Berlin: Streets of Strange

Streets of life

Courtesy - Google Maps

Kurfürstendamm [1] is the classy shopping street in the centre of Berlin that changes names to Tauentzienstrasse as it approaches the memorial Kaiser Wilheim Memorial Church [2] unto KaDeWe [4], the largest department store on mainland Europe.

It has a cousin, Kurfürstenstrasse [5], not really parallel to it but close enough to be confusing.

Starting off a few hundred metres beyond the old central railway station of Berlin Zoologischer Garten [3] it wends down respectably until a point where certain ladies in a manner of dress for a manner of trade ply their goods for custom.

This is observed is one walks the shortest path to Pohlstrasse where a Nigerian-Italian couple runs a restaurant serving Nigerian fare, the man being the chef at Ebe-Ano [6].

Strange times of things

There are a few things I conservatively consider have their times of the day. For instance, I would not look kindly on alcohol consumption before the afternoon, but ladies on heels on the street even in a pseudo-red light district before dusk is quite disconcerting.

Not only is it that, there is a sense of almost effrontery and daring aggression but could belie desperation when you as a man are found on the rough end of salacious ogling for the pleasure of an illicit liaison.

One can only wonder what happens when the light of the sun makes way for the dim light of the moon. Not a street to walk after a certain hour, I would suppose.

Street of strange

However, whatever the circumstances put the ladies out there, for situational adversity through will to the coercion borne of heinous human trafficking, there is some sadness can only be felt as people meet different human needs in the darkest recesses of primal desire.

I hope the church at the tail-end of the street offers succour to all who ply that street of strange.

As I returned to my hotel, I walked up Bülowstraße [7], the far end of the street that started off this blog, she flagged down a car, it stopped, she negotiated and he nodded, she got in and they drove off.