Berlin Logs July 2015 by Berlin Logs

OUR GUIDE: BERLIN’S LAKES

GENTRIFICATION & NEW RENT LAWS

Lake culture is one of the best parts about summer in the city - Page 30

What should we make of the rent cap? Page 2

Berlin Logs LOCAL ENGLISH MAGAZINE

€1 06

The move to Berlin as a newly fledged vegetarian brought with it a fear that I was consciously destroying any chance of maintaining my new lifestyle choice.

10 GERMANY MEETS ITALY This year’s Coffi Festival is offering a unique opportunity: to meet Italian culture head on.

ONE MAN’S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE Perhaps Berlin’s most efficient and effective recycling system.

Berlin Logs Magazine | Berlinllogs.com | July 2015.

VENTUROUS VEGETARIAN

Berlin Logs

JULY CONTENTS

What’s New: Festival season, Wassermusik & more

Feature: One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure

The Venturous Vegetarian: Ethical Eating in Berlin

Discover Jyoti - A Berlin Start Up With a Fashion Conscience

Column: The Case for Späti Drinking

Paving the Way for Free and Democratic Schools

Cultural Calendar: Your July Guide to Art and Culture

Tempelhof Airport: A Grand Berlin Tradition

A Risen Star: Gustavo Dudamel Conducts Berliner Philharmoniker

Liquid Lunch: Berlin Smoothie Bars

Interview with Minna Partanen, Front of House ET Berlin

Summer in the City: Guide to Berlin Lakes

Team

A Word

Managing Editor:

Moving to Berlin can be an intimidating experience. Many of us arriving here have little grasp of the language, nowhere to live and no job. Such is the pull of Berlin that despite this, every year more and more people flood the city, eager to be part of Europe’s cultural capital. This issue deals with finding your feet in Berlin; learning the nuances of life here and building your own place among the multicultural milieu.

Daniyal Waseem Senior Editor:

Linda O’Grady Editors:

Conor O’Rourke Sarah Coughlan Art Editor:

Hazel Rowland Office Manager:

Karmijn Simons Berlin Logs.

For some that means finding a way to cling on to your vegetarianism in a city that loves meat (page 6), for others it’s a matter of understanding the grey economy at work on the Flaschenpfand and what that means for a modern European city (page 16). For others still, its about finding expressions of your own culture in your adopted country (page 10). Thriving here is a matter of carving out your own space, be it at the lake (page 30), at the theatre (page 14) or at a Späti (page 8). Willkommen in Berlin Logs.

Habsburger Str 10, 10781. Berlin + 49 (0)30 982 942 02 info@berlinlogs.com www.berlinlogs.com

The Berlin Logs Team

Berlin Logs

What Should We Make Of The Rent Cap?

By Sarah Coughlan

There was much to celebrate for Berliners this month with the announcement that the local government has confirmed that housing in the city will be fully rent controlled. Although previously landlords were prevented from raising rents on old contracts more than 10% above market rates, this ruling means that this condition will now also be applied to new contracts. This is likely to prove hugely popular with the city’s long term residents, many of whom have been forced to remain in their rent controlled flats regardless of their changing circumstances. As of today, old contracts coming on to the market will be subject to rent controls, something the council hope will go some way to controlling rental prices in town. In a city which has seen the average per/m2 cost of renting go from €5.50 in 2005 to closer to €9 today, there is no doubt that Berliners are starting to struggle with rising rents. The ruling, which comes into force immediately, seeks to rebalance things in favour of the city’s renters who make up nearly 85% of all residents, as compared with 50% in London. In an effort to offset the effects of more than a decade of gentrification that has seen the city transformed, for better and for worse, the rent cap is a positive move for locals and newcomers to the city alike. But for whom is the ruling better news, the newbies or the natives? In the past two years the average rent in Berlin has increased 7.9% but this figure masks some of the sharpest increases which has meant that some areas are increasingly unaffordable (think Prenzlauerberg and Kreuzberg) for the majority of the city’s low and medium-income residents and are pushing locals out toward Wedding, Reinickendorf and Lichtenberg. This pressure on average-income residents to move out of the city centre was something that was one of the first indicators of a housing crisis for locals in London and Paris, and Berlin’s government has proved itself to be responsive to the needs of its residents with a desire to distinguish Berlin from other European big cities by putting renters first. In this way, both natives and newcomers will benefit from the ruling. But the rent cap raises other big questions: who is this for, what does this mean for the future of the city and will it slow the rising tide of gentrification? The short answer is no one knows: this is the first experiment of its kind in a Western European city, and, of course, Berlin is a special case. Insofar as there’s an undeniable shift towards relatively high rents, this looks set to stem the rising rent problem for now. But for many native Berliners, the reality is that the days of truly cheap rents looks to be finished, and in their place, affordable rents for foreigners looks set to continue. This, taken with the extreme housing problems in other European capitals

(as well as places like Munich and Hamburg) means that in all likelihood Berlin’s march towards total gentrification looks set to continue, albeit at a slower pace – people just keep coming to Berlin. So the rent cap is very good news for newcomers, but little consolation to those already priced out of their local areas or stuck in flats that no longer fit their circumstances. Hence, in lieu of a commitment to building more, widely available, social housing, with rent controls and protection from privatisation, the comfort of the rent cap can only reach so far. For a real, implementable solution, a maximum price per-square-metre based around the mietspiegel (average price per-square-metre) offers an alternative that doesn’t require yet another expensive and inevitably over-budget building plan. And here we might finally have found something to redress the balance in favour of Berlin’s locals and hold back the gentrification of the city, at least for now.

Berlin Logs

WHAT’S NEW By Conor O’Rourke

FRIEDRICHSHAIN DISNEYLAND ON THE SPREE

NEUKÖLLN GOODBYE O TANNENBAUM

Berlin’s newest Biergarten, Birgit & Bier, joins Ipse, Chalet, and the more venerable Club der Visionaire and Arena clubs in the bustling space between the Wrangelkiez and Treptower Park. The area seems to have been designated Berlin’s official full-service millennial playground, where you can drink, eat, shop, dance, and, thanks to Badeschiff, swim. At Birgit & Bier, partiers can look forward to three dance floors and a weekly Flöhmarkt, as well as the Berlin-standard Kater-esque carnival imagery and rough, unfinished wooden architecture.

Neukölln institution O Tannenbaum closed its doors on June 11. Low-key and relaxed, one of O Tannenbaum’s perks was its changing selection of beers. The collection focused on Belgian and Dutch beers; a refreshing (if sometimes purposefully lukewarm) departure from the standard pint of pilsner available at most other bars. A skip and a jump away from Hermannplatz, this ever-more-prime location was perhaps the bar’s undoing—five years of near-daily noise complaints from neighbors caused the bar’s lease renewal application to be declined, and the beloved Neukölln Stammkneipe closed its doors on June 11. Its owners swear it will reopen as soon as suitable location is found. O Tannenbaum, du kannst mir gerne wieder gefallen.

SUMMER TIME FESTIVAL SEASON IS HERE It’s here, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The Berlin summer is the reason all of us stay in this cold, depressing city through the winter, isn’t it? And one of the most important aspects of any Berlin summer is the festivals. Everyone knows about Melt! and Fashion Week, so we’ve spotlighted a few of Berlin’s lesser-known July festivals—hurry up and buy your tickets!

Berlin Logs

THE READER FORT GORGAST FESTIVAL July 23-26, Fort Gorgast Berlin’s own English-language publishing house returns to the Polish border this July for its 3rd Fort Gorgast Festival, a three-day celebration of all things written and nerdy, where festival goers will read, write, and workshop through the day and party through the night. Music lineup TBA, find more information at fortgorgastfestival.com.

KREUZBERG 2ND ANNUAL TOMATO FEST

HKW MOTHER INDIA WASSERMUSIK 2015

Throughout our hard, cruel winter, Berliners are subjected to equally hard, cruel vegetables. And tomatoes are perhaps the most affected of all, bearing more resemblance to water balloons than plant matter for six months out of the year. But summer is here, and with it, juicy tomatoes. On July 12, taste-test 25 varieties of the noblest fruit, eat special, tomatocentric preparations, and try to forget that you shop at Netto.

