The Sun BabelFish Blog

Berlin is a funky Zoo

The improbabily drive seems to have been in full swing on Saturday. After getting the second pair of keys for my new Berlin appartment and passing them to my flat mate Alex, I got on my bike and drove towards the Chaos Computer Club some 7 km away. My GPS was running out of batteries, and died completely as I reached the Jannowitzbrücke. As I looked around for directions, I recognized that I was right next to the c-base computer/culture club. So I cycled over, went in, plugged in my GPS into my laptop to recharge, and one thing leading to another got into a number of fun conversations. Amongst others I met Tobias Mathes and introduced him to secure distributed social networks which really seems to be a hit in Berlin.

I asked about how one gets to find a good party, as I had not celebrated my birthday, the date of the move in having coincided with it. There are too many options I was told. "Any party will do" I replied. Tobias invited me to come along to the Arena Sommer Safari party where his favorite DJ was playing. I had no idea what to expect, but was happy to go along as a night-club tourist.

We walked 1km and arrived at street packed full of puffed up, often shaved or crew cut men and their (sometimes fake) blond girl friends. A very unusual group for Berlin. I was told they were mostly from the northern smaller and poorer parts of Berlin. As I collected my €20 ticked we ran into aroemchen, a strong and very friendly Bavarian woman who had an electronic keyboard and a big cardboard star popping out of her backpack. She was the DJ and was herself waiting for her singer elahi. There must have been 5000 to 10000 people trying to get in. Streams of bodies pushing for the large entrance to an old brick building, beer bottles rolling on the floor, people pushing each other forward, backwards, sideways... Avoiding to step onto large muscular tough looking dudes toes. Inside was a huge space with a band playing in the distance. I did not feel like swimming through the crowd onto the packed dance floor, and was content looking at the various characters that turned up, some of them reminding me of the outrageous Backardi advertisment.

Somehow Tobias managed to end up getting a VIP pass for me and I found myself invited up to the stage floor, behind the DJ table, where we sat down after getting a large bottle of water. Tobias took out a Sony camera, and started filming the transition as DJ Aroma took the stage. From that position I was able to see the band spinning and singing 8 meters away, and the crowd dancing to the disco-punk sound released by our two Bavarian friends. I had a few beers and my head was swooning to the beat as I got up to dance to the final Berlin is a funky zoo.

The Zoo is not as bad as it used to be
It is only very funky since the 90ies
A lot of different species can be found
       come round
  stay for a while or longer
share their food and their behavior.
Try to get a little smoother
And though there's not a lot of luxury in our crew
It's ok to stay for me and you
because it's wild and funky in our Zoo
(Wild and funky in our zoo)

Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
yea Berlin *is*  *a* funky Zoo!

The teddy bears from Schöneberg
It loves to run in underwear
The beary is gay and never gray
he likes to stay the nights away

The monkeys in the Blue 8 Bar
in Herman platz which is quite far
The bar is far but not beyond
there's food around and drinks along

The drink is not beer but iron here
And TV says its weird here
But the mix is the mix, it's just the truth
Just like nature in the Zoo
 
Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
yea Berlin *is*  *a* funky Zoo!

Chuck is selling hemp or chicken
playing games and being tricky
Oh such lovely food here for the bear
but only with the propper gang wear

proper lease the penguin
looking like on heroin
spending weekends at the ranch
searching fish at minimal trance

you also find the panda bear
without bamboo but dancing square
in the black colcolgova 
which is not just very far

but in Kreuzberg and in Hein
another spot for hogs and swine
being naked like the fish
the old sweaty berlinish

Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
yea Berlin *is*  *a* funky Zoo!

The bearfoot ? is in the park
Dancing somedays till it's dark
No one watching and the groups
perfect playground lovely fos (?)

The bear lives in this funky zoo
just at times its like a loo
At other times it's cool and fresh
It's seduction and its fresh

the bear is heavy ego-tying(?)
living in this crazy shrine
He loves to dance just like you
cause Berlin is a funky zoo

Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
Berlin is a funky Zoo
yea Berlin *is*  *a* funky Zoo!

Next thing I was watching the sun rise over Berlin.

Posted at 07:07PM Aug 03, 2009 [permalink/trackback] by Henry Story in travel  |  Comments[2]