Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)

After enjoying the film Lola Rennt and later moving to Berlin to live, I decided to go and visit some of the scenes where the movie was filmed. I don't presently have a copy of Lola on DVD so cannot confirm every detail about where she ran, however you will get a good idea of what happend.

Lola's house
The film starts with a satelite photo of Berlin, Germany. The scene zooms in quickly all the way to Lola's house. By playing the film frame by frame and looking at my map of Berlin I noted the house would be near where the river and some railway lines meet. I later discovered the river is called the Spree and the railway is actually Friedrichstrasse station. Finding the actual house turned out to be easier than I thought. I found the address by looking on the Internet. :-) Albrechtstrasse 13. Albrechtstrasse is a small roughly north-south street that runs from the Spree north. Lola's house is on the east side of the street at the south end. Just a few meters from the Spree in fact. This street is in the old East part of the city.

My memory of the order of scenes in the film are a little blurred. I remember they mostly had some running. :-) If anyone can tell me the correct order I'll update this page.

Oberbaumbrucke
Lola runs from her house along the street, however the street in the film is not Albrechtstrasse. I'm not sure where it is. Soon after she runs over the Oberbaumbrucke (bridge). This is a road/rail/foot bridge with some very interesting arches. The bridge connects the old East at Warschauerstrasse train station in the suburb of Friedrichshain to the old West side of the city in the suburb of Kreuzberg.

U-bahn
In the film Lola is seen to run across a street where a yellow train travels on an overhead rail. This is directly by the Oberbaumbrucke on the old west side of the river. The cars and pedestrains are on the lower level of the bridge with the train on top. The train is actually a U-bahn (underground) train. Extremely perceptive people will notice the train is not underground. :-) In Berlin there are two types of trains and lines for servicing the city. The U-bahn travels mainly underground, is a bit noisy and bumpy. For example, operating a Palm pilot on the U-bahn can be tricky. The S-bahn travels mainly overground, is more spacious, smoother and quieter. S-bahn trains also tend to be less frequent that U-bahn trains. This particular piece of track is part of the U1 and U15 lines between Schlesisches Tor and Warschauerstrasse with the train traveling towards Warschauerstrasse.

Gendarmenmarkt
There are a number of overhead shots where Lola runs across a square where there are square patterns on the pavement. I think this is the Gendarmenmarkt, located in the centre of the old east side of the city (suburb Mitte).

Franzoesischestrasse U-bahn
While running to see her father, Lola crosses Friedrichstrasse right by the Franzoesischestrasse U-bahn station in the centre of the Mitte suburb. I remember the street being cobbled in the film. Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, or they're re-paved it in asphalt since the film was made. This scene is just down the street from Galeries Lafayette, the second most exclusive department store in Berlin. Friedrichstrasse (which runs north-south) is famous because of Checkpoint Charlie the well known crossing point between the old east and west. Checkpoint Charlie is a couple of U-bahn stops further south.

Behrenstrasse
The bank, as viewed from the outside (the inside is filmed elsewhere) is located on Behrenstrasse, around number 38 next to the church, also in Mitte. There are two doors on the building that look very similar. I'm not sure which one was used in the film. Something else to check next time I see it. Directly opposite the building is a square where in 1933 some people brought together a large number of books deemed 'unsuitable', and promptly made a bonfire out of them.

The supermarket in the film is supposed to be on Osnabruckestrasse just north-west from the Mierendorffplatz U-bahn station in the old west. I found a supermarket there and I think it was the same one as in the film. The checkout isles were arranged the same and the stone finish on the outside reminded me of the film. The supermarket is no longer a Bolle though. Also, there was no clock to be seen, no telephone booth opposite, and no Spiral cafe :-(. There was also a large truck parked outside the supermarket blocking the view, so I decided not to waste film taking a photo.

Constructive feedback is welcome for this page!

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Martin van den Nieuwelaar, Last updated 7 Apr 2003