Kreuzberg, Berlin’s Hipster Neighborhood

With its anti-establishment undertones, the neighborhood of Kreuzberg is rebellious by nature. It is portrayed as one of Europe’s most hipster neighborhoods. In fact, Berlin is one of the most hipster cities in the world, according to several travel guides. The city’s walls are papered from top to bottom with the dates of the next upcoming exhibits and concerts, but also with protest slogans.
Kreuzberg is full of alternative pubs, thrift-shops, and graffiti covered side streets. It is the mecca of street art. The Berlin of the 21^st century. The hipster Berlin. The cool Berlin.

A Neighborhood Brimming with History

With a hint of punk, the Kreuzberg neighborhood has become an open air museum of sorts, with no cover charge, of course. Its dilapidated buildings make it stand out from the rest of the city. It is also where you’ll find the longest standing stretch of the Berlin Wall, with over a hundred graffiti symbolizing peace after the fall of the wall in 1989.

If you are looking for genuineness, don’t miss the Heeresbäckerei bakery, with domed ceilings and over a century of history on its back. It is one of the gems of the neighborhood.

We’ll keep on the topic of cuisine because my next suggestion is a walk down the popular Markthalle Neun, where a Street Food event with food from all corners of the world is held on Thursdays. And once every three months, a sweets market.

And as a bit of an oddity, you can visit Kreuzerg’s smallest house, dating from 1864. It’s well worth the visit.

Guide to Being a Good Hipster

Vintage-loving, independent, extravagant and alternative… that’s hipsters for you. They reject capitalism and they’re also not keen on following social conventions. They tend to wear hats, skinny jeans, and all manner of checkered or polka-dot prints. Hipster men sport beards, and hipster women sport wild hair. Perfectly imperfect. And though they tend to be high middle class, they like wearing extravagant second hand clothes. In general, they all tend to love fashion.

One of their strongpoints is their culinary preferences: they favor organic foods and drink artisan fruit blends.

They love indie music, alternative rock, and jazz. They’re fans of independent films, museums, street art, are up to date with all new technologies, and are compulsive users of social media.

Other Hipster Neighborhoods in the World

Pearl District, in Portland, OR (USA): This Portland district harbors one of the largest and most popular second hand bookstores in the world. You can visit it and have a drink in the cafeteria.

Södermalm, in Stockholm (Sweden): Besides being considered a true hipster neighborhood, and as a fun fact (if you are a fan of Stieg Larsson), that is where most of the characters in his novels live.

Amsterdam-Noord, in Amsterdam (the Netherlands): Once a month this neighborhood holds one of the largest flea markets in Europe. It’s an alternative flea market, of course, with artisan-made products.

Florentin, in Tel Aviv (Israel): With a huge concentration of creativity per square meter, this neighborhood is home to many 21st century Jewish artists.