10/06/2014

#191 Berlin - Freak Carneval

I don't believe there is anything in the whole earth that you can't learn in Berlin except the German language. - M.Twain


Berlin is a dirty city and it's filled with all sorts of freaks, that's what makes it interesting. This Saturday we ended up a punk club called Rauchhauskeller. They had the most interesting ticket security feature I have encountered. They painted a nail of the visitor green. People were dancing to the wall of speakers while the techno Dj was behind them. The beer cost an euro and the entrance was 3-5€. We also ventured next door to a strange garden thing. I can't even begin to describe it.

The two of the rarest creatures ever caught on a
photo - an unicorn and a photographer.

From Friday to Monday the Karneval Der Kulturen took place. We made it down on Sunday.  Enjoy the photos of the outfits, cosplay and street fashion. There were endless cars with different groups who identified themselves by their nationality or interests.
People were dancing, mingling and drinking various festive drinks. There were also a selction of local street foods, we went for some Samosas which I had in Barcelona last time. The locals took part by throwing water from their balconies, considering it was 30+ degrees outside, it was a good thing.

The punk club. I was too tired to look for a person
to ask if photos were okay so I just snapped some shots.
Look there's an unicorn.

Next door to the punk club there was the garden party. We had to make our way
through a maze of old cars and wagons and then we saw a surreal stage
with music and old hippies dancing.

The japanese cosplay paraders, who could have just wandered
around freely, instead of being in the rope cage.

Balloons were a must and there were some funny incidents that
I witnessed but couldn't really capture.

There was a popular group of four or five spidermen, one of them had to be the
black spiderman, I guess the shop had run out of the red ones
and he was the last one there.

People were sitting and doing other stuff where ever, no one cared.

Against all odds, this was the guy playing the hardest techno,
with the tibetian girls serving food next to him.



Some people just took their paints with them and painted their friends at the
festival. The guy looking at the camera was pretty much the only one
I asked for a photo.

The Sri Lankans.



It was okay if you forgot your wig, you could buy everything you needed from right there.

Neon was the safest dress code.

On the edge of the festival I discoverd this guy
and dug his style. He is wearing Adidas winged sneakers.

See you next week.

05/06/2014

#190 Gretchen-Stattbad-Berghain-About Blank-Sisyphos

Happy birthday to Dj 4-got-10!

This week was the busiest one yet and I have never had this much to write to a single post. As it's forbidden to take photos in clubs and I didn't want to get thrown out the first time I was let in, I didn't take photos on the inside.

Gretchen was the only club were photos were allowed.
They did ask people not too use flash, but the students
did it anyway.

On Wednesday we accidentally went to a student party. We got info that there was a party in Gretchen. I had barely missed Denzel Curry playing there and so I wanted to check out the place as many others of my favorites had played there as well. On the way there we asked two girls at the line of the ATM how to get there. They gave us directions, but worriedly asked us if we had bought tickets already. It was supposed to be a packed party.

The vibe in the Gretchen. Most of club photos would turn out
like this anyway I guess, so no biggie.

We got in and got the ticket. Then we spent some time in there listening to a crap Dj who was mixing everything together and if we had been playing my "When a bad Dj is mixing" drinking game, then we would have gotten very drunk. After a while of spending time with the all German crowd (which rarely happens in a club over here) we left to get some beer and food. We ended up at Mustafa's Gemüse Kebab which is supposed to be the #2 best kebab in Berlin. I too can recommend it.

Mustafa's Gemüse Kebab had a really long line, but good food and service.

On Friday our guests arrived from Denmark and Estonia.
We decided to go to Stattbad's "Grounded Theory 28" to start our weekend, so the plan was almost the same as last week. A little wine, jaegger-club mate aka turbo mate and beer and  off we went. To our surprise there was a face-check at the door and the two guys before us were turned away. Nonetheless we were waved in. We were patted through and our pockets were shamelessly emptied. To the question if I knew it was forbidden to take photos inside I nonchalantly replied "Yes I know, like everywhere in Berlin". We set out to find the live by Teste that had already started, but in the end it proved an impossible task.

The guests have arrived and are celebrating their reunion.

Stattbad's "Grounded Theory 28" Line-Up:

Tommy Four Seven (These Hidden Hands, CLR)
Teste – live (Plus 8 Records)
Sigha (Our Circula Sound, Avian)
Milton Bradley (Grounded Theory, K209)
Jon Hester (EDEC Music)

On Tuesday we went to a house warming and ended up at the attic
because we didn't know which apartment it was at.

On Saturday we went to sleep at 8 in the morning, then got up at 2 and went to the park. In the evening we decided to have a powernap which ended up lasting for full 8 hours. Well they say Berghain is the best on Sunday anyway.

Resting in a bush after dancing to techno in Stattbad.

As our tradition we spent a part of the Sunday at the Mauer Park mini festival, taking in all the outfits, sounds and smells. For a while we were considering what to do, but as everyone tells you about the magical part of Sunday is Berghain we decided to go for it. We also knew a person who was already in and who could maybe facilitate the entry.

The house of Berghain after we didn't get in. As you see there's another three
girls trying to decide whether to go for it.

We met the friend who came out of Berghain. Together we made our way towards the massive building passing a somewhat less massive hardware shop. After a minor adjustment to look more Berghainian and maybe even Berlinian, as it was Sunday evening already. We snaked between the queue barriers with the lazy eye of the bouncers on us. The two guys in front of us were let in and then it was our turn. Our guide from the inside told the guys that he had come out to meet us and we all want to go back in to have fun. The bouncer (who was not the legendary Sven) denied us entry to the techno wunderland. Defeated we retreated to regroup.

The only place in a club where you can do anything is the toilet: sex, drugs
and all sorts of photos.

Our guide quickly did some smartphone magic and found out that about blank was close by. I kind of remembered that their door policy might have been compared to the one at Berghain. We decided to check it out nonetheless. It took a Ubahn and a walk to get there. At the door we were greeted by another bouncer. He eyed us and asked if we knew what the line up for the night was. We didn't and frankly I had always had the impression that Berliners mostly just choose the venue that best fits their mood without paying too much attention to who is playing techno. He refused to let us in

Enjoying the evening at Kotbusser Dam

Our third choice and chance was Sisyphose, which was another 30 minutes of walking. Clown posters and murderous cyclists were our only companions. Our guide did all the talking in German as we got to the bouncers. They however turned to us and harshly spoke something at us. It later turned out that we were told that we looked sad. All things considered this wasn't a big surprise.

The gates of Sisyphos that had fire bursting out from their top side every once and a while.
Our guide takes being refused entry seriously.

The girls who still had the stamps from last night were also turned down as they said: "No foreigners, this is our night to party". We got back on the Ubahn and two of us continued towards Rosenthaler's bars while the other two went back to try Berghain. I later heard that our friend got in after trying three times in 2 hours.

The spätkauf windowshopping. 

We had a beer and the world's worst muffin at the Späti. Then went to Meih Haus am See to get our dose of music. To my friends big surprise, the Chinese Dj she had met last night after Sisyphose and who had done her zodiac on the spot was there and about to go on. We hung there and then headed for home. I managed to get lost at the same place as always and ended up asking the polizei for directions.

See you soon.