Family life in East Berlin, a photo from Berlin, East

Photographer's Note

Today two more photos I have kept in my archive for a few years without finding any reason to post them. I think the Corona crisis has changed many members' attitudes to old photos.

In June 2017 I spent a few days in Berlin. Most evenings I took the Metro (U-Bahn) away from the centre to cosier districts where the nicest resturants were found. I am almost sure that today's two photos were taken in a district in the former East Berlin called Prenzlauer Berg.

Prenzlauer Berg escaped the bombings towards the end of WW2 and was left fairly untouched by the East German authorities. The area became popular with intellectuals, artist and musicians because the rents were low in these buildings with few modern comforts.

After the reunification of Germany – and Berlin – in 1990 this area started to attract young, hip persons from other parts of the city. Renovations started and the prices of apartments were slowly going up.

When I visited Prenzlauer Berg in 1997 I saw its great potential. I noted that the often dilapidated buildings were basically quite beautiful and elegant. Usually the ground floors had been renovated and filled with trendy shops and restaurants, while the upper floors looked much the same as they had probably done in 1945.

When I returned 20 years later the entire district had been thoroughly renovated and there were trendy restaurants, bars and cafés everywhere. Most students and artists had probably been forced out by rapidly increasing costs, and the district was now filled with well paid, well educated people who seemed to be careful to protect the bohemian character of the area.

I found it a nice place but preferred the more gritty appearance of some other districts, like Kreuzberg, which had retained a more ethnically diversified character.

About this photo I have little to say. Just a young family resting in a small park. I liked the atmosphere – and the graffiti, in this case not very pretty but typical of Berlin.

This url will show you a larger version:
https://i1.trekearth.com/photos/65960/berlinmys.jpg

An even nicer photo in the WS.

papagolf21, ikeharel, pajaran, jean113, jean113, tyro, tyro, Fis2, pierrefonds, Royaldevon, jhm, PaulVDV, PiotrF, alvaraalto, worldcitizen, ChrisJ, adramad, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-04-21 0:54

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Deux compositions qui rappellent des périodes de liberté et d'insouciance...
Belles présentations et une bonne note d'accompagnement.
Amitiés.
Philippe

pajaran (115089) 2020-04-21 1:13

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled i trenutak, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepo mesto i trenutak sa posetiocima.
Lepo pokazano sa fotografijom u radionici, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Lepa fotografija i secanje.
Opasan virus je sve promenio.
Zelim vam lep dan, sve najbolje, cuvajte se od opasnog virusa.
Paja.

Greeting.
Nice view and moment, interesting and good text ...
Nice place and a moment with the visitors.
Beautifully shown with a photo in the workshop, well captured moment.
Beautiful photography and memories.
The dangerous virus changed everything.
Have a nice day, all the best, beware of the dangerous virus.

Silvio1953 (220779) 2020-04-21 1:38

Ciao Gert, my today neighbour, nice family scene, lovely composition well framed by beautiful tree, splendid light, excellent clarity, fine details and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

mesutilgim (0) 2020-04-21 2:03

Hello dear Gert,
Another interesting capture/entry in your gallery.
Taken with very good pov and sharpness.
I'd been there many times and also remember the year when the Wall was been built. A part of Germany's history with quite sad events, unfortunately.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

Fis2 (169921) 2020-04-21 4:24

Witaj Gert!
Curious place in Berlin.
Another nice scene from daily live.
Family makes impression.
Good reportage shot.
Well done.
Nice afternoon.
Keep safe.
Krzysztof

jmdias (114424) 2020-04-21 4:25

gert

in the main post I liked the baby and his daddy paying attention to the small dog.in the WS is a typical scene of european parks, here we never find people enjoying the lawn, I even hate to stay in the lawn. haha. I guess probably europeans are crazy to get some sunlight while we have lots of it and try to avoid it.

take care

jorge

tyro (30513) 2020-04-21 4:29

Hello Gert,

You have given us a fascinating and very informative note about this rather nice part of East Berlin and two very appealing photographs of what looks like a very pleasant residential area.

Your main image, of course, includes some graffiti which is perhaps not of the best artistic quality but the young couple with child, pram and dog appear relaxed.

But I confess I much prefer your workshop picture of an area of park land, dominated by a huge and beautiful tree with some very tasteful modern buildings in the background and with groups of young people sitting on the grass relaxing and conversing in the very pleasant weather.

