Salome

This evening I went to the opera of 8 pm, in the Staatsoper Berlin at Unter den Linden. Paid 7 euro for a ticket, which is dirt cheap indeed but gets you only a "Hörplatz", which means you literally can't see a thing. Luckily, lots of places in that part (at the utter left, on the top floor) were empty so I was able to "upgrade" to a place of 16 euro, where I could see most of the Bühne with some stretching of back and neck.
The hall is very nice, exactly as one would imagine a classy opera building. Check out the Fotogalerie.
The play itself was Salome by Richard Strauss, which is based on a play by Oscar Wilde. The story is actually quite fucked up, with a drunk king, an imprisoned prophet and a manipulative, murderous bitch princess. One would expect an opera to be about love and passion and sweet things - which this was, but distorted and over-the-top with a strong undercurrent of human excesses. Seems like the public on the original viewings thought about the same, the play was forbidden or censored on many occasions.
Captivating story though, I wasn't bored for a minute.

The decor was kind of a desillusion, as I expected an opera decor to be lush and baroque with false perspective, plants, gold and candles and all that stuff - kind of like the opera hall itself. None of that though, only the most necessary of attributes were there, the multiple floors consisting of off-the-shelf scaffolding with some canvas. Funny thing too: the soldiers carried machine guns and wore modern uniforms, where the king and the prophet wore ancient clothes. Old and new seemed to be mixed randomly.
That didn't matter much, though, as the singing, music and acting were excellent. Very impressive how the actors managed to bring a dramatic story like this on stage and let their voice fill a whole opera hall - not amplified.
Good thing were the projected texts synchronised with the singing (in German), which were a great help to understand the storyline.

The picture is an official one from the website, with different actors than those I saw. It shows Herodias, the angry wife of Herod (who is in the back). Salome is dancing for Herod, much to the disgust of Herodias. Salome is Herod's stepdaughter.

The names and storyline are based on stories out of the Bible, bit I don't know how original they are. Should check that out.

Raum 18

Last tuesday, I went to Raum 18, which is a small multipurpose room rented out for music performances in Neukölln, somewhere next to a canal/river close to the Sonnenallee bhf. If I recall correctly, it must be somewhere at the centre of here.
I passed a huge and expensive-looking hotel first and then the area quickly changed to an utterly deserted, smelling-like-car-paint industrial area. Only a small board bearing an "18" gives any indication of the venue, and you have to climb several stairs passing raum 1, raum 2 all the way up to raum 18 - which explains the name as well. Cool place with old chairs, unstable bar and orange-painted TL lights, but with a decent sound system and off course pretty cheap.
There were about 20 people there (same amount of people who said they would come on last.fm) for the drone concert of that evening. People were friendly and mainly from out of the country - I heard more english than german. The music was, well, drone. Not for every evening, but interesting nontheless. One of the guys is Dutch, and they had just been doing a tour through some old Eastern Block countries.

Had a nice chat with a New Yorker who just moved to Berlin for a stay untill the end of the year. Another guy there came from the Baltic sea and moved to Berlin a couple of years ago. Needless to say, the was a graphical artist. The New York guy made drone music.
I'll have to think up something cooler than "computer guy".

On the picture you see an image of that hotel, taken from the bridge on the Sonnenallee.

Potsdamer Platz

Today started off as kind of a dud. Wanted to do the Flak Turm tour of Berliner Unterwelten, but as I arrived at their office in Gesundbrunnen bhf, the place was packed and the english-language tour of 13h sold out. Other days were always very calm, I guess this tour is very popular or some large groups of people took that tour by chance. Next week it will be, and I'll be there a couple of hours in advance to buy my ticket.

As I was intending to visit the Mythos Germanium exhibition (which is also of B. Unt., and you get reduction with a ticket of a tour) close to Potsdamer Platz, I got on the sbahn to that station... only to realize there that, as I didn't actually did the tour, I didn't have a ticket so there would be no reduction. 2 Euro difference, which isn't that much but why spend it if I can save it as well? Being close to the Sony Centre, I saw the entrance to the Film and Television museum or Deutsche Kinemathek, which I did want to visit. Could as well visit that one now!



