Last four days were spent roaming the city of Wings of Desire. Good days: i like this city. I’ve been there twice before.
This visit was different, however: my previous visits were in summer. Huge difference: continental climate, so while the summers are nice and warm, the winters are really miserable – think at least 5°C below ours.
East Berlin is my favourite part. Streets are wide, buildings are massive, and there are a lot of trees. It’s a rather poor place – and it’s certainly rather cheap. Thrift shops and flea markets country. A lot of tags (of the graffiti kind) everywhere.
This is displayed in all its bare glory under the winter gloom. However, when you’re there in summer, it’s warm and sunny. The leafy trees hide the seedier aspects. Everyone sits outside.
The low-cost aspect has its own rewards: lots of artists, musicians, writers, creatives come to Berlin because they can afford to have a decent life there. The art and music scenes of Berlin are as cutting edge as you get them in Europe.
And this fauna can loiter in the very laid-back coffee shops. I miss this in Belgium: you have pubs, and tea rooms, but nothing in between. In Berlin you can get Latte Mochachino and cake on every street corner, in places that are actually pretty trendy.
Anyway, here’s a video of the gig we went to the first night, with local friends. Pretty cool (although not terribly german). Will ring a bell if you’ve seen Scratch.