Ok, Finland probably has the weirdest competitions with wife carrying, pea eating and mobile pone throwing but this month Germany had some fun to offer too: Berlin hosted the German Air Guitar Championships - always a great event! Just today - despite horrid weather - splash divers competed in Hamburg in the Cannonball World Championships (kind of a masochistic event for those who dig sore butts), and again in Berlin folks with nothing else to do also gathered in Berlin for the Rubber Boot Throwing World Championships. Which brings me back to Finland coz a 70 year old Finnish guy won in the Mens Seniors category and a Finnish woman in the Ladies Seniors. Probably beats sitting in an old peoples home watching TV all day...
Maybe the gay community should think up some new exciting competitions... Gay Games and Eurogames are fine, but how about some fun championships like Dildo Throwing World Cup, Gaydar Contest, Outing Marathon etc etc?! Start practicing boys and babez, I'm sure it's soon to come...

Labels: around the world, berlin, funny, gay culture, lesbian, Sports

The eternal circle of life in animal kingdom at the Berlin Zoo:
icebear Knut, everbody's favorite animal at the moment, was born and another favorite of the Berliners panda bear Yan Yan suddenly died shortly after. Yan Yan (22 yrs old) was here for 11 years –meant to be the mate of male panda Bao Bao, but actually they had no interest in each other and lived quite separately all the time. now Bao Bao is the only panda bear left in Germany!
Folks here and even around the world are Knut-crazy (me too, he is soooo cute and cuddly!!), and visitors line up for hours just to get a glimpse of him. If you can't come you can see the pics and videos at the Knut blog. But as Knut dominates the national news and magazines and TV shows let's take the time to say bye-bye to Yan Yan. Brought all the way to Berlin with the sole purpose to make Panda babies - or at least one! - she obviously just didn't give a damn but led her lazy Zoo life as an independent Panda lady, more interested in snoozing, eating and watching the strange humans than in the joys of motherhood. Here's a picture I took of her last Spring
Seeing that, I'm sure she will rest in Peace!

Labels: animals, berlin, photos

We've had sleet and snow to start off Spring here in Berlin...but now finally the sun came out and as usual the Berliners populated all the street cafés and changed from bad mood mode to happy cosmopolitan mode. Just found one of my favorite blooper videos. Popular German weather lady Maxi Biber (pronounced beeber, means beaver!) had a giggle attack while on air... you don't have to understand what she says, except for between laughing and temperatures and sunny spells she manages to say "I'm sorry" about 5 times...

Labels: berlin, funny, TV, Video

Berlin subculture at its best: I recently had a great crazy evening at one of the cities most cool clubs White Trash - my friends from the SqueezeBOX band had invited me to a concert. PMS, the late hour (after midnight) and the freezing temperatures outside almost made me stay at home, but my GF managed to drag me outside, stating that I was about to become a lazy old couch potato, and I'm glad she did! The first act were the Teaserettes - Germany's first burlesque go-go dancers. Their show is incredible, a wonderful blend of dance, art, comedy and sex - and they had the crowd excited and cheering within minutes. The crowd being a colorful mix of gays, dykes, girlies, business men in suits, stylish women with expensive handbags, students who still go grunge style and some scene VIPs - anything goes at the White Trash.
So now finally: the SqueezeBOX band (Berlin edition!).
I guess they are one of the most unusual bands around. Jutta, Mr Wonke and Andrea are the cool dykes on guitar, drums and bass. Then a slim new-wavy kind of guy on the other guitar (sorry, I forgot your name, but you're extremely cool nonetheless!). And finally the leading ladies Gloria Viagra & Sherry Vine (who flew in from New York). Imagine two drag queens (with the most amazing long legs!) rocking the house with their wild repertoire from Pink to ACDC ... they are charming and rude at the same time, need a drink after every song and are sometimes so out of tune, but that really doesn't matter - it's all party party party and even gets the expensive handbags and business suits jumping up and down and screaming the lyrics.
Oh and check out Gloria's website - she has the cutest flash intro I've ever seen.

Labels: berlin, club, concert, music

In a previous post I suggested you visit the Potsdamer Platz to get into the Berlin Christmas feeling...unfortunately I didn't take my camera when I went there the other day, but you have to see the magnificent lights in the shopping mall - and fortunately someone else with more time and a better camera has been paid to put some photos online.



Click here to see more.

Labels: berlin

The streets in Berlin were almost empty as the German team played against Argentina in the WC quarter finals today. It seems like now everyone is hooked on the championship by now. When Germany won after a very exciting match with overtime and penalty shoot outs the streets came alive again, fireworks went off and convoys of fans in cars honking their horns and wavin flags were suddenly everywhere. I have always have found it kind of weird that people love to run out of their homes and jump into their cars to celebrate a victory! But there are other ways to do it: below -
- German chancellor Angela -Angie - Merkel: the distinguished way of really hitting it off but not allowed to show too much down to earth enthusiasm. At least the match triggers a kind of smile in her usually hound-dog-serious face.
- The team: in lack of cars and honking horns they run around the field like lost rabbits, hugging each other and waving their shirts - after over 2 hours of chasing the ball it's amazing they can still walk anyway.
- Soccer moms and friends at my place: cheering and having a ball (what a pun!). The ultimate proof that football somehow makes you unashamed and lets you forget that you are usually a cool stylish person: nothing else can explain why intelligent women would sit around wearing silly cardboard crowns in the colors of the german flag!!! And now I'm putting this embarrassing moment online- my friends will just love me for it!



