Transgenialer CSD, Berlin, June 2008

Bite the beat

Everything went maaaaarvelously well. All perfect. It was all there : the people, the glamour, the drama (queens), the happiness, the love, the friends, the places, the colours, the sun, the rain (sometimes, just when you get your hair done), the caperinha (a lot), the night (too short, Bite the beat) and at the exit this morning, boys kissing each other deep mouth against the wall (no picture !). It looks like everyone just enjoyed where he was at this very moment. I didn't see any agressivity nor threat. I must say that police forces were there during the demonstration. And I say forces, trust me, you could notice that was special forces. I never saw so gigantic men (outside gay parties of course). Talking about it with a friend during the evening at the Kotti Terassen, his argument is that It shows that the city protects the community. I answer back that we can see it as well as being parked and we are not allowed to go out of the circle. Anyway, just be happy to be there. The party was fabulous and the location even incredible. Nothing special, even the light was bad, but the mood was there and It made everything. We were lucky enough not to have rain after the evening so we could breathe outside on the terasse of this building in the middle of Kreuzberg. People of the neighbourhood are used to see strange things so no big deal at all. We tried one other party as we could travel from place to place with our ticket but came back quickly because the Kotti was the place to be. So now It's sunday and back to basics : shirts to iron and mixed salad for lunch (not sure my stomach could stand anything else anyway).

Nightwalk

Danse avec moi . Of course tonight the city will be a big party place. All the big names are out : GMF, Klub International, Schwuz, and all the other ones I don't even have enough space to name it. The program of the city takes 2 pages and only to make a choice can take you the day and you will pass the best of the event. Furthermore you will always regret what you've done, thinking the party was better opposite. Never mind, meet friends and enjoy simply the time. But why joining 1 party when you have the possibility to join 3 ? I made up my mind very quickly. Knowing the party freaks of the area, I am certain this will be a great time. Again far away of the strass of the official CSD (again) this party of the Transgenialer CSD is much more interesting : because people there just want to have fun after a big day of demonstration, they don't care how they look and they don't need to show their perfect (boring hairless, no sight of sex appeal) body, because you are in Kreuzberg which is called here multi-kulti which is easy to understand. The motto of the night is : Lesbians, gays and transgenders, come and celebrate with your neighbours ! that shows certainly the mood of it all. Can't wait ...

Instantanés

Pander

Wonderful party ... but why women always want to introduce me their (single) gay friends ? As if, because we have the same sexual orientation, I have to start a relationship with anyone I didn't choose. The worse is that the girls completely phantasize about it. They already have all planned and "would be delighted" if the match would work. Because of course their senses tell them they are not wrong about their choice. I played the game a little, actually the other guy did not at all and left, so I guess 1) he was not interested, and 2) he has no sense of humor, which is already a bad beginning with me. I came back home when the sun was rising but you know ... in Berlin the sun is rising definitely too early !

Raumfahrer

Tonight I am invited to a birthday party. The bar Raumfahrer is in this newly trendy area which is in the end of Kreuzberg and beginning of Neuköln. We call it in the city Kreuzköln (how surprising !) and It still has this Berlin touch. The bar is in a street paralelle to the big boulevard and I've been there for the first time a few weeks ago. The place tonight will be crowdy because 80 people are expected and are coming from all over the world (I heard people are flying now from Hong Kong, some other from London, and the other ones from wherever, there is a bus waiting at the airport). It will be a great mix and I am sure, knowing the host, It will be very interesting to be there. The bar is nothing special but has an atmosphere despite the lack of charme. It has nothing to do with those design places and friends say they serve some other beer (from Hamburg) as the one usually served in the area (from Bayern). It's not super chic, half renovated, with some art on the walls and furniture from the 70's. I agree with some who say It's not the place I would go everyday but It's definitly the place for me tonight.

Transgenialer CSD

Tomorrow Saturday 28th, will take place in Berlin 2 big events, long awaited each year by the gay community : the official CSD, of course, which will celebrate its 30th birthday ("The teenage years are over and the “Berlin Event” has grown up") with a new route and festivities but as well the alternative Transgenialer CSD, not together with its big famous sister but in another part of the city between Neuköln and Kreuzberg when the first one will go from the townhouse and the Potsdamer Platz (It's the first time It goes through the "East). I've decided to follow the second one. When the CSD is more a demonstration of colours, music and parade, sponsored by famous brands, under a motto that no one really cares of, the Transgenialer CSD follows a political view and tries to survice with only helping hands. Why ? because in the city lately, attacks against LGBT increased dangerously. So we must show that we are a strong community and we are not scared of extremists. "For us, fascists, the gentrification of our diverse, urban neighbourhoods and the attacks on queers a few weekends past - to name just a few - are important issues, that give the Transgenial Christopher Street Day it's legitimation and make it all the more important". This year nevertheless, names of the night of the city will participate. That shows people starts to care about this demonstration. I guess as well It's more Berlin than the official one and much less touristic. Not sure we will see in there many "beautiful" people but they all look the same so It's not big interest. I fancy much more people with a heart and a mind. I thought I would look as a paria because I took my decision not to join the friends this year in order to participate to the Transgenialer but strangely It looks like to some other ones a good opportunity to try something new and that exists for years, so I won't be alone. I wish they all will enjoy their time with us. Let's hope so !

