Guest Blogger on Parks in Berlin

Often dubbed “Venice of the North“ Berlin actually contains more canals than the Italian legend, owing to its numerous bodies of water which are sprawled out over a much vaster area. The other prevailing landscape in Berlin are its countless parks. These make up for the fact the city is also universally known for its greenery. While all parks get major recreational use there are a handful of major hotspots. Each park has something of its own – a distinct landscape, atmosphere and crowd.

Mauerpark

This is a must-see for those interested in Berlin’s young, trendy, specially hippie & hipster! scene. Unless you’re claustrophobic Sunday is the day you should come here. There’s a flea market with hundreds, if not thousands of stands, some regulars, some just trying to get rid of their latest junk. You can buy original art work, first and second hand clothes, instruments, vinyls, even furniture and bikes. After a long-winded walkaround you’ll be about ready for a snack at one of the many food vendors or a cup of fresh juice.

The park is not very big at all. Its lawn is maybe equivalent to the size of two football fields. The flea market lies adjacent to the left of it and a hill to the right of the lawn. At the top of the hill a majestic wall of graffiti overlooks the whole park. People come here after a long night of partying. Some to picknick and socialise in the sun, others to pick up right where they left off, grooving to a random beat blasting from the middle of the lawn.

I usually go here to support my label’s artist, a singer/songwriter, who’s a Mauerpark regular, or my friends, a HipHop duo, selling their album for them to spectators as they perform. The right positioning is key for a good turnout so we usually set up shop by the boardwalk next to the entrance into the park. On a mild, sunny day like this past, business can prove to be lucrative for artists at Mauerpark. Both of the “bands“ I support pretty much make a living off of their weekly earnings alone!

Spreepark

This park is neither public nor in use anymore. Many Berliners, in fact, will not be familiar with its name or former use at all. Nevertheless, due to its beautiful location within the larger Treptower Park along Berlin’s main river, the Spree, this park attracts many passers-by – such as my friends and I this past Saturday. This happens for one good, if sad reason.

Spreepark is a former amusement park of East German fame which was closed over ten years ago. A fairly sized compound surrounded by woods on the one side and the river bank on the other it is officially “cut off“ from the public. This is because today it is an abandoned, devastated and eerie-looking place dictated by decaying memorabilia and rusty fun rides. Everything from knocked over, larger-than-life dinosaurs to faded circus tickets was left in the same spot as the day the park closed. Easy access can be attained by any homeless person who can jump the broken fence. What used to be every kid’s dream place has long acquired a sinister touch.

When we decided to pay the park an unannounced visit – well aware of the legal implications – we came across even more sinister facts. The former carrier who still owns the plot of land lives in an RV right in the center of the park, surrounded by his own life’s shambles; a grotesque, film-like display of failure. His helplessness and apparent fatigue of reporting intruders to the police proved reminiscent of the entire state of his former livelihood. We were calmly advised that the most peaceful solution would be to leave the property. As we were accompanied by the man himself on our way out, he pointed at a sign at the front gate to let us know we are welcome to come back for a guided tour (15.00 Euro, given every Sunday). We were not sure what to make of that offer or whether to take him up on it. However, I sure knew what an odd encounter we had just had!

Tacheles

I visited Tacheles this past weekend. It is located on Oranienburger Strasse in Mitte, Berlin. Background: Kunsthaus tacheles used to be a department store, then was a Nazi prison, then it was taken over by artists who named it Tacheles. Tacheles is Yiddish for "straight talking". The building is filled with artists and their collections of art. There has been big talk of it being demolished for multiple years, but the artists fight back. The artists fighting for the building began in 1990 - the artists had it named a historic landmark. The building was in good shape considering it had never been renovated and had gone through such turmoil in the years since its inception.

Tacheles is filled with art. It is brightly colored. In the back of it houses more artists who have created sculptures. Huge sculptures. I saw a chicken, a huge tree, a horse, and other huge structures. The sculptures are created using "garbage". Graffiti is everywhere in, around and on the building. The graffiti is welcomed.

Right now people or a group of politicians in Berlin are talking about tearing the building down - but I have a feeling that the artists will prevail.

It is definitely a must see for travelers through Berlin. I had never encountered art in such a magnitude and with such emotion. This is a historic sight that is visually appealing and has a strong sense of belonging in the artistic world of Berlin.

website:
http://super.tacheles.de/cms/

Guest Blogger on PHISH

First off, this summer Phish is going to be touring again. They have announced, sadly, that after this summer tour they do not have anything planned. That could mean that they are not going to tour, or that it will not be a big planned tour, but instead could be a couple of small runs in the fall and hopefully something for New Years. Getting back to the summer though, Phish just announced what is expected to be the first leg of the summer tour. They are kicking it off at Bethel Woods, a beautiful natural amphitheater that is a part of the site where Woodstock was held. I’m really looking forward to going here as it’s a new theater, and because it has so much history behind it, being the site of Woodstock and all. Another cool thing that Phish is doing for this tour is they are doing two-tiered pricing, that is that lawn seats will only be $45 and pavilion seats are $60, whereas in the past all tickets were the same price. Phish is doing a 3-night run at Bethel Woods, May 27-29, I hope to be lucky enough to attend 1-2 of these shows, maybe if I’m lucky I can go to all three. I’m looking forward to see this new venue and its natural amphitheater; all around the venue is green grass and trees so it should be a great place to be at that time as the weather will be great and all the plants will be blooming and it should just be a great overall time. Following these 3 nights Phish is coming even closer to home, they are going to be playing at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ for 2 nights, May 31 and June 1. I have been to this venue many times, my parents used to take my to see concerts when I was young. Specifically I remember sitting front row with my entire family here for a Steve Miller Band show, I vividly remember being able to see all the intricacies that go into a live show. This show I’m looking forward to from the standpoint of my familiarity with the venue, and it being a familiar area, but the venue itself is very strict. There is a state police barracks that is located very close to the venue, and they have many incidents with underage drinking there so this show will have a very strict lot policy. Although, we are lucky that this is one of the shows where tailgating will be allowed, they are opening the lots at 3:30 for this show; for some shows at PNC they do allow tailgating and others they don’t, it goes along with the particular bands policies that is playing that night. Following this 5 night run that I will hopefully be able to see most of, Phish is travelling to Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, back to NY (further upstate though), and then back to NJ. They will be back in NJ June 10 at the Susquehanna Bank Arts Center in Camden, NJ. I hope to go to this show as well.