Gethsemanekirche / Gethsemane Church

One beautiful landmark in the Prenzlauerberg district is the Gethsemanekirche.  It is all brick, even the supporting pillars and arches inside the church.  The building was completed in 1893.

 All around Berlin there are still sidewalks and even streets made of cobblestones, which are often being restored rather than replaced.  

Here you can see how the cobblestones have warped where the traffic is heaviest and also by tree roots.

A little reminder of current world affairs (the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan and ongoing nuclear reactor disaster).

I've never seen brick construction like this, isn't it gorgeous?

 

I love watching the spring leaves budding out.

In China I once spent 20 minutes trying to catch a pigeon in flight in a photo, but here I caught them on the first try! 

 Prenzlauerberg is a lovely area and you can see many historical objects that have been preserved, such as this water pump which was not for fires but rather for household use.  Not shown in this photo is the gargoyle water spout, which sticks out of the bottom part facing the cars and pours water into the little basin in the curbside.  I've seen at least two more of these and will try to get a better image.  I didn't get the best shot possible because I backed into a pile of dog poop while taking this photo.

Prenzlauerberg is also known as the "artists' quarter" of Berlin; in addition to the omnipresent graffiti, there are funny little art objects in surprising places.