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.
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
Follow us on Twitter
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.
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
Follow us on Twitter
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