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.

I never knew this neighbourhood existed and went to visit a friend and was instantly transported out of Berlin into some sort of 50's utopia. "The Hansaviertel is a prime example of modern architecture and urban planning in the fifties in Berlin. 36 individual buildings or ensembles still form the model of modern architecture and urban planning of the 1950s. The southern part of the war-damaged Hansaviertel, which lies between the S-Bahn line and Tiergarten, was chosen as the central demonstration area of ​​the International Building Exhibition in order to present the "city of tomorrow" - in deliberate contrast to the East Berlin Stalinallee and the restored tenement barracks." - berlin.de Also visit The Akademie der Künste, if not for the art then the architecture alone.

Art bookstore for the more off-the-grid publications.

This place is like being in the Canary Islands, where my hometown is. The wonderful botanical garden has around 22.000 different plant species. I can find here all the tropical species from the island where i grew up: birds of Paradise, palms or dragon trees.

While strolling around Mitte, check out the flagship store of Berlin´s cult women fashion brand. (And try a delicious cinnamon bun at Zeit für Brot next door.)