Ausflüge pt.2: Suddenly in Mrzeżyno

July 26, 2015July 26, 2015 / lusofonetica / 5 Comments

Two weeks ago, quite spontaneously, I decided to visit Polish coast within the train reach and I landed in Miedzyzdroje on the Wolin Island. This post have totally surpassed my expectations and here we are, two weeks later, with a bunch of my friends living in Berlin, asking for the Baltic Sea destinations worth recommending both on the German and Polish side.

So this time I decided to check out the seaside town from my childhood memories: Mrzeżyno, where my parents use to have a tiny cottage and since then, regularly visited. In short: 90s music, arcade games on rainy days, fish and chips and friends I played football and watched FIFA World Cup 1994 with. Like in the Roots Manuva’s ‘Dreamy Days’: this used to be fun and lots of laughter. Surprisingly, some things have not changed at all, while the time has passed.

The port where Rega river enters the Baltic Sea (or: the other way round, when the sea is as rough as today) is now completely refurbished and offers great sights during the sunset. For those who like more active tourism, it’s also great for renting kayaks and discovering West Pomerania’s treasures (including a medieval towns such as Trzebiatów).
The port also offers now yacht marina, and fresh fish for the hungry ones. I still remember when Mrzeżyno was a very isolated town in between two military bases, and quite undeveloped infrastructure in the 90s. These times are long gone, hence there are crowds of Polish families. Don’t go there in the high season if you search for remoteness!However, there is a very interesting techno festival proposal coming up in August: Plötlzlich am Meer (Eng. Suddenly by the Sea, PL: Nagle nad Morzem) – yet another edition of the Polish-German Electronic Music festival on the beach of Rogowo, one of my all-time faves. It’s probably best to book the trip in advance and rent a car, but if one’s well-determined, this place can be reached by the combination of train + bus, plane + bus, whatever + hitch-hiking, etc.

And then, suddenly, by the sea, interesting things may happen!

Sunday Funday in Berlin: now & then

July 19, 2015 / lusofonetica / 3 Comments

Today is one of these days one can only expect the unexpected in terms of the weather in Berlin. Intervals of sun, rain, storm and wind vary and it is rather difficult to plan anything outdoor. But the summer has been pampering the Berliners so far – even to the extreme.

Sundays are never boring: either you go on with the party mode or you go on a nature retreat. Alone or with friends – up to you, this city adjusts to all prefered options, be it brunch by the river channel, sunbathing in one of the public swimming pools or city beaches, visiting museums and galleries or cycling around the city.

It’s fun to see that the city was very active and alive on Sundays many years ago too, in the pre-Nazi era in Berlin. A light-hearted film made by Robert Siodmak in 1930 shows a group of the amateur Berliners in a very Sunday Funday mood. Many of the places pictured in the movie are still a very popular locations for hanging around on a sunny Sunday. However, it’s very interesting to see how the city looked before the WWII and live the spirit of the epoque: strolling down the Nicolassee, falling in love and chilling by the lake shore with a gramophone, or play with the sausages (just check this out!).

The movie will be shown in the Freiluftkino Friedrichshein next weekend (25th July) but for those that for some reason won’t make it, or are stuck at home on this rather rainy day, I attach you below an English-subtitles spoiler. Happy Sunday everyone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ooNxs68vk4

Ausflüge pt. 1: Wolin Island

July 14, 2015 / lusofonetica / 4 Comments

Most recently, I have spontaneously decided to leave the city for a weekend getaway (Ausflug in German) to visit the West Pomerania coast in Poland. First of all, most of my Berlin-based friends seemed to be away, secondly – after the heat wave in Berlin at the beginning of July, I decided I should be prepared the next time the weather is matching the sandy beach better than the concrete surroundings. Even if the quality of the sand in the fancy outdoor swimming pool places in Berlin is really good! I have shared my tips on the best summer-in-the-city locations, but when the temperature rises up to 38 degrees Celsius, there’s really not that much you can enjoy doing while staying in the city. So sorry, Berlin.

For the weekend get-away I picked a resort town Międzyzdroje (Misdroy in German), well-connected with rail and bus connections, and possible to reach within 3 hours only from Berlin. It is a perfect location both for those who simply enjoy the summery vibe of the beach resort (with all the quirky attractions, fish-and-chips menus and strolling on the pier watching the romantic sunsets, among many others) and for those who enjoy the active plan better (there’s plenty of trails on the Wolin National Park). To get there you can either rent a car or use (please, consider the environment!) a very good Deutsche Bahn and PKP (Polish Rails) connection via Szczecin (Stettin in German). If they are not on strike (DB strike rate is pretty elevated in 2015, just saying)! You can take the advantage of the stop-over and see some attractions of the city, while you’re awaiting for the connection.

