffered through the summers in Madrid. Of course, living in a sunny and dry country has a lot of benefits and even in the winter the Madrid skys are still bright blue. But, I'm seeing the same kind of weather here in Berlin right now, albeit a few degrees cooler than it would be in Madrid.

View from our window

As I'm looking out the window from my cosy and warm flat, it looks like a splendid day with bright baby-blue skies and rich sunlight hitting the houses and trees in front. In fact, over the last few months we've been taking photos around the city and capturing the autumn as it takes hold of the city. 

A quick note about the photos: I started 'training' my husband to take better photos a few months ago because he used to take a zillion photos of everything and it would always take double the amount of time to do anything. Every two minutes he would stop, take out the camera, and proceed to snap four or five photos of the same (any)thing, from the same angle and with the same composition. So, I decided to try to help him improve his technique and gave him a crash course in 'how to take usable photos' (and mainly 'how not to waste so much of your wife's time'). Over the last few months I must say that he has become quite an artistic beast with the lens. He still wastes my time (don't they all?) but now at least he gets some decent and varied shots. Thanks baby! 

We hope you enjoy the photos!

An 'Autumny' Bundestag

Getting arty with the angles near Eberswalder Strasse

Autumn at the canal in Alt-Treptow

Autumn at the canal in Alt-Treptow

Beautiful ivy near Eberswalder Strasse

The Kultur Brauerei (A Berlin Brewery and a museum and cultural space)

A church in Prenzlauer Berg

Colourful leaves

Yellow tree

Can you get more 'autumny' that this?

Gutenberg Printers in Prenzlauer Berg

A vintage shop in Prenzlauer Berg

Autumn with the Alexanderplatz tower

It's chilly but with blue skies in Pankow

Turning trees

More from the Kultur Brauerei complex

Parks in Berlin: Mauerpark

Mauerpark, in the district of Prenzlauer Berg, is one of the most popular parks in Berlin. 'Mauer', which means 'wall' in German, is a reference to the fact that the park made up part of the 'death strip'  during the times of the Berlin Wall. The park itself is an ok place just to hang out and relax with friends but there are lots of other reasons to visit, especially on a Sunday. 

I've been to the park three times. In fact, this weekend a friend was visiting me from Spain so we decided to go there for a look around. There are many regular flea markets in Berlin and the Flohmarkt am Mauerpark has to be the most famous. It takes place every Sunday and has everything you would expect of a good flea market. 

You can buy anything from designer clothing and jewellery, used bikes, second-hand clothes and shoes, posters, tools, toys and household goods, even, for some reason, a surprising amount of decorative door knobs! The market is always teeming with activity and aside from the usual offerings there are plenty of bars and food stands where you can grab a beer, a currywurst, burgers, pretzels, refreshments and more. 

Not only can you do some bargain-hunting in the flea market or relax on the grassy area with a pic-pic, but there is normally some kind of organised entertainment going on including live bands and street performers.  You can't go to the park on a Sunday without catching a bit of the famous Bearpit Karaoke Show which has been taking place on Sunday afternoons since 2009. It draws huge crowds to the stone circular stage area within the park and thousands of people head there to listen to the brave performers singing karaoke classics. 

If you sing really well, the crowd goes wild. I'm not sure what the reaction would be if you don't sing well but I've heard there is a certain amount of boo-ing involved. I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of public criticism just yet so instead of getting up to give it my all, I sat on the hill with a beer and enjoyed the music! 

We had the pleasure of listening to a few performances including a very well sung rendition of Creep by Radiohead and an impressive Frank Sinatra impersonation. Both of which received very enthusiastic responses from the audience. 

So, if you can't think of anything to do next Sunday and you are in the mood for getting out of your pyjamas and heading into Berlin, keep Mauerpark in mind. Beware though, if you plan on playing frisbee, watch out for excited dogs! We decided to play on Sunday and within two minutes a dog came pounding up and stole our frisbee. He seemed very happy with his find at least for the two seconds he played with it before biting the plastic in two and destroying any flying capability it may have had. Note to self for my next trip to Mauerpark - Either A) buy a better quality 'dog-proof' frisbee or B) just take beer!  

The flea market takes place in Mauerpark every Sunday between 8am and 6pm (although in my experience it's better to go in the morning). The Karaoke starts at around 3pm but there is usually some kind of entertainment going on all day at the stage area.