Some Stuff this Saturday

The weather turned so dreary and cold last week while we were on tour that there was little else I wished for more than a little warmth. Today, as I left the house sans sweater and with my sleeves rolled up, I realised that special care was needed whilst throwing wishes around.

It was a balmy 24 or so degrees this afternoon so I slathered on the sun block and made my way to my essential reason for leaving the house today.


More about these massive lovelies here.

Trend Mafia is a semi-regular craft fair that happens here in Berlin. I've been in a bit of a craft drought since my temporary relocation so I kinda just needed to be among handmade goods for a while. I've actually- and, *amazingly* due to my lack of German proficiancy and general shyness- instigated an upcoming event that I'll write more on when stuff is solidified next week.

The show was in a building at Moritzplatz- about 3km from our place so I took my camera with me and walked along Reichenberger Strasse and saw these in sidewalk.



I'm not sure what was/is here to reference these - I can just see the front houses so it's a bit of a mystery as to what lays beyond the courtyards. They went on for the entire block.

On the walk home I encountered what looked like an anarchist march, but they were blasting techno and looked too happy to be proper anarchists. I asked someone what it was all about- I felt as confused as the few Police did. It was a peaceful/street-party demonstration opposing a swanky (read: car lifts to your apartment and roof-top pool- inhabitants would never have to deal with the actual neighbourhood or even equally wealthy neighbours, while still claiming to be 'cool' for living there) and truly ugly building that has gone up on this street.



Kreuzberg is a really mixed neighbourhood that attracts artists and expats because it's beautiful and still relatively affordable - and there are more 2 euro falafels per block than anywhere I've ever seen. I'm not even sure that 'gentrification' comes close to what it means in North America where economic divides seem far more blatant. The first time we were in Berlin we asked a cab to take us to our friend's place in Kreuzberg and he looked at us like we didn't know what we getting ourselves into - he likened it 'Harlem' and 'South London'. Evidently he's never seen either. In any case, such a building really has no place here.

Anyway, this is what I saw today as I walked through Kreuzberg and over the canal to the edge of Treptow where we live.



Tonight, Aidan played a show waaay up in a neighbourhood called Wedding at Mastul - part cafe, part gallery - with touring Bostonian Animal Hospital. It was an intimate sort of affair, but the music was great and so was the locally distilled gin.