An image of a bear is prominent part of Berlin’s coat of arms and bears are a somewhat inexplicable mascot of the city. Not long after I arrived, I noticed that I would see them all over the city in plazas, by train stations, in front of businesses, and in parks. Some were simple depictions of bears, but most of the ones I saw were part of a public art project called Buddy Bears, colorful fiberglass sculptures that are often painted with local or international themes. Here are all the bears I spotted in Berlin:
A Buddy Bear at Strausberger Platz on Karl-Marx-Allee.
A wooden bear at Volkspark Friedrichshain.
A concrete bear statue on Warschauer Strasse.
A bear painted onto section of the East Side Gallery that’s covered with graffiti.
A large bear across the street from the East Side Gallery.
An Olympics themed bear.
A European Union themed Buddy Bear decorated with flags of countries in Europe.
At the Embassy of South Africa.
Father and son Buddy Bears across the street from the Nordic Embassies.
A Salvador Dali themed Buddy Bear.
The other side of the Dali bear.
A sitting bear in front of a hotel in the city center.
A Buddy Bear in Alexanderplatz depicting various scenes from the plaza and around Berlin.
At the Rathaus Neukölln underground rail station.
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