6 euro ticket, very interesting museum. I somehow managed to enter the exhibition at the wrong end so I did the whole thing backwards, but that didn't matter :) Large parts on Marlene Dietrich and famous movies like Metropolis and Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (which I have yet to see), all in a very modern and pleasing way with lots of authentic stuff like movie cameras, contracts and letters, costumes, awards...
The pictures show an overview of famous German movies (I've only seen the one right down -Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo) and a statue of the robot out of Metropolis (don't know if it is in any way authentic, though).

The museum also contains a portion on German television with a "Spiegelsaal", which is a large room with a lot of projection screens on one wall and mirrors on all the other. All different kinds of television footage is projected in a semi-chronological, semi-orchestrated way, offering an interesting view of decades of german television.

Oh, btw: german school kids on the loose are as annoying as the belgian ones.

After the museum I found myself in the centre of the Sony centre again, and recalling my experience with a reasonably priced and excellent cocktail, the relaxed sitting and nice scenery a couple of weeks before, I decided to have a drink. 3.90 euro for an Irish coffee, which is pretty nice indeed. Especially if you consider this is the Sony Center, which is a very touristy place. Decided to get a club sandwich as well, which turned out to be a decent sandwich with egg, bacon, salad and a pile of fries (although way to salty, which was a shame). But anyway, had a decent meal there for 12.5 euro, not that bad.


Luckily I had my Lonely Planet guide with me, so I checked out what I could be doing when I was there. Turns out there is a small, free arts gallery close by. The gallery exhibits a part of the extensive Daimler collection (yup, those guys of Mercedes) on a floor of the Huth Haus, which is one of the sole buildings on Potsdamer Platz which is pre-WW2 (and survived the wall as well). The building is dwarfed now buy the modern high-rises which took up the real estate after the fall of the wall, but it is a nice buidling, well renovated.
I had to search for the entrance, which is a nondescript door and a small indication on the wall. You have to ring at the door and actually state your intentions ("I, erm, want to see the art collection, sir"), after which the door buzzes and you can enter.
Good thing about the L.P. guide: they actually wrote that you have to ring the door, otherwise I'd just have thought it was closed or something. Now this is a travel guide which really is of use.

Anyway, the gallery was pretty nice. The art was contemporary indeed, lots of the pieces were only a couple of years old. Great that the collectors allow the public (although only the public which really wants to see it, because you wouldn't just find it accidentially) to see it for free.
The pictures show the Huth Haus from the backside, and the inside of the gallery.

The picture on the left is one on Potsdamer platz, oriented to the North. You see a reproduction of the first traffic lights in Europe - which were placed there in 1924 - and the sony centre at the left. In the back at the right, before the white building (don't know what that is) you see the entrance to the subway station.


After that I wanted to visit the Topographie des Terrors exhibition close by, which deals with the history of the headquarters of the SS and all that was despisable and ugly about the third reich. Exhibition closed at 6pm though an I made it only a couple of information boards far, I'll have to check it out later again. Close by were some government buildings, and a fairly large part of the wall. On google maps (which proved yet again indispensable in retracing my steps, damn I love google) the wall is visible as the thin line on the south side of the Niederkirchstrasse. The area depicted as Topographie des Terrors is still a construction area now, and the museum is actually a walking path in open air.

On walking to the nearest s-bahn station which was Anhalter Bahnhof, I noticed the distinct shape of the Tempodrom, a concert hall. Didn't recognise most of the posters at the entrance, although there was one advertising a Massive Attack concert. Shame they only come here at the end of October.
I passed the remains (just part of the front wall, actually) of the old Anhalter Bahnhof (I thought it was a church), which, according to wikipedia, must have been a very nice and large building.

See those two kids on the roof of the Tempodrom? They were using it as a slide. It also gives you an impression of the size of the building - it's not that big. The architecture is nice, but coming from the glass-and-steel style of the sony center, this looked kind of shabby. This was a less rich neighbourhood with a large North-African community, which was especially visible in the s-bahn stations I passed on the way to Sudkreuz, too.

