Living in Friedrichshagen, Berlin

Friedrichshagen is at the far south-east of Berlin, in the Treptow-Köpenick district, looking onto the Müggelsee, the city's largest lake. Here Berlin stops feeling like a metropolis and becomes a little town on the water: Bölschestraße, the main street, is a stroll of low houses, cafés and shops that leads straight toward the lake. There's an old historic brewery, the Berliner Bürgerbräu, and a few steps away the Spreetunnel, a pedestrian tunnel running under the Müggelspree. It's far from the center, and that should be said clearly: but those who live here choose it for exactly that reason.

Who lives here

Stable German families, many long-established, retirees, professionals who work from home or in Adlershof and Köpenick, the odd creative looking for calm and greenery. Few students and fewer Erasmus than in the central neighborhoods: the distance from the center and the universities weighs. Those who come here usually seek good air, lake and silence more than nightlife.

What it's like during the day

A provincial-town atmosphere, in the good sense. Bölschestraße is full of cafés, bakeries, independent little shops and occasional markets. A few minutes on foot brings you to the shore of the Müggelsee, with beaches, boats and trails. To the north you enter the city forest (Berliner Stadtforst); to the south, beyond the Müggelspree, rise the Müggelberge, the highest hill in Berlin, a classic destination for walks.

What it's like in the evening

Quiet. A few restaurants and beer gardens on Bölschestraße and along the lake, beer outdoors in summer, places that close early. It's not a neighborhood for clubs or long nights: the nightlife is elsewhere. Evening here means dinner near the water and a stroll, not techno until dawn.

Getting around

The S-Bahn S3 stops at Friedrichshagen station and connects to the center, but the trip is long (it's the end of the line). From the station the trams depart: the 61 toward Rahnsdorf, which runs along the lake on the Müggelseedamm, and the 60 toward the Altstadt of Köpenick. There's also the N65 night bus to and from Alexanderplatz. Handy for the lake and for Köpenick, less so for those who have to be in Mitte every day.

Eating and shopping

Everyday shopping is well covered: supermarkets, bakeries and shops along and around Bölschestraße. For eating there are German taverns, the odd international kitchen, ice-cream parlors and the beer gardens on the shore of the Müggelsee, perfect in the warm months. Everything on a small-town scale: no fine dining, but the essentials are there and of good quality.

When NOT to pick it

If you study or work in the center and have to go there every day, the distance becomes heavy. If you're after nightlife, places open late or a multicultural, frenetic neighborhood, you won't find it here. In winter the charm of the lake fades and only the distance remains. It's a choice for those who put calm and nature first.

Friedrichshagen is Berlin's village on the water: slow, green, looking onto the city's largest lake. For those who can put up with the travel times and are willing to give up the nightlife, it's one of the most beautiful and livable corners in the entire capital.