the germans have a saying: “april does what it wants” – so far, it seems determined to stretch winter as long as it can… i’m really glad i didn’t let my winter clothes behind in portugal!
i’ve been keeping in mind these mementoes from last year, frequently returning to them. so looking forward to many warm sunny sundays in mauerpark’s grass, reading and listening to the karaoke, or just watching the people walk by…
in a sharp contrast with little known slovenia, everybody seems to know something about berlin. people ask us, persistently: have you been to the brandenburg gate? have you seen the berlin wall? what about the holocaust memorial? have you eaten currywurst? did you climb the tv tower in alexanderplatz?
to which we answer with a relaxed “yeaaaah… we’ll get there”. we don’t feel any of this urgency to visit all the landmarks, and do lonely-planet marathons… we’ll be here for a while, so we’re taking our time, enjoying the gorgeous summer weather, riding our bikes up and down the cobbled streets of neukölln. just soaking it all in, sipping coffees in the sun.
so far, so good, i’d say. :)
what do berliners do on weekends, when the sun is out? they go to parks and soak in the sun! the whole day, just laying around, lazily perusing nearby markets, drinking beer and roasting their sausages in makeshift grills.
and for the entertainment? well, they have frisbees and kites and there’s always a nearby radio blasting a tune, or, if you’re in mauerpark in a sunday afternoon… the bearpit karaoke!
this was something we saw on our first weekend in berlin and it blew our minds. a massive outdoor karaoke? hell yeah!
it happens in a stone amphitheater on mauerpark, every sunday afternoon. a guy comes in with a set of amplifiers on a bike, plugs his computer, and lets people sing whatever songs they like while a couple thousand people watch and cheer. the results are often unexpected and hilarious. some examples found on youtube:
i may not know much about berlin yet, but this is definitely something you don’t want to miss :)