Both images are of excellent quality too with lots of detail and good natural colours. I appreciate the link to the larger version of your main picture but I was actually more interested in looking at a larger version of your workshop image - which I was easily able to do - because I was intrigued by what appeared to be a rather strange but very interesting yellow bicycle (or maybe tricycle) behind the couple in the foreground - it seems a long machine, maybe a tandem, and perhaps has accommodation for a child or small person in front of the cyclist. Very interesting!

Excellent!

Take care.

Kind Regards,

John.

pierrefonds (113734) 2020-04-21 4:54

Hi Gert,

You have captured well a daily life scene. The point of view is showing a family having a rest period at the park. The light is enhancing the colours. Have a nice day.

Pierre

rychem (72187) 2020-04-21 6:47

Model family: mom, dad, child and dog. I was in the Prenzlauer Berg district shortly after the Berlin Wall was opened, a neglected district in the border area, and today it is a district with its own soul, a district of artists and art and of the nightlife :)
regards Ryszard

jean113 (27667) 2020-04-21 6:50

Hello Gert, a very familiar scene these days where someone is on the phone. I often wonder what is so important that it needs to be accessed during a walk or suchlike? How did we ever manage before when we had to use the landline?
Two interesting 'nothing special' shots, very typical of everyday life, which unfortunately has had to be put on hold for the time being!
Very interesting notes.
Kind regards, Jean.

Royaldevon (85678) 2020-04-21 9:08

Hello Gert,

You have provided a long, interesting note about your memories of East Berlin.
There seems to have been a familiar trend, that lovely old buildings, without mod cons, are used by students or those on a low income. Then, richer people recognise the beauty and unspoilt nature of these buildings, which suddenly become highly desirable, and highly expensive.

Both photographs are well exposed but, I prefer the w/s which seems to have much more to peruse than the main post. In the main post, the graffiti is a turn off for me, showing poor skills and quite spoiling what could have been a pretty surround.
By contrast, the w/s shows friendly, social interaction of a whole range of age groups and draws us in. I would not have considered Berlin to have a similar mind set as Belgium and The Netherlands but the popular method of transport seems to be bicycles.

What a massive change occurred in Germany when the wall came down! That must have been a euphoric time to be in Berlin.

Keep safe, Bev 😊

jhm (211734) 2020-04-21 9:27

Hello Gert,

Berlin once one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
But than we got WAR.
Lovely daily life picture with the family with dog.
An excellent composition, very well brought.
Well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

GyurMaster (24698) 2020-04-21 11:18

Dear Gert,

This time too, I prefer the WS over the main upload, maybe because the potential bottles of beer! :) Joking apart, I understand why you say the potential in the area. Its a paradise on Earth despite placed in a big and busy city, almost like a small town.

Have a nice evening!
Gy.

PaulVDV (62810) 2020-04-21 11:42

Hello Gert,
Beautiful light and attractive natural colours on your picture in the WS that seems to me also a slightly more idyllic place to relax for a while then the place under the tree in your main post where the ugly excesses of the big city can be seen, ugly graffiti on the wall on the background and screaming but also meaningless graffiti on the small wall where the young father is sitting.
The most beautiful part here is the left upper half of the photo with the sunlight shining through the branches on the tree trunk.
The child also looks curiously at the dog.
Best regards, Paul

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-04-21 12:03

Gert, two slices of life are presented. The main picture shows a family relaxing with their baby in a pushchair and their dog in a historical district of Berlin. The scribbles around the tree aren t aesthetic. The city dwellers enjoy the lawn of the park to socialize, drink beers, discuss in the workshop. Fine colors, good sharpness, instructive photo note, regards.

PiotrF (54246) 2020-04-21 14:28

Hello Gert,
A nice series of photos from East BErlin.
Interesting notes. I like good composition, nice colurs and good quality.
Good work.
Regards
Piotr

Tue (91726) 2020-04-21 14:58

Hej Gert,
Et godt billede fra Østberlin. Jeg kan godt lide den afslappede atmosfære under det store træ med den unge familie og hunden. Graffitimalerierne giver nogle ekstra farver til billedet. Godt fanget i en velbalanceret komposition.
Lars

Gerrit (62042) 2020-04-21 16:30

Hello Gert,
a well composed modern family scene with mobile phone and grafitty.
thanks and regards,
Gerrit