Football's truely coming home...sigh!

Labels: berlin, Sports

Berlin is full of art, everywhere, anytime. While 1000s were watching football on the big screens only 5 minutes away, this wonderful public photography exhibition in front of the Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station was deserted and very peaceful in a kind of urban way....

Labels: berlin

Today we strolled across the World Cup Fan Mile in Berlin which was big fun. Seeing 1000s of people from different countries peacefully watching football on big screens while enjoying the sun and some beers was a really nice sight. Yellow and green colors dominated the scene as Brazilian and Australian fans had flocked to see their match.


Fans at the Brandenburger Gate

For some reason this World Cup has turned people into football enthusiasts who probably never even cared before. Maybe it's the sun and fun atmosphere and the gathering of (abnormally) happy people from around the globe - or maybe just the aspiration for a united world without aggression in these wild times. Or maybe some really clever marketing people here have prepared this so well with all the TV ads and songs and general hype that we've all been manipulated into suddenly getting excited about all these guys running after the ball. When I saw these two women today (in the photo below) I knew this World-Cup-Mania had reached even the most unlikely group of people: when elderly ladies who probably usually play Bridge on Sundays, join the cheering crowds and have painted the German flag on their forehead, you know things aren't the same anymore.


Notice the artfully painted wave flag - these ladies are fans with style

Labels: berlin, Sports

I remember my amazement and delight when I was in New York 2 years ago and saw the giant L-Word billboards towering above Manhattan. Some 2 years later the series has finally come to German TV (way too late: of course almost every dyke has seen it on DVD in the meantime).
The funny thing is: the first billboard you see when landing in Berlin at Tegel Airport is the TV-ad for the L-Word. And due to the World Cup we have a lot of visitors landing every day!! As you can see in my photos below German TV picked the almost naked version of the cast picture while in New York they still had clothes on - but it was winter in NY and it's summer now in Berlin, so that explains it ... or it could be our more liberal approach to nakedness- who knows... naked AND lesbian might have been too much at the time - even in Manhattan.


The L Word billboard at Berlin's Airport


The L Word billboard in Manhattan

Labels: berlin, lesbian

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This is usually the time of the year when we sit in outside cafès and bars in Berlin and enjoy the colorful life in our wild city... but it's just been raining forever and it's so cold I had to turn on my heater.
I've found a photo at flickr that describes the sad sight better than words could ever do:



The photo is by Reinhard Clasen ... click on his name to see more of his great Berlin photos.

Labels: berlin

This is just a short greeting for my hispanic Internet Friend Amber who just loooves Pandas and a general welcoming of the new season: it's raining in Berlin but still: Spring has finally arrived. Which for me every year means: time to go to the Zoo. Panda bears sleeping peacefully on the lawn have a soothing effect, the best stress remedy!



SONG OF THE DAY (AS EASTER IS NEAR): YOUR OWN PERSONAL JESUS, Marylin Manson

Labels: berlin

If you've come to this page because you've found it in Google under Berlin and you're looking for infos, because you plan on coming here this week..be warned: everyone is in such a bad mood it's dangerous. Or if they're not in a bad mood they are at least depressed... it's mid March and it's still freakin' cold, we're freezing, the snow has turned gray and slushy and the wind is obviously whilring into the city coming directly from Siberia. Oh we're so fed up with it and are longing for Spring. We want to sit outside in cafés and stroll in the Tiergarten or at least just sit on a bench and make nasty comments about people who pass by... (a favourite Berlin passtime!)
Visitors should try to avoid the attempt to make friends while it's still cold. Don't expect to be served in a friendly manner in restaurants and don't ask for directions or similar info..especially not in English: the Berlin brain has turned to ice, there's no cells left to try to explain anything in a foreign language. Postpone your visit, come next month, or better yet in May. May is beautiful in Berlin and strangers will smile and love to chat with you.
If you have to come now just spend your time in all the museums we have here...you can spend years in all the galleries, museums etc in this town.
For some color go to the Ephraim-Palais: they are exhibiting Erna Schmidt-Carroll who made the most wonderful illustrations back in the 20s. She was a fashion designer and her pencils captured the various characters of Berlin's roaring 20s in the most enticing and colorful way. She was last exhibited in 1938, so this is a rare chance to see her work. After the Nazis took over she had to turn to unglossed art and just painted mountains and other landscapes.



At night go to a club, even if you don't like dancing to the electro-pop beats that dominate these days: you'll finally get warm after freezing all day! And finally at about 2 in the morning (after mucho drinks and who knows what else) everyone is back to being happy and friendly and you'll get that smile you deserve as a brave visitor of this vibrant city!
Fear not stranger: we are your friend!

SONG OF THE DAY: Baby it's cold outside, Johnny Mercer & Margaret Whiting

Labels: berlin