Story and Photos by Nikko Lencek-Inagaki
My boyfriend and I didn't know this coming to Berlin, but during summer the sun doesn't set until 10pm or so, rising with full chorus of birdsong at around 3am. This may be deeply confusing when exiting a club, but certainly does not deter anyone from going and staying out.
Last night, for example, caught up thumping to Euro techno-trash knee-deep in queer Berlin's young, beautiful and restless -- although particularly suave -- at the weekly Berlin Hilton, we stepped out for a breather around 3:30am and, blinded by sunlight, spun heel and ducked back inside to await proper morning-time, which is what most everyone else did, too. I love Wednesdays.
Otherwise, it has been a low-key, cultural activities day. Learning from past mistakes, we took our bikes around the city, stopping at a mostly worthwhile Wolfgang Tillmans exhibit (through Aug. 24th, 2008) at the cavernous former train station-cum-artspace, the Hamburger Bahnhoff; the newly minted concrete/video memorial to the persecution of LGBT people by the Nazi party during WWII, which was unveiled on May 27th this year and is located in the massive Tiergarten across from the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
Finally, we ended up back in the Kreuzberg area at a gem called Stand Up Opera. Well- and professionally-trained young opera singers literally stunned the audience with their voices, singing from barely yards away and making us erupt in laughter with the burlesque-y 'liberties' they took with their favorite arias and duets.
This morning, Café Farben (Lübbener Strasse and Gürlizter Strasse) has been key to recovering from yesterday, providing breezy outdoor areas, deliciously fresh and massive vegetarian salads, and cup after cup of good strong coffee. Farben is well-populated by young professionals, which is odd because it is noon on a Thursday and writing this seems to be the most work anyone here is doing!