Nicou (193806) 2020-04-21 20:39

Hello

superbe scène de cette famille à Berlin avec la poussette et l'enfant quei regarde le petit chine la dame au téléphones et quel dessin sur ce rond au pied de l'arbre très belle vue de la vie quotidienne
Bravo et belle journée
Nciou

ifege (47153) 2020-04-21 21:04

Hi Gert
A good street photo of the family group in an area of mass graffiti.
cheers
Ian

emka (157304) 2020-04-22 1:57

Hi Gert, I was in Berlin two months ago. As my plane was early in the morning from Tegel Airport, I stayed in a hostel in the Western part, but I made quite a long nice walk, also in Eastern Berlin. (I posted one picture).
A few years ago I explored more.
I must admit that I prefer the Workshop picture much more. I remember from my time in Berlin that they like to sit like this on the lawn, something that doesn't happen in other countries. And sometimes they were quite naked, even in the center, quite shocking. It is called Freikörperkultur (FKK). So WS represent Berlin better.

The note is very interesting but we do not see anything of it on the picture. Maybe nice scene but one can see everywhere. No matching colours, the background also very ordinary, if not ugly.

Stay safe. In Warsaw, beautiful weather but still cold.

MAlgo

alvaraalto (42804) 2020-04-22 2:38

Hello Gert,
In this crazy period where the whole world is more or less locked by the virus, we have to keep our distance from each other and can no longer travel, it seems as if everything will come into a different light.
You will also notice this clearly when you look in your photo archive.
You now look differently at the two beautiful "nothing special" photos than for the Covid-19 outbreak. The story of the photos now takes on a new background of our current world, but they remain the same excellent photos.
Be careful and stay safe, Rob

ikeharel (112583) 2020-04-22 5:09

First, my apology, Gert: made a mistake on my picture, the brown leaves become green this time of the year - thanks for your attention, corrected immediately.

As for this picture, a young family with little dog conveys well calm time under shadows in the park, by itself a nice daily-life scene.
The WS show wider scope of the park, mostly imposed by the giant green tree which is impressing.
Good afternoon,
Ike

worldcitizen (15988) 2020-04-22 13:51

Hello Gert,
This is a "nothing special" view that is appealing because of the small family, and the colorful graffiti. I prefer a grittier scene like this to the more typical park atmosphere in the WS photo. The leaves make a nice border across the top of the frame, too. Take good care...

willperrett (14195) 2020-04-23 0:40

Hello Gert

Well your photograph manages to make the area look pretty scruffy and down at heel, rather than gentrified and up-market: and I suspect that's quite deliberate on your part. Of course the off centre young family with their little terrier is the focus, despite the vivid graffiti competing for our attention. An image after my own heart.

Kind regards

Will

kasianowak (17672) 2020-04-23 3:28

Hi Gert
Lovely daily life scene. This lady looks like one of many who you can't capture a photo of without her smartphone in her hand. :-)
I know what you mean when you say you prefer the areas with slightly more character. I had that feeling when comparing your photos from some places in Turkey with the ones you had taken long time before.
Best wishes
Kasia
Ps. Making a note... "Berlin is the capital of Germany". ;-D

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2020-04-23 8:43

Hello Gert,
Good captured daily life family scene. Good sharpness and clarity.
best wishes,
Achim

everlasting (19680) 2020-04-23 22:51

As you say nothing special about this photo except that it does looks very typical of former East Berlin. Young families living in old tenement blocks and plenty of graffiti

ChrisJ (171396) 2020-04-27 0:08

Hej Gert

A good daily life scene from East Berlin with the baby apparently interested in the nearby white dog. Good sharpness and well framed and composed. Tfs!

adramad (72626) 2020-04-27 11:43

Hi Gert.
A nice family scene with the young couple and the child, the cat must also be part of the family, a large tree judging by its trunk gives good shade to be sitting there pleasantly.
Sharpness, luminosity, color and the chosen composition are excellent.
The WS photo has a relaxed and relaxed atmosphere, with all those people lying or sitting on the grass.
A very beautiful photo. I like.
You have a good day.
Best regards.
Luis.

mcmtanyel (67819) 2020-05-20 22:54

Hello Gert,
Well, east Berlin has not been East Berlin for decades now. I remember watching the Wall come down on TV - boy, I'm getting old. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT