Berlin Favorite Places by former national player Arne Friedrich
Arne Friedrich. Born in 1979 in Bad Oeyenhausen. For eight years, from 2002 to 2010, he played for Hertha. At the same time, he was part of the national football team for nine years. He became third with Germany twice in the World Cup, and in 2008, he was runner-up in the European Championship. He ended his career as a professional footballer in 2013. That's what Wikipedia says. But what does a successful athlete do after retiring?
After the storm often comes the calm. For many professional athletes, it's not an easy time. Arne Friedrich used it to his advantage. In 2015, amid the major refugee crisis, he founded the Arne Friedrich Foundation, which aims to effectively help children and improve their lives. In addition to his activities as an expert for international media, this is where he now directs his full commitment. If you'd like to support the foundation, donations are always wisely invested money!
The foundation supports, for example, children's hospice work, as seen in the Berlin Caritas Children's Hospice Center LEO, where the isolation and lack of social life of children with terminal illnesses particularly touched him. Another focus of the foundation is education and integration. With programs like "Education Wins," they become active in schools to bring together children from all backgrounds. The Charité Heart Center also benefits from the foundation's commitment.
Like many people, he has learned a lot about himself during the crises in his life. During Hertha's descent in 2009/2010 or the setbacks in the first World Cup match in his own country against Costa Rica in 2006. And, of course, at the end of his career in 2013, which coincided with the end of his long-term relationship. How others deal with change is also a topic in his podcast "From Done to Dare," where he interviews guests from various fields about their approach to new beginnings.
In 2019, he joined Hertha's management for three years and has since been living in Berlin again. Naturally, he has discovered plenty of favourite places in his current city over the years. He has revealed ten of them to us, including places that we didn't even know about. Join Arne Friedrich on a discovery tour through Berlin.
