Berlin Diary: Kreuzberg

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I learnt that the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg is the centre of Turkish immigrant life in the city. Over time, however, given the vibrant nature of the borough and - apparently - very affordable housing, the area's become inundated with young people, artists, musicians, and hipsters across the spectrum. Because of this, Kreuzberg is home to tons of great restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs. Super, super cool. 

I took an Alternative Berlin Walking Tour, and areas in Kreuzberg featured very prominently during the three hour tour. Ben was our guide - an American art graduate from Maine who came to Berlin for a holiday, and decided it was too great of a city to leave...clearly a man after my own heart. "You know how poverty soon becomes 'hip' and synonymous with an alternative-edge?" he asked us. "Well, that's what happened to Kreuzberg.". When I look closer to home, I can see how what he said rings true. Heavily immigrant neighbourhoods across London, from the African-dominated Brixton, to Bangladeshi-Bricklane, and Turk-led Dalston, have all recently acquired a 'hipster' status by the trendy youth of the city. Ahh, the cultural vibrancy in these boroughs are just so wonderful, so enchanting - and Kreuzberg is no different!

 In Kreuzberg there's a beautiful symbiosis of an 'old worldly', rough-edged, gritty charm (which comes with the territory in minority populated areas, I suppose) with a fast-paced, suave, alternative 'cool' factor. I have to say that what I loved most about Kreuzberg was the overwhelming Turkish influences. Big surprise there? No, not really. My Turkophilia doubled, tripled, quadrupled, and then exploded. It was so great.

 A quick note to anyone interested in visiting Berlin: I stayed in a hostel called Baxpax Kreuzberg for four of the eight days I was in Berlin. Baxpax has a couple of hostels all over the city, but this one is definitely the most exciting one (read: party hostel).  What I really loved about the hostel was that it had a really relaxed, laid-back atmosphere which made it easy to meet fellow travellers! Even though I was travelling alone, I met tons of cool people from all over the world during my time in Berlin and it really made my trip that much better. Don't stay here if you want quiet, though. There's electro, house music booming from the speakers in the reception and common area all day, and it's a party every night. WIN. I loved it, but an American brother-sister travelling duo I met in the hostel couldn't deal with the noise and checked out after their first night and moved to another hostel. Awks. As long as you're not a party pooper, I'd highly recommend a stay here!



 This astronaut/cosmonaut by Victor Ash (2007) is on the side of a massive building in Kreuzberg, and is without a doubt my favourite work of art in all of Berlin (and the world? Hmmm.) It's size is just so impressive - I was blown away when I first saw it.




Kripoe's yellow fists, as seen above, can be found all over Berlin. Apparently they stand for a rebellion against mass advertising. I loved the random placement of these particular fists, and had to take a picture! I can imagine the conversation right now -  "Yah, let's just paint on a random metal pole in the middle of the river, nbd." So perfect!

 These two are also ridiculously impressive works of art. You have to make a turn from the main street into a perpendicular road to be able to see them, and when I first did I was stunned and speechless. The sheer size hits you in the face like an out of control baseball. These buildings are massive, and just...wow. Wow.





Why Iker?! Why not Lukas? Urrrghhhhh.




Under a U-Bahn station.


 I believe this was a music/arts school. It's so funky! The walls have these very fun, colourful murals and it's such a great atmosphere.

 One of the many adorbs murals.


This was also on one of the walls in the school.


 This is the canal next to the huge Turkish market in Kreuzberg. Note the swans!



A German-Turkish flag? Two loves combined into one - I NEED THIS SHIRT IN MY LIFE.



The perfect flag returns again! 


 I cannot make a post without atleast one food item being displayed. So here's a token picture of a delicious lahmacun I had at a cute Turkish cafe. The servers were most enthusiastic to talk to me in Turkish, and I ended up having lunch and tea with the owner teehee.








Berlin Diary: Türkenmarkt

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Everyone knows that there are a lot of Turks in Germany, but did you know that Berlin has the third largest population of Turkish people of any city in the world? That being said, you can imagine the near hysterical nature of my inner Turkophilia prior to and during my time in the German capital. 

One of the top priorities on my "Things to do while in Berlin" thesis was to visit the Turkish Market in Kreuzberg. I learnt that the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg is the centre of Turkish immigrant life in the city (and it's also the upcoming hipster hangout but this, my friends, is for another post) and the Türkenmarkt is the largest Turkish market in the city. 

The first Friday I was there, which would be June 8, I U-Bahn'd myself over to Maybachufer to get an early start on the stalls. "If you can find it in Turkey, you can find it here" seemed to be the general essence that wafted through the market. From beautiful fruits and vegetables - both local and imported - to a range of cheeses, meats and fish, and fresh bread and simit, you could find it all! A foodie's delight, no doubt. There were tons of interesting stalls which sold fabric, embellishments, and even varieties of cezves (the pot used for making Turkish coffee). I was intrigued, and wanted them all. 

