Karl Marx Allee atmosphere

Karl Marx Allee is the showcase avenue of the DDR with a grand architectural conception meant to display the success of the state and socialist ideas. Today the street is under repair. Traffic lanes have been blocked off by lines of temporary red and white plastic barriers, cycle tracks have been enlarged during covid lockdowns and noticeably less traffic is flowing, passing in groups regulated by nearby traffic lights. It is surprisingly quiet, but the openness allows sound, particularly from Alexanderplatz, to fill the space. Three people sit on a bench under the straight rows of trees. A elderly women with a frame moves past in the leafy shade.