The next day was a Sunday and as I was still flashed by my Kreuzberg experiences the day before. I got a bumpy start and decided to take it easy with a visit at Haus Schwarzenberg. This is an area which is easy manageable.

My Berlin friend gave the recommendation not to miss the S-Bahn arcades following Dircksenstraße between Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt, which is a hot spot for street art, mainly paste-ups and stickers. I was very curious if I would meet Phatty, my companion dog and tourist guide in Berlin, again. I had’nt gone far and it jumped on me, dressed like Gene Kelly, in black, of the finest cotton, as I had left him the day before at Am Schlesischen Tor. Over night he had got a stovepipe hat, but he still was in dancing mood. Following Dircksenstraße to Hackescher Markt we met the who-is-who of street artists, and when we reached Rosenthaler Straße we were very cordially received at Cafe Cinema by a brother of Phatty, dressed with a chef’s hat and serving a heart on a tray. That reminded me not to forget to eat and drink, just like the day before. The fundamental finding of this morning so far: say no to Pineapple on Pizza. After having a large cup of offee and a choclate muffin, I was ready to face Haus Schwarzenberg and its Street Art Alley, exploding with its murals, stickers, stencils, paste-ups and installations. Famous street artists like EL BOCHO, ROBI THE DOG, SAM CREW and many more, are known to place their pieces here. The alley also features a famous painting of Anne Frank, painted and restored recently by JIMMY C. In August 2018 LAKE ONER has contributed a Portrait of Otto Weidt, who was the owner of a workshop for deaf and blind and did his best to preserve his Jewish staff from deportation during World War II. For this he was honored by the State of Israel as Righteous Among the Nations. In the afternoon I switched to Spandau. My hope to find the gates of Alte Post and its Urban Art Hall open, was in vain and so I had to be satisfied with a role as a passive looker behind the fence. “Hunting”, the new painting by SOKAR UNO reminds of a classic Greek temple frieze. Spectacular! As well as the end of my day at Rohrdamm 22, where Urban Lines had painted 4000 sqm of the ground floor of an old office building. The house was open to the public and taking pictures wasn’t a problem; it was allowed and welcomed. I wandered from room to room, so far they were open, and swung like a pendulum from one extreme to the other. And as I am not a qualified expert for the Berlin graffiti scene, I did recognize a fraction only of all the artists. SHEK, DH, 1UP, RCS, GRAB, DRS, TMR, AKTEone and CTY were announced to come. I cannot decide which pieces were best. Hard to believe what is possible in Berlin!

More pictures -> Dircksenstraße / Haus Schwarzenberg and Spandau