Cornelia Brelowski: Berlin in April: On transience and cherry blossoms

TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI

One cannot stress it enough: Berlin spring, when it finally comes, arrives with a bang. Once the Berlinale is behind us, the weather reliably turns from permafrost-like conditions to warmth and sunshine – and with it comes bloom, spreading its surreal beauty all over town.

Each year in April, the most impressive blooming spectacle (apart from the linden trees that traditionally line Berlin’s streets) springs from the various types of cherry trees, which have become especially popular ever since the fall of the Wall. This is largely thanks to the generosity of the Japanese people, who raised funds to help the once-divided residents find a sense of calm and peace as they embraced reunification.

Substantial parts of the former Wall Trail (Mauerweg) are thus lined with cherry trees of different variations that explode into bloom one stretch after the other, starting in March. When the first blossoms fall in the spring breeze near Schwedter Steg bridge, a kind of miraculous pink snowfall lets people raise their phones again, and again. The next stretch follows underneath the Bösebrücke bridge, where the first checkpoint at Bornholmer Straße opened during the night of 9 November in 1989, initiating the fall of the Wall. Here, the blooming cherry trees form a sort of pink roof – as their crowns have since themselves united up in the air, growing together from both sides of the path. Further north, on the district border between Pankow and Wedding, there are another 120 cherry trees, which can be easily reached from the Wollankstraße S-Bahn station by following the railway line towards Bürgerpark Pankow. Another 32 are located on Vesaliusstraße, north of the Pankow-Heinersdorf overground station.

Cherry blossoms on Wall Trail. Photo: Cornelia Brelowski

It comes as no surprise, that both Japanese tourists and Berliners use these opportunities for photographs – including many wedding couples. To the Japanese, the cherry flower, or sakura, is a symbol of good luck. By now, Berlin launches its own sakura events in grateful retribution; for example at the Gärten der Welt (Gardens of the World) on the weekend of 25-26 April. The gardens are situated in the former East Berlin borough of Marzahn and are not to be missed out on in springtime. For two days, you can experience a true sakura event right here, without having to travel to Japan.

We have an actual German saying that goes: “Sometimes, good things are much closer than you think,” which dates back to Goethe’s poem memories: “Do you want to keep wandering? / Look, goodness is so close. / Just learn to seize happiness, / because happiness is always there.” In Berlin spring, the above is actually true, especially after the city’s notoriously long and harsh winter months. For more blossoming joy, you can also walk under cherry trees by the Landwehrkanal at Maybachufer in Kreuzberg, as well as in Wiener Straße right by Görlitzer Park. Cherry bloom represents beauty, transience and new beginnings in Japanese culture. Why not experience it in Berlin this year?