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.

kieken in berlin

On the door of my flat hangs a postcard with the skyline of Berlin and the text: "Du kiekst hier, ick wohn hier". I guess it's some kind of old/dialectical German and I suppose it's kind of laughing with the tourists. Glad I "wohn" here too :)




Last week I did some "kieking" in Berlin after visiting the Alte Nationalgalerie. You know, the one I wanted to visit when I accidentally wound up between the Roman and Greek pots and helmets in the Altes Museum.
The AN is pretty cool, even though only two of the three floors are open to the public (still lots of renovation works going on). Lots of nice statues and paintings - some cool impressionism as well.

This is Berlin as well, even in the touristic heart of the city (picture taken on my way from the Museuminsel to Unter den Linden. Some kind of old subway entrance or an old pedestrian passage. Very cool, actually :)




Huge Bionade advertisement on the front of the Humboldt University on the Bebelplatz. Bionade is a big softdrink brand here - and it tastes actually very good. It's pretty expensive though. Funny thing: it's not simply "made", but brewed, with the same production methods like beer which results in a delicate, natural taste. If you want to look hip and organic in Germany, you drink bionade. I stumbled on this newspaper article, which tells me that dr. Oetker has bought a major share in bionade and wants to take it international. Maybe it'll show up in our supermarkets in Belgium soon as well.

An iconic sight of Berlin - the Fernseheturm from the Bebelplatz, with the corner of the Deutsche Staatsoper on the right. The tower is one of the main skyline items of Berlin, and a very practical landmark as it's right next to Alexanderplatz. Can't ever get lost in Berlin.



The inside of the entrance to the Staatsbibliothek. Also lots of renovation work going on here. Stones were pockmarked with bullet- and shrapnel holes, as are many of the historical buildings there.











Inside of a free art gallery, the Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin. Was, erm, interesting :) The gallery is located on the grounds of the old Palast der Republik. On Google maps, you can still see the demolishing going on, now all that remains is a big grass field with wooden walking paths and some parts of the foundation. There is also some information about the history of the PdR like the asbestos contamination and about the plans to build a replica of the former Berlin Stadtschloss, which was situated there.

Picture of some remnants of the PdR foundations, with the Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin on the background and part of an information board on the front.










Berliner Dom with yet again the Fernseheturm. Hard not to get that one on picture :)







Crappy picture quality? Yup, I leave my trusty old Canon A95 at home most of the time, as it is simply too heavy and cumbersome to carry around all the time. And besides, I don't like the tourist look. So my two megapixel Nokia 6300 it is. I like the gritty, washed-off-color pictures. Kind of fits Berlin. And actually the quality of the pictures doesn't matter that much, it's what is on it that counts.
You must've noticed I use google maps a lot. That's because it is properly awesome! It has very high-resolution satellite images and a precise naming of streets, places and landmarks for Berlin and I use it all the time to check out a place before I'm going there. Now if only they had the street level view here too, I'd never have to leave the apartment. Hmm.

fall

Today fall arrived, with a vengeance. Woke up to a rainy, cold, dark, windy day. Time to turn on the central heating.
Plans for today? None yet, will consult my good friend the internets and my recently arrived Lonely Planet city guide to Berlin. It's an excellent book, written in a funny yet informative and professional way and is clearly aimed at those young of heart, with lots of information about going out, art and even a chapter dedicated to gay and lesbian Berlin. That doesn't mean it does not include poshy places to eat and drink or a decent introduction to the history of Berlin. Lots of practical tips as well about the public transport and daily life in Berlin. A large part of the book is actually available for free on google books, check it out. I bought it for 12 euro on thebookdepository.co.uk.

Last night I had to get back from Alexanderplatz to my place, which turned out to be not as easy as getting there. Subway service is shut down during the week between 12 and 4 o'clock (or something like that), which means I had to rely on buses and trams. And while those do work fine as well, the system of those lines is much more complicated than the straightforward subway system. Basically, I just ended up getting lost and walking around for 45 minutes trying to find the right bus stop.
A big thumbs-up however, for the Bluespot terminals found at tram stops in the centre of Berlin. These are computer terminals which offer you city maps, public transport time tables, lots of other stuff and even internet access - for instance to check the bvg website and generate a way to get home, like I did. Brilliant things, and the best thing: they actually work. Easy to use as well, with a heavy-duty trackball and on-screen keyboard. As I had to wait for twenty minutes for my bus to arrive, I killed some time by surfing, which you can do at do-able speed for up to 500 seconds.

