Berlin is one of the most vibrant, historically significant and interesting cities in Europe for the red tourist. The centre of the iron curtain. This blog is part of a series of our travels around the former DDR in May 2022.
Read more about our travels around the former DDR
This was not our first trip to Berlin, but for those that have never been a great first stop is the DDR museum. This museum is crammed full of interactive exhibits, fun facts, and the ability to drive a 'Trabi' around a virtual Berlin, which combined create the ideal starting point for this trip. If the weather is good, you can grab yourself a drink and something to eat just above the museum which adorns the river spree.
Marx-Engels-Forum
After a short rest and something to eat, cross the road to grab yourself a selfie with the founding fathers, Karl Marx and Fredrich Engles, at the Marx-Engels-Forum. As of early May 2022, this area was covered by what seemed temporary fencing, the photo below is taken from another trip.

To maximize your revolutionary history and to ensure you have the best 'Red Tourist' trip of Berlin, we recommend Nathaniel Flakin’s Revolutionary Berlin, a walking guide (Pluto Press, 2022). This cleverly crafted and witty exploration of Berlin, enables the reader to step back into any revolutionary historical period of the city. With so much to choose from and so little time in Berlin, we decided to explore just chapter 7 of this book, The East is Red.
House of ministries
We were lucky that we stayed right by our first stop on our The East is Red tour, the ‘House of Ministries’ (Wilhelmstrase 97). This huge building was used by NAZI’s and the DDR. To the right of the building further own Wilhemstrase, you will see the stunning murals shown in the pictures below. Currently this building is the seat of the German Finance Ministry.
North Korean embassy
Around the corner from the House of Ministries on Glinkastraße, you will find the impressive Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Alexander square
Just past Marx-Engels forum is the unmissable is Alexander Square (Alexander Platz). Easy to find thanks to the large TV tower (Fernsehturm), which you can go to the top of. This famous square has played an important role throughout the history of Berlin and continues to don some spectacular DDR period buildings.
Stalinallee
Walking away from Alexanderplatz, you reach the impressive Karl-Marx-Alle. This enormous boulevard was built between 1952 and 1960. Between 1949-1961 this street was known as Stalinallee. Either side of this road, you can see the vast 'workers palaces', the amazing flat blocks built by the DDR. This colossal street was also the venue of many May Day rallies and demonstrations. Whilst you make your way toward your next stop, you will go past the stunning Kino International Cinema. A beautiful building, now protected, hosted many a premiere from DDR state owned film studio (Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft). As you walk further down you can go to 70E and find where the giant Stalin statue once stood. No longer there and replaced by a fountain (pictured below) you can continue to explore the history of this famous road at the Cafe Sibylle. This cafe, as Flakin helpfully points out, includes a bit of the moustache and ear from the former statue of the 'man of steel'. This cafe is a nice place to take in the views of the allee and take a small break on our tour. Inside the cafe there are some small exhibits about the history of the street as well as posters to view.
Lenin Square
Carrying on the walking tour, making your way down Karl Marx Allee, you will need to take a left and walk towards what was known as Lenin Square. Historically, the home of a huge red granite statue of comrade Lenin, today all that remains is the housing blocks around it. After visiting this area, we called it a day and grabbed ourselves a much earned beer. There are many more red sites in this chapter of our walking guide worth exploring, but with a tight schedule and many miles to go, we ended the use of Flakin’s guide here.
Hopfenreich craft beer bar
We have been coming to this place for over 10 years across several trips to Berlin. This must go beer bar is fantastic both in winter and summer. Situated in the very trendy Kreuzberg, this craft beer bar includes some of the best craft beer you will find in the city. Huge workbenches, candle light and murals decorate the interior, whilst outside tables with interesting glass are in the centre, allow you to take in this cool part of Berlin. This bar offers all sorts of beers from IPAs, NEIPAs, Stouts and pilsners/lagers.
BRLO GmbH
We had looked other places to grab some good craft beer in Berlin, next on our journey was BRLO. A brand that has several sites across the city, this venue includes a few places to eat, deck chair seating area, as well as an indoor restaurant/bar. As it got colder in the evening, we opted to go inside to the restaurant to have a few beers. Glad we did, the beer range is much more extensive than the limited the kiosks in the outdoor seating area.
Hohenschönhausen prison memorial
After a good night’s rest, we dedicated day 2 to visiting the Hohenschönhausen prison, before continuing the rest of our adventure around the DDR. We didn’t plan our visit, but it is always worth checking the website. We arrived to be told we had around 40 minute wait for an English tour, which suited us as we were able to sit and enjoy some breakfast in the nice canteen area. The prison site itself is so vast, and starts with a short 15 film that contains a certain view of the developments of World War 2 (WW2) and beyond. Our guide was very good and knowledgeable, engaging different parts of the group. However, as most 'Red Tourists' will be used to included a heavy political bias to discussion, explanations of the development and use of the prison. Originally a site used by the NAZIs to provide meals for the local community during the war, this canteen building was transformed into a prison at the end of WW2 by the Soviet Union. This conversion led to the prison being used to house NAZI war criminals. As the sectors were drawn up across Berlin, this prison was given to the DDR by the Soviet Union. As the prison was not deemed fit for purpose and was old, the DDR added new buildings, healthcare and adapted the prison to one of psychological isolation, rather than physical torture. The tour enables you to view all the historical developments of the site and to better understand how political dissidents of the DDR were treated. After the tour which is around 90 minutes, including both outdoor and indoor stops, you can also walk around a small, but impressive exhibit with more information, we would recommend you do.
Loving this post on Berlin? Read more about our Red Tourists road trip around the former DDR here.
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