Posts Tagged: berlin

Useful Figurative Offspring

Just in time for Mother´s Day we discovered this artwork on Wedding´s walls. Somebody added “mama” under the portrait of Journalist Rosa Luxemburg. A joke? An affecionate naming or a comparison with a look-a-like woman? Anyway, he was right! Although Rosa Luxemburg never was a biological mother she can be very well considered an icon for the socialist workers movement and a mother of revolutionary ideas. Ideas which, by the way, had wide appeal in the so-called “Red Wedding”, the workers´ district.
Congrats to all Women giving birth to great ideas!

 

Ugliness Fading Out

“If ugly then properly!” – Funny that “hässlig” (ugly) is not spelled correctly so the request to do things properly seems to nullify itself. Whether this was the ironic intention or whether the writer has simply some problems with German orthography remains uncertain…

We are used to the idea that beauty is not always innate but sometimes demands work and dedication. But what about ugliness? – A number of people think Wedding is ugly and some really hope that it will stay like this. They believe this would prevent other people from moving here and things will remain the same forever, frozen in time – which would mean above all rents that are affordable. And they are right with their worries. Rents have been going considerably up during the last years (we, too, complained about this here). It shows that insisting on ugliness does not help, anyway. Or maybe it just was not done properly?

During an interview an elder lady, owner of a furcoat-shop (!) in Wedding, remembered nostalgically the old days when the Müllerstrasse had been a second Kurfürstendamm with elegantly dressed people promenading around. So it seems that Wedding is not necessarily ugly by birth or by fate but had its ups and downs during history. – There is nothing that can stop the process of change since it should be clear that building a wall is not an option anymore. Like evil cannot exist without good, also ugliness cannot be without beauty.


 

Undestroyable Flowers Only

Wedding has a special style – and its own practical way of looking at things. It`s comparable to an artificial flower that will never lose its color or go limp. If the bouquet, attached to the bridal limousine, will fall off due to rough winds and heavy traffic it won´t be really damaged – hopefully like the loving relationship it stands for. The flowers are resilient, glittery, tough and multicolored – similar to our neighborhood.

 

Upcoming Factual Overvaluation

Some days ago a well known Berlin newspaper published a map showing the average rent in different Berlin districts when signing a new contract. You can choose the size of the apartment (one room, two rooms etc) and compare two price categories: with average heating costs (“warm”) included or without (“kalt”). The map also gives the information how much the rent went up for newcomers in the chosen area since 2008. You can see, play (and maybe cry) for yourself by clicking here.

Areas which were already expensive did not go up much – like Unter den Linden or Grunewald. Others however, labelled “really trendy” like Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg or “the new place to be” like Neukölln, went up more than 70%!
Concerning Wedding it was surprising to see that areas which are considered “difficult” like Soldiner Kiez and Nauener Platz went up 50% and more. Also in Rehberge newcomers have to pay averagly 50% plus. Wedding seems to have the 3rd place in popularity due to the fact that until now rents have been relatively low but the area is still centrally located. This confirms what already a lot of people here are worried about: due to this overvaluation life in Wedding will become definitely more expensive. And that´s maybe the reason why someone here has already decided to settle down outdoors where it´s certainly cheaper – at least for the expected warmer season…


 

Under Furry Oversight – Part 1

Almost as colorful as the human Weddingers we have also a great variety of strange creatures living here. Say hello to the Wedding Zoo!


 

Undetected Foreign Oligarchy

Has ever anybody thought of Wedding as a perfect location for a historical bestseller story full of intrigue, crime and passion with beautiful women in stunning ball gowns and noble Russian aristocrats?
No? So take this!

* for those not knowing German: Fürst=Prince

 

Unfair Fighting Overturn

One swallow does not make a spring – but one little snowman completely knocked out and abandoned in the boxing ring might be a hint!

 

Welcome to “UFOs in Wedding”

So,
this is not about aliens in flying saucers. And it´s not about tying the knot, either.
It´s about living in a part of Berlin with a name that is often misunderstood by foreigners: Wedding. The name goes back to a nobleman, Rudolphus de Weddinge, who founded the first little village about 800 years ago. Sorry, no romantic origin here.

Wedding has some kind of a reputation: the Weddingers themselves call it a rough but authentic area, hipster-free for sure, whereas Non-Weddingers might think of streetgangs and people having social issues. It is certainly not on any tourist agenda.
BUT lately quite some articles in the media put the focus on Wedding AND used the bad “G”-word*.  Actually we could boast about one of the most beautiful lakes in the city center and about UNESCO World Heritage architecture – we could, but we won´t.

For those who are into maps – Wedding is in the North-Western part of Berlin, right inside the red dashed boundary here below:

Due to an administrative reorganization in 2001 it has been divided and become officially part of the city-center (Berlin Mitte) which might have changed some things although a lot of people in Wedding think about it still within its old limits (we, too).

Ok then, let´s find out together if there are any UFOs around here, any unspoken fragile obsessions, any unbelievable fantastic options, any unimpressive fishy observations.

Enjoy the trip.

(*) gentrification