The Neukölln district of Berlin

Would same apply to Hermannstr.? or Hermannplatz =/= Hermannstr.

I believe the flat I found is located very close to the latter, not Hermanplatz..

Hermannplatz is also close to Hermannstr

i live in between hermannplatz and hermannstraße...don't believe all the hype, it's fine. it's a neighborhood where people live. people of diverse expereinces and backgrounds. if you want to feel like you never left manhattan, move to pramlauer berg with the rest of the hipsters and yuppies. if you want to live someplace affordable, where folk bands march around on weekends, and the best turkish markets sport the best veggies and baklava flows like the spree, neukölln is the place to be. you will see however, how people react in berlin when you tell them you live here. like it's south central LA or something. far far far from it. 44! all day baby!

and in terms of broadening your german, um, that comment was just foolish. hard to believe that the turks (and arabs, syrians, russians, poles, greeks, americans, etc etc) who live in neukölln, actually speak, um, well, german. if you want to expand your german it helps to speak it in places where the english saftey net is removed...

and "bit of atmostphere"=brown people. plain and simple, right kazalphaville? if not, please clarify

ps I would also like to note that neukölln is the neighborhood that boasts the most number of nationalities in any neighborhood in berlin...if you want to brush up on yr german, check out the neukölln website and learn about the history and present of this cool place

pps I would also like to say that there is crime here. My neighbor left his bike on the sidewalk chained to itself overnight and someone stole it. I would also like to point out that my neighbor is kind of a moron for thinking it wouldn't be stolen.

Excuse me but I will not be referred to as a hipster OR a yuppie

neukölln has a bad reputation, but people here seem to say it's generally ok. when people try to ask about "unsafe berlin" i find my thoughts drifting off as I tend to prefer my own nonsense. i'm sure the probability of getting pickpocketed / mugged is still higher on Oxford Street in london. i still haven't seen the seediness of London's east end, or Edinburgh's Leith Walk. There you can really get your c*nt kicked in, as the locals like to put it.

I'd say in Berlin it's more noisy and obnoxious, degenerate behaviour that makes it feel scary. Whether there is a real threat remains to be seen. Having lived here a while now (1.5 years) I've grown accustomed to expecting everyone to behave themselves (die deutsche Ordentlichkeit!!!). but when I compare to what I've seen in other cities (like the harassment from junkies in Vancouver, or the sketch-bags on the streets of Amsterdam) I find Berlin to be fairly docile. Of course, growing up in a western country, it could be a bit daunting for the femmes in Kreuzberg, as the Turkish population has grown from their very rural, uneducated roots in Turkey, and even Turks from Turkey don't understand how these people behave as they do. (That is an entirely different post!)

actually, i speak no german. so my intention won't be to 'brush up' on it, as i am a true beginner. i'm going to be sitting in morning language class for 3-4 months starting may, and the school is located on kastanienallee. so if i were to take this flat in neukolln, i'd be commuting from hermannstr to rosenthanler platz. i asked someone on the other thread how long it takes to get to alex from hermannstr, and they said around 20 mins, so i reckon to get to rosenthaler platz it'd be about 25, 30 mins.. which doesnt sound bad at all.

i am thinking maybe i will spend my days in prenzl'berg since i'll have to be there every day for my class, and in the afternoon i'll hang out at some cafe around that neighborhood, and come home in the evening (not too late though). maybe it would be a nice change in "atmosphere". that sounds like how i will most likely spend my days in berlin..

but.. i'm sure there must be some non-tawdry cafes around hermannstr. area? others have also mentioned the closest "exciting" area (with cafes/restaurants, etc) to neukolln will be kreuzberg, but whereabouts in kreuzberg would this lively area be (i.e. near which u-bahn stop)?

thanks everyone for your suggestions/recommendations,

E.

there are actually three nice cafés in neukölln not that far away from hermannstraße.
cafe xenzi (u-bhf boddinstraße), cafe rix (karl-marx-straße) and, the nearest one, Cafe/Galerie im Körnerpark (which is actually the nicest place near Hermannstraße, a really nice park!)

as said, the next hotspot in kreuzberg is gräfestraße. it's about 20 to 30 minutes walk or go with metro to hermannplatz and walk or continue with the other underground line to südstern.