To me the Ausflüge do wonders – changing the setting, weather, and this time – coming back to places which were invariably connected with the holidays in my childhood. I probably miss the sea the most while living in Berlin, but now I’m happy to find out that either choosing to go to Rügen or to Pomerania in Poland is not a big deal in terms of time and money investment. Obviously, these places seem to be much more crowded in July and August, and this can be annoying, but at the same time, you won’t be disappointed by the variety of restaurants, sightseeing option and, if you are lucky, good weather. So… I’ll be back to the Polish coast almost within one week again! Keep you posted.

Summer in the city or: my top 5 outdoor destinations around the Berliner Ring

June 14, 2015June 14, 2015 / lusofonetica / 9 Comments

Since I arrived, I have heard ‘just wait for it, summer in Berlin is truly magic’. It seems like everyone’s setting up in parks for BBQs, biking all day long, kayaking or dancing the night away (and day anyway) in the open airs. All of the sudden you discover so many great spots for the nature lovers all over the Berliner Ring and get almost the holiday-like feeling stil staying within the city limits. Let me share with you some pics and impressions about my top 5 fave ones as for June 2015. Disclaimer: some photos were taken earlier in the spring, hence the trees are still not looking as spectacular as for now!

1. Pankow & its surroundings.

It’s not an exact place, it’s a neighbourhood. There is a cute cycling path that leads from Pankow to Barnim region (i.e. Bernau and its wonderful lakes) or even, for the most triathlon-loving ones, all the way up to Copenhagen! For those that want to spend time in parks, feeding ducks and goats, and take a breathe in the green surroundings and still staying in the city’s limits, I fully recommend the short trail around Panke river, being also a part of Berlin’s Mauerweg. You will see a lot of interesting reinvented buildings. Perfect combination of how urban and post-urban landscape could look like.

2. Tempelhofer Feld.

The biggest empty spot in the city’s map as for 2015. Not sure if this will last for much longer (?), so enjoy the empty runway, and green grass surrounding it. Perfect for cycling, skating, wind-skating, sun-bathing, BBQs and what-not.

3. Potsdam & Babelsberg.

Needless to say, the royal town, situated only 30 minutes away from Berlin is a must for the history-loving people or the ones that love to discover the beauty of the past (which got already destroyed in the WWII). An interesting spot nearby would be Babelsberg park, where the citadel locations for Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Basterds’ and many more were set. Definitely deserves a separate post, coming up soon!

4. Rummelsburg.

If you’re tired of hanging around Friedrichshein’s bar and clubs (my fave party Kiez around Ostkreuz), you can follow the path on the northern side of Spree till you reach the Rummelsburg lake. Post-industrial architecture interchanged with endless green spots makes it a perfect location for a Sunday Open Air.

5. Along the Spree and Spreepark.

On the other side of the Spree river, the magic still happens but you need to be quick to still spot it. One of the best abandoned locations, Spree Park is about to disappear from Berlin’s map. Make sure you hear the abandoned wheel still spinning, notice dinosaurs, rainbow cats and GDR-era toys. A very interesting documentary about Spree Park’s history will be screened on 29th June in the Freiluft Kino on the Spree nearby.

Hafen City

May 31, 2015May 31, 2015 / lusofonetica / 3 Comments

Long time no write, but what a month it was… May is a very special month in Germany. Not only the cities become greener and more appealing, the days are truly longer, but also ,surprisingly, there are a lot of long weekend deals. This is why I was too busy travelling and/or going out these days to keep my German diary updated.

My first destination outside of Berliner Universe was one of its rival cities: Hamburg. I always wanted to go there are this is one of the biggest and also open-minded cities in Germany. For centuries, it’s been a most important Hanseatic port which allowed different cultures influence this part of Europe.

My biggest surprise of all was to encounter the genuinely Portuguese corner very close to the city centre. And as we speak of the neighbourhoods, even though Hamburg is not as big and diversified as Berlin, I was enchanted by its variety of choices.

Obviously, the city lives on water, which I find a vital thing. The former port and its belonging granaries is currently the most elegant, refurbished and newly acquired Hafen City where restaurants, bars and galleries are popping up one after another. It is also a visual pleasure for the architectonic aficionados, be it the Hamburger Philharmonic, or various 17th century port buildings.

