Berlin's working class heartland may be turning chic, but there are still plenty of rough edges.

Friedrichshain is probably the district of former East Berlin that has changed the most over the last decade.

Traditionally it has been a working class area and the most densely populated quarter of Berlin.

For many people the affordable rents would have been the chief motivation to move here.

This applies to most of the district where rents are still fairly cheap, say between DM 7 and DM 15 per square metre.

Yet the district also includes new hip areas as well as exclusive neighborhoods with penthouse apartments and waterfront jetties.

For those approaching from Alexannder Platz, the first prominent landmark of Friedrichshain is Strausberger Platz - not a retail promenade or café junction, rather a roomy roundabout.

Nowadays, there is nothing left here that would remind one of the Middle Ages. Yet it was here that the German Robin Hood, Hans Kohlhase, was executed in 1540. Later the spacious avenue became a military road on which Napoleon led his troops to defeat in Russia.

After being rebuilt as Stalin-Allee from the ruins of WWII, this street was the scene of the famous East German uprising against the Communist rule on 17 June in 1953.

With today's name of Karl-Marx-Allee, it still feels like the 1960s, even though it has lost its washed-out greyish dress.

North of this avenue is the 'people's' park Friedrichshain. It borders on Prenzlauer Berg, and was named after King Frederick the Great. When the "Hain" or park was opened in the mid 1800s it was intended as a park for the people, in contrast to the Tiergarten where the noble class only were permitted entry.

The cafe in the park's centre is worth a visit. It rates among the best in town for out-door brunching on a sunny Sunday and the surrounding abundance of lush green shields from the bustling city beyond.

A large adjoining playground gives kids ample space away from threatening traffic. Over the summer, there is also an open-air cinema.

The central hill that gives the park its character is Berlin's second highest. It is, however, like several others, artificial. Rubble and debris from all over the eastern part of the city was brought here after 1945 and used as the base of a small forest. Berliners affectionately call this low mound "Mont Klamott", rubble hill.

South of Karl-Marx-Allee is the bank of the river Spree.

Between the railway station Ostbahnhof and Berlin's most beautiful bridge, Oberbaum Brücke, you will find the world's biggest open-air gallery - a remaining section of the Berlin Wall. The forbidding east-facing side, formerly a deathly white, has been transformed into a vibrant elongated mural.

The Oberbaum Brücke links Friedrichshain with its sister district Kreuzberg in the west. Thus, it acts as both a literal and symbolic instance of German reunification. Past the bridge to the north is the newly opened Oberbaum City.

A river harbor lies to the south. Oberbaum City is a huge former electric light bulb plant that has been renovated into modern offices and an entertainment centre. The surrounding residential blocks, however, appear hopelessly sad. Move on quickly further north to Boxhagener Platz, or further east to Stralau, to avoid depression.

The streets around Boxhagener Platz, Simon-Dach- and Gabriel-Max-Strasse is Friedrichshain's answer to the Kollwitz Platz scene in Prenzlauer Berg: at night and on sunny afternoons, people spill out onto the street from hip cafes, pubs, and restaurants -which are interspersed by a number of eclectic shops. The feel, however, is fairly different. Whereas Kollwitz Platz is rather chic, this area while often handsome, still has its rough edges. Not far away from here the last house to have been occupied by anarchist squatters was cleared by the police only a few years ago. However, these modern day Kohlhase types and their innumerable dogs still live here - now as rent payers.

There are still colourfully painted facades in streets like the Kreuziger or Rigaer Strasse. The decorations sometimes include a GDR flag or slogans like "Eat the Rich".

In clubs like the Fischladen (fish shop) independent and punk music shake the bare brick walls, and it seems like the whole place has been plunged into an odor of beer and pot. The anti-capitalist atmosphere has its tradition too. Early last century, Nazis and Communists often had gang fights in this area.

One Nazi, Horst Wessel, was killed by Communists in the 1920s after leaving a brothel. He was then "dignified" as one of the first Nazi martyrs. Consequently the whole district of Friedrichshain was renamed Horst-Wessel-Stadt in the 1930s.

There are other corners of Friedrichshain which have barely any trace of working class character. This counts for the neighbourhood on the small peninsula of Stralau. One enters another world here when passing under the gloomy railway-bridge. In 2000 this area was presented as a subsidiary exhibition to Hannover's World Expo. Most apartments here are not for rent but for sale only.

Prices range from DM 5600 to 6500 per square metre, and the few apartments which one can rent per month, range from DM 2300 for a two room place to DM 9300 for a penthouse with your own jetty.

Before the transformation from a rather neglected urban dead-end into a swish and quiet residential area, hundreds of tons of contaminated soil had to be removed from these former army and factory compounds.

An enormous power station across the water to the east reminds you of those darker days. However, it is worth visiting this relatively remote spot. Have a stroll along the embankment promenade just as like Karl Marx did in the late 1830s.

Today, this waterside walk has been named after the legendary East German flower-power movie "Paul und Paula", parts of which were filmed here. The old fishing village has even preserved some of its former charm. There is a harbour, for instance, with a modest selection of small yachts for hire.

Moreover, amazingly, between the new apartment blocks there is a private plot of land which managed to escape the ambitious plans of the investors and developers.

The Garten der Künste (garden of the arts) is an open air exhibition where you are also invited to mellow at the water's edge with a drink and light meal. Highly recommended is a piece of freshly baked pizza from the artist's own kitchen.

July 2003

Copyright Expatica 2003