Can't agree with Verwirrt. Friedrichshain is a great place. It has no pretentions like Prenzlauer Berg or other areas and the Neo-Nazis well i think they live in places like Marzahn, not Friedrichshain.

Zitty Berlin magazine has an issue on sale now (march 13 to 26) dedicated to Neukölln.
The article is titled " Neukölln Rockt!" and labels it as Berlin's most exciting neighborhood.
Cafes, shops, art, galleries, bars .. they are all listed along with photos so even if you can't read German you'll get some good tips out of it.

@Jamesm: The Neonazis in Friedrichshain are a problem which can't be denied. They may not live here - but in Lichtenberg, so at the border to Lichtenberg there are sometimes more or less big problems with them.

Nicer areas of Kreuzberg are near U7 stops around Gneisenausstrasse, Mehringdamm and Südstern.

I saw that advertised on my long wallk to Sonnenallee S-Bahn today...think i'll pick it up tomorrow!

I'm currently living in Neukoelln, near the town hall. I'm enjoying living here - everything I need is nearby and it's lovely to have a walk through Kreuzberg on a sunny day. I think a lot of the comments about there 'being a bit of an atmosphere' and the area being unsafe are unfounded. Yes, on occasion I've witnessed a couple of turkish guys having a fight. Yes, it can be unnerving walking about at night - but that is true with everywhere, even my hometown. I'm subletting here until July, the girl who rents the flat has lived here for 4 years and had no problems. There are a lot of families here and I've had some really lovely walks around the area of a sunday afternoon.

i've been to neukölln a few times along karl-marx-straße and it reminded me a bit of the green lanes in london for the surplus of shops that sell anything you want to buy.. i was there the last time with a friend to go see an exhibition and he was surprised at how nice it could be.
we were walking in the neighbourhood of karl-marx-platz and herzbergstraße which seemed both very pleasant tree lined streets with some cafes.

although i am not sure i would choose to live there i don't think i have a problem going there.

Here's a link to the article:

http://magazin.zitty.de/4135/titel.html

Neukölln is again making headlines this week but this time its not for good reasons.

Double murder of a retired couple in Rudow (locality of Neukölln). From the Berliner Morgenpost:

http://www.morgenpost.de/desk/1804182.html

I'm not posting this to prove a point - just thought it relevant to the thread.

As the topic says:P

Ive looked on the internet and heard anicdotally that Neukoelln is a bit of a crime riddled deprived area, Is there anyone that lives there or has lived there that has actual first hand experience?
Cheers

Dan

[color=gray]Topics merged by admin

There is another thread about the threats of Neukölln The Neukölln district of Berlin

I love whoever edited the title.
It wasnt any fun when it made sense

Thanks.

Up where I live next to the canal it's great. We have no problems and love all the new bars and galleries in the area..wouldn't be anywhere else.

I live on Weserstrasse and I find life in Neukoelln pleasant. I haven't had any problems here and I agree with the post above, the area near the canal is lovely. I guess it depends on where you are exactly.

I live in Herrfurthplatz, before that on Schillerpromenade and would definitely recommend Neukölln as a nice place to live. In fact, having lived there for just over a year, I actually feel quite offended at people's reaction when I tell them where I live!

The reasons I like it are:
- It's family-orientated- there are schools, kitas and Hasenheide (I've heard) has one of the best play areas outside of Prenzlauer Berg :-)
- It's central- 15 minutes to Alexanderplatz, close to Schönefeld airport if I ever feel the need to fly away somewhere and there are shops, cafes and restaurants right on my doorstep including the lovely Cafe Selig, which does a mean Sunday brunch.
- It hasn't been gentrified yet, which means it isn't full of trendies (like I say 'yet').
- It's cheap
- I feel safe walking from Boddinstr U-Bahn to my flat late at night

Of course, like anywhere there are some problems but certainly, Neukölln doesn't deserve the reputation it seems to have gained over the years!

