Saturday, June 30, 2007
Berlin
This weekend I made the long trip north to the German capital of Berlin. It is a city I have always wanted to see, famed for its vibrancy and party atmosphere as well of course for its political histroy. Our group of six left on lunchtime on Friday and took the super comfortable, super quick ICE Express train. We arrived in Berlin at around tea time and checked into our apartment. Which was awesome.
Spacious, with 3 bedrooms, a living room with TV and sound system, a kitchen/dining room and a bathroom with a tub big enough for all of us. It was luxury accomodation at a reasonable price. One of the things that struck me most about Berlin was how cheap everything was. I say cheap, I mean everything was a reasonable price - not like in other capital cities, particularly London, where everything is extortionate.
On the Friday evening we got the U-Bahn (underground) into the centre which only took about 10 minutes and surfaced from the station to be met by Berlin's most iconic landmark - Das Brandenburger Tor. It is a symbol of freedom now the wall has fallen, though the goddess of victory atop the gate has also seen times of great struggle - when you walk beneath the acropolis-like structure you are following in the footsteps of Napoleon and the Nazis - sobering stuff.
Just down the road is the relatively new monument dedicated to those whose lives were taken during the Holocaust. It is a large section of metal pillars, slightly resembling the Giant's Causeway. The paths between the pillars act as a maze in which one can get lost very easily, and where the high metal cubes create a claustrophobic atmosphere. The idea is to give the visitor a mild sense of the panic felt by those who suffered - it is effective and emotional.
We had dinner at a nearby steakhouse which was incredible and then walked past the British Embassy to Potsdamer Platz. This famous section was wasteland after WW2 and during the cold wall though has been turned into a centre of hustle, bustle and commerce since the fall of the Wall. Part of the wall still stands here as a reminder of harder times.
Postdamer Platz is home to the incredible Sony Centre complex - a collection of trendy shops, bars and restaraunts housed under a breathtaking illuminated roof which changes colour, varying from garish violet to electric blue.
Now getting late, we strolled to the 'House of 100 Biers' for a nightcap. (Above pic of Arnold, Norm and Ian). As the name of the bar would suggest they have an extensive selection of beer from all over the world. I opted to try some local brew, ordering a 'Bock' version of the local 'Berliner Kindl' beer. I know Bock beer is usually stronger than your average bevvy but this cheeky fellow was 7%vol. After a bottle or two and a tiring day I was ready for my bed.
We arose early-ish on Saturday to make the most of the day and popped to the Cafe over the road for breakfast. €5 (3 quid) got us an all you can eat breakfast buffet with two drinks - an absolute winner! Full of muesli, ham and cheese and mentally invigorated with coffee we jumped on the U-Bahn and headed back into the metropolis.
What we hadn't realized was that this particular weekend was 'Christopher Street Day' - the biggest parade on the Gay Calender. No wonder my colleagues gave me a few funny looks when I told them I was heading to Berlin on that date!
Anyway, if there are three things Germans can do it is Beer, Sausage and.. gay. The main shopping street was filled with floats and parading people in all manner of camp and colourful costumes and despite a downpour of biblical proportions the atmosphere was more than jovial.
After observing until the sight of feather boas and bare flesh became simply too much we strolled up to das Kaufhaus des Westerns - K- the German equivalent of Harrods. We spent much of the afternoon there, admiring all the weird and wonderful wares, none of which I could afford. The food hall was most impressive, with weird and wonderful fish and delicacies from around the globe (including HP Sauce!). The bottles of whisky for up to €6000 did, however, take the biscuit (the biscuit itself probably costing around €1000!).
We then viewed the bombed out Church across the road (now a memorial) and tubed it over to the famous Checkpoint Charlie - the point where foreigners and members of the Allied Forces could cross the wall during the cold war.
We then headed back to the apartment to freshen up before hitting the town. We met up with Christian and his sister who were also in Berlin over the weekend and a former primary school friend of Normans who he hadn't seen for 16 years! She has been studying in Berlin so was able to tell us a bit more about the city over a cocktail and then took us a bit out of the centre to some cool bars away from the crowds. One bar was beach themed and had sand all over the floor - pretty novel. It was a cool night in a cool city.
We then headed back to the apartment to freshen up before hitting the town. We met up with Christian and his sister who were also in Berlin over the weekend and a former primary school friend of Normans who he hadn't seen for 16 years! She has been studying in Berlin so was able to tell us a bit more about the city over a cocktail and then took us a bit out of the centre to some cool bars away from the crowds. One bar was beach themed and had sand all over the floor - pretty novel. It was a cool night in a cool city.
On Sunday we again took breakfast at the cafe over the road though it was a bit more expensive for the Sunday special which included smoked salmon and brie - one felt most refined.