Wassermusik 2015 - July 17 to August 8, Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Wassermusik is Berlin’s annual world music festival. In years previous, they’ve focused on multinational regions—North Africa, or the lusophone (portuguese-speaking) world—this year, they focus on a multinational region contained within a single country: we’re speaking, of course, of India. The threeweek festival at HKW will include Bollywood movies as well as musical performances from Asha Bhosle, Tavin Singh, and more.

Berlin Logs

A Meat Free Life in Berlin

VENTUROUS VEGETARIAN By Liam McGuckin

The move to Berlin as a newly fledged vegetarian brought with it a fear that I was consciously destroying any chance of maintaining my new lifestyle choice. Like my friends, I was of the persuasion that a carnivorous Germany would be the end of my vegetarian vows. Yet, in a land brimming with Bratwurst and Schnitzels, Wieners and Currywust, I have found it anything but arduous; in fact, I think veganism may be just around the corner. For a long time, vegetarianism and veganism have lurked on the fringes of most people’s understanding, and the rear side of most menus. But one needs only to stroll through the streets of Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Neukölln to see that things are undoubtedly changing. No longer reduced to a niche subculture, there is an increasing awareness and acceptance among people, restaurants and

supermarkets. For those who are still unsure, vegetarianism pertains to a meatless diet, whilst veganism extends this to include all products derived from animals. Until recently I myself was guilty of not understanding either vegetarianism or veganism. Years spent working in the hospitality sector coerced me to regard anyone with a dietary restriction as awkward and difficult. I would welcome vegans into the restaurant with the same disdain you would show upon finding a stray hair in your meal. And here I was, taking the same path as all those ‘difficult’ eaters. I worried that I’d now be left staring at the back of the menu as the waiter pointed an unruly finger over the space that disappointingly read “garden salad”. The reality is far from any apprehensions I may have had. Berlin welcomes vegetarians and vegans with a

Berlin Logs

“

On all fronts my life as a vegetarian has improved. The diet is healthier, I never go without five fruit and veg a day, and the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol are massively minimised.

plethora of creative, delicious and meat-free options. Rootz, a restaurant here in Kreuzberg, is just one of these places providing amazing vegetarian and vegan choices for those that hold the same moral and ethical code as myself. I recently indulged myself with their spicy black bean burger and had to immediately reconsider my position on the word burger. A mere month ago I couldn’t conceive of a burger that didn’t contain some form of ground up animal meat. As I feverishly worked my way through this delicious, mouth watering patty, safe in the knowledge that no animal had been killed in the process, I knew I’d solidified my position as a vegetarian in this city. The more I began to explore, the more I uncovered brilliant and innovative alternatives to dishes I loved. Yet I was still convinced there would be some restrictions that could not be so easily overcome. After my initial visit to Germany a little over four years ago, I developed a love for Currywurst – to the point that I incorporated it as my lunchtime go-to meal, an evening quick bite and a post-pub treat. Fearing I would never enjoy the strange combination of that tangy curried sausage ever again, I had all but given up hope of finding a replacement. That was until I found a vegetarian alternative at Yellow Sunshine bistro, again here in Kreuzberg. Now I always like to maintain an open-mind when trying new things but I have to say I was quietly expecting this meatless German classic to fall flat on its face. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. If my expectations had been low, my taste sensation was rocketing. And one doesn’t have to become dependent on eating out all the time to sustain this vegetarian diet. With the introduction of Veganz, an entirely vegan supermarket here in Berlin, there are endless animal-friendly products in store to choose from. We regularly buy items from the Tofurky product line, which has an extensive range of tofu-based foods that closely mimic the real meat dishes. What they lack in aesthetics, they more than make up for in depth of flavour and composition. If you can look past the earthy colour and spongy demeanour, it really is pretty good. The transition to vegetarianism has also brought with it a culinary creativeness that I didn’t think I had within me. My style, and I use the term style very

loosely here, relied upon a piece of meat, more often than not overcooked, with the accompaniment of a couple of vegetables or salad. Yet just the other day I whipped up a vegan Moroccan tagine from scratch for a few friends. My food previously would have induced a kind of heavy silence amongst people as they in turn exchanged glances to see who would break first and put the plate down. This tagine, however, earned me a rare compliment and people even returned for second helpings. On all fronts my life as a vegetarian has improved. The diet is healthier, I never go without five fruit and veg a day, and the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol are massively minimised. Morally knowing that I’ve not contributed to an exploitative market of animal slaughter is also a great feeling. If you want to give this lifestyle change a go, then do a little research, make small changes, even cut out meat a few days a week, and familiarise yourself with vegetarian alternatives. There are tonnes of healthy and creative options awaiting you, especially here in Berlin. I have genuinely not missed meat. The most challenging thing I’ve had to endure so far is the habitual recollecting and packing of the thousands of tiny chia seeds I spill every morning before breakfast. Other than that I feel amazing.

Berlin Logs

The case for Späti drinking By Conor O’Rourke Throughout the dark, endless winters, one thought sustains you. In the pit of your despair, when the sun dips below the horizon shortly before 4 PM, a tiny candle flickers in the frozen darkness of your consciousness. Summer, it whispers. We all know summer is special in Berlin. But why? It could be the weather. The contrast between summer and winter is especially brutal here. But there are plenty places that are equally cold and dark, and these places have summertime too. No, it’s something more than that. Some people will tell you that the best thing about the Berlin summer is all the festivals and parties. And with 1. Mai, Karnival der Kulturen, Fashion Week, Berlin Festival, and many others, they at least have a lot of examples of what they’re talking about. These people will tell you that the weekend-long open air parties are the key to a good summer. There are indeed few things that feel better than dancing under the sun with glitter on your face. But sometimes, that sun is really hot, and somewhere along the way, you lost your sunscreen, along with your phone reception, friends, and after two days without showering, most of your dignity. Maybe the summer parties aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be. Others will tell you that Berlin’s strength lies in its geography— specifically, the dozens of lakes that surround the city. Going to the lake is a cherished part of summertime in Berlin, one that’s also had its knock-on effects in wider German culture. Everyone’s favorite nudist movement, FKK, evolved on the shores of Berlin’s many lakes. So did all these nasty mosquitos. Moving on. Let’s keep it simple. Some of the more German among us will attest to ice cream as being the cherry on top of Berlin’s midsummer sundae. But these people are ignoring a growing segment of Berlin’s population that forgoes the pleasures of milk and cream entirely.

“

Späti drinking combines the all best things about summer in Berlin with all the best things about drinking.

Maybe the key to summer in Berlin is grilling in the park. You only need to stroll down to Tempelhof on a given Sunday to see that the passion for coal and fire transcends all of Berlin’s cultural divisions. Bare meters from a tattooed group of old school Berlin punks drinking in the sun, a Turkish family unpacks what seems like their entire living room—shisha, carpets, and canopy sun covers included—onto the grass. Next to them, a young couple and their baby soak up the rays. Whether you’re cooking up some Nürnbergers, köfte and haloumi, or just some zucchini, everyone likes grilling. But we didn’t say like. We said best. All these people are wrong. No, the best thing about Berlin in the summertime is drinking beers outside of a Späkauf. Späti drinking combines the all best things about summer in Berlin with all the best things about drinking. Outside the Spätkauf, in the endless summer light, sitting at a wooden table or just right there on the curb, things make sense. Whether you’re young, old, a tourist or native or something between, drinking Sterni or Augustiner, Pfeffi or Gorbatschow, things feel right. Only here, in the slanted estival light, do the many pieces of Berlin’s summer fall into place. The summer is bright and colorful. Enjoy it.

Art & Culture

CULTURAL CALENDAR Art not adverts

Hauser Schwarz: 100 beste Plakate e. V.

Berlin has so many posters plastered everywhere that it is easy to overlook their artistic merits. Yet the Kunstbibliothek Berlin is eager to show the creative diversity and good graphic design that the medium of the poster can inspire. A jury of independent judges have selected the 100 best posters from Germany, Austria and Switzerland from the year 2014, now on display until mid-July. ‘100 Best Posters 14. Germany Austria, Switzerland’ is on at the Kulturforum until 12 July. Admission is free.

