GESUNDBRUNNEN
Tips and Links for Gesundbrunnen
1. Berliner Unterwelten e.V. | Anyone interested in the city under the city has come to the right place. Tours of the area's bunkers begin at the U-Bahn station entrance; the tour guide group's own museum tells the stories of the creation of a metropolis, of nighttime air raids and escape tunnels | Brunnenstraße 105 | www.berliner-unterwelten.de
2. Humboldthöhe | The quaint name betrays nothings of either a rubble mountain or of bunker remains. The half-imploded wartime building's former artillery platform affords a panoramic view over Gesundbrunnen | Volkspark Humboldthain
3. Kletterhalle Magic Mountain | It may not be the highest of elevations, but 50 feet is enough for some good climbing practice. A large indoor rock-climbing hall for everyone in Berlin with an itch for the Alps | Böttgerstraße 20-26 | www.magicmountain.de
4. Curry Baude | A trained butcher stands behind the counter and the sausages are homemade, but the secret is in the sauce. Friendly and professional, here the curry wurst reins! One of Berlin's best kiosks, to which the never-ending queue attests. | Badstraße 1-5 | www.curry-baude.de
5. Gesundbrunnen-Center | It's hard to overlook. This enormous shopping center sits like a roadblock between the Ringbahn station and Gesundbrunnen neighborhood. The mall's stores are dominated by chains | Badstraße 4
6. Gartenstadt Atlantic | The small front yards and green backyards are the hallmark of this 1920s residential settlement. Never losing sight of the ensemble's ideals, it was privately refurbished in exemplary manner. Artists ateliers, including that of famous German sculptor-installation artist Günther Uecker, have made their home in the Heidebrinkerstraße | Behm- Ecke Bellermannstraße | www.gartenstadt-atlantic.de
7. Lichtburgforum | At this meeting place, „German – Turkish – Jewish, Intercultural" is the name of the game. Concerts, readings, and theatrical performances enrich life in the Kiez | Behmstraße 13 | www.lichtburgforum.de
8. Swinemünder Brücke | Popularly called the "Million-Dollar Bridge" since 1905, thanks to the building costs of c. one million Goldmark, the 660 foot riveted piece of steel and timber-framed construction spans the Ringbahn.
9. Hertha-Domizil | Hertha BSC, Berlin's soccer team, called this home for many years; their fan shop stood directly across from the "Plumpe", the once famous stadium of the blue-and-white team. But you won't see soccer played here any longer. In the 1970s concrete was spread across the grass; today the Hertha-Domizil is in ruins. So much for keeping the tradition alive. | Behm Ecke Jülicher Straße | www.hertha-geschichte.de
10. Lokal Karadiniz | Turkish cuisine from the Black Sea is the fare at this small, modest restaurant. Be it dorade royal or mackerel, lamb kebab or vegetable stew, the Turkish community is loyal – and the restaurant according full at lunchtime | Bellermannstraße 15
11. Karl im Kiez | By day a neighborhood consultant office, by evening a "lounge bar" with a broad cultural program. Here "Elvis from Britz" sings his tunes; there are classic, swing, and sing-along nights. No gastronomy, just a private house bar with its own entertainer | Bellermannstraße 14 | www.karlimkiez.de
12. Grüntaler Promenade | The tracks from Berlin to Szczecin ran along Grüntaler Straße's middle median, through the densely built neighborhood, until 1897. The former route was recently transformed into a green space with sculptures and playgrounds | Grüntaler Straße
13. Bistro Sila Manti + Gözleme Evi | In this tiny shop, the lady of the house makes Anatolian little dumplings (Manti) and flatbread (Gözleme). A tasty alternative to the omnipresent döner | Grüntaler Straße 17
14. Autohöfe | Sparks fly out of the small workshop as cars of old are being raised from the dead. Some junkyard jewels get a second chance at life after their radical makeover here. Chevys stand alongside Polos; East German Trabbis loaf in the company Mercedes coupés | entrance at Badstraße 59 or 62
15. Erkan Möbel Discount | Chaise longues in lilac and champagne, divans in velvet and silk, plastic glory for the bedroom somewhere between Versailles and Barbie's dream house. Don't miss this display window | Böttgerstraße 7
16. Café Barrikade | The self-proclaimed last bastion of the former People's Republic of Wedding, the café offers a communist cultural program for friends of highbrow chaos. Just a stone's throw from Wedding's district court... | Buttmannstraße 2 | www.barrikade.de
17. Bibliothek am Luisenbad | The little spring house that gave the district its name once stood nearby. The beautiful neo-Baroque building of the Luisenbad was augmented with a modern addition in 1995 and now houses a city library branch. A successful synthesis of old and new | Travemünderstraße 2
18. Pfarrkirche St. Paul | A real Schinkel building on the outside, pure 1950s on the inside. Badly damaged during WWII, the church was painstakingly historically restored on its exterior while the interior got a modern design. Classicism with a kidney-shaped pulpit | Badstraße 50-51
19. Mitte Museum | The center of Berlin is in Wedding? After the consolidation of Berlin's districts, yes. The exhibition is all about the historic districts Mitte, Wedding, and Moabit. The garden never had a well of its own, but now it has a replica of the famous spring house | Pankstraße 47 | www.mittemuseum.de