01/05/2014

#185 Berlin - Mauerpark und Photography Playground

looks really fun

The biggest event of the week was the underground rave we were supposed to go to. It was word of mouth only and we got the info through a Spanish stage worker.

Our three painted girl guides to the forest house party.

So on Saturday night we got ready, geared up and rode and walked for close to an hour to get to the outskirts of the city. The instructions were to silently crawl through the hole in the fence without using flashlights. As we approached the venue...

Smoking all the way

...we met people who told us that the police had gotten there before the party could have even begun and shut it down. We stood for a while, the others sipping on Club Mate vodkas, while I was drinking Ouzo with 7Up. We saw a slow Polizei car passing the lingering crowd and driving off. There was nothing left to do but...

Olympus Photography Playground photo taken with OM-D E-M10 camera

...to walk back into the town. We got a half-decent Döner from a place on the edge of Neukölln. We ravaged the meal and gave our thanks to the cooks, who responded with a shrug. Next stop a Spätkauf for beers and other needs. As a friend and I stayed outside we were greeted by girls with their faces...

Olympus Photography Playground photo taken with OM-D E-M10 camera

...painted like animals. They were asking us if we wanted to go to a forest (house) party. We didn't think twice and joined their direction, instructing others via a text to follow us. When we got there...

Olympus Photography Playground photo taken with OM-D E-M10 camera

...it took some time to get in as each room had its own music playing. The main stage even had a live Dj behind a table. There were blacklights and drawings on the walls. I also got my face painted with industrial paints and we found a spot at the window sill. The night continued until 5am when it was time to leave. So we wandered through the streets and the bahn grid back to our place.

Another kitchen session with wine.

One of the art experiences so far has been the Photography Playground - a factory building full of installations commissioned by Olympus to show off their OM-D series cameras. I got to try out the Olympus OM-D E-M10 camera. The main feature I embraced was the black and white filter.

Mauerpark flea market overview.

The coolest experience was going to the flea market in Mauerpark on Sunday. The whole field was covered with people enjoying themselves. I idly browsed through the counters of different things, old and new. The other part of the festivities was the ten or so acts playing around the field. Everything from hipster girls with guitars to a five piece African percussion band. Apparently one part of the field was reserved for karaoke as well.

Mauerpark flea market hippie girl act

On the hillside there were people spraying graffiti on the erected white walls in an iconic Berlin style. The other attraction on the hill were the swing sets. People from 4 to 70 were enjoying swinging overlooking the festivities.

Forest house party bathroom swamp.

One of the nights we got to enjoy Pastacas play a set in Jää-Äär the local Estonian cafe. He was good as usual and I haven't felt the relaxation power of a musician on such a scale for a long time.

The three Club Mate fans.

Greetings