Deutsche Fassung
 



This was the old main railway station in the capital of the GDR. I relocated to the east part of Berlin soon after the wall drop, so I caught the original atmosphere of the station. The whole construction with its platforms for long-distance rail and for the urban railway seems not to be located in a land with closed frontiers. It made all proposals of the wide world. This could not be a station in the east, neither was it in Berlin nor in Germany. It was a station on a long travel somewhere in Italy or France. After a reconstruction these vibes are still present. All is polished up, buildings had been extended, everything has become chic.




It makes a trip much easier, if the railway station is the destination of the excursion. It's not very complicated to get there and you are there at the moment when you arrive. You have not to walk or to take another vehicle to be there definitively. It doesn't matter if it rains or how the station looks. This is one of the deficits of railway stations. They only look good when they are toy-train stations.




The Ostbahnhof has developed into a world of its own. You miss a lot if you only pass that station. You can stroll along for hours. It's not boring. There are a lot of shops and restaurants. They rock around the clock and are open continuously. Only a roller skates disco is missing. You can spend as much bucks as you want or as you have. Of course looking is more than buying, who needs all that stuff? Best is to give your money to one of the homeless winos outside. Or donate some bucks to the foundation of Dr. Jenny de la Torre Castro. Up to 2003 here care center was a few steps from here.

Donate to: Jenny De la Torre-Stiftung, Berliner Sparkasse, BLZ 100 500 00, KTO 66 0000 3764.
Designed and made by Zacke. June 2001/2004.