Overabundant mass of old cars in Berlin

Last Friday, I had to go to Berlin and I took the chance to visit the great AEG Turbine Factory, built by Peter Behrens from 1908 to 1909. It is a very important building that claims to be a big step into modern architecture. This very long hall with its concrete corners reforms the classic image of factory buildings made from brick, steel and glass from the turn of the centuries. Parts of gas turbines are still manufactured in it today, so still the same function is running the building was originally designed for. What could be better?

After the drawing, I took along the river Spree in the direction of the inner city of Berlin. What was about to come? Just old cars, one by one! At first, I saw this Merecedes /8 (that’s how we call it in Germany, the official name is W114). It reminded me on my Stuttgart time and I drew it.

I just couldn’t believe what I saw next. Two Citroen DS, just about 30 meters away from each other. The goddess of cars, the benchmark for nearly 20 years in upper class cars, a design made for a whole century. I took the black one for a drawing.

On with the show! I could have drawn within the next 500 meters a Fiat 124 Spider, a Fiat 500, a Alfa Romeo GTA 1300 Junior, a Beetle Convertible and an old American Pick-Up which I could’t identify. Unfortunately, time elapsed too fast and I had to carry on. But here’s another one from January, located in the heart of the city (near Friedrichstraße), a Peugeot 204 form the early 1970s in a bad condition, but still driven with daily by a student, who just went away when I finished the drawing.

I have to return, that’s for sure. By the way, Berlin is not very far from Cottbus, the town where I live. That’s why I was invited to take part in
Urban Sketchers Berlin, where this post is also published.

by Florian Afflerbach