Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place vs. home

Posts tagged ‘My Berlin’

My Berlin: Schöneberg

Above/featured: Entrance to U-Bahnhof Rathaus Schöneberg.

It seems as universal as the common opinion about how cool and interesting Berlin is.

Both residents and visitors mention the same names in conversations throughout the city: Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Neukölln, and the hybrid “KreuzKölln”, even as Wedding and Lichtenberg begin weaving their way into the dialogue.

Of the neighbourhoods within the city’s Ring, what about Charlottenburg or Schöneberg? The answers often arrive as expected. Why would anyone visit there or live there? It’s boring! It’s too quiet! It’s dead! Lots of sniffy snobby dismissive exclamation points! That few choose the area is precisely why I’m in Schöneberg for three months at the tail end of my year-long around-the-world.

For many in Berlin, they’re living, working, and playing in areas where they’re close to the action and housing costs may on average be slightly cheaper. There’s something to be said about proximity and small “stumbling distances” after a night of drinking. For some, Schöneberg is too far, too expensive, too quiet, or all of the above. I don’t mind the 20-, 30-, or 45-minute travel times to places where friends eat, drink, or hang out.

It’s always a matter of choice for me to be in Schöneberg. There’s a comfortable stillness here that always sets me at ease, where I can tune out or turn down the noise, and find my calm. For a very special time, this area in Berlin, “der schöne Schöneberg,” is home.

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U6 train, Oranienburger Tor, Berlin, Germany, fotoeins.com

My Berlin: Hauptstadt Memories, 2009-2010

Berlin is one of my favourite cities in the world. Since visiting the German capital city the first time in 2002, it’s been an ongoing love story, which now is entering a second decade.

There are a massive number of sights throughout Berlin, but to get a sense of the city and her people, I’ve always believed in combining public transport (trains!) with lots of “pounding the pavement” on foot. The photographs above are personal measurements of motion, geometry, a sense of place, and of locations around the “Hauptstadt.” Upon reflection, I’ve consciously chosen images which are (mostly) out of the direct spotlight of visitors, and even at well-visited locations, I’ve chosen a a longer focal length and/or a tighter crop to show a different point of view.

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My Berlin: Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves), Jewish Museum

Above: Photo, 23 Jun 2025 (X70).

The Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district is one of the most visited museums in the German capital. Millions from around the world have visited the museum since its opening in late-2001. With the unique architectural vision and building design by Daniel Libeskind, the museum does not set aside the history of the Jewish community within Germany as being separate from the history of the country as a whole. Instead, there is conscious effort by Libeskind and the Museum to have visitors consider how the historical, cultural, art, literature, music, intellectual, scientific, and economic contributions from the Jewish community are tied inextricably with the history of Germany over the span of two millennia. These very issues and questions are now also driving discussions about the present state and evolution of the Turkish and other expatriate communities within Germany.

One sculpture in the museum is both poignant and disturbing.

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Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof, Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany, fotoeins.com

My Berlin: literature & physics at Alter St. Matthäus cemetery

It’s a big thrill when travel merges with aspects of my childhood upbringing or aspects of my education. I’m fortunate to have had this experience in the German capital city of Berlin.

I had read that the Brüder Grimm (Grimm Brothers) were buried in Berlin Schöneberg. On a walk through the district, I arrived at the Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof, or Old Saint Matthew Cemetery, near the Yorckstrasse train station.

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