Back in the centre we hopped on an open top bus and cruised through Berlin - the easiest way to see everything quickly. The guide was good and gave a funny commentary in English and German, though he didn't make me laugh as much as the two middle aged english couples sat in front of us who seemed oblivious to the magnificent city around them and were bemoaning the lack of tea and coffee making facilities in the hotel.
The sun shone down as we wound our way passed embassies, churches and other picturesque landmarks. Berlin seems very open for such a big city - it doesn't have the intimading sky scraper lined streets that other cities do.
We had a coffee back at das Brandenburger Tor before heading for the train back to Erlangen.
There is so much to see and experience in Berlin that a weekend really isn't enough to even scratch the surface. I have a feeling it won't be my last visit to the German capital.
MORE PICS TO FOLLOW!
MORE PICS TO FOLLOW!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Coming soon
Blog from my weekend in Berlin coming soon, watch this space!
Der Uber Mike x
Der Uber Mike x
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Siemens Town
Erlangen is Siemens town. If you ain't a student at the university here then odds are that you work for Siemens. Or that your job relies on Siemens workers (the ice cream guy outside the office for example). There are offices here for Siemens Industrial Services (my division), Siemens Power Generation, Siemens Transport Systems and Siemens Medical to name just a few. Siemens moved here after the war
At this point I would like to clarify that there is no Siemens Telecommunications department here or anywhere else as it was sold to BENQ in 2005. I just wanted to mention this as I am of the belief that most of you think I work with mobile phones. This is not the case.
The site here is a bit like an ant farm. If I want to get to the canteen (several streets away) I can actually do it without going outside thanks to the network of underground tunnels running between buildings. It's a bit like being in some kind of big nuclear bunker down there, it's pretty creepy.
Above ground there are also special features, on the roof of my building (pictured), for example, there is an ornate garden which is used only by the executive mangement for meetings with rich customers.
Siemens is a massive, diverse and extremely interesting company. You can find out more about the firm, including its roots in London, collaboration with the Nazis and recent corruption scandals by clicking here.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
End of the Beer Fest
The Erlangen Bergkirchweih festival has now come to an end. I managed to get up on the hill a few times to sample the atmosphere and I've never experienced anything like it before. We were there on the final day along with the rest of Erlangen to say goodbye with a toast. The crowds were absolutely heaving, there was barely room to breath.
We had a ride on the big wheel from where you can see right over the town before going to the popular Entla's Cellar to watch some live music and grab a bratwurst.
At the end of the night the visitors were all in a beer induced good mood and we had a good sing song to some beer-fest classics. At the end of the night the festival is always brought to a close with the ballad 'Lilli Marlene' to which all the revelers hold aloft white tissues (see picture) and wave 'auf wiedersehen' to The Berg.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Mother's complaints
My good mother has complained that my pictures are not often captioned. I understand her frustration at being left wondering who the people are in my pictures and so here is a brief description of the pictures from the previous post (from top to bottom)
1. Classic Rock Fist pumps the air as things get underway on the Friday
2. The crowds gather at the main stage
3. Zoe puts the finishing touches to our flower covered accommodation.
4. Making ourselves at home - from left to right Ashley, Helen, Ian and Pete.
5. Zoe makes use of the fetching pink ponchos handed out at the main stage.
6. Look carefully to see a guy crowd surfing to Muse.
7. Linkin Park headline on Saturday night
8. Marie (left) and Helen.
9. Pigeon Detectives on the club stage
10. Anyone got any marshmallows? - Chemical toilet ablaze
I also noticed a very grievous error on my part - the lack of a picture of myself! So here I am, camping it up! lol
1. Classic Rock Fist pumps the air as things get underway on the Friday
2. The crowds gather at the main stage
3. Zoe puts the finishing touches to our flower covered accommodation.
4. Making ourselves at home - from left to right Ashley, Helen, Ian and Pete.
5. Zoe makes use of the fetching pink ponchos handed out at the main stage.
6. Look carefully to see a guy crowd surfing to Muse.
7. Linkin Park headline on Saturday night
8. Marie (left) and Helen.
9. Pigeon Detectives on the club stage
10. Anyone got any marshmallows? - Chemical toilet ablaze
I also noticed a very grievous error on my part - the lack of a picture of myself! So here I am, camping it up! lol
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Rock im Park
This weekend was Rock im Park! One of the biggest music festivals in Germany with a killer line up and a crazy crowd. Held at the Zeppelin Landing Field in Nuremberg it isn't far from me but we camped out there for the authentic festival experience. My friend Zoe from uni flew over especially and we also met up with Christian and his friends from Wurzburg (special mention to the Finnish ladies who I discovered are ubermike blog fans!) so there was a big group of us.Though the festival started on Friday we arrived on Thursday around lunchtime to get a place for the tent. It was rammed when we got there but we managed to find a spot for the flowery fest tent which Zoe had brought with her next to Christian and the others.
