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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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!
Return to my home page
Martin van den Nieuwelaar,
Last updated 7 Apr 2003