Archaeologists have unearthed Berlin’s oldest street, and it is actually pretty cool. Even though it was likely built in the 13th century, the wooden planks look surprisingly fresh.
Why you should vote against expropriation
Berlin’s Mietskasernen
The Mainzer Straße Evictions
On November 14, 1990, approximately 3000 police from across Germany forcibly evicted several hundred mostly young squatters from 13 buildings along Mainzer Straße, in the eastern district of Friedrichshain.
It was one of the largest street battles in Berlin since the (failed) revolution of 1953, and had repercussions that continue to be felt.
Containerbahnhof Frankfurter Allee
If, like me, you’ve spent a lot of time traveling Berlin’s S-Bahn ring, you might have noticed the large empty space directly to the east of the Frankfurter Allee S-Bahn station. It looks like any number of former industrial sites in the city: run-down, abandoned, with a few remnants here and there.
I was surprised to learn that this particular space wasn’t just a random factory: it was a so-called “Containerbahnhof,” where shipping containers could be on- and off-loaded to and from railcars.
Berlin's Radschnellverbindungen (Express Bike Lanes)
Berlin has committed itself to building 100 kilometers of express bike lanes (Radschnellverbindungen) in the next 5 years or so. I made a deep-dive into one section of that network: the route from the Tiergarten to Alexanderplatz and beyond. What I found is very exciting, but construction is still a long way off.
Berlin's City Cycling Challenge
May 1st in Berlin
May 1 has traditionally been a very eventful day in Berlin. The Battle of Berlin reached its concluding stages in the first week of May, and in the 80s and 90s, Berlin’s Kreuzberg districts were scenes of heavy street fighting between police and left-wing demonstrators. These days, though, May 1 is best known for the family-friendly street festival in Kreuzberg.