The weather was cool and perfect and it was a lovely, sunny day. The Turkish Market is definitely a to-do while in Berlin. On that note, I must say that I was a little let down. Was it my astronomically high expectations? Was it the greasy, overly crispy, gözleme I ate that put me off? Was it the fact that the market was actually much smaller than I thought it'd be? I suppose it was a little of all the above coupled with the fact that there were only two or three hot food stalls (of which one had traditional Ghanaian fare laid out wat, and the other was the awful, fast-food quality gözleme place). I love me some Turkish food, so I was looking forward to more variety.

It is without a doubt that I'll revisit the Türkenmarkt when I return to Berlin. 
But I do hope that next time I'm back I'll be greeted by more kebaps, börek, and non-greasy gözleme. ;)










  





 The Türkenmarkt sets up shop parallel to this lovely canal. Boats full of people cruised by as people relaxed and munched on snacks bought from the market. While I was here, a girl with a SOAS bag came and sat next to me and after brief conversation I learnt she recently graduated. Us SOASians really are all over the world!



Note the painted computer monitors lodged between the branches.


 These dolmas were fresh, perfectly seasoned and ooohh so pretty. 
Washed down with ayran, I couldn't imagine a better lunch.


 After I toured the market and found myself a seat for a bit of rest, I recognized someone walking towards me - it was Fiona, a sweet Scottish woman who was staying in the same hostel room as me (in the bunk below me, in fact!). These random bump-ins are such a nice change when you're travelling alone!





Several varieties of fresh Turkish loaves and simit (the sesame seed covered, doughnut shaped bread in the upper right corner) for sale. 

 There were quite a few of these counters stuffed with a range of marinated seafood and dips.  These stores were perpetually packed with people buying grams and grams of the deliciousness pictured above to their heart's content. 


 Dang, look at the size of those shrimps.



























































 Succulent black and green zeytin (olives). Typically Turkish.


 It seems Istanbul's very own Mişir Çarşısı (Egyptian Market) has now made an appearance in....Berlin? 
This awkwardly taken picture was rushed thanks to the mob of people surrounding me. 













Currywurst Appreciation Post

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To begin this shindig on a warm, fuzzy note I decided to start by posting about something very near and dear to my heart. Currywurst. 

While I was in Berlin for eight days this June, the city's obsession with currywurst was strikingly apparent. And this obsession treated me just fine. From men with portable sausage grills strapped to their bodies in Alexanderplatz, to the numerous German 'fastfood' chains in almost all U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations, currywurst was everywhere. And why shouldn't it be? It's affordable, it's a wholesome snack, and can a meal that consists of a juicy, hot sausage with a creamy, delicious, tangy tomato-curry sauce really be all that bad? Thought so.



This was my first currywurst of the trip -  at a small outdoor cafe right in front of Brandenburg Gate. It was 'mit Darm' which, I gathered from the flustered German lady serving me, was 'with skin'. The contrast between the crispy skin casing and soft meat inside was a fabulous surprise in my mouth.







This was from a ridiculously cheap stall on one of Ostkreuz station's platforms (I'm pretty sure it was Ostkreuz), which sold many varieties of two specific items - coffee and sausage. This wasn't currywurst - I decided to be adventerous and order a bratwurst with pommes (mmmm). I doused the fries with what I thought was salt, but was actually sugar. Whoops. Also, I wasn't a huge fan of the smoky bratwurst flavour. But all in all, the crispy, delightful pommes made up for the entirety of the meal. Good times.




 Located a few steps away from the Mehringdamm U-Bahn station is Curry 36, which allegedly serves Berlin's best currywurst. The queue up to the tiny window counter, where you both place and receive your order, is perpetually long, and the tables outside packed. 
The lady with the blue bag, I, and a few other strangers were sharing one of the tables above. As I prepared to tuck into my own currywurst, she proceeded to say Guten Appetit to everyone on the table. Awww. 


The star sausages at Curry 36. I'm not entirely sure of its name, but on the right is a sausage which is covered with skin and then deep fried. The wurst that I ordered is pictured on the left. What I didn't get a picture of is the counter on the left, which holds German hamburger-like patties, and this meaty goulash-type soup/stew. 


Currywurst mit pommes rot-weiss - isn't she just a beaut. Curry 36 is famous for their own brand of curry sauce. The sauce had a nice texture to it - chunky and flavourful. Personally, though, the sauce was a tad bit too sweet for my liking and this wasn't my favourite currywurst meal of the trip (sacrilege, I know).



Having said that, it didn't stop me from polishing off my food. Tip for next time: hold off on the extra serving of curry sauce.

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