IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
Amorphous, multiethnic and rough around the edges - Wedding is a draw for fans of neighbourhoods still exhibiting pre-gentrification authenticity. Sights are fairly scarce but if you’re keen on offbeat, down-toearth locals and improvised DIY bars and creative venues, you’ll still find them in this working-class northern district.
PHOTOGRAPH: REBECCA CRAWFORD
WANDERINGS
Since the area is both vast and ill-defined, it’s best to focus your time on individual kieze (neighbourhoods). The more interesting ones are wedged between the Berlin-Spandau shipping canal in the south and Seestrasse U-Bahn station in the north. A bike comes in handy for exploring this area, perhaps starting in the afternoon in the canal-hugging Sprengelkiez, with its many cafés and restaurants along Tegeler Strasse. A little further north, Leopoldplatz is another hub of action, especially in the pretty townhouse-lined streets to the north, like Malplaquetstrasse. Keep going north to the Englisches Viertel where the Schillerpark and the namesake Unesco-listed 1920s housing estate around it invite exploring or chilling. After-dark diversions are scattered throughout this sprawling district as well. One area to steer towards is Gerichtstrasse and the industrial-flavoured Gerichtshof 23 courtyard complex with its hidden bars, pop-up parties and artists’ and tango studios.