I often go exploring into random and dilapidated areas of Berlin. I like the thrill of finding new nooks and crannies with strange visual sites. A few months ago, an old housing colony was abandoned, and many objects (such as couches and front doors) were left at the edge of the city to rot or to be scavenged. This is a view from a non-descript area of the S-bahn train tracks (between Sonnennallee station and Treptower Park station) into the most Southern part of Neukölln district.

The typical Berlin winter is biting cold and grey. In combination with the hardness of the city and the angry natives, it feels like a hostile area. Why it's worth experiencing it? Because that's the way this city is.

A place where I spend some time almost everyday is the Marheineke Markthalle on Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg. It's just around the corner from where I live and a great place to buy fresh food and products from local farmers or all kinds of delicatessen from different countries. Many market stalls also sell freshly prepared food and it's always busy at lunchtime. For saturday mornings try the original french croissants.

Möckernbrücke is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn network in the western Kreuzberg district, named after a nearby bridge crossing the Landwehrkanal. The bahnhof (train station) is part of the first Stammstrecke route of the Berlin U-Bahn opened on February 15, 1902. As the station also served the nearby Anhalter Bahnhof the original building was soon getting too small to cope with the rising number of passengers. It therefore was demolished and replaced by the current station opened on March 25, 1937. Severely damaged by air raids it was closed on January 30, 1944 and not reopened until June 16, 1947. I like it here for the spookiness and feeling of impending doom that it has on a rainy day.

Floating University Berlin is a self organized space and group, where practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds meet to collaborate, co-create and imaginatively work towards futures. It defines itself as “A Natureculture learning site” investigating alternative narratives for urban development. I am totally in love with this place!!!