There a lot of things to see and experience in Berlin. This is about 5 things that I really think you shouldn't miss when you are here. It was really hard to decide which things I would include in my list, and of course there are so much more that I would want to put in it, but I chose 5 of the things I loved to experience the first month I spent in Berlin.
My name is Charlotta and I come from Sweden. I moved to Berlin in December 2012 and studied German at the GLS German language school for a month. This photo story is about 5 things that I think you shouldn't miss when you come to Berlin. The city has so much to show and it can be hard to know which places you want to go to.
I know most of these places that I have chosen to my top 5 list is famous tourist attractions, but I really think they are worth visiting: you don't want to miss them!
So here we go, in no specific order:
1. Mauerpark Flohmarket
The Fleemarket in Mauerpark was first opened in 2004 with only 60 stalls. Today the market is one of the big attractions in Berlin with its 1 million visitors per year. Mauerpark Flohmarkt covers an area of 7000 m² and in the summer there are up to 500 sellers.
If you go there in the winter, I recommend you to wrap up warm (or buy something warming) because there are a lot to see. You can find almost anything there, stuff you need and stuff don't need. I'm looking forward to visit the market in the summer!
2. The street art
But of course, you can't really miss it because it's almost everywhere. But remember to look up sometimes (or down, or side ways), you might see something beautiful, crazy, stunning or ugly that will fascinate you. I have only photographed the tip of the ice berg (if even that) and there are so much to see. And of course, it is much better to see it in real life than just in a picture. The next picture is one of my favorite paintings, you have to go and look at it up close.
I love just walking around in different parts of Berlin and just explore, or sit down on a bench somewhere and suddenly find something I didn't see at the first glance (or the last time I sat there).
3. Holocaust-Mahnmal
The Holocaust Memorial was inaugurated the 10th of May 2005 and covers a 19 000 square metres big area in central Berlin. It is a memorial of all the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and consists of 2 711 concrete blocks. I think it is overwhelming to walk around these concrete blocks in the sloping field, especially when the weather is like in these photos. I can't explain with words the feeling you get when you're there, not even pictures are enough, you have to experience it in reality.
4. East side gallery
By the river Spree, near the station Ostbahnhof is a part of the old Berlin wall. On the east side of this part of the wall, is around 106 paintings by various artists from all over the world. The paintings represents their view of the political changes in Germany around the 1990s and covers a 1,3 km stretch.
Some paintings has been destroyed by the weather and there is also a lot of graffiti. But it is very interesting to see both the paintings, and the graffiti, I think. There is a lot of historical things you should see in Berlin, and I think the Holocaust and seeing the Berlin wall in real life really touched me.
5. Roses
The last thing you really shouldn't miss is the place Roses. It is a bar which is, among with many other bars, located at the Oranienstrasse near the U-bahn station Kottbusser Tor. This picture is taken in the middle of the day and the place seems very modest, but when the night comes it is everything but that. Without telling too much, there is pink fluffy walls...