Kreuzberg: this is the true shopping paradise for all those on the look out for something special and outlandish: not only old records, rummage, vintage fashion but also young fashion and original design.
Bergmannstraße
Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg is not exactly a classic shopping street, but the small shops interspersed with cafés and restaurants do offer an insider’s tip of one kind or another. Alongside long-established rummage and second-hand shops, new boutiques have opened up – stylish hats at Coy art to wear - Hutkunst aus Berlin (Berlin Hat Art), and the bag to match at BagAge.
Highly typical for Berlin is the Markthalle (Market Hall) am Marheinekeplatz, built in 1862 and steeped in tradition, which today offers fresh regional organic products.
Lovers of mystery and crime novels need look no further than the Hammett Bookstore, where thrillers ranging from Agatha Christie through to Stieg Larson await their bloodthirsty readers. To recover from this, the famous Barcomi´s Café. offer an excellent coffee (as well as a delicious cheese cake or blueberry muffin).
Oranienstraße
While Bergmannstraße was once part of the old 61 postal district – and hence quieter part – of Kreuzberg, Oranienstraße was located in the wild 36 postal district of Kreuzberg. In the meantime, however, Oranienstraße has also changed. Although cafés and bars such as Die Rote Harfe (Red Harp), the Würgeengel (Terminating Angel) in Dessauer Straße just around the corner – and, of course, the legendary SO 36 Club – still characterise Oranienstraße, Berlin fashion stores such as Wildfremd, skater fashion at Search and Destroy, streetwear in Depot 2 have now made their mark here.
Just one corner further along at Moritzplatz, is where the hearts of all artists and chefs beat faster. Here in 2011 the Aufbauhaus Kreativzentrum (Development House Creative Centre) opened with the Planet Modulor , which offers an enormously wide range of artist and designer materials. At Coledampf’s & Companies there’s not only cookery books, top-quality kitchen utensils but also a cosy café. On the other side of Moritzplatz lie the Prinzessinnengärten (Princesses’ Gardens), a particularly successful example of urban landscape, in which the residents of the district cultivate plants and flowers to offer for sale. The Flowmarkt with its second-hand wares, art and homemade craftwork is also situated in Prinzessinnengärten.
What makes Bergmannstraße and Oranienstraße so special is the creative mixture of the long-established and the new, of completely distinct traditions as well as improvisations that have had a habit of becoming a permanent fixture. These are two areas, in which a stroll represents – for whatever reasons – a tour into the unique Berlin awareness of life.
Infobox
Address
Oranienstraße
10999 KREUZBERG
