modern interaction © Lilly Schwartz 2012

One nice aspect of Berlin is that you can spend your Sundays strolling over flea markets. There are many of them and so far I’ve checked out three already. The first one and probably the most famous one is the one at the Mauerpark in Prenzlauer Berg. It is quite big and full of good stalls where you can buy records, places where you can buy furniture and in other spots you can just go through all sorts of old rubble and maybe you find some interesting items. This flea market is probably also the one with the most crafts items. You can not only find the works of local artists, but also hipster t-shirts, bags, photography prints, baby shoes and so on. Some of the stuff is quite cool, but I can’t help thinking that it all has a very similar style. These people are trying so hard to be individuals and still they end up with the same kind of hipster style. And that’s not even a Berlin phenomenon. I also noticed the same thing in Brighton, which is full of hipsters. Anyway, what makes this flea market special is the karaoke in the adjacent Mauerpark. I myself am not really a fan of karaoke, but it’s very popular and the reason why many people come to this flea market.

The second flea market I checked out was the one at the RAW temple in Friedrichshain. This one is probably the least interesting one, but if you’re looking for second hand clothes or cheap toys for your children, it’s probably a good place to start. What really makes this flea market special are the crazy surroundings. These are mostly ruins of probably an old industrial area. It’s full of the most amazing graffiti and street art, and it has a really strange abandoned feel to it. If you’re looking for an apocalyptic landscape or a place where you would set a cyberpunk novel, this is probably the place to go.

The third flea market is the one at Boxhagener Platz, again in Friedrichshain. It is very close to the one at RAW temple and you can quite definitely combine them in one visit. When I was there yesterday I was mainly looking for camera related things and records. There was one stall that was selling all sorts of old cameras, including some Zorkis, and quite a few of them were in a nice condition. When I asked the guy for Zorki lenses, he had mostly the standard 50mm ones and a 135mm telephoto lens. Like everyone I’m looking for a wide-angle lens though, but they aren’t available very often. The rest of the flea market was pretty much your standard issue market with old stuff and creative stuff and a few record stalls. I found a few interesting records, but nothing that I really felt like buying. Although I was planning to go back to look at the stall with the most interesting records, in the end I just didn’t feel I could risk it. The sky was very dark by then and there was thunder to be heard. Since I got already soaked the day before I decided to make a run for the train station and managed to get there just before the storm hit. By the time I resurfaced from the underground the storm was already over.

So, next time you are in Berlin, don’t forget to check out one of the flea markets. They definitely are worth a visit even if you’re not planning to buy anything. Often you can also hear some music or see a little comedy show on the side.

During my visit to the flea market I took pictures with my Zorki, so I don’t have anything to show yet. However, later in the evening I went out again to meet with a friend at the Strandbar and took my Canon with me. This picture was taken inside the station Gesundbrunnen when I was on my way. When I was editing pictures earlier I was in a polaroid mood, so I ran one of those filters in Alien Skin Exposure over it.