Instantanés

Don't ask ...

This is soooooo me sometimes : I've lost the bin on my desktop !

how do I get it back ? I feel lost ...

CSA

This is one of the most beautiful cocktail bars I've ever been in. Located in a former sales office for the Czech State Airline (hence the name) which used to be located in this building, the CSA Bar has a sleek minimalist decor, lighting that flatters, an attentive staff, and broad plate glass windows that look out at traffic whizzing by on what was intended to be East Germany's grandest boulevard. History does have its pleasurable ironies because Friedrichshain area used to be a run-down former East Berlin neighbourhood, but is now something of a hipster hangout. I love the stylish Soviet retro feel. The bar is popular with a 30-something artsy crowd, who like the sleek, well-lit, leather-couch-filled space and the excellent cocktails. The piece of furniture I love in the bar are those ashtrays built in the tables. My grandfather used to have the same and I remember playing with it waiting him to put his ashes in it and me pushing the leverage to make roll the metal plate. I was there at the opening in 2001 and go time to time, just because. They have a terrasse now and I enjoyed last Friday drinking my martinis feeling the breeze of the night.

Saki

There is a french library not very far from my place. It's called Zadig and It's been a long time that I passed by and said I must go. Because I'm not a fast reader, a book at my night table stays a long time. Surprisingly the other night I noticed I have nothing left to read so the next saturday I said It was about time. It seemed that, to go there I had to pass many steps because on my way, I met a friend who was sitting outside of her hairdresser waiting her colour to be fixed, having a smoke (having a drink with her that very night, I noticed she had too much sun ... on the hair !) so I was afraid to miss the opening hours. It's not a big place but the choice is wide. Not by quantity but by subjects. Whenever I go inside a library, I just don't know what to choose. I have no idea, I have no memory whatsoever my friends suggested me and It's always this moment I don't carry my Moleskine notebook (I love those little things). So I started wandering inside, listening this father being told in english by the nice lady a book for his child (she made the story "live", was very funny), looking at the new visitors and their choice, tourists, and finally picked up one which I didn't know anything about, except that It is english translated in french, which is, normally, as bad as you might think It is. How do you want to translate english humour ? It's like putting the Eiffel Tower in the middle of Trafalgar Square, non-sense. Nevertheless I trusted the owner of the shop, who we can see, is a book addict and must read everyday more than I do in one year. He approved my choice and said he was a fan of the author and of his short stories and on my remark about the french translation, said I can go for it eyes closed. So this is it : Hector Hugh Munro (December 18, 1870 – November 13, 1916), better known by the pen name Saki, was a British writer, whose witty and sometimes macabre stories satirized Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and is often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window" may be his most famous, with a closing line ("Romance at short notice was her speciality") that has entered the lexicon. In addition to his short stories (which were first published in newspapers, as was the custom of the time, and then collected into several volumes) he also wrote a full-length play, The Watched Pot, in collaboration with Charles Maude ; two one-act plays; a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire, the only book published under his own name; a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington ; the episodic The Westminster Alice (a Parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland), and When William Came, subtitled A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns, an early alternative history. He was influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Kipling, and himself influenced A. A. Milne, Noël Coward, and P. G. Wodehouse. What I took is, I would say, the "best of" of the short stories and the title in french is one of the story. But I'm sure you can find it in your language. The best thing of it is that I read it so fast, that now I have to go back to the library !

British Airways and Pam Ann Full Feature

To A. : thank you to make me laugh ! always a great source of ideas, inspirations and support.

