überlin

Last week, James left his favourite jacket in a rental car which ended up in Friedrichsfelde, so I used its collection as an excuse to explore a bit of Lichtenberg.

The first thing I noticed when Olive and I stepped off at Friedrichsfelde U-bahn was the architecture. Someone seemed to have gone a bit wild in the paint shop and murals were painted all along Am Tierpark. Maybe this was to try and make the huge concrete blocks a little less oppressive, but I couldn’t find any info about these weird and wacky paintings online. So if anyone knows anything about them, give us a shout!

Heading through Lichtenberg the buildings got a little less lurid and more retro looking, but the sheer scale of the blocks was enough to make me feel a little claustrophobic. I’m so used to the four to five storey blocks we have in our Kiez that it felt weird to see high-rises dotted all over.

Whether Lichtenberg will be the next hub for creative folks pushed out of the more expensive Kreuzberg or Prenzlauer Berg, I’m not so sure. I’m sure it has some decent cafes and restaurants popping up, but not enough to draw me to the area anytime soon. Still, great for a photo walk!

“Compared to Canada, Berlin’s so dog friendly. I take Maggie and Louie everywhere with me – we go shopping together, and yesterday we went to the Karneval.

The only problem is that I have to carry Maggie [the English Bulldog] up and down the stairs. We used to live on the fifth floor and I’d carry her all the way up. She weighs 24 kilos.

Maggie grew up around kids, and they used to dress her up like a princess and throw her in a wig. She loves kids, but they’re usually scared of her. She’s a big kisser.

Louie [the French Bulldog] is more aggressive, he’s a fighter. He’s a trouble maker – I call him my asshole.”