Inside buildings in Berlin
I lived in Berlin from November 2023 to March 2024. There, I worked as a delivery rider and it was quite an experience. The area covered by my location was around the neighbourhoods of Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Neukölln. I was amused by the architecture of buildings, and soon I decided to take some pictures while delivering groceries. I took pictures mostly from the inside, since there would probably not be many chances of doing so any other time, and it surely made the job more entertaining.
Let me recap a little bit about how delivery works in Germany, and what service the company I worked for provides. In Germany the delivery rider takes the delivery order to the house or building, in this case generally a building, and once there they ring the bell so to let the customer know that they arrived. The customer does not come to the door to pick up their order, instead they let the rider in via the intercom. The rider walks within the building to the apartment, knocks at the door, delivers and then leaves.
Now, the company I worked for has a phone app in which customers can ask for food products that you would typically find in supermarkets. So each ride is done carrying several heavy bags, with products for up to three customers.
The pictures below were taken from several rides I took during my working hours.
Picture #1
Something to note, many buildings do not have a lift. It makes it harder to bring the bags up, sometimes up to five levels!
Picture #2
Picture #3
Picture #4
Here are some commemorative plaques next to an entrance, for the victims of the Jewish Holocaust during WWII. They provide information about who lived there, when they were deported and when they were murdered.
Picture #5
Big building with too many postal boxes.
Picture #6
Picture #7
Picture #8
I have seen several kinds of bikes, among which is this curious one. Germans use bicycles a lot. If you cross a bike lane without looking, you'll probably get a warning with the horn.
Picture #9
Picture #10
Picture #11
Picture #12
Picture #13
This is the creepiest building I delivered to, and I actually got lost walking through its passages. The entrance led to these passages, going down from the ground level. Pictures #14 and #15 are from this building as well.
Picture #14
Picture #15
This was near Treptower Park (which houses the Soviet War Memorial), where I rode many times at night. I would have the front bike ligths on and I could only see what was in front of me (no park lightning). I was surprised by a couple of people who suddenly appeared briefly in sight, just walking in the darkness in the middle of the park.
#15 bis
This is what it was riding in Görlitzer Park (nicknamed "Görli") at night.
Picture #16
I could not take this lift, since you have to put the key in order to use it! 😑
Picture #17
This is a curious lift which stops between floors. EG stands for "Erdgeschoss", which is ground floor.
Picture #18
Picture #19
Picture #20
New Year's Eve decorations!
Picture #21
Picture #22
Picture #23
This is not the interior of a building, but it relates to a funny story. When I first rode through this street, cars could still drive on it. At some point, they put these barriers in the street, and cars could no longer pass through. But it seems someone wasn't aware of that.
Picture #24
More post boxes.
Picture #25
Many people let their shoes outside the apartment.
Picture #26
Picture #27
Germans love bikes.
Picture #28
I saw many references to Palestine in the streets. This is one of them within a lift.
Picture #29
Picture #30
Finally, here's a picture of a bike I used to deliver groceries in a snowy day ❄️.
Yapa
As a yapa, see a beautiful rainbow in Berlin, the first day I visited it. The scenery includes the Spree river, the Bode-Museum, the Monbijoubrücke and the Fernsehturm 😊.