Another Berlin

The art of repetition

It is difficult to imagine Berlin, a thriving and lively city, as it was in 1945: completely wartorn and ruined. Cecil F.S. Newman came to the city in July 1945 with the British Royal Engineers and played a key role in restoring the city’s infrastructure. But he was also a keen photographer. Seventy years later, the Märkisches Museum is presenting a series of Newman’s pictures, bringing to life the terrible effects that the war had on Germany and Berlin.

In Spring 2013 Icelandic artist, Ragnar Kjartansson, recruited alt-rock group the National to perform their song ‘Sorrow’ at New York’s contemporary art institution MoMA PS1. But with Kjartansson, the master of durational art, this was hardly going to be your everyday pop concert. The National played their threeminute and 25-second song 105 times, resulting in a six-hour performance. The piece ranges from the meditative, the hypnotic, to the melancholic. With Kjartansson’s film of the performance ‘A Lot of Sorrow’, you can now reexperience the whole six hours, or pop in for a shorter stint.

‘Berlin 1945/6: Photographs by Cecil F.S. Newman’ opens at the Märkisches Museum on 17 July and will runs until 25 October. Tickets: 5€/3€.

‘A Lot of Sorrow’ is on at the König Galerie in St. Agnes until 23 August. Admission is free.

Kosmostage

‘Kosmostage: Festival für universelle Musik’ is on at Radial Systems V on 17 and 18 July. Tickets: Friday 17 July 28€/20€; Saturday 18 July 24€/18€; Festival Ticket 48€/34€.

06 PHOTO by Dominic Packulat

The Berlin-based 18-person ensemble, the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, aims to remain unpredictable and push every stylistic boundary. Their latest project, ‘Kosmostage: Festival für universelle Musik’ is boldly eclectic. Over the course of two evenings, the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra will explore music ranging from 11th-century choral works, original tribal rhythms from Burkina-Faso, to avant-garde compositions from Italy and Japan.

Art & Culture

COFFI FESTIVAL: GERMANY MEETS ITALY (PASSIONATELY) By Diana Calvino

This year’s Coffi Festival is offering a unique opportunity: to meet Italian culture head on. Diana Calvino finds out what visitors can expect from festival organizers Dominik Calzone and Almus Jenß.

Originally founded in Italy near Salerno in 2004, the Coffi Festival started as an international short film festival. Last year, however, Dominik Calzone, Markus Meixner, and the festival’s founder, Andrea Recussi, decided to take the festival to Berlin. The project became even broader. For the Berlin edition, the festival consisted not only of short films, but also exhibitions, theatre, street art, concerts, workshop, and (yes, in case you’re starving) street food with typical Italian aperitivi.

This year’s theme will be “growing on diversity”, focusing on cultural and personal diversity. Organized by an international team of nearly 30 people, it will present over 100 artists exhibiting their work. As a half German half Italian, Dominik likes the idea of letting these two different cultures make the best out of their diversity. He sees it more as a chance to balance strengths and weaknesses than as an obstacle. In general, all the projects he is

Art & Culture

supporting are permeated by this idea, together with the firm belief in flat hierarchies and the attempt to value local resources. Coffi offers a rich and varied programme, which drove me almost crazy when I read the movie list. Though I am Italian and most of the short films are directed by Italians, I could hardly find someone I knew. But what is amazing and peculiar about this festival is its core concept: passion. Passion as a definition of art is the key to widening the concept of art itself to include food or business too. If art is what you do with passion, artworks are just one side of a multifaceted diamond. That’s why startups will also feature at Coffi. As an example, Dominik also participates in a project whose aim is to put almost forgotten places, little towns lying far away from mainstream tourism, back on our radar. Amavido.de – a soon to be launched platform for “slow tourism” – gives the opportunity to not only visit beautiful and uncontaminated places and to experience the local culture, but also to help prevent these places from vanishing as ghost towns. The idea came to Dominik when he noticed that in Calabria, where his father is from, there are beautiful hidden places that seem to be sentenced to death. There is no work and people are moving away. It all leads back to business, local resources, and most of all to passion, providing once again that link with art. Amavido will be presented at Coffi, next to other startups connected to Italian art and culture. Coffi Festival Berlin is also an attempt to narrow the gap between artists and visitors. The latter are invited to contribute to the festival’s decorations through workshops, street art, or upcycling. It has been conceived as an interactive event, where visitors do not go just to see what is going on as passive spectators. They also get to decide how much they want to pay. Festival attendees will be asked to pay when they leave the festival area. The suggested donation is 10 € for the whole day, but it is up to the

individual if they want to pay more or less. The festival has not restricted itself to only one weekend, however. A number of pre-events occurred in June, including a pre-party and a screening of the movie The Legend of Kaspar Hauser in the presence of its director. If you cannot wait until the festival weekend to get your fill of Italian culture, then you can get involved now. You can join the team and help prepare for the festival by creating decorations, street art and upcycling. The professional Italian upcycling designer team PLINTO will be coming from Turin, and will be on-hand to help out. From 3rd to 5th July there will also be a special workshop for more experienced upcycling designers, where they can explore the art of upcycling together in an intercultural designer group. (If you are interested in getting involved with the festival’s pre-events, email PLINTO directly at info@plinto.org.) The wide variety of events means that the Coffi Festival will cater to all tastes whilst also providing an opportunity to widen perspectives on Italian culture. But most important are the links between art and startups, and between artists and art lovers. This melting pot of ideas that mixes art, business and passion promises to be a refreshing experience.

When: 9th to 12th July Where: WBB Willner Brauerei Berlin, Berliner Strasse 80-82, 13189 Berlin Website/Programme: http://www.coffi-festival.de/ Price: up to you

Art & Culture

Gustavo Dudamel Photo - Vern Evans

Art & Culture

A RISEN STAR From 11th to 13th June, Gustavo Dudamel visited the German capital to conduct the Berliner Philharmoniker. Berlin Logs explains the hype surrounding the Venezuelan wunderkind.

By Hazel Rowland Gone are the days when Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel was the exciting new kid on the block. It is over ten years since he won the Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize, which first brought him to international attention in his early twenties. Since then, Dudamel has established himself as a worldclass conductor. In 2009, he was appointed Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the unbelievably young age of 26. He is now comfortably entering his seventh season with them whilst simultaneously holding the position of Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela. Now aged 34, Dudamel is still young. But he can no longer be considered an up-and-coming star: his star has very much already risen. Dudamel’s youthful charisma plus his famously energetic curly hair (which cannot help but be flipped and bounced around during his most impassioned moments on the podium) certainly appeals to many of the conductor’s fans. But if he wants to be taken seriously as he approaches maturity, then the Venezuelan cannot rely on these traits alone. Anyone hoping to see Dudamel’s hair in action for his series of concerts at the Berliner Philharmonie from the 11th to 13th June may have been disappointed. Youtube videos of the Venezuelan tend to show his impassioned face, hair and gestures as he is moved – perhaps even overwhelmed – by the music he is conducting. Yet Dudamel took a more restrained approach for his concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Although most audience members would not have been able to see Dudamel’s face, what one could see from his general movements was something more relaxed and less involved than expected. This was not necessarily a bad thing, however. The resulting effect was a greater distance between Dudamel and the music on the evening’s programme: Mozart’s ‘Posthorn’ Serenade, followed by Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. But this distance did not make the performance any less passionate. Indeed, the Berliner Philharmoniker is famous for its fervent playing. Dudamel therefore left the passion to its players, whilst he remained a removed and guiding authority. Dudamel struck the right balance between taking control and letting the individual personalities of the Berlin Philharmoniker off the leash. The players supplied the energy during fast moments in Mozart’s ‘Posthorn’ Serenade, whilst Dudamel’s graceful gestures kept the orchestra responsive to the extreme dynamic contrasts that Mozart asks for. Their playing was nimble and extremely together. Dudamel knew better than to force anything from the strong-minded players of the Berlin Philharmoniker. Instead there was a perfect collaboration, resulting in a performance that felt completely natural. This collaboration between orchestra and conductor came into its own for Mahler’s First Symphony. Dudamel gave space to the individual personalities of the Berliner Philharmoniker to speak. The solo double bass that opens the haunting third movement, soon joined by timpani and bassoon, were captivating on their own. Meanwhile the horn players were touchingly warm in the first movement, turning this instrument associated with hunting and war into something almost lullaby-like. The Berlin Philharmoniker are yet to elect their next chief conductor due to replace Sir Simon Rattle in 2018. But in March the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced that Dudamel has extended his contract with the orchestra until the 2021-22 season. Dudamel might not currently be on the cards as a potential successor to Rattle. But based on the success of his last visit to Berlin, one can only hope that their collaboration will continue well into the future.