I just made an offer on a place near Rathaus Neukoelln and was wondering if anyone has suggestions for a good bar in the neighborhood. Also, how is the Rathaus Neukoelln train stop at night? The area seemed fine to me during the day, but I haven't seen it at night. I would especially like to hear about the area from a woman's perspective since my girlfriend will also be living there. Hope to see people in the neighborhood...

nearest good bar is "ä" at Weserstr. corner Fuldastr. (not even five minutes from the station). And there is Rroma Aether club, a mixture of cafe, bar and theater in Boddinstraße very close to Rathaus, very nice. http://www.rromaakt.de/
I think the station is ok also at night (relatively quiet after 10 o'clock), not that different from daytime (except it's quieter), especially at weekend some drunken youth groups running around. but I'm not a woman...

Many many good bars around here. I live not far from the station too..if you like your music live and your beer cheap it's the place to be.
Here's some places for you to check out:

Ae (as mentioned) http://www.ae-neukoelln.de/
Valentin Stüberl http://www.myspace.com/valentinstueberlneukoelln (new bar)
Freies Neukoelln http://www.freies-neukoelln.de/
Kuschlowski http://www.kuschlowski.de/
O-Tannebaum (gigs+movie nights) http://www.o-tannenbaum-berlin.de/
Raumfahrer - Hobrechtstrasse 23
Silver Future - http://silverfuture.net/cms/

There's a few more but I'll leave at that just now..also tons of art spaces around here.

Here is a blog about what is going on in the area: http://reuterkiez.net/
AND a Qype guide http://www.qype.com/de300-berlin/tag/reuterkiez

I'm a female and i've wandered back from the station late at night a few times with no problems..obviously as with anywhere in the world due care should be taken but I feel totally safe here!

Message me if you want any more info.lynz

I agree with what Lyndsaymon says.
I live just on the Kreuzberg side of the canal, but spend a lot of time in Neukolln (probably more than in Kreuzberg).
I was just commenting the other night how safe it is. I go down the canal towpath quite happily in the middle of the night. Something I'd never do in London (in fact I was once mugged on the canal towpath in London... by some children..)

Hi,

Well I'm living in Neukölln and I've been here for just 3 weeks, but if I might say, I don't think that it's THAT bad. I mean sure, it seems like the pavements never get cleaned from dog poo, but I think that's the worst I can think of. Just to give you an idea, when I was in London, I had stayed for a week or so in a place called Peckham. Neukölln feels a lot safer and better to live in rather than Peckham. However I must say that I havn't been here for too long, so I might be wrong. I am living very close to XBerg, so that might be another decisive factor. From what I hear, Nekölln is very cheap to live in, when compared to *poshier* areas in Berlin, and I think it's quite nice too, considering the fact that it's relatively quiet and that there are so many shops around.

Cheers

From my experience it's mostly a poor part of Berlin. If you look the part and you're street wise you should be OK, if you don't and you're not then you might encounter trouble. You have to watch it a bit at night and not catch anyone's eye especially in the U Bahn stations.

though i've heard a handful of neonazi horror stories, berlin in general is really safe, especially compared to other big cities like new york or rome. the whole don't-catch-anyone's-eye is much more pronounced in new york. i'd say females are much safer here than there.

yeah, up near the canal's really nice. unfortunately, the dieffenbach krankenhaus is supposedly set to be sold at a high price in the next few years, then someone will probably develop it and all the surrounding rent prices will go up.

sometimes women are sort of overlooked (e.g. lack of respect for personal space while walking down the street) but it's not always a problem and not the biggest problem in the world.

plus, guns are illegal, so in general problems are much, much less pronounced than in america. no church and school shootings here - well, i've heard of maybe one in the past couple years. but in general it's super-safe.