At English festivals flowery and crazily patterned tents are very common. In Germany this is obviously not the case. My sleep on the first night was constantly disturbed by drunk passers by commenting on the design, with opinions ranging from 'Wow that is the best tent ever' to 'Oh that must be the gay tent'. At one point I was awoken from my slumber by a young lady offering to buy the tent. Needless to say I refused.
On Friday it was time to get involved! We headed down early to watch some of the lesser known bands and shortly got absolutely soaked in the heaviest rain I have ever known. A quick trip back to the camp site, a new tshirt and a bin bag poncho later we headed back to the action.
The rest of the weekend was sunny except the odd shower which was usually quite nice as the temperatures soared.
Over the course of the weekend we saw over 20 bands - it was immense. Below is a list of the majority of the bands we saw with a little review:
Friday:
Sunrise Avenue: Bit cheesy finnish rockers, one catchy song which is popular in Germany at the moment.
Revolverheld: Surprisingly impressive German indie
Paolo Nutini: Motionless performance but a great voice - 'Jenny don't be hasty' and 'New Shoes' making us forget the rain for a bit.
The Kooks: One of the highlights, great performance. Were less than impressed when their microphones were turned off for over running on time. Don't mess with a German's schedule!
Travis: Everyone loves a bit of Travis but I didn't expect the amazing live performance which they gave. Lead singer Fran Healy got everyone involved and at one point threw himself into the audience for a classic crowd surf. They Played all the classics - 'Sing', 'Driftwood' and 'Why does it always rain on me?' - apt given the weather.
Scissor Sisters: The campest thing I've ever seen. Frontman Jake Shears flailed around like a maniac. Though I'm not a major fan it was an awesome show.
Saturday - 12 hours of non stop rock
Paramore: Pop - Punk rock, nothing too spectacular but pretty catchy and the lead singer is a little firecracker.
Head Automatica: Proper rock, lively performance - superb
The Used: Heavy stuff fronted by Kelly Osbourne's ex boyfriend Bert McCracken. Spitting onto the crowd and getting them to separate before charging at each other for a mosh pit was, er, an experience.
Maximo Park: Loveable Geordie indie rockers, lyrical genius - class.
Razorlight: Though the frontman strikes me as a bit of a fool I must admit having seen them live I am a much bigger Razorlight fan than I realised, may have to get myself the album.
Muse: Immense. I don't have enough superlatives in my vocabulary. My highlight of the festival and the most incredible live performance, it left me literally shaking. Hard rock riffs combined with chilling melodies, totally unique. 'Knights of Cydonia' was an incredible opener and 'Assassin' live was mind blowing.
Linkin Park: Rocked out, a helluva show. I'm not a big fan but couldn't help but get taken in by the amzing atmosphere. Superb.
Sunday:
The Fratellis: Great way to kick off the last day, feel good stuff finished with the awesomely catchy 'Chelsea Dagger'.
30 Seconds to Mars: Fronted by actor Jared Leto who got really involved with the crowd.
Wolfmother: Only saw a few songs but these australians were uber cool, proper old skool riffs.
Ghosts: Chilled pop indie, really cool, check out the single 'The world is outside' - quality.
Under the influence of Giants: Must admit I was totally distracted by the bass player's beard. Interesting dance / rock mixture. I like.
The Pigeon Detectives: The next big thing in indie rock, a great performance and some really catchy stuff. An unexpected highlight, absolutely brilliant - a really intimate gig too as they played on the smaller club stage - have a look at the pic below. You can see a video on their website by clicking here.
Charlotte Hatherley: The former Ash guitarist failed to impress somehow, despite incredible ability on the guitar there was no audience interaction and came over as rather distant.
The Smashing Pumpkins: The undisputed headliners gave a hell of a show, impressive even though I am not a fan. A fitting end to an incredible weekend.
Away from the stage things were pretty mental too. The camp site was constantly full of drunken lunatics. On Saturday we arrived back to find that two chemical toilets had been pushed over just down from our tents. Luckily most of the filth had remained inside.This leads me nicely to describing possibly the most bizarre and hilarious moments of my life. As we settled down for a beer before bed a group of wasted fools were messing around, one of them in a trolley. He eventually came to a stop by colliding with the fallen port-a-loos. He then climbed onto it and began dancing around like a fool on top of it. One jump too many and the thing gave way, the dude ending up with only his torso protruding from the toilet. Just when I thought this guy couldn't be any sillier he tried to spring out, slipped and totally disappeared inside the chamber of waste. Luckily for him the toilets were quite new so he wasn't too soaked in excrement but it still wasn't pretty!
On the last night of a festival everyone tends to go a bit mad so we stayed up to ensure nothing untoward happened to our tents. At around 4 in the morning Christian pointed out huge flames billowing from a toilet which had been set on fire. it was at this point we decided it was time to head back, exhausted, smelly and totally rocked out. It was...immense.
