There 's an island in the middle of the Spree

Not only one, in fact. And the one I went to yesterday only felt like an island, but is a peninsula; Stralau.
To get there from my place is easy: jump on board the next "104" bus stopping at the corner, cross Kreuzberg and Neukölln (we did that last week), Treptow as well, then cross the river Spree (with beautiful views up north to Oberbaumbrücke, the Treptowers and the swimming sauna), over to Friedrichshain, and climb off at the very last station "Tunnelstraße". There you are in the middle of old Stralau, with one of the oldest churches in Berlin, surrounded by the river, connected to the other side with a tunnel once (hence the name).
It was a beautiful spring trip and a beautiful spring walk along the riverside, exploring the old and new neighbourhood - mostly new.
Stralau changed through the times, from an old fisher village of the Sorbes, to a recreational area in the 18th century, to a fast growing industrial suburb with a huge harbour (still cherishing the old and wild costums of "Stralauer Fischzug" since 1574), and finally the recline of all industry after the end of GDR, and the bulding of new homes for young families and taking over of the old factories by new companies, like MTV, only recently.
Flats are still affordable in Stralau, and it's part of the fashionable Friedrichshain, so lots of students, artists, and young families bring the much wanted fresh life.
To connect all those people with Berlin center is not much of a problem as such, there are still lots of stations since the time workers went to the factories last century. They look it, too, old and dusty and ugly, lacking some rebuilding as well. Station Warschauer Straße has been finished some time ago, but Ostkreuz still is an awful place to get on and off or change connections. It's all on the plan. Let's hope Stralau will blossom in newly found beauty, and not become a place only for rich people with their own cars and boats and even swimming homes.
Talking of rich people: Karl Marx spent some great time in Stralau when he was young, just relaxing and enjoying the nature and the views instead of studying all the time, as he wrote in this letter to his father. There's a memorial in Stralau. Who would have known about that? Not me. Did you?
Now find out more if you feel like it with these two guys, walking around Berlin as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Pity I missed the fun in 2002!