Berlin is a popular destination with many fantastic things to do but are you looking for something quirky and different to do in Berlin? Have you heard about the Stand By Me tree?
The Stand By Me Tree
In the heart of Berlin’s Tiergarten Park an unknown person has carved the opening lyrics to Ben E. King’s popular song ‘Stand By Me’. It is unsure if this was done as a declaration of love to an individual or to the song itself but the end result is still something to be enjoyed by all.
While the tree is still unknown to most visitors to Berlin, the spot became more popular when the artist died in 2015. It was around this time that a second tree appeared a few feet away with the lyrics to the chorus.
Tiergarten Park
Located in the Mitte borough, Tiergarten is Berlin’s most popular inner city park. Tiergarten is 210 hectares (520 acres) in size making it the third biggest inner city park in all of Germany.
With Tiergarten being so big, it can be difficult to find the Stand By Me tree. While there are some hints online as to where the tree is roughly located, it can still be a challenge to find. I spent a good half hour searching the trees when I was trying to find it.
I first found the Stand By Me tree in 2015 and after finding it I took pictures showing the route to it. When I returned to Berlin earlier this year and decided to see if knowing where the tree was made it easier to find. With a rough idea of where it was and with my pictures taken 3 years earlier I found the tree with no difficulty.
Almost getting lost looking for the tree back in 2015
How to Find the Stand By Me Tree
If you start at the popular tourist spot the Brandenburg Gate and walk through it you’ll be on the road “Bundesstraße”. Follow this road for about 30 minutes (on foot) and you’ll get to the Victory Column.
If you don’t want to walk 30 minutes from the Brandenburg Gate, you can get the U-Bahn to Hansaplatz and then it’s less than a 10 minute walk to Victory Column. Although, if you do decide to to walk from the Brandenburg Gate you’ll walk past the Berlin Soviet War Memorial. Something a lot of visitors miss out on when exploring Berlin.
The Victory Column is at the Großer Stern (Great Star), a roundabout on Bundesstraße. If you’ve walked from the Brandenburg Gate the entrance to the park that you’ll want to take will be on the left. If you stand at the correct park entrance the Victory Column should look like this.
Once you’ve located the correct entrance it’s quite simple to find the Stand By Me tree. If you follow the path for about 10 minutes you will be very close.
As you enter the park you should see a couple of benches either side. Walk through and keep heading straight. You will soon come across a crossroad in the park. Here you’ll want to keep going straight.
At the crossroad you should see a ‘rosegarten’ sign on your left. If you see this sign you’re going the right way!
In a few more minutes you should come to another crossroad. Again, you’ll want to go straight here.
If you are going the right way then you should soon see a path going off the left. Ignore this path and keep going straight.
Although if you do go down this path there is a pretty pond here to enjoy. Definitely worth checking out on your way back.
If you’ve continued to go straight you should eventually come to a third crossroad. This is the crossroad that has the Stand By Me tree.
Can you spot the right tree? (Hint: it’s in the middle)
To the right of the crossroad, just behind the logs, you will find the original Stand By Me tree with the opening lyrics carved into it.
The path in the background is the one you came from
Going back to the path you came from, to the left of the crossroad you will find the newest of the two trees with the songs chorus carved into it.
Both Stand By Me Trees are close to the edge of the path so are easy to see once you are in the right spot of the park. And they are a lot easier to find when you know where to look! Hopefully this picture guide will help you find them the next time you visit Berlin.
Looking for more quirky things to do in Berlin? Why not visit Burgermeister, a converted public toilet that is now one of the best burger bars in Berlin!
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