Art & Culture

INTERVIEW WITH MINNA PARTANEN

FRONT OF HOUSE, ENGLISH THEATRE BERLIN

The English Theatre Berlin (www.etberlin.de) has become somewhat of an institution since it first opened its doors in 1990. Then known as Friends of Italian Opera, it adopted its current name in 2006, and has since become a haven in Berlin for culture vultures looking to soak up a bit of theatre in the ‘21st century’s lingua franca’. I caught up with Finnish-born Minna Partanen, Front of House Manager and Drama Educator, to pick her brains about theatre, multi-culturalism and the future of Berlin, the European ‘capital of Kunst’… Tell us about yourself. Why did you come to Berlin, and how did you start working at English Theatre Berlin? I’m 33 years old, and I moved to Berlin four and a half years ago. I graduated two years prior to that as a Drama Instructor in Finland, and got a grant to work abroad for 6 months. I looked up all different kinds of organisations in Berlin and ended up with the English Theatre Berlin. I noticed that they have a pedagogical programme, and I thought, ‘Okay, this could be it...’ So I contacted the drama educators there, and they were happy to have me working for free for six months! So that’s how I started; that was Autumn 2010. And what is your daily role here? I’m essentially a freelancer, but my biggest client is English Theatre Berlin. During the day, I’m a Drama Educator, and I work with different school projects. Then I have a class that I teach every week, where I work with a teacher and we do a year-long project that ends in a performance. There’s a lot of this kind of work in Berlin. All theatres have drama educators, so there are all these organisations, such as the Tusch (www.tusch-berlin.de) project, which bring together all the different theatres and their partnership schools, and there’s a festival in March. It’s really organised here, which is what I also really liked, because in Finland what we call ‘audience’ work isn’t so advanced yet, but here I feel like theatres are really building these more long-term collaborations with different organisations and institutions. I think this is important because then the theatre is part of society, and not just a theatre.

By Jane Walton Well, it’s English language, and it’s existed for 25 years but I guess at the time, when the theatre started, Berlin was not yet the international ‘arts capital’ that it is nowadays. So I think at first, the theatre was really producing more American and English plays. Whereas now the theatre is starting to look more at what it means to be an international performing arts centre. Because all of a sudden, so many international artists and international groups have come to Berlin and they don’t have a home, so this is kind of like the biggest and the longest-existing institution in Berlin that focuses on the English language. So the focus has progressed to a more multicultural arts scene, but using English as the working language? Exactly. And with more devised work; not necessarily only producing existing plays, but also new work that’s being created here in Berlin by the artistic community. My favourite show that I’ve seen here was The Emigrants (created and performed by Marija Maki Lipkovski and Miklós Miki Barna), which resonated with me because I’d just moved here and didn’t speak German, and it was all quite alienating. What do you think the theatre could offer to English speaking expats moving to the city? I think it’s a two-way street. I think the theatre wants to represent a home and a centre for international artists and, at the same time, the theatre’s motivation is also to be really in the current events in Berlin, to be commenting on what’s happening in Berlin now. So some of the issues that have been dealt with in the plays that we’ve produced have been to do with Berlin’s history, like Schwarz gemacht, or with race on stage, like the whole Colourblind?series that we had, or like Echter Berliner, which was about immigrants in Berlin and phenomena like gentrification. We want to be tied into the city, into what’s really happening here. So the idea is not to create a kind of bubble for the expat artists, where they’re just completely in a home-away-from-home, but to deal with these two questions at the same time: what does it mean to be an expat or an immigrant in Berlin in 2015, and what is happening here currently?

In the evenings I am Front of House Manager, which means that I’m in charge of the box office and the bar, and I also communicate to the pool of volunteers, welcome new ones and create shifts for them.

What kind of people come through the door? Do you get a multi-cultural audience?

What do you think is special about this theatre, in particular?

I’d say that it’s 50/50: a combo of expats and tourists, and then German people. I also think that our audience has gotten a little bit younger since we started to comment a bit more on the current events

PHOTO by Dominic Packulat

Art & Culture

in Berlin and sort of be more… here, in a way. There’s been a switch in the audience. What do you like about Berlin’s cultural scene? Wow! Hmm… It’s very…vibrant. I mean you know, in a way it’s full of clichés [laughs], but at the same time you genuinely do meet a lot of interesting people all the time, that are here doing their thing and practising their art. People are not just put into different boxes; you can try different things as an artist that you didn’t necessarily try before, which I think is really encouraging. Where I come from… the circles are small and it’s very defined as to who gets to do what and who should be doing what. Whereas here, I think that because the artistic community is in constant flux, no one can set these kinds of boxes. Do you think this influx will have a positive or negative impact? I think it’s both. I think it’s really both. I think that the city is adjusting and I think that the artists themselves are also adjusting. But finding paid work in the arts is very difficult as a result. And I think that a lot of artists maybe come here with a lot of dreams and then discover that the reality of just making a living can be a challenge. Do you have any advice for young people wanting to get into a similar profession?

“

There is also a lot of talk about how Berlin is going to respond to the reputation of being the arts capital of Europe.

Studying is important. For me, study really opened my mind about the things that I was interested in. And schools also help you network in the field, which is very important. What we did in theatre school every year is we would kind of develop our own manifesto, and ask things like: what is theatre for? Why am I making theatre? What do I want to say with my theatre? Clarifying these questions and also redefining these questions for yourself is important. And of course, watch a lot of plays. Where do you see yourself in five years? I hope that I’m doing things with passion. What Berlin has reminded me of is this freedom I talked about, these dreams that I might have forgotten about at one point in my life - I hope that I start fulfilling them again. And right now I’m working on a solo performance, so I’m also hoping to rekindle my love affair with performing. I hope I’m not stuck in a rut. I hope that I’m looking for the things that I’m interested in all the time, and doing them passionately and thinking, how can I do them differently so that they remain interesting?

Feature

ONE MAN’S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE By Liam McGuckin

Every day and night, a silent and untrained work force takes to the streets in what is perhaps Berlin’s most efficient and effective recycling system. These individuals are collectively responsible for one of Europe’s best glass and plastic recycling operations. So what is it like to be one of the faceless thousands who contribute to cleaner streets and a more environmentallyactive city? And just how sustainable is a life recycling someone else’s garbage? When I first arrived in Berlin I was compelled to commend the recycling system adopted by the country. There I was at the park enjoying a beer when as soon as I’d finished it there was someone waiting to take the empty from me. The sensation of drinking a beer just kept getting better, moving from the realms of an extremely enjoyable beverage to that of a small charitable donation. Feeling particularly altruistic that day, I continued to drink several more – I had acquired a taste for giving back. But was that taste bittersweet? Naturally curious, I was inclined to learn more - I had to be sure

PHOTO: dapd

it was a positive thing that the country had implemented rather than an exploitative one. To better understand the mentality of those who collect bottles, I decided to take to the streets and speak to the people directly involved. Friday 11.05pm, Neukölln: Venturing over to an event in Neukölln we cross paths with an angrylooking man collecting bottles by the canal. I’m fortunate enough to have a good friend and native German speaker in my company to translate the questions I’ve prepared. However, there is a problem; my Dresden-born friend is unable to decipher if the man makes five or fifty euros a night. Confused, we leave with just one seemingly implausible detail, that he makes eighty euros per night. This would require a mammoth effort of finding, transporting and depositing 1,000 glass bottles. Friday 11.53pm, Neukölln: Outside Loftus Hall, I approach another gentleman collecting. With a veneer of sweat rippling over his brow, he appears to be working hard. We adopt the same technique as before; I ask and my friend

PHOTO: dpa

translates. Just as before, things are getting lost in translation. I’m seriously starting to doubt whether my friend is in fact even German. A small discussion ensues, and Freddie (my friend), believes the man is foreign, most probably from Russia. I am too drunk to be sceptical. To show my thanks, I neck the remainder of my beer and give it to the man as a physical representation of my appreciation. In turn I ask if I can lift his bag of bottles, presumably as some form of fieldwork. It is extremely heavy. As the man walks off we agree that he probably said sixty euros, and that he could only really achieve this on a Friday or Saturday. Our discussion is punctuated by a smash. A precarious bottle has escaped the confines of his bag and dived for freedom, only to be met by concrete. I feel bad. I hope it wasn’t the one I just gave him. Sunday 1.36pm, Görlitzer Park: An old woman stops before us with her bike. The bike has clearly been modified so that its primary purpose is now some kind of bottle-collecting system. With a keen eye she has obviously spotted our near finished Sternies. Testing out my German, I try to ascertain the lifestyle of someone who recycles glass and plastic bottles for money. She lets out a little smile and responds in English. It is physically demanding work, she whispers. With it being so strenuous it limits her to just a couple of times a week. But she claims it is a good way to get outside and speak with people. Without trying to offend her, I ask how much she can make per day. From what I can make out, it’s between two and four euros. I’m hesitant - her bike appears to be holding more than that already. I thank her profusely and we walk off, the mystery of just how financially viable a job it is continuing to evade me. With such disparity between the

figures I had been uncovering, it was time for a change in strategy. Armed with an open LIDL bag and an open mind, I took to the streets in pursuit of bottles. I was initially concerned that the underworld of bottle collecting, although appearing to be an individual endeavour on the outside, may in fact be more of a collective enterprise, with many boundaries and territories between those that collect. My fear was unfounded. As I languidly strolled between urban area and park collecting bottles, I relished the freedom. When met by someone who was on the same mission as I, but appearing to be doing it out of necessity rather than just curiosity, I gave them my bottles. Initially believing myself to be selfless, this soon gave way to the realisation that I was merely doing it to relieve the strain on my fatigued arms. I was collecting at a rate of sixteen bottles per hour, roughly converting into 1.28 euros per hour. This number could almost certainly triple, I believe, during a weekend. Although I didn’t contemplate quitting my job for a life of bottle hunting, I could see how it was certainly a viable means of gaining an additional income. It can be a physically demanding role, but there is a freedom to it, and plenty of opportunities to converse and stay social. As Germany continues to top the league of European countries for its recycling merits, I have found the experience to be an overwhelmingly positive one. It does give rise to an alternative means of making some extra income no matter what your position. And beer drinkers can rejoice in the knowledge that each beer carries with it a small donation to a fellow human being.

Startup

JYOTI FAIRWORKS: A BERLIN STARTUP WITH A FASHION CONSCIENCE

By Daniyal Waseem

For over a year now, whenever I board the U-Bahn at Kurfürsten Straße, I see a billboard beside the train tracks about the unfair working conditions for women in factories in China, India and Bangladesh. These factories are major producers for several international clothing brands – including German ones; not just those we read about in the press – who outsource their manufacturing processes to these countries and pay ridiculously low wages. The economic divide is growing, and the solution with the fewest flaws is fair trade. There are a lot of companies, big and small, adopting a number of different fair trade models but there is one particular Berlin start-up is trying something even better. Jyoti – Fair Works is a social enterprise which aims to empower Indian women through the production of fair trade clothing. They have set

up their own sewing facilities in Chittapur, India, where they train women in modern sewing techniques and then offer them permanent jobs with fair wages. The clothing produced in these facilities is then sold all over Europe at reasonable prices. The money fund literacy and educational programs with the emphasis on women’s labor rights in India. One thing that separates Jyoti from other companies is that they view the production crew as their partners, not their employees, which reflects their philosophy that Jyoti - Fair Works is not about profit. As an extension of this, while purchasing their fabrics, they pay close attention to ecological and fair manufacturing processes. If possible, they prefer to support smaller and local fabric businesses, dealers and merchants. The textile industry is known for its intransparent supply

Startup

chain and its race to the bottom for the ostensibly cheapest place of production. The resulting labor conditions are often inhumane and have devastating effects on workers. Jyoti - Fair Works aims to demonstrate this problematic ecosystem is unsustainable and prove that attractive fashion can be both ecological and fair. The result is good news for consumers, employees and the environment alike.

#WEARASTORY The idea here is to focus on people rather than products, and this makes the concept very unique. Jyoti - Fair Works take their customers on a journey – a journey shaped by people, ideas and processes, to produce clothing that tells a story; the story of the people behind it. Working closely with Sarah, a fashion designer, a collection is planned for summer 2015.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROJECT: Jeanine: co-founder of Jyoti – Fair Works and currently an student in London. Caroline: co-founder of Jyoti – Fair Works and creative designer. Christian: aspiring industrial engineer and Jeanine’s childhood friend. Carolin: industrial engineer and talented seamstress.

Social

PAVING THE WAY FOR FREE & DEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS

By Diana Calvino

I went to a normal school and didn’t dislike it. Actually, I quite liked it since I had great teachers and I liked studying most of the subjects that were taught. The only thing I could have done without were the art classes, as I never liked them nor was I able to draw. But not everybody likes maths or history. Still, they have to learn them. Even though they will just end up forgetting everything when they finish school if they are not interested in the subject, or don’t need it for their job. I am Italian and I can tell you for sure that, in Italy, not many adults can really say what the French Revolution was about, or are able to solve an equation, even if they attended high school. Yet they spent so much time learning this stuff; maybe they could have used this time to learn something completely different? Of course, it is very important that children have the time and opportunity to learn and have experiences in order to be able to manage their lives after school. What is under discussion here is what and how they learn, and I am not just talking about subjects. School is not just about being fed information; in reality, at school, we also learn how to behave, as we are told what to do all the time. For instance, we have to sit down for hours on end, we have to eat at certain times, we have to ask permission to go to the toilet, and only under particular circumstances can we talk about what we want to. We have to respect rules, roles and hierarchies we haven’t chosen and can’t change. So why is it that right after school we have to become “adults”, confident enough to rely on our own judgement, able to make decisions about our lives, and become an active part of the democratic process? This is the question Sudbury Schools considered. Named after the Sudbury Valley School, founded in 1968 in Massachusetts by Daniel Greenberg, their answer is another model of school that, in their opinion, better fits the concept of democracy. First of all, the children have the right to be free and have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process which creates the rules they have to respect. This might sound chaotic, and

some of you are probably already imagining children destroying schools or beating each other up all the time while learning nothing, but here’s the surprise. There are lots of Sudbury Schools in the world and this is not the experience they’ve had. In a Sudbury School, everybody takes part in every decision. Hiring staff, firing staff and making rules are processes in which children take part as well as adults. Children have the right to talk in assemblies and the power to make decisions, just as adults have. And if something bad happens, or there is some conflict, there are justice committees, where again adults and children carry the same weight. Secondly, children can spend their time in school doing whatever they like - reading, playing, talking, listening to music - they really have the right to be free, and the time to discover their unique interests and abilities. The children at Sudbury Schools learn to read and write at different ages and in very different ways: being read to, through game instructions, or whatever. But learn they do, and normally the staff can’t really guess when or how it happens.

