Life’s a beach in Germany

Intrepid reporter Lotte Jeffs dives right in and discovers life's a beach in Northern Germany. Come on in, the water's just lovely!




I’m sipping a piña colada, looking out over sparkling blue seas while a hot girl in a skimpy bikini fans me with a palm leaf.

Ok, ok. I made that last bit up – but seriously, guess where I am. Barbados? No. The Bahamas? No. Believe it or not I’m actually sunning myself in Büsum, a tranquil little seaside resort on Germany’s North Sea coast.

I’ll leave it to you to insert the inevitably smutty puns about me getting a good feel of Büsum, as frankly I don’t have time for such easy innuendo!

What I do have time for though is Germany’s surprisingly idyllic beaches. See, it’s not all about Büsum where hikes, watersports, spas and shopping are the order of the day.

Sylt – Germany’s northern-most point is a lovely island in the North Sea. Its sandy beaches are divine, especially if stripping off’s your thing.

The island is famous for its nudist beaches, more poetically known as FKK areas, which translates as ‘free body culture’. This is as gay as it gets and although the ‘free body’ beaches are no Fire Island there’s a great sense of open-mindedness from all.

When you’ve had enough ogling (the views, of course) take a trip inland to one of Sylt’s fabulous restaurants, like Jörg Müller, which brings a dash of elegance to seaside life with fancy Swiss/ German fare and gorgeous surroundings.

Next stop on my beach-hopping tour of Germany is Helgoland, a Frisian island off the northwest coast. It started off belonging to Denmark, then Britain got its hands on it, before it was finally ceded to Germany in 1890 – and if you ask me, anywhere this coveted must be good. As well as a rich and fascinating history, this quirky island is a tax haven, so shopping is a must!

Heligendamm is Germany’s oldest seaside resort and is known for its beautiful white classical villas – kinda Key West meets The Hamptons. And who knew? In 2007 home to the G8 summit! But don’t let the fact George Bush dipped his toes in the water here put you off, it’s a super sophisticated spot for sojourn by the sea.

The northeastern island of Usedom, on the boarder with Poland, has spanking white sand that could rival the Caribbean. There are a host of gay-friendly hotels dotted around Usedom and some fab spas. Over in Kühlungsborn, a gorgeous seaside resort town on the Ostsee, 19th century architecture (there are no hideous high rise hotels here) and nearby pine forests make for a chilled-out beach break.

There are so many hidden gems of beaches in Germany, this quick round-up far from covers all the options. But I’ve got to say – my favourite of all the country’s seaside spots has got to be Berlin’s Urban Beach.

For a start it’s where you’ll find all the cutest gay guys and gals showing off their trendy swimwear. Strandmarkt is one of 30 beaches that have sprung up in Berlin It’s a crazy country-and-western style beach, bar and play area.

Also worth taking a bucket and spade to is Strandbar Mitte, the first modern urban beach to open in the centre of Berlin. Its super well-organised, clean and slam bang in the heart of the city’s gayest and most fashionable area.

Right, that’s about all I’ve got time for this month sun-lovers. So pour me another piña and bring back the girl with the palm because Ich bin ein beach-goer and I’ve got me some German rays to catch.

Tschüss!

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Berlin Park Life

Darren Cooper gives it the old razzle dazzle as he finds out just where it's all at in Berlin this August. Want to find out more? Read on for the low down on Berlin's high life!

Friedrichshain Festival.


It’s that festival time of year again and the whole country has once again gone mad for some live external entertainment. From Edinburgh to the Isle of White the annual summer festival exodus has become something of a rite of passage. A modern day pilgrimage to spend 4 days in a wet field knee deep in mud with dubious toilet facilities, all for the privilege of seeing some scarcely visible figures bounce around on a distant stage.

This year instead of following the great unwashed across the British Countryside I decided to head for foreign climes and pastures new. The continent beckoned and with the thought of trading my tent for a hotel I didn’t need much encouragement to head for Berlin and the annual Friedrichshain gay and lesbian festival.

Berlin is no stranger to holding large scale events and celebrations. Anyone who has been to a Love Parade will know just how voracious this city’s appetite is for partying. Berlin’s Pride http://www.csd-berlin.de/ in June is also one of Europe’s largest (and wildest) which is preceded the weekend before by the awesome Lesbisch-Schwules Stadtfest http://www.regenbogenfonds.de/ (Lesbian and Gay City Festival) so there’s a packed queer calendar in this city.

The Friedrichshain Festival is a one day event that took place on Saturday 15 August this year so I had some time to explore the city too. I managed to get a room at Europe’s newest ‘hetero friendly’ hotel, the Axel (http://www.axelhotels.com/) which is strategically placed in Schöneberg, Berlin’s largest gay district. Unsurprisingly the hotel is all sleek lines and contemporary finishes, but I didn’t have time to admire the decor with Schöneberg waiting.

Schöneberg was the inspiration for the movie Cabaret when in 1930s Berlin this was a hotbed of debauchery and wantonness, so affecting my best Velma Kelly strut I headed out to Razzle Dazzle ‘em.

My first stop was Motzstrasse which has a dizzying array of bars, shops, cinemas and cafes. The atmosphere is relaxed and it’s busy, one of the benefits of being here during a gay festival I guess.

You could be intimidated by the scene here which can be rather heavy on the leather side; however jeans and a t-shirt seem to be just as acceptable. Anyone interested in adding to their leather wardrobe though will find plenty of hide on sale. I checked out the Mr. B shop where there is a mind boggling array of items on offer. After a good browse I leave decidedly better educated but only have the courage to buy a leather wristband.

Feeling more appropriately dressed it’s time to hit some bars. Tom’s Bar was the first on my list which seems to follow a fairly standard format for the bars in the area. It’s a testosterone fuelled romp with a bar in front and darker more private spaces the further you venture inside. I met couple from just outside Amsterdam who are regulars to Berlin for the scene and are unaware of the Festival tomorrow. It seems there’s much more to tempt visitors to this city than a party in a park, no matter how large it is.

There are lots of similar bars in and around Schöneberg and I end a rather eventful bar crawl (the less said about that the better!) around 2am and head back to the tranquillity of the Axel.

The festival doesn’t start until 3pm, which thankfully gave me ample time to use the fitness and wellness facilities at the Axel. There’s nothing like a workout and a Jacuzzi to clear away the remnants of a hangover and refreshed I head out the door once more.

It’s a short cab ride to Volkspark Friedrichshain which is the second largest park in Berlin after the vast Tiergarten. Friedrichshain is more manicured than the Tiergarten and I join a steadily growing throng of queer folk as we ambled past statues and fountains glistening in the sunshine as we headed for the entrance to the festival.

The festival actually takes the same format as a pride event, without the parade. The atmosphere is jovial and celebratory even if the themes for these events are based on discrimination against the LGBT community.



I was torn between finding a patch of grass close to one of the stages to stretch out on and make some new acquaintances, (everyone here just loves to talk English!) and the dance tents that shudder with each new bass beat. In the end the tempo of the tents proves too irresistible and I headed into the mass of bodies buoyed up by thudding upbeat techno.

The party got me thinking about where I’ll be spending the rest of the evening. Berghain www.berghain.de was recently voted the best club in the world by DJ mag in London, so that’s a must I think. Then if I have the energy Kit Kat, which was incidentally named after one of those infamous 1930s establishments, and quite rightly too is also a possibility. Perhaps that’s the subject of another blog though and I’ll just focus on what’s here right now, it seems more than fun enough to be getting on with.

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Welcome to MyGayGermany!

Welcome to MyGayGermany, your gateway to the best news, information, updates and advice on all the wonderful things GayGermany has to offer to lesbian and gay travellers.

MyGayGermany is a new interactive initiative aimed at giving you real time, honest information on what’s hot and happening in queerest Germany right now.

We have sent two intrepid explorers deep into the heart of Germany to check out a multitude of experiences.

From the secluded beaches of northern Germany to the mountains of Bavaria, Lotte and Darren will be posting their thoughts and ideas on where to go, what to see and when is the best time to visit a whole host of regions, cities and districts.

There’s a wealth of gay culture available to tourists travelling in the country including some of the best nightlife and most exciting festivals and parties in Europe, but don’t just take our word for it!

Leave your own thoughts, ideas, tips and recommendations on what to see and do in your favourite German destinations.

Where do you like to party, where are your most exciting spots to play, where are your favourite places to eat, where do you like to stay?

Find out all you need to know on gay and lesbian travel to Germany, and please leave your own recommendations so that others can benefit from your knowledge.

More information?

Visit GayGermany.co.uk - the official gay and lesbian site of the German National Tourist Office

Videos are at YouTube.com/MyGayGermany

Join our Facebook fans page

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