Berlin, a wonderfully queer city

This was originally posted on April 17th, 2006.


Friday, April 14 - 2006
It was still early when my friend Mirthe woke me up Friday morning: 4:45 am *moan* But we had a train to catch to get to the airport - our flight was scheduled to leave at 8 am. I did a partial online check through the KLM site, which saved a lot of time at Schiphol Airport, and so our check in was a smooth and quick one (we didn't have any luggage to check in).
The check in at the hotel Concept in Berlin, Germany went smooth, too - we were in our room at around 10 am. We each bought a Welcome Card at the reception's desk, which allowed us to use Berlin's public transport freely for 72 hours.
First stop was a coffee shop near Nollendorfplatz station: Impala Coffee. It soon became very clear to us that this was a predominantly gay area and I was already beginning to like to city, despite my lousy grasp of the language. I had a yummie soy chocolate-mint smoothie, I think Mirthe had a cappucino (one with decent froth). We sort of planned out the rest of the weekend. Most of the people at Impala Coffee were gay men, who were very welcoming to us - probably thinking Mirthe and I are a couple *lol*
We strolled further through Maassenstrasse and ended up having lunch at Sagano. It was Mirthe's introduction to decent sushi and she now is a raving fan :) My job is done...
At one entrance of Nollendorfplatz station is a rainbow colored pilar as is a marble triangle on the wall; it's to commemorate the homosexuals killed during WW2.
Mirthe and I got tickets to a Blue Man Group performance :) I had to pass up an opportunity a couple of years ago to see them at Briar Street Theater in Chicago, Il. Now Blue Man Group is branching out, it gave me the chance to see them at Theater am Potzdamer Platz in Berlin.
After purchasing those tickets we went straight to the Fritzclub, the venue where Sarah Bettens and her band were to play at. It took a little effort to figure out how to get there, since we were still new to Berlin's public transport system. It's an easy system, but Berlin city is large!
By now, the weather was pretty shitty: cloudy with occasional showers and cold gusts of wind. Mirthe and I arrived a little before 5, and apparently the band had also just arrived (due to heavy traffic, we learned later). It was a little weird, since I didn't know whether I had to report to someone I was there with a friend for the sound check. Mirthe talked to a friendly guy, who turned out to be the guitarist of the opening act Ron Flieger. We sort of snuck into the Fritzclub; it was way too cold to be standing outside.
Mirthe had never been to a sound check before, so I explained to her in short what it was - from my own experiences :) Yes, the differences between a professional band and a non-professional one is all too apparent. Sarah and her band played a new song during the sound check containing the lyrics "I drive alone tonight" and "I go wherever I need to go". It's a solid rock song with accessible lyrics and lots of open chords. Listening to it I imagined myself driving an expensive convertible and the stereo blasting this song, while I drive through a hot Summer night.
Unfortunately, drummer Brady Blade was replaced by someone else who is just as skilled, but nowhere near as fun to look at...
At the end of the sound check I managed to get Sarah's autograph; it's in my Lonely Planet of Berlin. (Thank Lonely Planet for the blank "notes" pages!) It was weird talking to her and I realized she made me feel like the painfully shy and awkward kid when I was 13. She's so patient and friendly and kind. And way more attractive in real life :p

The concert was awesome! The setlist consisted for the greater part of uptempo rock songs. In no particular order: Not Insane, Fine, She says, Come over Here, Go, Sister, Put it out for good (an Amy Ray cover), Not an addict, Tired, the new song I mentioned earlier, Don't stop, Scream, Too many happy faces, Grey, One Second, Believe, Stay, My Head, Everything for free and 20,000 seconds.
The venue was smaller than I imagined and the show was anywhere near sold out, but the people present were there to see Sarah. There were other Dutchies as well as Americans - two very obnoxious blondies were standing right behind me and getting louder with each cup of beer the downed. I felt like beating the crap out of them towards the end of the show, but I restrained myself and asked them to "Shut the fuck up, please." It actually helped.
Mirthe and I placed ourself second row from the front in front of bass player Eric (I need to constantly remind my friend he's married...). The cool thing thing is that when Sarah spotted us she nodded to let us know she saw us. She spoke a little in German to her fans and Mirthe and I grinned at eachother: Sarah's German is just as bad as mine *LOL*
After the show she spent some time talking to some German fans, which I think is really thoughful of her. She really seems to care about her fans - even after more than 10 years in the music biz... I got a picture taken with her, just before she left. It's a blurry one, I know, but I'm happy. WOO-HOO! Sarah's been working out, something that didn't go unnoticed by my straight friend as well. Her arms were skinny before, but she now has visible biceps :) Although, I think I accidently grabbed a love handle in posing for the picture. I quickly let go, tho... Oops? Oh wait, a real "oops" was when I accidently stepped on her foot. The story of my life... Yea, I have a way with women ;p

