Berlin – Zoo station, Kurfurstendamm and Tiergarten

Zoo station, Kurfurstendamm and Tiergarten

There is a high probability, that you will get off at Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten, that is, the Zoo Station. Located high above street level, with views of the Zoo, is a fascinating place to end your journey; the décor and glass roof bring to mind the pre-war times of the steam railway. However, at street level this building, until recently managed by the authorities of East Berlin, it is run down and foul. They meet here, especially at night, local drunkards and drug dealers, but the situation has improved compared to a few years ago, when it was a center of heroin trafficking and juvenile prostitution.

Having left the station, you will find yourself in a seemingly chaotic whirlwind of life, with flickering neon lights, lively traffic and high-rise buildings.

The eastern end of the Kurfurstendamm is a short distance south, a three-and-a-half kilometer long string of exclusive shops, kin, bars and cafes. The most important monument here is the Church of Remembrance located on all postcards (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Churches), built at the end of the 19th century and destroyed in 1943 year. Deliberately left like this, as a memento of war devastation, the church is a perfect monument, and the crumbling tower is an old town accent. A newly built chapel adjoins the church (codz. 9.00-19.30) with the gentle and sad Madonna Stalingrad, and to the rear rises the blue glass tower of the new church, which has earned the nickname "Spirit Silo."”. The area around the church is a favorite hangout for Berlin punks and social outcasts, who threaten to force donations of money on wealthy tourists and Berliners shopping in Ku'damm. It is dangerous, unfriendly place, and the dirty concrete square in the back, which is usually full of youth on skateboards and street musicians, is not much better. This is where the Tauentzienstrasse starts, at whose exit stands the Europa Center, a huge department store with a tourist office (Tourist Office). It is worth climbing to the observation deck (codz. 9.00-23.00) under the rotating Mercedes symbol, to make an initial exploration of the center and admire the stunning Ku'damm neon lights in contrast to the dimmed church-monument. Further down the Tauentzienstrasse is Ka-De-We, which is an abbreviation of the German term: “The biggest store in the West”; though in fact the greatest is not, after all, the shop is a good illustration of the standard of living in the city.