Hamburg has also its own beach up North – Blankenese, where residential life meets the beauty of nature. For the nightlife and affordable eating out, I would definitely recommend the ever-alternative St. Pauli and Sternschanze (which, no offence, somewhat made feel very similar to Berlin’s most trendy Kiez). On the May 1st, traditionally a Riot Date in Berlin – St. Pauli became a war place between the Left and Right wing and the police in between, so maybe next time I’d recommend to avoid this neighbourhood when around this time. At least if you’re not a definite riot type, it’s just better to chill, feed birds and enjoy the breeze on the Alsterpavillon.

Zero ist der Anfang

April 21, 2015April 28, 2015 / lusofonetica / 1 Comment

Zero – a zone of silence and of pure possibilities for a new beginning. Taken from the 1957, this art manifesto still makes us think about the essence of art and its meaning nowadays. Times are as turbulent over 50 years ago, but maybe the society feels a bit more indifferent and lost in the stimuli coming from all over the place. The night o 11th April in Martin Gropius Bau proved the need for reconnecting with pure art, beauty in the collective experience.

To enter the all-night event it was recommended to dress in white. More importantly, it was for free then. The long queue to the museum’s entrance looked then very bold and elegant. Maybe a bit like the crowd from the ‘Clockwork Orange’ though. Zero was a manifesto created with a mission to reinvent and redefine art in the aftermath of World War II.

The collection gathered in Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum was rich in picturing the whole spectrum of the European movement around Zero, including works of Ives Klein, Enrico Castellani and presenting the history of the whole movement. The night of 11th/12th April gathered also musical interpretations of the Zero movement. I was simply stunned.

Zero manifesto could also be my own private summary of the past six month here in Berlin. Extremely active and always challenging my curiosity, both at my work and outside of it. Enriching my vision and insight. I found the taste of the solitude, with both its positive and negative connotations. Then meeting numberless people, with great life stories and visions. I embraced the darkness literally and metaphorically, and realized the preciousness of the light coming up next. All in all, I feel this city is a bit like me – non linear, reinventing itself, changing, at times hectic and centre-of-the-world-like, at times very slow-paced and melancholic.

Zero manifesto:

»Art is no longer the act of viewing a finished object; art has become a living process. It is realized in the empty human being. The picture itself has no meaning; it is merely a stimulus for the visualization of an idea, of an impulse.«

Zero der neue Idealismus:

Beyond the Berliner Ring Part One: Rügen

April 12, 2015April 12, 2015 / lusofonetica / 7 Comments

Living in Berlin can devour all of your free time easily without making you notice how quickly it all flies. That how I could easily define my first three months of 2015. Especially that a lot of places still seem so new to me, or at least I still haven’t got time to become tired of them. But there were moments my soul just cried to get the hell out of the city, or at least out of its glass-and-concrete core. So I thought Easter break would be a great occasion to visit Ostsee (German name for the Baltic Sea), and in particular: Rügen Island.

Long before I’ve got to know this location due to the story of infamous Prora, a monstrous building from the Nazi-era which was planned to become seaside resort for the 3rd Reich workers. It was supposed to gather more than 250 thousands of people for the collective holidays programme, one of the pilars of the KdF policy. The building was never completely finished and for me it currently stands mostly as the monument of how ill-minded politics can lead to unfortunate architectonic actions. More information (in German) can be found in this documentary. Apparently, nowadays there are plans to refurbish the building into some holiday apartaments and a residence for the elderly. For those who rather feel like experiencing this place’s decay altogether with excellent dark kind of music, Her Damit Festival in May could be an interesting option though.

But Rügen is much more than Prora’s Monster. Actually, it is the Northernmost tip of Germany (Arcona Weather Station), famous for white-sand beaches, dating back 19th-century towns (Putbus!) and resorts (like Binz, where I decided to stay). Apart from that one can find lakes and picturesque bays within the island, hanseatic architecture and just breathtaking, hard to describe in words cliffs (those of the Jasmund National Park!). As a person who spent a great deal of her childhood on the Baltic Sea coast in Poland, where my family had always a very strong affiction to travel, it gave me a nice, familiar feeling.