Social

I went to Ting Schule, a Sudbury School right here in Berlin, and I talked to a staff member and to a young student, who told me about her own experience. She said that she was so bored during the first year she spent in a normal school as she could already read and write. However, she had to follow the programme and do what the other students did, even if she already knew it. She felt like she was wasting her time and she didn’t want to go to school anymore, until she finally ended up going to Ting Schule. She is fourteen and speaks fluent English, even if she hasn’t learnt it by attending courses, but by surfing the internet. She told me how she normally spends her days - going to the library, playing, and learning science and languages. But she also explained that as there are 55 students at the school, there would probably be 55 different answers as everyone has their own interests and preferences. And in the end, why should we be so frightened of freedom? Of children’s freedom? Of course they lack experience and they are therefore not alone in the school - there are adult staff - but still, why do we cling to the idea that without adults children would not learn anything? They taught themselves to walk and talk, without anybody telling them when or how. They simply learn from their environment because they are curious. Most of the time, normal schools

don’t promote curiosity, forcing kids into standard programmes, often with tight times and therefore not much room for discussion, so that students feel like containers that have to be filled. As we all know we will soon forget most of the information we studied, why is it so important to get that quota of information? Shouldn’t schools prepare us for life? Well, if they should, as we live in a democratic society, school could be an area where democracy is exercised. People should feel free and responsible for their acts, rather than just obeying rules without questioning them - and be able to find their own way in life. It’s hard to believe that Sudbury Schools work, and it was for me too; but I was really surprised by what I read about them (you can find a list of books on Sudbury Schools and Summerhill – a similar project started in 1921 with similar ideas – on the related Wiki pages) and learning of the experiences which take place in these schools, and how it can actually turn out to be really appropriate for children to have the chance to follow their own inclinations. It is obviously difficult to just throw away the model of school you grew up with, which is perhaps the only idea of school you could ever imagine. But my advice is, give it a chance. Children can be happy, free and responsible. Just as adults should be.

Berlin Logs

WISDOM IS ALWAYS

SIMPLE AND SO IS A GREAT

DESIGN We make awesome websites www.naxaf.com 030 982 942 02 info@naxaf.com

Berlin Logs

TEMPELHOF AIRPORT:

Are You Plain Naive or Plane Nerd? By Alice Higgins

Happy in your allotment comfort zone slumped on a makeshift wooden sofa? Perhaps you are guilty of sipping on a Sterni as the sun drops on the infamous Tempelhof skyline instead? Always wondered what goes on inside that building which forms the backdrop to your sunset snaps? Just take off that hipster hat for a couple of hours and discover the tales of Tempelhof from behind the scenes. Picknickers, musicians, gardeners, jugglers and runners plus skateboarders, bladers, kite flyers, windsurfers, as well as bikes, buggies and BBQs dominate the abandoned airfield. Locomotion takes every shape and form at Tempelhofer Feld, proving that it really is a field of freedom as it is known in German, ‘Tempelhofer Freiheit.’ Amidst the buzz of leisure time activities however, it is impossible to forget that you are indeed, sitting in the middle of a former wartime airport. You definitely do not need 20/20 vision to spot the airway traffic signs and endless runways. A space now filled with frivolity it may be. But it is a space which leads by example as Tempelhof openly invites you to engage with its heavy past. And if the information boards just leave you wanting more, why not go a step further? Step underground. Step back in time. Take a steep, dark step into the depths of bunkers, bomb shelters and film shelters tucked away 3 levels below ground. Not only was Tempelhof crucial to civilians during WW2, but it acted as a lifeline for the city’s residents between the years 1948 and 1949 during the Berlin blockade. Over 2.5 million relied on daily, (almost every minute of the day in fact) food deliveries supplied by the allies through a narrow selection of three air corridors across the Soviet zone of occupation. Keen to hear every truth going, I opted for the ‘Secret Places of Tempelhof’ tour. If you’re happy with a German speaking guide you can choose from a selection of different tour titles, all focusing on a different historic angle. Of course English tours are available too and run on Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm and 2pm respectively. The guide

leads you in, out, down and around the site for two hours through the various wings, tunnels and bunkers of the airport building detailing the Nazi era and Tempelhof’s vital role in the cold war. Experience the pungent smells and claustrophobia of an air raid shelter first hand, glimpse into the life of an American soldier to whom Tempelhof really was home and finally, shudder as you realise how mechanical and ugly the arrival hall used to be. Best of all (after the untouched burnt remnants of the film bunker); enjoy striding out of the airport building with the iconic white watch tower covering you to your left, aircraft to your right and just the exposed vastness in front. Swamped by the airport’s albatrossesque wing span, you feel miniscule yet mighty at the same time. Face to face with the field of Tempelhof, it’s a new perspective over familiar grounds. All in all, it seems fitting that an area designed for transit, destined to thrive off arrivals and departures, should have then witnessed quite so many turbulent comings and goings in its lifetime. A mini me of the capital itself, the abandoned airport proudly acknowledges its history, shares its stories, meanwhile offering itself up as a progressive patch of social freedom and escapism. What’s more, no one gets turned away by a bouncer either. So how can you visit the birthplace of the Deutsche Lufthansa and set foot inside the former airport’s central building, now the largest listed monument in Europe? Nab your tickets online in advance or head to the airport and book in person. Avid for Aviation? Then I don’t need to tell you twice. Useful Info: GAT (General Admission Terminal) Entrance (Opposite the petrol station) Tempelhofer Damm 1-7 Tickets-Adults: 13 EUR/ Students: 9 EUR /Kids: 7 EUR

Night Life

Chasing The Chthonic Mysteries at Subland By Eileen Carelock

Berlin is the place to be for electronic music. This is a given. But even for the enthusiastic electro-aficionado, sometimes you’re just not feeling the usual minimal techno and house varieties. You’re craving something different; something heavier perhaps, something darker. Maybe you’re in the mood for something a bit more deliberate, aggressive, dirty. Whatever your compulsion, consider treading off the beaten party-path—consider a little underground place called Subland. Situated on the fringes of Friedrichshain, this rough little gem lies just across the S-Bahn track on the other side of Gürtelstraße. Being that imaginary, yet mostly psychological outward boundary, the other side of Gürtelstraße symbolizes a passing from the familiarity of the local ‘hood into the vast wilds beyond the Ring. Proximity to stations at Nöldnerplatz, Frankfurter Allee, and Ostkreuz assure that the journey is far from arduous, but the undeniable sense that one is moving away from Party-Central increases the inertiafactor. What if it’s lame there? Then everything else is soooo faaaar awaaaaay … Tell your internal dialogue to cool it. You’re broadening your musical horizons. The folks at Subland cater to a harder sound, one that finds encouragement in the fact that they have no sound restrictions in their industrialized location. Thus, they assemble a delightful bouquet of aural destruction, which includes genres like industrial, dark techno, hard drum-n-bass, breakcore, dubstep, and metal. This comprises their running theme: hard, grimey, and bass-heavy. 1:30am. You pick your way along the heavily graffitied Wiesenweg, following an auditory breadcrumb trail of bass beats that grows in morselage as you draw nearer to an array of lights. But don’t succumb yet to the hypnotic compulsion of the fouron-the-floor beat. You’re premature. These lights with their line of supplicants belong to Kosmonaut. Albeit a nice establishment, but this is not the club you’re looking for. Go further. Further into that dark night—but not too far. You’re close. Closer. Listen—your ears tune to a subtle, off-kilter syncopation. A haphazard polyrhythm is unfolding, a not-so-distant beat pulsing another tempo to challenge the first. Follow this. It leads you right next door, just one warehouse further where no line or lit entrance awaits. The only hint of a club breathing inside this structure is the telltale 4/4 anthem being transmitted from its very foundation. It has the entire semblance of an unguarded back entry, or maybe a back lot where you don’t belong—oh, but you do belong.

