I went out for a walk today. Because I work from home, it’s not often that I get out or have a reason to leave the flat other than to pick up the occasional ingredient at the store. Now, with winter fast approaching, the sun is down earlier and earlier, so by the time I finish working, there isn’t so much daylight left. I don’t like to admit it, but it can take a toll on me.
Luckily, there are too many people to fulfill the demand at work this week and so I took advantage of the opportunity to drop a few hours and have time for myself. I had some errands to run near Alexanderplatz, so I took my camera with me and opted to take the U-Bahn instead of my bike so that I could spend more time walking and observing.
During this time, I headed down a side-street, Schillingstraße, which is an area just off Alexanderstraße and Karl-Marx-Alle, surrounded by towering Plattenbauten. Although it’s in the middle of a busy area, it still feels separate from the tourist-y Mitte vibe, and more like a little self-contained community.
While walking around, I was struck at how boring and lifeless some places can appear, even when there are people around and the architecture is “clean.” It’s also weird how even central places in former East Berlin can still feel so GDR-esque. Still, I love the feeling of open space I got there, of emptiness, like something waiting to happen. And it’s also nice that fall colours are starting to make themselves known all around.
