Old Harbour from Inselbruecke, Berlin, Germany. The banks of the Spree in Friedrichshain and the East Harbour offer one of the l
Old Harbour from Inselbruecke, Berlin, Germany. The banks of the Spree in Friedrichshain and the East Harbour offer one of the liveliest and most pleasant ways down to the river to be found in the central city area. The docks are a narrow ribbon, extending one or two kilometres between the river and the six-lane traffic route that accompanies the Spree from the Jannowitzbrücke (Jannowitz Bridge) to the Stralauer Halbinsel (peninsula). Although there are still gatehouses, visitors can make their way, undisturbed, to the railway tracks, warehouses, loading ramps and huge travelling cranes which load the freight boats with scrap or building materials. In one of the two brick buildings used for management and administration, there was a light friendly canteen with a small summer garden going down to the Spree. This stretch of the river is more imposing and busier than elsewhere, with the Landwehr Canal on the opposite bank, Kreuzberg-Treptow Ufer, and the flood drains joining it. Before the Wall came down, the docks were an important place for handling goods for the major building sites on the edge of East Berlin. Today, activity is considerably reduced. Dandelions and camomile squeeze between the asphalt and railway tracks, and the rare bouts of industrial work merge with the atmosphere of the river to form an unbelievably romantic cityscape. The end of the idyllic industrial cityscape between Oberbaumbrücke and Elsenbrücke, (predicted for 2007), has long since come to pass. Music and fashion have taken over the old buildings and turned them into studios and showrooms, lofts and bistros. The symmetry of the old grounds, composed of two administration buildings in the centre with flat, long store-rooms to either side, has made way for new blocks and glass extensions. But for anyone mourning the loss of the old harbour canteen described above, they may find some solace in the former cold storage house, where the music giant Universal, has been based since 2002. Its
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Photo credit: © Sergi Reboredo / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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