Night Life Like many Berlin clubs, Subland inhabits the crumbling remains of aged facilities, the likes of which underscore the stark, dystopian vibe of the music generated within it. This club is a stripped-down, no-frills kind of place complete with the warmth and charm of a subterranean bunker. Decor is broodingly functional: minimal lighting, dark walls, a few benches behind wooden partitions, netting on the ceilings— assumingly intended for sound-dampening or cosmetic effect, but it doesn’t really matter. No one comes here for ambiance or artisan cocktails. People are here to chase the bass. The pressure. They know exactly what they’re doing here, creating a soundscape which deliberately, almost gleefully, chooses to sacrifice quality and clarity for pure monstrosity. Giant bass bins squat directly on the club floor and masquerade as ogreish tables where drinks inevitably come to rest. While sitting atop, their liquid contents hold sonic waveforms that manifest as spectral, geometric patterns. Be sure to bring your earplugs. The sound system, at least on the main floor, is provided by Clear Sound, an eastern European company that boasts a sound on par with

Funktion-One. Whether that’s technically true or not, you won’t be able to tell since the acoustics in this place are only about one thing: sheer bone-rattling sound pressure. Subjectively good or bad, they’ve surely got a low end you’ve never encountered anywhere else. The dance floor keeps going throughout the night, bringing together an eclectic sampling of bassheads, metalheads, Goths, old-schoolers, and new-schoolers. After a while, would-be conversations among them ebb into the brusquest of assertions, and then finally erode into their most basic components until nothing else remains. Dancing becomes the only thing left to do. It’s the only thing you can do. When you emerge an eternity later into the sunrise, Subland will leave you feeling changed and smaller than you were. It will punish you, but the damage will be in relatively cathartic measure. Tracing your way back past the once lit entrance of Kosmonaut and graffitied Wiesenweg, you will be frail with trembling mortality beating in your chest, marking a quiet, terrestrial 4/4 cadence.

Night Life

HAVE WE MET BEFORE?

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BERLIN’S NIGHT OWLS By Karmijn Simons and Sarah Coughlan

For those new to Berlin’s famous nightlife, things can be a little daunting: aside from the constant fear your new pals are going to try and get into Berghain without speaking a single word of German, and the maddening sound of minimal techno (you’ll get used to it) there’s all these new people. People unlike those you’ve met before, from all walks of life, shaken and stirred in the Berlin milieu. Don’t feel lost, we’ve conducted an in depth study of the most common night owls in the city, which you’re welcome to use until you’ve got a more nuanced approach. The Old Timer Appearance: Almost aggressively German. Usually a man, although they also come in female, this is an original Berliner (or Easterner) who has lived in this city longer than you have lived. Formerly bewildered by the sight of all these newcomers, The Old Timer is now mostly resolved to haunting the pubs that you’re trying to gentrify and ordering Bockwurst and sadly muttering into their beer. Your opening line: Nothing. Do not approach unless spoken to first, especially in English. The Evangelical Vegan Appearance: Equal parts male and female, The Evangelical Vegan is probably a very highly educated German between 25-35 years old. Liable to be wearing hemp clothing, sandals, and may or may not have dreadlocks, these guys are so at one with nature that they don’t have to change their clothes according to the weather. Typically not drinking, these guys will be your best friends when future drunk you needs to find your way home. The downside is you’ll have to help them hand out pro-vegan leaflets every other Sunday all summer. Your opening line: No, my shoes aren’t leather, and I’m very interested in hearing about your homemade sustainable rucksack. Fried Startup Underlings Appearance: These guys only ever appear in packs, and everyone is under 35. Definitely enormously drunk, because they started drinking in the office at 3:30pm and haven’t had any food since lunch,

these guys live their jobs and are talking (badly) shop. This is fine for two reasons. The first is you might need a job, and befriending one of these drunk messes is your way in (yep, that 22-year-old hot mess over there is the ‘Head of Culture’ somewhere, Berlin, eh?) and secondly because start-ups are Anglo-friendly so you don’t have to feel like a jerk in English. Your opening line: What do you do? You won’t have to say anything else, and boom, friends. The Fashionable drinker Appearance: You can recognise this type from far, far away. Holding an eco-friendly mixdrink in one hand, their phone for Instagram pictures in the other, this lot are checking their hair and /or beard on the hour, every hour. They look like they just came from an fashion shoot. Or they look homeless, but never in between. They speak in a language that is too cool for the average Berliner. Most of all, they are interesting to watch. You can find them at private parties, fashion events and in mysterious clubs where they know the door keeper. Keep your eyes open, because they are everywhere in Berlin. Your opening line: I know where you can get an authentic Old Fashioned.

Night Life

CHAGALL:

UNCONSCIOUSLY AUTHENTIC By Paul Tobin The glare of the neon sign, spelling out RESTAURANT in red letters, shines through the thick smoke from its place on the far wall in the back room of Café Chagall. Candles, one to a table, provide the only other light source flickering in the often-packed room and illuminating the faces of students, locals and tourists alike. Moving through the bar towards the front door, floorboards creak and mannequins linger near empty corners. The gleaming sunlight (or streetlight, depending on how long you’ve stayed there drinking) is startling compared to the shadowy interior. Here, on the terrace of the bar, are tables and benches with friendly waiters bringing food and beer from inside, while people enjoy the warm summer evenings in Berlin. This is Café Chagall.

The Festival Lover Appearance: This one is probably younger than your average stereotype. Summer is their favorite season. Flowers in their hair, shorts and crazy sunglasses. The Fesitval Lover saved all their money to go to every festival in the summer. Laying in the grass, with a beer or mix drink in their hand, and will bore you with stories from Melt two years ago. Often keen on things a little stronger than beer, these guys can show you a good time, if you can tolerate them going on and on about DJs and lineups. Your opening line: Are you going to Fusion this year? I’m so over Burning Man. The Networker Appearance: Sales or insurance person, or bizzarely, hyper art type. The Network is a peculiar breed of nightclubber in the city, in both cases The Networker is hoping to scrape together a lead for business, but whether that’s hard cash or gallery space depends on the networker. Talking with everyone, these guys have the chat. Drinks? Tequila shots with everyone! Fun to hang out with, but not for long. Beware, buyers can smell desperation. Your opening line: Avoid, unless you’re hiring.

Named after the Russian Modernist painter, Marc Chagall, this cafe on Senefelder Platz in P-Burg is one of the few remnants of the bohemian 90s, when this area was full of artists and students rather than mothers with Kinderwagen and West German architects. Coupled with another Russianthemed bar, The Old CCCP, just around the corner on Tor Strasse, Café Chagall is a both a portal and a memorial to a very different Berlin than the one we know today. Café Chagall is unconsciously authentic; the beer is cheap, the food is hearty and the staff always ready for a bit of banter. Drinks cost about €3, either for a glass of wine or a half litre of beer, which go down well with Russian borscht or a sandwich (€3.70 for either). Time can be whittled away, hours and hours spent outside, feeling the sounds of the city, before heading into the dense fog and dim light of the smoking room. Not one empty glass is placed on the table before a server comes over offering a new one. Tabs are taken and paid at the end of the night, usually through a haze of alcohol. Yet it’s as easy to stumble out of Chagall at 4 o’clock in the morning as it is to stroll up at 1 o’clock in the afternoon for a cheap and simple lunch. It has something for everybody and this is reflected in the range of customers to be seen here on an average night. Stepping inside the door of Chagall, it’s easy to sense that this bar has been standing on this corner for 20 years. Taking a look around at the crowded, convivial atmosphere, it’s easy to sense that it will probably be there for another 20 years. Nasdarovje! Cafe Chagall, Kollwitzstr. 2, 10405 Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg.

Food

BERLIN’S SMOOTHIE BARS GUIDE TO LIQUID LUNCHES By Martyna Poważa Sometimes there is nothing less appetizing than yet another Döner, and with summer in full swing, the vitamin-packed smoothie option is very, very appealing. The simplicity of a smoothie (stick some fruits together in a blender, wizz them up together until they are more or less liquid, serve) should not undermine the artistry of the thing. Berlin, home of bio-Muttis and more vegans than you can shake a meat-free stick at, has more than a handful of great places offering fantastic smoothies. So please, be our guest and check out our run down of all the best smoothies from organic stores to cute cafes – that make up the Berlin smoothie scene.

Vegan Detox Café – Rosa Luxemburg Strasse 22, Mitte Near to Volksbühne Theatre, at Rosa Luxemburg Straße, you can find Vegan Detox Café, connected to the Ory Concept Store. This is a tiny place with loads of organic juices and food. These guys offer three types of smoothie (green, fruit and sweet) for €4,20 (we never said smoothies were cheap). Without any real idea as to what I was doing I opted for the fruit one.

Rookie that I am, I’m not sure what’s in it, except for apple, but at a push I’d say orange and some surprisingly refreshing rosemary. It felt like a true “detox” experience – you cannot buy something like this in the supermarket or in an ordinary café. Health attack!