In the course of the afternoon I found a Berghain folder in my coat pocket, the guy of the cloakroom must have put it there. Check out the artwork.
Background for the picture is a painting in the sleeping room of my flat (which I will sadly have to leave in 9 days).
Berlin is so full of art everywhere, it's crazy.

Tacheles

Last week on wednesday I met with some CouchSurfing people in Tacheles, one of the most famous and oldest squat buildings in Berlin. The other people were two Berliners and an Australian girl couchsurfing in Berlin, nice people all of them. Tacheles was very cool as well, with a great open-air bar at the top (which did get pretty cold) and a bar with jazz music on a lower level. I suppose there are other bars there as well, as it is a big building. There are lots of artist studios and shops as well. Stairways are filled with garbage and graffiti and the worn-out front doesn't really fit the street, which is now filled with posh bars and restaurants. Anyway, a very interesting place which I'll visit again to check it out.

Check out the website as well, with a lot of pictures and historic information.
http://www.tacheles.de/

Tour 3 – Subways, Bunkers, Cold War

Last friday I took another Berliner Unterwelten tour, this time one about the Cold war bunkers. A very small group this time, just me and three Americans and two guides - as usual. One who does the talking (this time a 32 years old American who has UK citizenship and lives and has a child in Berlin - If I recall correctly) and another one who makes sure nobody gets accidentially locked up behind the group.

This tour was very interesting as well. First we visited a WW2 bunker which was upgraded to serve as a nuclear fallout shelter and then took a short subway ride to a "modern" bunker. Cool fact: the subway station in which we stopped, was part of the bunker. In case of an emergency, huge doors could shut off the entrances, and bunk beds would be set up on the platforms.

We then visited the rest of the bunker, which wasn't open to the train passengers, and visited the airlocks, water tanks, infirmary... We also got a lot of information on the cynical way of thinking when they were constructing these bunkers (why build bunkers for everyone? A lot of people would die however what and we don't have the money anyway) and on the situation of the u-bahn-lines in the period of the Wall (some lines starting and ending in the western part crossed the eastern part, where the stations were locked up tight and guarded. The eastern part got money for allowing the trains to pass.)

Anyway, a very interesting tour again, can't wait till next thursday when I want to do the Führung in the flak tower in humboldthain park.

The pictures are showing a passageway and the water storage. Not my pictures as visitors aren't allowed to take photos, they come from the Berliner Unterwelten website.

klubnacht

Today having a lazy monday (one of the many, many joys of not working (yet)) full of couch and movies. And red wine soon. I downed my average price per bottle to 3 euro, will see if it tastes any good. Selecting wine on label design and bottle shape feels wrong but I haven't gotten a bad bottle yet so..

Anyway, finally had a good night of rest after friday and saturday night. Started off friday in the Kitkat club for "15 years of Mystic Rose celebration" which was a Goa party with an entrance fee of .. 20 euro. Not very hippie. What that got you however, was a great place with great music, feel and awesome decoration. Oh, the first thing you'll notice if you google on kitkatclub will be the freely use of words like "hedonistic", "fetish" and "sexual". Not too much of that on friday night though - being a goa party narrows down the crowd a bit. I wouldn't have gotten in either if it would have been a "normal" evening, with my plain looks. Although there did come a barrage of questions: whether I was alone, where I was from (the female door bouncer even knowing that Belgium is separated in a flemish and wallonian part), what I was coming for.

The club is located right at an U-bahn station, and you actually hear the pounding basses through the ceiling when you come out of the station. The club is very nondescript for the rest, like most of Berlins cool places. Look out for the signs on walls around the club location and enter the kind of garden at front, with a single bouncer. Door opens from the inside.
The crowd was a mixture of hippie-like folks, "regular" people like me (funny thing is: in those places there is always a guy EXACTLY like me. Same kind of glasses, same kind of clothes, same kind of look. I should buy the next one a beer), some gay people and a bunch of the truly crazy - the best was an older guy with a huge naked belly and white pants, holding up a UV-reflective cross walking around suddenly stopping, rising his cross high in the air and shouting something inarticulately. Was he paid to be there, as some kind of attraction? Perhaps so, but very cool nontheless :)
The place is separated in two rooms, one large main room and a smaller one. White paper confetti on the floor, cool effect with the UV lights. Main acts in the large room and faster fullon stuff in the smaller room. Started off in main and moved to the smaller room later on.

