The declining Corona regulations and warm weather of the last few months have given us the chance to rediscover Berlin. But now that the autumn gloom is upon us, and the dreaded Berlin winter is already lurking around the corner, you might feel more inclined to rediscover the city from the comfort of your home. And why not do it with a lovely puzzle?
Many Berlin creatives managed to come up with some amazing stuff during the pandemic. Such is the case of Magda Stadnik, an illustrator and designer originally from Poland, who has come up with “we come in piece” – a wonderful puzzle depicting Berlin.
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by Michalina | Design
Weird, strange, freaky, magical, playful – I think many of us living in Berlin can agree that such words perfectly describe some of the unique personalities that inhabit this city. This sentiment is also captured in 26-year-old artist Olga Ivanova’s rendition of the map of Berlin.
Ivanova’s alternative map is populated with mysterious little creatures enjoying themselves throughout the city. Looking at the map, I’m sure many of us will recognize our own Berlin adventures whether it’s queuing up for Berghain, enjoying a coffee with a friend, hanging out with some fellow weirdos you just met at Hermannplatz or skating along Tempelhofer Feld.
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by Aisha | Design, Products
Everyone loves looking at Berlin through the familiar grid of its dense subway and train system. We did it to find the way to the cheapest rents, closes lake, or best burger – there is even a map with an improved design which you guys especially loved.
Now we found something new and we think you will like this at well – especially you lovely Ausländers. It’s a Berlin Subway Map with literal English translations of all the stations which lead to such hilarious word creations such as Seinfeld Plaza (Senefelder Platz), Janno Joke Bridge (Jannowitz Brücke), Shitbus Gate (Kottbusser Tor) or Virgin Heather (Jungfernheide).
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by Frank | Design
The Berlin transit map is probably one of the very first images a newcomer in the city gets familiar with. For a variety of reasons – the most obvious one being that it’s the ultimate guide when you’re coming back from a night out and your phone dies. But did you ever question the design of the map? Were your tired eyes ever lost along the rigid straight lines? Well, the bright minds behind the New Berlin Rapid Transit Route Map project thought the current official map needed some updating – read on to find out what they came up with!
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by Michalina | Design
map: Carlos Borrell
I know, there’s only so much you can ask for from a place right? And considering that already Berlin is giving us SO much, it feels ungrateful to be asking for more. It is sexy, it is affordable, it is tolerant, it is fun. But still, there’s certain things Berliners crave for, these few things missing that would truly make it paradise, and us unable to ever leave it.
Like, for instance, I think, I don’t know if you agree, um, maybe we could use nicer weather? I don’t mean to sound unthankful for all the blessings this city gracefully bestows upon us, but we could do without these forever-winters. Of course once the frost spell is broken it gets to be really beautiful, it’s just not enough of that. Berliners show their fascination with the good weather, right when the first sign of it appears: ready to get naked and run to a lake, wearing smiles we definitely need to see more of.
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by Stella | Art, Design, Products, Stories
There is Kantstraße, Savignyplatz, Warschauer Straße, Lützowplatz, Hohenzollerndamm Platz and the list goes on and on… More than 4000 street names are to be encountered, upon wandering around Berlin. Their wild variety would leave one contemplating, if there is actually a system, according to which names were given to the streets. As stereotypical as it might sound, we are in Germany and, thus, it goes without saying that all these names were not randomly selected and allotted to the streets.
Map enthusiast and publisher Gerd Gauglitz has devoted considerable time and energy researching this topic. His unwavering love for city maps has culminated into the development of several fascinating and innovative projects, that shed light on areas and questions we might not even have been able to come up with on our own. On his Berliner streetname map the reader has the opportunity to look at the different neighborhoods of Berlin and recognize the name patterns that arise based on the thematic pools they were chosen from (e.g. poets, politicians, flowers, wars). Every area inside the S-Bahn ring as well as the closest surroundings are depicted. Apart from the street map, there is a booklet, that delves into the explanation of how different street names were adopted, discarded and changed through the years. You can purchase the map along with the booklet either on Tagesspiegel Shop, Edition Gauglitz or at various book and museum shops in Berlin.
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by Nikos | Products
photo: Miguel Silva Rodrigues / CC
Weißensee – ever heard of it? If you haven’t, don’t blame yourself. There are some districts in Berlin that kind of fall under the radar concerning public attention. Lichtenberg is one of them, or Reinickendorf, Marzahn. And so is Weißensee, it seems to be also one of the hidden gems. Even though there is quite a lot going on, the clocks are ticking a little slower here. This might not be the version of the Berlin you know. But maybe you should.
Weißensee is a part of Pankow and used to be like many other districts a little village, back in the 13th century. Named after the big lake, the then-village Weißensee has more to offer than meets the eye. With the help of the new aber hallo, Weißensee map we selected some of the most interesting places that will make your visit worth while.
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by Yasmin | Cafés, Galleries, Shops, Weißensee
We love creative maps of Berlin which we have featured multiple times already here and here. What we like so much about it, is how it portraits the city as much more as its streets, rivers and canals. It paints the city with its iconic buildings and places in a playful way and with this you get much more of a feeling for it than with a plain map.
Today we received yet another amazing map of the city by one of our readers. The B Map by graphic designer VOJD might be more abstract and decorative than accurate, but with the colorful illustrations of iconic buildings and little details it beautifully incorporates the lively spirit and versatility of Berlin. Due to the strong colors and patterns you might have to take another look to recognize some of the buildings, but they are positioned roughly where they belong on a real map which helps you identify them. But now have a closer look at the map and its glorious details and find out how to order a delightfully beautiful print!
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by Frank | Art
I want to start this article with an apology: Sorry for bringing up the exasperating topic of Berlin’s rental market. But I had some sort of awakening thanks to the Rent Map that made the rounds on social media yesterday. Claudio and I both have contracts for our flats that are more than 10 years old – way before the hype and sky-rocketing rents that everyone complains about these days. So I kind of didn’t have a real idea of how much rent has actually gone up. Judging from this map, the reality is that average rents are 50% higher than what either of us pay now, thanks to our old contracts in our respective neighborhoods. Jesus, I will never move again…
Nevertheless, Berlin still has the reputation of being a cheap city, even though evidence suggests otherwise for the most part. Do these cheap rents still exist somewhere in the city, perhaps in a small forgotten neighborhood that we just don’t know about? Well, let’s have a closer look at this map to find some answers, and possibly some cheap apartments, too…
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by Frank | Stories
As you know big cities like Berlin can be confusing places and with lots of indecipherable street names and uncharted territories. It’s so easy to go wrong here and that’s why people invented maps. Obviously for the people in Berlin a regular old map won’t do, it needs to be artsy and designy. Luckily with so many talented graphic designers in town (and passing through) that doesn’t come as much of a problem. There are heaps of cool maps that will please the eye and even prove practical for navigating through the city. We selected our favorite ones, including accurate and imaginary, as well as practical and decorative ones. Enjoy our little collection of design maps of Berlin.
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by Frank | Art, Products
