Six Hours in Berlin — Street Photography from the German Capital

1 day ago
2 min read

Six hours in Berlin. It sounds like barely enough time to find a decent coffee, let alone photograph one of Europe's great cities — but a Baltic cruise itinerary waits for no one, and when the ship docks in Warnemünde at an ungodly hour and there's a coach waiting, you get your camera bag and you get on with it.

We started at the French Cathedral — a good warm up shot, elegant and relatively uncrowded at that hour. Then on to the Reichstag, where I managed to lose the soft release button from my X-T5 somewhere on the steps. It's out there still, probably in a crack in the pavement, confusing a future archaeologist. The skies were threatening by then and I had visions of the whole day being washed out, but Berlin held its nerve.

French cathedral Berlin - with a central dome and ornate facade. People walk on a cobblestone courtyard beneath a cloudy sky, creating a serene mood. — French Cathedral

The Brandenburg Gate was next, and as expected it was heaving. Every tourist in the city apparently had the same idea, phones aloft, jostling for the definitive Instagram angle. Several people spotted the big camera and asked me to take their photo — I assume they hoped for something frameable. I tried my best not to cut off anyone's head.

Crowd walking near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin under a cloudy sky. The monument features four horses and a chariot atop its columns. — Brandenburg Gate

From there we were dropped near the Konzerthaus, which gave us time to breathe and explore properly. I made a slight detour into Rausch Schokoladenhaus — a chocolate shop of frankly dangerous quality — where we made some expensive but entirely justified purchases. Nearby I found a couple of pieces of street art worth pointing a camera at: sculpture made from crushed car parts and a geometric drawing on a wall. I make no apologies.

By now the weather had improved enough to sit outside the Konzerthaus with ice cream, which felt like a reasonable reward. Bebelplatz came next — quieter, more reflective — and my first sight of the Berlin TV Tower rising above the rooftops.

Statue of winged figure playing harp on lion stands in front of neoclassical building with columns. "Haus Berlin" text visible above. Black and white. — konzerthaus

The final stop was the Berlin Wall. Or what remains of it. It's a difficult place to photograph in a way that does it any justice — I have a separate post on that, and it deserves the space.

Six hours. Not enough. But enough to know Berlin warrants a proper return trip.