Picture is of the still-illuminated Fernseheturm while walking back to the sbahn bhf in the morning.









After resting and rehydrating for a couple of hours at home, went to another small goa party right across the river, close to the Ostkreuz bhf. Got in for free there, even though the group of organisers at the entrance jokingly asked me to pay twice the income price, as wearers of Armani glasses must obviously be well of. Damn hippies :) Was a cool party, several rooms and a chillout, still quite some crowd (11 o'clock), nice decorations and: beer at 2.5 - a first!

The rest of saturday was some idling at home, in preparation for saturday night. Berghain all right! Not really counting on getting in, I already considered a couple of other places to go to before I took the s-bahn from Ostkreuz (missed the one in Treptower park so I rode my bike to Ostkreuz) to Ostbahnhof.
Arrived at Berghain at about 2 o'clock - at the wrong end of a one-hour waiting line. My guess is about 1/8 of the people are politely asked to "step to the right", which basically means you aren't getting in and are supposed to go and take one of the tens of taxis waiting at the entrance. All kind of people were sent away, door policy seemed pretty random but looking at least 25 and not being in a large group of excited-looking girls certainly helps. The waiting line moves very slowly, as they don't simply let everyone who is "accepted" in, but maintain a slow entry pace to let the entering and paying (12 euro) run smoothly.
So after one hour of waiting, I ended up in front of the main bouncer (one of 3 or four outside), awaiting my fate. He asked with how many I was, on which I answered I was alone, pointing my index finger in the air to indicate. As I tried to come over as a local (another thing that should get you in more easily) I talked german ("Ich bin allein" being something I can manage ;-)). Those of you who watched Inglourious Basterds will know that I utterly failed trying to be german, as all germans use their thumb as first number-indicating finger... I got in after a couple of hard stares however (were it my glasses? I bet it were my glasses. I love my glasses), which was great. Not only for actually being in Berghain, but also for I was getting a headache from the cold wind outside :-)
Small thing of notice: as lots of partygoers were drinking beer awaiting to get in, lots of glass bottles were left besides the waiting line. At least 3 lidl-plastic-bag carrying people were collecting those for the, erm, "return money". Is that how you say it?

So after exchanging 1.5 euro and my coat for a cool metal dogtag with my number of the coathanger on it, I rose the stairs to the temple of Berlin techno :D Awesome people, music, sound, lights.
Overhyped overpopular overpriced tourist-trap whatever, this is a seriously cool place.
Crowd was actually quite "normal", except for the pretty numerous barechested and heavily muscled gay group which, as in the kitkatclub of the day before, had kind of a headquarters there. I didn't venture too much out of the main area as I didn't really want to end up in some dimly red-lit corner or cellar which Berghain is told to include, but the main dancefloor bid enough entertainment for the night :) Pounding dark techno beats - actually felt my hair vibrate. Great, friendly staff as well. Can't wait 'till next fridays dubstep evening! - If I get in.

Oh, by the way: the best way to stay hydrated in clubs is to simply refill your Becks beer bottle with tap water in the toilets. It's perfectly drinkable and actually pretty good, I've not bought a single water bottle in the here. Water in Belgium often tastes like lime or whatever other stuff they put in there, but the water here tastes as good as mineral water out of a bottle. Brilliant.

Picture on the left: I guess this guy didn't get in ("Panorama" means the Panorama Bar, which is part of Berghain). Shot this on the wall of an industrial building in the area between Berghain and Ostbahnhof.




Both nights set me away almost 50 euro (even with the tap-water-refill trick). Was it worth it? Hell yes. Still quite painful, though :)

Last picture is of the heavy construction work going on at Ostkreuz at saturday morning. They have been demolishing an old rail bridge since I arrived here, and that morning they were placing a part of the new bridge in place. Berlin is very much renovating as you see, their historic landmarks as well as their infrastructure.