Equal Rights for the Unequal

Under the slogan "Equal Rights for the Unequal" Berlin´s Rainbow Fund presents its fifteenth annual Lesbian and Gay Festival - Europe's largest - this weekend. As usual, it´s being held in the traditional gay stomping ground around Nollendorfplatz in Schöneberg. The festival will take place in the area bounded by Motzstrasse, Eisenacher Strasse, Fuggerstrasse and Kalckreuthstrasse, spreading over 25,000 square meters, and featuring the Worlds of Sports, Radio, Travel, Film, AIDS and Politics, as well as other exhibits from a wide range of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups. Along with dozens of information booths and market stalls, there will be a varied range food, drinks, fetish, associations, handcrafts, whatever. And on both days of the festival, there is as well performances at The Connection with house and techno music (Amongst others situated in Fuggerstr the Connection Disco, open Friday and Saturday, is one of the oldest and is legendary in Berlin. It is in the same building where Romy Haag had his West Berlin tansvestite show. The disco has three bars and three floors together with a huge dakroom for labyrinthine cruising. The music is Techno/House with various guest DJs.), the "Disco Ball" with hits of the 70s and 80s, the "Queer Media", a mix of lesbian and gay entertainers and DJs, as well as the "Women´s Showcase". Again this year the high point of the festival will be the Personality Interview Show, »Das wilde Sofa« (The Wild Sofa), taking place on the Main Stage at the corner of Eisenacher Strasse and Fuggerstrasse. Between three and four each afternoon, Gerhard Hoffmann and Biggy van Blond will put guests from politics and culture through the meat grinder for the delight of all. Following »The Wild Sofa« on Saturday, there was a varied programme of rock and pop until 11 pm, and on Sunday until 10 pm. With more than 350,000 guests expected over the weekend, the festival´s beer gardens, cocktail bars, stages and dance floors transforms the area around Nollendorfplatz into Berlin´s favourite party quarter. It opens at 11:00 a.m. Last night was a beautiful one and you could notice in the air, simple happiness. It must be the only time of the year that gays are just happy to meet. No agressivity in the looks, just a recognizable sign that we belong to the same community. We share drinks, we meet people we know and if you're walking with friends, you're pretty sure you will stop every half meter to say hello and hug. But even with the crowd, It stays very quiet. After midnight, people are requested to go inside the bars because the booths must close but there are so many people that everyone stays outside. You just can't stay inside : too warm, too loud, too crowdy. And after a while you don't even have enough strenght to carry on partying. The mayor of the city came by for the opening with his man and managed to congratulate some people on booths. A bit political oriented but It belongs to the job, so all OK. We had dinner at the Raststätte, which is the same house as Moebel Olfe. We had dinner outside while DJ Tropical was doing a set inside but we still heard what was happening. Then back to the streets to share one "for the road".

Instantanés

Toca Rouge

In those troubled times with silly guys running after a ball and earning too much money for it, It is quite difficult to find a nice cosy place without TV. Last evening I had planned dinner outside and I had to cancel my table at Nord & Sud because of that. The owner understood me but I know he's making money this month. So I ended up at Toca Rouge, almost at the end of Torstr. It's a small place but the weather is again nice and the tables are out. The only disapointment comes from the fact that It is a very busy street and sometimes we had to repeat twice what we just said. Nevertheless for the second time I go there, the food is amazing. I don't really understand what they have on the menu because It is a mix of tasty food of Asia (something between Thaï and japanese) and the vision of the plate is as equal quality of the taste of it. The wine is OK but you don't stay very long because the service is maybe a bit too quick and the kitchen closes early. But you have dinner for 10,-€, which makes the place worth going. Then you drink your next glass somewhere else.

Instantanés

Tomb Rider

Can anyone teach the German to smile, please ? and while you're there try as well to make them understand, whenever they cross my cycle path, they could also look beforehand, don't you think ? and thank me to let them go ...

Call me

This week-end in Paris is taking place the 4th edition of the Pocket films festival. It will take place at the Pompidou Centre, from June 13 - 15 where you can see what you can do with a mobile phone. I remember I discovered this festival by accident the first year It happened in 2005 if I recall correctly. It's simple : you have a mobile, It has many possibilities you don't even know about, well now then, direct a movie and submit it to the jury. It's an international competition for films made with pocket cameras and shown on movie theater screens and a competition for films made specifically for the mobile screen. Isabella Rossellini is invited this year and will present her series « Green Porno » for mobile screens. It's amazing what you can do with those little toys. Can't believe ...

Madame Claude

Madame Claude was between the 60's and 70's in France what you would call a brothel keeper : she "had" girls and was linked with the french power because whenever It was needed she was asked to organize the event and beautiful girls were requested to join beautiful parties with beautiful people. For obscure reasons (probably of power) she was given away although everybody knew and even worse used her "services". Now Madame Claude is also the last opened french bar in Berlin, in Kreuzberg. A very nice and trendy area closed to the Spree and where the good locations to go out are. It's not by accident if the guys named their place Madame Claude because the location they found was a brothel (long ago), of course. There is a feeling of Cabaret inside. I learned talking with people there It was also before a karaoke among many other activities. At the main entrance you see nothing because you have to go down. And then It's a following of many places including a bar, a concert room, sofa corners for private talks, stairs. Also is funny the decorative concept because if you look at the ceiling, you'll notice there is a life up there ! tables, chairs, occupied poker tables, the place is all upside down. So the place is one for people to meet and socialize. Not bad. You can eat a little something when there is still is but we arrived too late and It seems like any french I know in the city was there last night. A place worth going back to celebrate the Berlin night with a french touch.