More of summer in Berlin

It’s time for another recap of life in Berlin courtesy of the subpar photographic capabilities of my crap Galaxy Samsung S. 

 

It’s certainly been a busy two or three weeks that have been a lot of fun. Along with a couple of after work trips to beach bars on the banks of the River Spree, here’s some of the cool stuff I’ve seen and done: 

 

 

OK, this isn’t actually cool. It’s the obligatory Checkpoint Charlie photo. Aboutas cool as wearing an ‘I <3 London’ t-shirt while reading about Kate and Wills in the shadow of Big Ben. I happened to stumble upon it one Sunday afternoon. We were going to visit a photo exhibition and enjoy some culture, on the way there we walked passed a snooker hall. The opportunity of enjoying some good Britishness was too good to pass up so the afternoon was spent with a pint of Murphy's and some games of pool. Now that's real culture. 

 

 

 

 

 

Loud techno was loud. Just your average after work drink on a Tuesday evening (that involves 1500+ partying Berliners). These muthas party as long as the day ends in a 'y' (or contains a 't' in German). This was the Summer Soltice celebrations. In Britain that revolves around men with hankies prancing around a large pole. In Berlin it means there’s live music on every corner, and if there’s a space big enough there’s a massive sound system pumping house and techno across a crowd of dancing Berliners.

 

 

 

 

This was taken in a little bar in Prenzlaur Berg. It’s a friend of a friend named Paul Pilot playing his own unique brand of folksy, Hawaiianish easy-listening rock. It was a great evening despite the fact it was marred by a storm of Biblical proportions. It had been threatening to rain all day, as I left the office to head to the S-Bahn a few drops were in the air. Ten minutes later, by the time I had reached the station I had waded through flooded pavements. I haven’t seen rain on that scale for many years. My umbrella was powerless. The dripping jeans and squelchy trainers didn’t mar the evening however. 

 

 

 

 

 

This was taken at the Christopher Street Parade. It’s Berlin’s gay and lesbian celebration and it was great fun. When I lived in San Francisco I had gone to Pride. That was something, but if anything this was even gayer. I don’t think the US Navy has that many men dressed as sailors. It was a great atmosphere although I left early, there’s only so many times you can hear ‘Barbie Girl’ or ‘It’s Raining Men’, especially at that volume. There must have been a quarter of a million people there. 

 

 

 

 

A working lunch with my kumpel Con by the River Spree, just upstream from the office. 

 

 

 

 

There’s a cluster of disused warehouses in an old industrial area not far from me. It’s been turned into a recreational area, mainly consisting of outdoor bars, indoor clubs and graffiti. I had a great evening under the stars watching 'The Kids Are Alright' (good film) in English accompanied by a Schnukiputzi. There were German subtitles, nice German beer and people climbing a tower.

 

 

 

Bloke on the corner of my road on the way home. Hast du Feuer?