B/W
#329 Looking towards the Mitte from the First Crack
Bornholmerstr’s Bösebrücke
On 9 November, 1989 @ 9:30 pm at the Bornholmer Strasse Border Crossing, the floodgates were unofficially opened. The Berlin Wall only continued to crack open from then and there.
#13 Bearing Witness
Liesenstr and Gartenstr
Between 1961 and 1989, cross-town Berlin transportation routes were a tangled maze. Some abandoned stations were passed through at a steady speed. The S-Bahn line operated throughout Berlin, although in West Berlin it was boycotted until the Wall began tumbling down. This tiny section is left standing in its original location to bear witness to the ever-changing surrounding landscape.
#15 I Spy with my Little Eye
Berlin Wall Memorial
corner of Bernauerstr. and Brunnerstr.
This photograph records an apartment building’s external wall historically repurposed as a portion of the Outer Border Wall. Note the poignant sticker of an imposing person’s eye “spying” on the area. Although the vast majority of the physical walls and fences have been removed, making the Berlin Wall nearly invisible, many Berliners still sense its emotional shadow.
#30 Can You Give Me A Leg Up?
Berlin Wall Memorial, Bernauerstr
This portion of the remnants of the Berlin Wall are in Mitte, central Berlin, easily accessible to tourists and local people. This couple could not resist the temptation to reenact an escape attempt; although they would have ended up in the former East Berlin.
#34 Where Did All the Guards Go?
Nordhafen Shipping Channel
This former border tower, one of only five left intact, is centrally located in Mitte/downtown Berlin, along the narrow banks of the Nordhafen shipping channel. The first Maueropfer/Wall Victim died by drowning, within sight of this tower. After the Berlin Wall was dismantled, this neighborhood was the epicenter for the first wave of new residential construction.
#77 Reversal of Fortune
Checkpoint Charlie
Seeking a new photographic angle at this popular tourist attraction, the main official border crossing station, I ventured into McDonald’s. Knowing that most McDonald’s have a second floor, I entered and climbed the stairs. Out the window, was an unobstructed view of the “Soviet” soldier, Ohne Titel/Untitled, Frank Thiel, 1998. Now communism has been replaced by American consumerism. With this new perspective, I reframed the Cold War political ideologies.
#110 Surprised by Silence
Rudower Höhe, southwest industrial niche
From my apartment, I descended four flights of stairs, walked 600 meters, rode to the very end of the U-Bahn route, and then took the bus #371. After more than an hour’s journey, I finally arrived. No one was around. That 2023/24 winter, Berlin experienced 15 snow days – some only snowflakes to accumulations of 2 cms, as on that day. As I disembarked the bus, I was surrounded by silence; the fresh snow muffling any speech or movement. Right in front of me were long unmarred and unattended sections of the former Berlin Wall. How can such violence be beautifully hidden in plain view?
#184 Land Pockets Surrounded by the Other
near entrance to the Steinstücken subdivision, Wannsee
The borderline between East and West Berlin was not always logical geometrically shaped. Sometimes, streets were bisected straight down the middle but at other times, the dividing line between the two territories was more organic. There were neighborhood enclaves – in both East and West Berlin - which stuck out or into enemy territory. One land parcel was Steinstücken, in the southwest corner of Berlin. Enough fear of a possible invasion was generated to supply the 200+ residents with their own helicopter and flying team, should a emergency evacuation be needed.
#222 This is Different!
Alexander Haus, Groß Glienicke
On the last day of my walking pilgrimage, I spotted this building on the banks of the Groß Glienicker Sea. Its architecture was different than any other domestic dwelling. Months later, I began to learn the identity of this house: the Alexander Haus and its occupants. The original owners, bought the land and built a summer home in 1935. They were Jewish. Not many years later they evacuated to London and had to abandon the cottage. In the next decades, reflecting the trends of the day, numerous families “legally” occupied the house. In the foreground, can be seen pieces of rebar left from the Berlin Wall construction.
#223 In Situ
Groß Glienicker
Along the northwest edge of the Groß Glienicker Sea, are several untampered sections of various fortifications from the original Berlin Wall that still line the lakeside. Being left in situ, is a powerful multi-layered statement by the villagers. What does the monument mean to you? And to others?
#234 Sheep Grazing Among the Piled Remains of the Berlin Wall
on the slopes of Hahneberg
Except for the multitude of domesticated dogs, animal sightings are a rarity, in both city and rural areas, Germany. Unexpectedly, the wild animals I have seen most frequently were the wild foxes of Berlin Mitte. Along the Berliner Mauer Walk, I hiked for days without seeing any creatures, on the ground or in treetops. Then one day, a small flock of sheep came into view, an urban educational demonstration farm. They were accompanied by the only wild rabbits I observed. I have heard rumors of furious wild boar sightings in select wildernesses of the numerous green areas of Berlin.
#252 Repurposed Bench
Schönwalde-Glien
At the end of one of my longest walks, I spotted a discarded bench in the forest. My first reaction was to assume it was a church pew. Why? How? What? I knew I was in the former East, aka, “Atheist” Germany. Then a Berliner challenged my opinion, asking me, “Is that a breakfast nook bench?” Either way, why was it set up for sitting in a forest.
That day I also learned the importance of reading bus timetables. I was, so far out of the city that I had to wait 1 1/2 hours for the next Saturday bus. Luckily, it is a beautiful Springlike day, but I still got a deep chill waiting.
#283 Fresh Flowers for Micki
northernmost tip of the Berlin Wall
Near the Invalidensiedlung, the injured soldiers’ housing complex, is an outlier memorial. The only memorial flowers - at any of the 125+ deadly unsuccessful escape routes - were laid at Marienetta "Micki" Jirkowsky’s (25 August 1962 – 22 November 1980) death site. She was one of the youngest, still a teenager, and one of the few women, one of eight, to die from “friendly fire” from one of her own countrymen.
#295 Themes and Variations of Pavement Stones
Veltheimstr. and Schildowerstr. Glienicke/Nordbahn
Near the northern tip of the Berlin Wall, a neighborhood was sliced in half. Note the remaining echo of the past through the different patterned street pavements of the same street.