Funny thing: after the 500 seconds end, the machine doesn't simply jump back to its main page, it actually reboots - after giving you some obscure windows memory access violation error. Oops? I'd have programmed that better.






Before the whole bluepoint story, I went to a jazz bar which is called Schlot for a small free concert. Wasn't jazz actually, more folk-rock-pop by a small local band. Music was pretty good, 3.5 euro for half a litre of beer which is a normal Belgian price. Which was nice as well :)

Oh, and I've discovered admission-free berlin, which lists, erm, admission free events. Free is good. Will check that out.

cheap foodz

Wanted to eat the spaghetti sauce I have in my fridge which I bought last week, until I spotted the white funghus spot on top of the sauce - the pot still unopened. Crap.
I could go to the Mc donalds which is close, but I'd rather get some real food made by real people. So I walked around and found this pizza-pasta place on a couple of minutes walk which is great: I had a whole plate of decent spaghetti for... 2.5 euro. Now thát is "too cheap to prepare it yourself" price level, damn.
I'm not sick of it (yet), knock on wood. But it looks like a good place to go if I don't feel like preparing food myself. That's the advantage of living in a neighbourhood where mainly "normal" citizens live.

one last nice sunday

After waking up at 6 o'clock and not being able to sleep again, decided to check out the goa party announced for saturday evening. It's a goa party and this is Berlin, so it would still be going. Took the Sbahn to Ostkreuz where it was a ten minutes walk to the party location in some old building in Friedrichshain.
Subways and subway stations in the weekend are best entered with a half-litre bottle of beer or a bottle of wine in your hand, as you would stick out immediatly. The fondness of Berliners for glass bottles expresses itself in the fragments of dark brown glass held together by bottle labels literally all over Berlin.
Anyway, the party was still going indeed. The street was completely empty but as I was looking for the street numbers I suddenly heard some high-bpm beat through a ventilation hole and soon after that entered a dark, smokey and hot cellar filled with about 15 dancing people. Bought a beer wich was 3 euro AGAIN (ok, the party was for some good goal, but still a lot of money?) and stayed for about an hour after which I returned to my flat, suddenly feeling very tired and tired of the music which wasn't very good. Still, good to know they do have an active goa scene here as well :)

The reason for the messed up state of my circadian cycle was friday night, for then Monolake and Modeselektor and some other artists which I didn't know about came to the WMF club, which is located right at the Oranienburger Str. subway station. Again easy to locate if you follow your hearing :)

The club consists of two rooms: a main room at ground level and a smaller one upstairs. Heard almost the complete Monolake and Modeselektor sets, which were both very much excellent. Pounding basses, lots of cool people, and all that for a good cause: Energy Allianz, which aims to improve awareness of the climate change. Most people there cared only about the party of course, but hey, can't blame EA for trying and throwing a party like that :)
Beers? 3 euro, yup. No set time listing either, which was annoying. I like to know who the artists are, allows me to check them out later if they are something special.

Went reading in Treptower Park for a couple of hours this evening, the weather was excellent. No wind, sunny, great temperatures. Will be the last nice warm day of the year i guess, predictions give me a maximum of 13 degrees at Friday..
The Park is enormous, by the way - the grass field on the west side of the park must be almost five hectares. The soviet military monuments inside of it are impressive as well. Lots of people were reading, talking, playing at the park, one guy flying a small electric plane around, looked like fun.
Thick rows of trees keep the traffic noise out, clean, very nice place. On the picture you see the Allianz tower, which is illuminated at night and serves as a great landmark. The picture is taken from the park in northern direction.

A couple of days ago, when looking for a wrench (which I didn't find) to adjust the saddle of my bike, I found the apartment owner's stash of grafitti cans. Not just two or three, but a whole box full of them, all kinds of colors. Neatly stashed away toghether with carrying bag and old pair of Jeans.
Did I tell you Berliners are cool? They are.
Those cans are mighty tempting. However, my limited artistic talent would result in something ugly, and I'm not into that idiotic tagging which covers most of Berlin's walls. I don't live here anyway. Maybe I'll make some cool stencil out of a pizza box. We'll see :)