Treptower Park on the Spree holds three sides of Berlin: the vast Soviet war memorial of 1949, the observatory where Einstein first presented general relativity to the public, and a small island reached by one of Germany's first reinforced-concrete bridges. Start at S Treptower Park (Ringbahn, S9 and S85), end on the Insel der Jugend.
Best time: Afternoon in the warmer months; combine with a boat on the Spree or the Archenhold observatory's opening hours
The route, stop by stop
- 1Soviet War Memorial Treptower Park
Completed in May 1949. More than 7,000 Red Army soldiers who fell in the Battle of Berlin are buried here. Sixteen white limestone sarcophagi with reliefs line the central field; the colossal statue of a soldier carrying a child stands 30 m high with its mound and plinth. 40 min.
- 2Archenhold Observatory
Home of the 'Himmelskanone', the longest movable refracting telescope in the world: 21 m focal length and 130 tonnes. On 2 June 1915 Albert Einstein gave his first public lecture on general relativity in its lecture hall. 30 min.
- 3Abteibrücke
Finished in 1916, one of the first reinforced-concrete bridges in Germany; French and Russian prisoners of war concreted the arch. 5 min.
- 4Insel der Jugend
An island in the Spree named 'Island of Youth' in 1949, with a youth club that holds concerts, parties, theatre, children's festivals and film nights. Bring a picnic for the meadows by the water. 20 min.
More walks in Berlin
- Mitte classics: Reichstag to Museum Island
- The Wall and Prenzlauer Berg on a Sunday
- Kreuzberg to Neukölln food graze: bakeries, canal market and street food
- East Side Gallery and Friedrichshain's Boxi
- West Berlin: Charlottenburg Palace to Kantstrasse
- Tempelhofer Feld to old Rixdorf
- Karl-Marx-Allee: socialist boulevard from Kino International to Frankfurter Tor
- Schöneberg: Nollendorfplatz to the Rathaus where Kennedy spoke
- Wedding: flak tower, crematorium culture and Bruno Taut
- Britz: Taut's Horseshoe Estate and the old village