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Another Country is a 2nd hand bookstore in Berlin, located at the Kreuzberg district.
They have a wonderful store, and an amazing collection of Science Fiction books - an entire basement full of it, actually!!!
It was the only place I visited in Berlin in which I 1) Took my camera out and started shooting, and 2) Had myself some good shopping time!!!
The shop belongs to a lovely Englishwoman named Sophie. A large portion of the books is hers originally, which, as you'll see, is A LOT. For instance, I was told that ~80 percent of the books in the basement SciFi section was her personal belongings... AND SHE'S READ IT ALL!!! This is one serious reader...
She was also blessed with an amazing memory... She remembered The Stars' My Destination was written By Alfred Bester (and that it's also called "Tiger! Tiger!"), and the Greg Egan wrote Permutation City (which I failed to find there - which makes her remembering this even more cool!!!).
The shop is located at the 'hip' Kreuzberg district of Berlin, in a small street (Riemannstrasse), and the closest U-Bahn station is on the U7 lane - Gneisenaustrasse.
Some of the books are too dear to Sophie, so they are for loan only. You leave the full price of the book when you take it, and get everything back except for the symbolic 1.5€, which makes this store a center for lovers of quite rare books. They tend to maintain at least on copy of the heavy classics (for instance, the only copy of the Illuminatus! trilogy omnibus is for loan-only). So you can quite rely on them if you're staying in Berlin for a long time! Although they'd lend you a book without making a backup-check on you. I think some people mentioned they're visiting the store only twice-a-year, each time loaning a large amount.
So here are some links, and then the photos + explanations.
Their official website:
An entry in some tour guide:
http://berlin.barwick.de/shopping/books/another-country-bookshop.html
Their Google Maps entry, complete with a map (which is useful, because Riemannstr. is a small street which did not appear, for instance, in the map we've had at the time:
http://berlin.barwick.de/shopping/books/another-country-bookshop.html
The shop's sign:
You can get a better view of their logo on their website.
The entrance:
I didn't know what I was entering into upon my first encounter with this place...
The entrance hall:
This is what you see as soon as you come in. Wonderful!!! You get the idea very soon - a mess of books, a 2nd-hand heaven!!!
The corridor to the crime books' room
The sign on the refrigirator says: take what you want and leave money on the counter when you go out. Just like it is in the Gravitzky in Giv'at Brenner! All the cool places are alike :D
The Little Kitchen
Well, it's a kitchen. No commentary!!!
A Nifty Collection of Crime Books
Heist tales, some biographies, and all-in-all lotsa books, mate!
The Big Room of Crime Books
Bed
Like Tzhai in the old days, people can sleep in the shop. I don't know if it's done often nowadays though.
Sitting Corner in the Crime Room
Seeing this chair is what reminded me of the Ashan the most.
And Down We Go...
Notice how they fill the place with books in every possible place - even the side of the stairs carries some (I think it was) Philosophy books!
Science Fiction Books!!!
LOOK AT THAT!!!
The Downstairs Kitchen
More like an eating/sitting spot and more books, of course.
Downstairs. Dinner tables.
People can sit here and read, drink coffee and/or eat.
Tomatoes
Waiting to be brutally killed X_X
More beverages
It's nice they keep such a fine supply!!!
More Kitcheny Stuff
More odd stuff that goes into food.
My Friend, the Meat
Sophie's been cooking meat as it was Friday and they were preparing for their weekly meal. People can join for 5€ and on wintertime they also show British films after dinner. Summer's just to hot to keep that up.
The Meat, and Section 'g'
G is for William Gibson! Got "Virtual Light" and "Spook Country"!!!
The 'e' Section
Had to push some tables to get there and look for Greg Egan's "Permutation City". Notice the copy of Sid Meyer's "Civilization 2" on the top shelf!!!
Toys and Games
All sorts of toys and boardgames for the visitors.
The stairs, the other way
Notice the wine bottle on the back. What a wonderful mess! The entire basement does smell like the cave in Za'ak where they used to make wine. Weird...
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