Greifswalder Straße

We begin our walk at the intersection of Ostseestraße and Michelangelostraße. The intersection is large and quite busy, but also surprisingly green. In all four directions, green strips lined with trees run down the middle of the streets.

At the next major intersection, Grellstraße and Storkower Straße meet Greifswalder Straße. Although these two streets are also quite busy, they too feature a green median strip, which somehow has a very positive effect on the atmosphere.

A little further on is the Greifswalder Straße S-Bahn station—behind it, on the right-hand side, lies Ernst-Thälmann Park with the impressive Ernst-Thälmann Monument—and behind that, the high-rise apartment buildings from the GDR era.

Behind Ernst-Thälmann-Park, Danziger Straße intersects with Greifswalder Straße—also a major, two-lane thoroughfare. Here, we could turn right toward Prenzlauer Berg, Kastanienallee, and Mauerpark—or left toward Friedrichshain.

After Danziger Straße, Greifswalder Straße passes through two neighborhoods, so to speak: on the right is the Winskiez; a little further on, you’ll find the water tower and the neighborhood around Kollwitzplatz. On the left, the Bötzowviertel, with Arnswalder Platz and the Filmtheater am Friedrichshain, invites you to explore. On both sides, you’ll find a variety of nice cafés and restaurants, as well as small shops and stores.

At the next major intersection, turn right onto a street simply called “Prenzlauer Berg.” The street slopes slightly uphill—presumably this is the actual Prenzlauer Berg? Next to it is the St. Nicolai and St. Marien Cemetery II, which is definitely worth a visit. In addition to many large, sometimes very old graves, you’ll also find more recent graves of people from the neighborhood here.

If you prefer something a little less morbid, you can instead stop by the Märchenbrunnen (Fairy Tale Fountain) on the left—and, if you like, continue your walk in the adjacent Volkspark Friedrichshain. And this is also where the walk along Greifswalder Straße ends—because here the street merges into Otto-Braun-Straße.