Squatting in Berlin
Welcome to Berlin’s squat scene | The Guardian
As the Guardian article points out, squatting is not quite the write word for it, but it persists because the phenomenon of the Volkskueche (“People’s Kitchens” or “folks’ kitchens”), or Vokue for short, is rooted in the practice of squatting in abandoned buildings, of which far too many could be found in the former East Berlin soon after the wall came down. The sense of camaraderie that suffuses this piece is palpably present in every trip to the hippest neighborhoods of the former East Berlin. Prenzlauer-Berg was the first eastern neighborhood to go through a remarkable resurrection to become an amazingly active social and cultural district. Now, it isFriedrichshain’s turn. (In fact, a young doctor who had grown up in the former East Berlin told me on a train ride to Berlin that she was among the first wave of youngsters who brought Prenzlauer-Berg back to life and who subsequently moved to Friedrichschain once PB became too hip and, consequently, too expensive.)
Tacheles Volkskueche, from The Guardian
Squatting happens to be a big feature of many European cities, Amsterdam in particular, but it is a practice that seems to be on the wane these days as globalization opens the floodgates of capital to the world’s most storied cities and brings in foreigners eager to partake in the hallowed histories. One ought to partake in these fantastic social experiments, therefore, while one still can. Our walki-talki self-guided mp3 walking tour of Berlin (soon available as an iPhone App, like our Paris and London tours) will provide you with an excellent historical background on Berlin and give you a great appreciation of what’s going on in the former East Berlin. To get to Prenzlauer-Berg after the tour, continue walking east to Alexanderplatz and take the north bound (to Pankow) U5 subway train. To get to Friedrichschain, take the south bound U5 subway train from the Alexanderplatz station.
This really is your ticket to cheap and fantastic food and entertainment in Berlin.
Our walking tour of Amsterdam, however, offers entertainment of an entirely different variety.
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July 17th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
[...] Prenzlauer-Berg was the first eastern neighborhood to go through a remarkable resurrection to become an amazingly active social and cultural district. Now, it is Friedrichshain’s turn. (In fact, a young doctor who had grown up in the former East Berlin told me on a train ride to Berlin that she was among the first wave of youngsters who brought Prenzlauer-Berg back to life… More here walki-talki.com/wordpress [...]