I did another photowalk with a lovely person who promised me plenty of ugliness. I like the ugly parts of town. I don’t like spending time there but I like taking pictures. And she did not promise too much. I saw horrible inner city highways, inhumane pedestrian overpasses, parking lots and a giant furniture big box store. Unfortunately I did not take many pictures. The noise and smell was overwhelming on this day. So I ended up taking pictures of the less ugly parts in the area. And we also ended up in a pleasant but somewhat gentrified neighbourhood indulging in Levantine food.
It all started with a pink basket next to a German “Autobahn”. The noise was terrible only to be replaced with someone playing the accordion very badly.
I like the old style lettering in this lamp post. It stands in stark contrast to what I was about to wander through next.
A 1970s high rise project complete with confusing signs because every building has the same street name. Something that was done in East and West Germany alike. This project though did not end up as a social trouble spot. In fact it was quite well maintained.
Old offices or an old school. I don’t quite remember. A distinctive 1970s style. I remember getting my degree in a building like this. Thankfully the black and white image hides the garish colors.
Enter the even more garish turquoise staircaise with quite the elaborate rain cover. 1970s architecture can be fascinating if often unpractical. What a weird decade.
An old gas cistern. An absolutely stunning industrial object. The tank used to rise and fall depending on how much gas was stored. Now they are using the girder frame to house offices or maybe pricey apartments.
We went through a nice gentrified ‘hood and had some delicious hummus and shawarma.
Leaving the rich people’s enclace we were immediately greeted by gritty main roads, grafitti and old train bridges.
Some lucky middle manager got a rounded corner office with a view right onto the train station behind me.
I love those old iron works connecting the two platforms. Sadly the space on the lower platform is usually quite dirty (e.g. pigeons)
If you are a commuter or used to be one like me, your blood will boil right now. People putting their bikes next to the door because they think only one side of the train faces the platform…well until it does not.
These conservatory or greenhouse staircases as they are called are very typical for Berlin’s metro system. They do look gorgeous though with the right light.
Photographic notes:
All images were taken on a stormy and very mixed weatherly day with my Fujifilm X-E4 and the XF27mm lens.