The Night-life

Here were my plans: meet up with a fellow student Stephen at IES in Mitte, and take the U-Bahn to Tempelhof, where we might see a nice excerpt of European symphony. Stephen was pretty excited, having studied musicians -- he claimed that one of the world's most renowned violinists would be performing in the show that night. The five of us waited in line at the entrance to the airport, which no longer carried the majority of incoming flights, or perhaps any at all. It was a darn shame, though, that we hadn't arrived 10 minutes earlier, because the box office sold out just before us. I apologize that I don't have any good photos to present, but I'm sure that as you all can understand, the sensation of hearing a symphony cannot be translated through words. I was not lucky enough to enjoy said experience, but I'm not going to let it get me down. I know a similar symphony will be performing in the Berliner Philharmoniker (a location built for a symphony, rather than a hanger for airplanes), so I will see if I can't make it there instead later in the semester.

Deciding to make the best of the evening in spite of our poor luck, we walked on out of the aging historical landmark, known best as the location where food and necessities were imported to West Berlin during the airlift, and hummed to ourselves, making our own music. Someone had the great idea to go and enjoy some ice cream ("Eis") in a nearby neighborhood, so we all travelled together. Berlin may be large, but the U-Bahn system can certainly assist with transportation.

Apparently, chili-chocolate is a popular flavor here in Berlin. I don't know why for certain, but I suspect it may have something to do with the two enlightening aphrodesiacs mixed together... Anywho, following our departure from the ice cream parlor, we heard of a concert in a park that was just finishing up, down the street. After splitting up, a couple of us walked through the thinning crowd, realizing that as 10pm had just rolled past, loud noises were discouraged throughout the major city.

Another fellow student, Ned, has been following the underground musical scene here in Berlin very closely. It was with him that I made a visit to two different clubs last week, named Berghain and Club 25. Berghain was once a power plant located in East Berlin, and the building in which the performances are held appears stark and imposing. It is located in the middle of nowhere. Bar 25, on the other hand, can be found on the Spree River. A number of these different clubs are meant for summer usage only, so I am looking forward to scanning through the internet for further information about these clubs.


"Something that has so much power must have life. Instruments have life."
Laurie Anderson