Saturday, April 15 - 2006
Mirthe and I start the day sharing thoughts about Sarah's concert. And we soon found ourselves roaring with laughter when I dubbed the concert "the crotch show". The reason? Sarah wore black cargo like pants (cool pants!) with a zipper that has a small and narrow piece of ribbon hanging from it. And, you're guessing right: I caught myself staring at her crotch. Somehow I couldn't help myself... Did she put those pants on on purpose? Even Mirthe was staring at the zipper. Although she confessed, blushingly, she caught herself staring at Eric's crotch *LMAO*
We also had a blast when Sarah altered - or should I say "rearranged" - lyrics to "Too many happy faces" from "lack of hygene in your hair" to "lack of hygene in your pants". Bwahahahah... (Although I'm not sure whether the audience got that.) Sarah and Eric were standing side by side when the song was played and Sarah shot Eric a naughty glance (you could just see her eyes twinkling) when she sang it.
According to Mirthe there is something in the way Sarah played the guitar (during an up tempo song) that so reminded her of me. What?! Now I'm curious. I don't even try and emulate her...
We had breakfast at Einstein Coffee at Savignyplatz (a 5-minute walk from our hotel) and watched people walk by. The weather had definitely improved: it was nice and sunny. We got some postcards after breakfast, but the friendly man in his little shop told us to go to the post office for stamps. He gave us clear directions, but we still got a little confused and debated on what street to take after we crossed the one we were on. An elderly gentleman overheard is and asked us - in english - if he could help us. Isn't that sweet? I asked where to find the post office and he invited us along; part of his route was the same.
I started to make a conversation, asking him if he's lived in Berlin all his life (yes) and how he felt about the Wall being gone. He answered that it just wasn't natural the have a wall divide the city. It wasn't so much to keep people out, but more to keep people in - as in "inside the east part of the city".
Later that day I bought a T-shirt at the one and only Ampelmann Galerie Shop. (I think the store was in a Jewish quarter.) I took a picture of one of the courtyards.
We went to see Brandenburger Tor and the monument for the fallen Jews in WW2. There was some controversy when the monument was finally revealed last year, but I must say I like it.
When we got to Potsdamer Platz, Mirthe and I witnessed some sort of gathering of bears: there were dozens of gay men dressed in jeans, leather and/or army fatigues. I couldn't make out what it was going on, I only saw two drag queens running the proverbial show. It was fun to watch, even though I didn't understand a word of it. There were several photographers and a small camera crew (local tv?) to cover it. That said, I apparently seemed to be dressed to fit in with my sturdy shoes, jeans and T-shirt and leather jacket - in the Netherlands people would most likely assume I ride a motorcycle... One of the photographers on scene actually took a picture of me (even Mirthe noticed). I'm not going to sue; I was just visiting for the weekend and I am out - even at work - so there is no harm done.
We had dinner at a Argentinian/Mexican restaurant (there's a chain of it throughout the city). At least half of the staff is queer. One of the women is HOT. The bad thing is: she knows it. (She obviously works hard to maintain her figure.) After that we went to the theater to see Blue Man Group perform.
It was an experience not to be missed! It rocked and everybody had a good time.
After the show we initially planned to go to a gay bar called Kumpelnest 3000, but we lost sense of direction. I didn't bring a map of some sorts with me, since Mirthe claimed she knew where to find the club without the map. So, in short, we decided to go back to the hotel and call it a night. Needless, to say, it was after midnight (again) when we got to the hotel.

Sunday, April 16 - 2006
Our last day in this wonderful city. Check out is at noon, which gave us time to sleep in till 10 am. And boy, were we in need of some sleep.
We packed up, checked out, left our luggage at the hotel's cloakroom and walked towards the Gedächtnis Kirche; the remnants of a church bombed during WW2. Today started out warm and sunny again, but according to the weather forecasts rain was expected. After that, we went in search of breakfast. Or, given the time of day, brunch. We found a place with a decent menu and I had a yummie Arrugola salad with strips of chicken and grated Parmegiano cheese. I had a tall glass of banana and cherry juice.
After brunch we took the U-Bahn to Potzdamer Platz (again) to do a partial internet check in for our flight back at Easy Internet. We then took Europe's fastest elevator to enjoy Berlin's panoramic view. Too bad by then it was windy and rainy - that's not the kind of weather for the best views of the city. I saw a piece of the old wall, a park, the monument Mirthe and I visited the day before with all the concrete blocks, the Sony Center. We visited the Sony Center shortly, before deciding to go back to Nollendorfplatz. We both had a smoothie at Impala Coffee (me, a raspberry smoothie, Mirthe a mango smothie). Around 4 pm we left to have an early dinner at the same place we had lunch Friday; the sushi place. (I told you my job is done, didn't I?)
Then it was time to fetch our luggage and go to the airport to go home. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 19:45 hrs.
I had a wonderful time in Berlin, Germany. People are friendly and women needn't to worry about being hassled; on the first day I joked that there were too many gays for the women to get hassled. Well, I guess part of that may be the reason the city certainly has a laid back vibe.
I will be back!

PS When I told my mom I asked Sarah for her autograph, she asked me if I got Sarah's number - I'm not kidding!