My sister’s in town. Always glad to have another good reason to ride to Kreuzberg and Prinzessinnengarten for delicious lunch made from produce fresh from the garden, and a stroll from bed to bed to see what’s growing. The tomatoes, sunflowers, and pumpkins especially are such beauties. So is this bicycle which is slowly taken over by nature and tied to the fence by green arms.
It was supposed to be a memorial for social injustice, gentrification & poverty. Put into - and blocking a main road of - a struggling part of Berlin-Kreuzberg. Named the “Peace Wall”, art & message of Nada Prlja completely failed its purpose. Looking at it I wasn’t even sure what part of the piece was “art” & what was “vandalism”. It is gone now. Two weeks earlier than planned. There’s only the wall of tourists at Checkpoint Charlie a little further up the street. But that moves more organically than a 12x5m piece of metal & wood.
In response to my friend Glen’s poetic food posts on his Facebook stream:
I’ve found a Berlin based bakery which - for now - satisfies my desire to beam myself over to Mazzola Bakery in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
This a cheese-tomatoes-herbs-layered-Italian-summer-dream from Soluna Brot und Öl in Berlin, Kreuzberg. Also took home a piece of one of their sourdough breads. It is hard to chose from the amazing selection of twenty or so breads, with names like the “Ostblock”, a dark and wholesome looking loaf, and a corn & potatoe bread, called the “Blues”. Definitely worth a weekly trip to Kreuzberg.
Soluna Brot und Öl, Gneisenaustrasse 58, Berlin-Kreuzberg, Mo-Fr 10am-7pm, Sat 8am-4pm
Prinzessinnengarten is one of my favorite places to go in Kreuzberg. Looks like the same goes for Kreuzberg’s bees. This one could be one of Erika Mayr’s. Her beehive is not far from the garden. Just read & loved her book “Die Stadtbienen” about her beekeeping adventures in Berlin.
Blue skies, sun,…and cold, almost wintery weather.
Bundled up in an extra layer of yoga pants under my jeans, boots, warm jacket and the usual covers for head, neck, hands and hopped on my bike. Down Prenzlauer Allee, over to Volkspark Friedrichshain, down Andreasstrasse and across the bridge to Kreuzberg.
Took a left towards Schlesisches Tor, across Warschauer Brücke and left on Marchlewskistrasse. I don’t think I’ve ever been to that part of Berlin. Huge apartment building complexes with a lot of Soviet flair, typical East Berlin, and a very quiet street. I love it when I can hear birds sing in the middle of this huge city. This could become my regular commute route.
Crossed Karl-Marx-Allee over onto Friedensstrasse and back to Volkspark Friedrichshain where I walked past the Märchenbrunnen (Fairy Tale Fountain) which is all covered up in wooden boxes for the winter. Only the little dogs’ heads peeking out from the fountains and some turtles are visible.
Back up via Heinrich-Roller-Strasse and Prenzlauer Allee and a quick stop for some good Cafe Latte at Einstern. Sweet cafe, nice service, and they have bagels with sundried tomatoe spread!