New to the area just bought a second hand bike but need to have some work done on the breaks. Anyone know of any bicycle repair shops in the Neukolln area?

Hi

I brought back this thread because I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on the Elsenstrasse area of Neukölln is, particularly the part near the canal. Is there anything to do around there? Is it walkable to the u bahn stations?

I'm thinking about renting a place in this area. No need to debate about it, I just would like to know what you guys think about this area for a young female student.

Thanks a lot!

elsenstraße is a quiet, mediocre street with not much to do (the part in neukölln). it goes also through treptow (northeast), there it gets more crowded and noisier with some snack bars and restaurants and shops, but nothing special. next u-bahn stop should be U7 (Karl Marx Straße or Rathaus Neukölln), but it is more then 10 minutes walk (rather much for berlin). It is totally ok for living, it's not ugly (in fact it is quite nice near the canal) or dangerous, but if you need something goin on in your street or don't like to walk much to the next public transport station (though there are two bus stops not far away), then it's nothing for you. The "hip" part of Neukölln is not far away, maybe 10 to 15 minutes walk (around Reuterstraße and Pannierstraße).

Thanks a lot, TobyG. That really helps. Being from NY I'm used to walking a lot so this area sounds good to me, and cheap.

I have one question: How close is this area to Kreuzberg/Friedrichschain? Te area in question is Elsenstrasse right near the canal.

If anyone else has thoughts, I would appreciate it

thanks again!

Not far really, I cycle from here a lot to see people in friedrichshain and it takes about 15-20 mins up over the bridge and onto Revaler Strasse, Kreuzberg about the same time. TobyG is right, in terms of the actual street its not that exciting..close to supermarkets though..if you head over the bridge and into Reuterkiez you'll find lots going on. Definitely a good idea to get a bike. (PM'd you a googlemap I made with all the stuff in the area)

Hello to all of you, first post here!

We thougth of renting an apartment in Neukölln located at : Reuterstrasse 81.

After reading all your posts on Neukölln, I wonder if it is a safe place? Thanks for your answers!

Hi PointBleu!

I live at Reuterstr. since more than five years. It was a dodgy area and, yes, sometimes it wasn't safe.
But now the gentrification is running over Nord-Neukölln. The most houses are refurbished and there are many nice bars an gallerys.
The city-mags like "zitty" declared this area to the in-area no. 1.
It is quite nice to live here and the infamous Rütli-Schule became one of the most progressive schools in Berlin.

I hope this is a bit helpful to you.

Greetings from the Reuterstr.

C.

And the best bit is I have got my shop in Lahnstr 85, "Britain in Neukölln". So the area must be on the up and up.

ha. how strange, I rode past this shop today, which I had never seen before and took a photo. I was intrigued to know what you sell?

also - neukoelln is quite an alright area, been on hermannstr for a year now. would not recommend living on a noisy road, other than that, its fine.

I’ve lived in Neukölln for two and a half years, a few streets away from Reuterstrasse, and in my experience it is not only safe but a fantastic, interesting place to live. Yes it’s changed quite a lot in the meantime, and some of the long-timers are worried that it will be the new Prenzlauer Berg, but really, that’s just not going to happen. It seems to me that the new bars, galleries, cafes etc are adding to the area without pushing out what was already there; things are happening organically.

I’m more than happy to provide pointers for bars etc. In short: big yes to Neukölln.

I live in Neukölln, my daughter was born in Neukölln, and because it's Neukölln I now have friends and aquaintances from Turkey, Lebanon, Thailand, Greece, Nigeria.
There's too much dog shit, but not much hassle- unless you are a teenager, when you're expected to be in some gang- a scene that's largely created by corporations selling street wear
If you are a little bit scared of making friends with people with dusky faces, then stay away- and live in Mitte- at least then we'll know where you are- and can avoid you.

Umm P-Berg is stroller central, what are you talking about?

@CHAOSMAG, you maybe didn't notice, but that post you quoted was 3 years old!!! I guess the area may have changed a bit in that time...

not that much...