Café Neundrei – Monbijouplatz 2, Mitte Another vegan café – and a cute one too. Here you can buy a piece of vegan strawberry cake or cinnamon buns, or a delicious smoothie, of course. Every smoothie will set you back a healthy €4,50 and there are four flavours to choose from – orange, breakfast, green and pink (long have we waited for a breakfast flavoured drink). These guys are not in the habit of keeping you guessing and the menu lays out in detail what goes into each type which is great for those with allergies. After wrestling with it for ages, I decide to take the breakfast type another time and choose pink, which is very pink indeed. A mix of raspberry, carrot, ginger, cranberry and apple juice, but really it’s the raspberry that’s dominant. Delicious, fresh and straightforward.

Food

The Juicery – Eberswalder Strasse 2, Prenzlauerberg The Juicery, located a few meters away from the main entrance of the famous Mauer Park Flohmarkt is another example of Berlin’s flourishing smoothie economy. Hands up, I have totally forgotten the names of the smoothies on offer here, there are six or seven names with loads of ingredients written down and it was too much excitement for me to take in. €4,50 will get you a small smoothie, its €5,90 for a big one and €3,90 for children. I do remember that I opted for a thing called a Green Detox with spinach, lime, mint and loads of other fresh stuff – and it came decorated with huckleberry, cranberry and a basil leaf. Even after a small portion I felt really full, and these huckleberries… So delicious! A perfect, if pricey spot in the north. If you’re on a tighter budget (join the club) you can find smoothies which make up for their use of non-organic ingredients by being super tasty and really affordable. Now, for those people I’ve tested two easy and cheap smoothie-like drinks, drinks which you can find everywhere in Berlin, for less than €3. Please forgive the big brands, but really, there is clearly economy in scale.

McDonalds; everywhere in Berlin That was the lowest price for something prepared right in front of you – if by “preparation” you mean pouring the thing into a cup. From a magic distributor straight into classic plastic cup, the McDonalds version a of smoothie contains loads of crushed ice and awfully chemical juice, but there’s still that unmistakable fruity punch you expect from a smoothie. It wasn’t that bad in fact, was good representation of how shampoo could taste. That peach and passion fruit shampoo which you always smell when you’re taking shower. Or

pineapple-mango shampoo. Or strawberry and banana. Yes, in McDonalds you can choose one of three flavours! But be careful – after five minutes in your hand smoothie begins its metamorphosis into an extremely diluted juice. Our advice is to get it down your neck as soon as possible and ask no questions.

Edeka; everywhere in Berlin The cheapest one I found! For 250ml of smoothie, you need only 99c, although frankly “smoothie” in this case is something of a misnomer. I’d probably term this a “thick juice with some fruit pieces” instead, although that’s not to say it wasn’t tasty. But as a €1 item it was pretty good, and somehow a touch less chemical than McDonalds’ idea of the same and at least not so sweet. Also, Edeka’s smoothie is healthy – or so their food experts claim. Edeka has more complicated and interesting flavours, from five to seven ingredients mixed (like mango, banana, apple, orange and passion fruit), but still – it’s more interesting than Maccies’ strawberry and banana.

“

It felt like a true “detox” experience – you cannot buy something like this in the supermarket or in an ordinary café. Health attack!

Tips

OUR GUIDE TO LAKES OF BERLIN By Niklas Kossow and Laura Bithell Berlin’s lake culture is one of the best parts about summer in the city so we’ve got profiles to help you find the Berlin lake for you. Schlachtensee, Zehlendorf An all-time favourite, Schlachtensee is popular for its leafy setting on the edge of Grunewald forest and the ease of reaching from the centre. The S-Bahn will drop you off at Schlachtensee station, right next to the lake. The other side of the lake can easily be reached by a short walk from Mexikoplatz, taking you through streets lined with villas housing Berlin’s bold and beautiful who evidently also fell for Schlachtensee. During the summer it is always busy with weekend escapees and students who evidently couldn’t care less about their coursework. Yet, if you walk along the lake on either side you’ll be able to find a quiet spot in bays separated by trees. FKK is less common at Schlachtensee, but you’ll find a mix of all Berlin types – students, nudists, families. There’s an Imbiss and a restaurant on hand, with the latter cashing in on its lakeside views with pricey offerings; opt for the fruit market instead.. Bring a blanket, as the ground is muddy and take your picnic with you. Best for: Busy people looking for a quick get-away, students, picnics. Better to avoid: overpacked lawns, overpriced restaurants, dogs. Liebnitzsee, Wandlitz Writing about Liebnitzsee is tricky, given that you are talking about a vital part of the childhood memories of so many Berliners. Venturing out to this beautiful piece of Brandenburg is not an ordinary trip to a Berlin lake – it’s more like a mission to escape the city and find peace of mind (and great, clear, water). Head there during the week for peace

Tips

and quiet, and on a sunny weekend to find yourself in a large group of Berliners eager for relaxation. You’ll either have to pack your bike on the S-Bahn to Bernau to take a leisurely cycle from there, or take a bus which can get busy over the summer. Either find yourself a quiet spot in the forest surrounding the lake (bring a blanket and your own supplies of food and drinks!) or head to the western shore, which offers a Strandbad including imbiss and boat rental. In the middle of the lake there’s an island which also offers a beach and can be reached with a ferry shuttle from the northern shore or by swimming over. Best for: water purists, lake enthusiasts, day trippers, cyclists. Better to avoid: the overcrowded beach on hot days, over-eager canoeists. Plötzensee, Wedding Unlike her bolshier, bigger neighbours, Plötzensee is a kind of quiet idyll, unless of course it’s a weekend. Head over during the week (even after work has let out) and you’ll find a handful of solitary swimmers steadfastly ploughing the length of the thing and one or two FKK enthusiasts sunning themselves. Over the weekend the place is overrun by kiddies and parents, pedallos and dinghies, as well as some clandestine, verboten, grillen. There are better places if you’re hoping to have a kick about or play frisbee, but for serious lounging in the sun, you’ll struggle to do better. Unless you’re prepared to shell out for the beach side, Plötzensee requires a little bit more preparation that your average lake. There’s little by the way of amenities, so pack carefully. Bring a big sheet as well as your towels and bring plenty to drink as you’ll be hard pushed to find anywhere selling much of anything (save the brave solider trawling up and down with a cool

box full of Späti-bought beer). Most Weddingers head over to the stepped side for maximum sun and minimal incline, away from the water’s edge to enjoy a beer or two with some Kartoffelsalat. Best for: Weddingers, families, FKK (limited areas only), decent swimming. Better to avoid: groups with dogs, BBQ keenos, ball game hopefuls. Krumme Lanke, Steglitz A perfect spot to unwind after classes, Krumme Lanke is a student summer favourite. Tucked away at the bottom of the U3, it’s a short train ride from the Freie Universität and easily accessible from all over the city. The magic of this lake is that it feels secluded and natural despite being close to the station and local shops. You can pick up a picnic from Kaisers and be at the edge of Grunewald Forest in five minutes. Once you reach the lake you can choose to sunbathe in a sandy clearing or find a more private area of shade under the trees. Although often busy on a hot day, it rarely feels crowded and is clean and unspoiled. There’s plenty of wildlife to be seen, from herons and frogs to the rather friendly ducks (who may make a beeline for your food!). With clear waters and beautiful scenery, a swim is a must. Wade into the shallows or climb one of the overhanging trees and jump in, you’ll find that the local kids have made their own make-shift swings out of ropes and tyres too. The paths around the water are great for a bicycle ride, jog or leisurely walk. Best for: swimming, picnicking, escaping the library. Better to avoid if: you’re not keen on creatures getting up close, East Berliners (too far), shy folks (FKK alert!).

Y P O C N A WE C THING ANY

r. u e rs t a h c s ar Bhf. W e U n rstr.d vo e r u e a b h rs c en端 o pw a t ge g de h k s e y r i p D erstr. co u a n @ i h o l c f r in Be a rs 0243 h o pw 88 20 s 1 9 y 8 5 p 3 4 o .c 05 rstr. www on 03 f chaue e s l r e a T W