The food, the look of the resorts, and finally, the specific smell of the salty and cold sea are probably the things that can’t be found on the other coasts. Even if I didn’t dare to take a plunge into the 5-degree-cold water and the aluminium-cooked herring is not comparable to the Mediterranean or Atlantic seafood, I enjoyed greatly this long weekend, reconnecting with the familiar memories in a brand new place, on the other side of the border. Given it’s not that far away from Berlin, some 3-hours-drive by bus or by the Deutsche Bahn, I am seriously considering another short weekend getaway with my bike to discover further this magic island. And the sea, which always teaches me (thank you for this phrase, Pablo Neruda!).

The Long Now

March 29, 2015April 11, 2015 / lusofonetica / 7 Comments

Last night one hour was missing, as we switched to Summer Time. It would not be anything unusual, but it is worth mentioning that between 28th & 29th March, a very special, 29-hour event took place in Kraftwerk Berlin. This ‘literally powerful place’ in the Mitte was built alongside with the Wall that tore the city apart. It was a power plant supplying Eastern Germany with electricity. Abandoned after the democratic fall of the Berliner Mauer, this building was reinvented around 2006 as a setting of the new location of the Tresor club. It is also hosting the famous Berlin Atonal festival each year in the summer

This weekend Kraftwerk hosted various artists for The Long Now event, a part of the MaerzMusik festival. The purpose of the Long Now was to create time and space bubble filled with the latest experimental sounds. One could walk in and out during 29 hours of the event, seeing the audiovisuals, film productions, concert and live sets. While I am writing this entry, the set of Actress is most likely to start off and will be followed up with an after party. If it wasn’t for me being tired and having heard him live in some other occassions, I would probably be there!

The highlights of this event would definitely be: the 16-hours-long documentary from Burkhard von Harder together with his Live-Sound Performance, Kassem Mosse’s Chilling the Do (just when I was enjoying the coffee for breakfast) and Thomas Köner‘s Tiento de las Nieves. This artist, representing Denovali Records is especially close to my state of mind, with its cold, yet very melancholic sound. Thoughts about relativeness of time, presence in space and other dimensions of existence match these sounds perfectly.

All in all, it was worth visiting at least for a while this amazing space filled with the unique music installation, just to feel that no moment of the shortest day in the year was missed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Q89vkvYYg

Photos: taken from the official facebook The Long Now, I wouldn’t take better ones.

Le Sacre du Printemps

March 28, 2015April 11, 2015 / lusofonetica / 6 Comments

Das Frühlingsopfer – this the German title of Igor Stavinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’, a masterpiece which pictures best by far the uncertainty and drama of the current season. Spring as a process within human minds and the slow rebirth of the nature can be painfully difficult. It is a struggle when sometimes there is no energy left to overcome the drastic changes. There are no better words and sound notes to illustrate this moment in my life, so I’d love to dedicate this post to my dear friend I suddenly lost few days ago in tragic circumstances.

Thinking about the loss as a process of life can be helpful till certain extend to accept its dark shades and harsh moments. I give myself time to think about the value of pain, grief and irreversible flow of time and space. I question the things I take for granted. I keep the moments I happily lived with him and think about the values he appreciated the most. In search for the answers and gathering the thoughts, I find it Stravinsky’s music especially close to the state of mind I am in. Not without sense, Le Sacre du Printemps is a musical journey through the idea of the sacrifice, the reinventing the seasons and yet, the usual process that takes place each and every year.

Knowing that my friend loved theatre, art and whole range of earthly pleasures and beauty so much, I would love to dedicate him Das Frühlingsopfer in this revolutionary Berliner Philharmoniker version directed by the living legend of the Kammermusik, Sir Simon Rattle. He didn’t make it to pay me a visit in my new city and I did not show him my favourite places that I promised him in my last e-mail. There is nothing else left now than appreciating the beauty of life while we are here and now in this amazing universe.

Smell the flowers while you can.

Bird is the word!

March 17, 2015March 17, 2015 / lusofonetica / 1 Comment

Just a quick note on the inventory that made my heart melt today: das Birdhain. Now my troubled mind can rest, as I know where will hyperactive Vögelchen go after party. Maybe for once, they will stop bothering me at unearthly hours of the day (5-6 am?) when I normally try to sleep like an usual, full-time working person.

Melte Jansen – the author of the Birdhain, cared so much about the little bros’ comfort that the birdie replica of Berghain has a lot of room to offer, including the darker spots or the main floor with some awesome lightning. Not sure about the menu inside though.

It went viral today in Berlin and I am positive that in this utterly caring city, no one should be deprived of socializing- and party spots. Wait, but speaking of which… who will replace the infamous Sven in the birdie’s reality?

Berlinering

cca. the city