citylikeyou — West Germany — Berlin by Jessica Polar

Berlin / Music Venue

I came up with this music venue long time ago, I think through a blog in 2009. I used to check every week the concerts they had at that time at the very beginning when the West Germany avenue was still underground and almost unknown. I like it here because I always discover new music bands and of course because of the venue itself which is located in a former doctor’s office.

Address
West Germany, Skalitzerstr. 133 10999, Berlin, Germany

Photographer

Current city: Berlin

jessicapolar.com

I am mad about the forest, the fog, the sea. There is an halo in the details that appear in my photographs. Nothing is casual in the silence of melancholy living in the mood I capture. My private life affects the shoot. I grew up in a volcanic island called Tenerife plenty of nature and energy. I came to Berlin in 2008 after finishing my Journalism Bachelor´s degree in Madrid, I also studied Photo Edition at the Ostkreuzschule in Berlin and nowadays I am working as photo editor and photographer.

More Places in Berlin 98

Berlin / Cafe

This museum of photography is really great, and the highlight for me after the inspiring exhibitions is the good coffee and great cakes at their coffee place. I find myself there almost every second week for a drink and a slice of cake. The food is perfect, the ambiance is nice and it's really alive as a lot of people are coming directly from the running exhibition. At the entrance you can find an interesting bookstore and the best photoautomat of the city right outside. Last but not least, it's only some meters from the Helmut Newton Fondation ( which doesn't have a nice coffee place itself yet ).

Berlin / Transport

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.

Berlin / Area

Taking a little sun and walking around Paul Linke Ufer is always a good way to spend the afternoon and recharge batteries.

Berlin / Place

Flughafen Tempelhof was once the symbol of nazi-pride when Hitler notoriously comissioned construction of the smallest duty free shop in the world (and a beautiful example of fascist architecture). After the war, Tempelhof became one of the frontiers of the cold war with the U.S. battling the communists (who undoubtedly wanted to get rid of the small duty free shop altogether) via the Berlin Airlift. It turned out to be a huge succes, and enabled the allied forces to remain their presence in Berlin and save the small duty free shop. The real free-market victory will come in about two years though, when project developers will take over and start building houses, blocking my view onto the airfield.

Berlin / Other

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.