Mai 2010

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for Mai 2010.

Sandsation and Other Funky Stuff

31. Mai 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch, Goldman's Bar, Music by Paul | 1 comment

sandstationOnce again there are some great things going on both around town and at The Circus. , For those looking to hang out close to the circus and enjoy some good live music, can really recommend Schokoladen this Wednesday – Sandra Kolstad is performing.  Some good clubbing options this week, weekend club hosts none other than Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister) and for some live music, Thievery Corporation is performing over at Huxleys.

At The Circus on Tuesday night we have a member of Australian Band ” Dukes of Windsor” ( Nominated for 2 Aria awards in 2008) spinning some tunes for us. Lastly, Sandsation 2010 – International Sand sculpture festival kicks of at the end of the week (Sunday – SEE PHOTO) – If the weather is good, it might be a nice idea to check things out and enjoy a beer or two on the beach!

Goldman’s Bar

*** Free keg beer each night of the week for Hostel guests starting @ 8pm until empty***
Tuesday Night:  Club Night (22:00) – with DJ Scott (Dukes Of Windsor – Indie, Pop, Rock).
Thursday Night:  Live Music (22:00) with “Jude The Obscure” (Indie, Rock, Garage)
Saturday Night : Karaoke Klub

Fabisch

Wednesday night (19:00):  Aperitif  – with fingerfood & Dj Frau Brex.
Friday night (22:00): Live music with Hoppenstedt & Behm ( Jazz Duo)
Sunday Night (22:00): Live music with Berlin Sling (Lounge, Jazz, Pop) More info: www.myspace.com/berlinsling

Around Town

Wednesday (21:00) Schokoladen – Lofi Lounge: Sandra Kolstad ( Piano Pop) !!!! Top Tip!!!!
Saturday  (22:00) Weekend Club: Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister)
Sunday    (22:00) Huxleys Neue Welt : Thievery Corporation

SANDSATION 2010 ( June 6 – August 29, 2010)
Address: Europaplatz 1 10557, Berlin

Again, the most renowned sand sculpture artists from all over the world will come together for the International Sand Sculpture Festival SANDSATION. Welcoming up to 120,000 fascinated guests each year, the only urban sand art festival in Europe easily established itself in Berlin’s vast cultural landscape.

From June 6th until August 29th there’ll be carving, moulding, partying and sun bathing on the 4,000sqm site.

Becker’s African Diary #2: Leaving on a Jet Plane

30. Mai 2010 in Becker's African Diary, Travel by Andreas | 6 comments

airplane(As you might have seen on the blog, Andreas is setting off for three months of motorbike riding, football watching and general exploring down in southern Africa.
The plane to Windhoek leaves today, and here are some of his thoughts as he is about to depart…)

Berlin, 30.05.2010

A few hours to go, packing more or less finished, the flat cleaned, the bike on it´s way to Namibia…time to calm down.

The last weeks have been pretty hectic, rushed, and intense, with the renovations of the hostel, volcanoes breaking out, and with the attempt to get the bike prepared and inspected, test ridden, Carnets organized, insurances checked, bank mangers comforted and guide books read…

But, worse than being busy was coming to terms with the fact that I’ll have to do the motorbike trip of 11 weeks through  the countries of Southern Africa all by myself, which is definitely not perfect.

Travelling the Kalahari desert and the Karoo on bikes, criss-crossing south Africa watching the games of the World Cup and seeing the Lake Malawi in northern Mozambique was a plan some friends of mine and me have developed watching the magnificent World Cup 2006 in our home country – actually, in the beginning it was planned to head down all the way on bikes starting from Berlin. Over the years reality hit. We realized that time wise we would not be able to be away from our friends, families and work for the 6-8 months it would have taken, then the first one dropped out because bike riding was not his thing, kids came to others that do not allow an absence of months, and in the end we were 2, an American friend of mine and myself.

Now, a string of unhappy events later – a broken ankle, an economical crisis and other unfortunate happenings – I had to learn in the last few weeks that my beloved BMW 1200 GS Adventure might be my only companion on those long overland streets between Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth. I will miss Chris a lot when having a smoke on petrol stations in Lesotho and in the evenings, after 12 hour rides in street side motels to reflect the day….

Nevertheless, a dream of mine is getting real. Being a kid and having a  small poster of the XT 500 hanging on the walls of my otherwise naked bedroom I dreamed of riding through African deserts, and it is about to get real. Now. I love that..I am a happy man..

Having done a 3-month bike ride to the Middle East in 2008 alone, riding through places such as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria and the shattering streets of Albania I think I do have an idea what to expect when it comes the sheer riding, but I feel I am not prepared for the beauty of Africa and the effects it will have on me. I am quite sure that the sounds, the natural wonders and the souls of Southern Africa will have a lasting effect on me, hopefully change me, and help me finding answers on how to spend the next years of my life.

Plus, I hope I’ll see some great football..Although the chances of little Lahm lifting the trophy – can he actually physically do that? – are more than slim, all the tournaments I have visited so far – France, Japan, Korea and our very own of course – have been among the greatest travel memories of mine. The passion of billions of people on this planet from all corners of the globe focusing in one spot, for 4 weeks, the unlimited number of stories of a Shakespearean dimension that become immediately part of the national memory adds an intensity to the host nation that is irresistible. More intense than anything I have had the privilege to experience when it comes to peaceful events..

So, what´s the plan? Leaving today for Windhoek in Namibia, picking up my bike, making my way down to Cape Town for the next days, leaving after a few days for Jo´burg where I’ll see the opening ceremony and the first game, South Africa vs Mexico..The next day seeing the same loss-of-fear-paralyzed English Team playing the Soccer World Power US, and then, the next day, the Invincibles aka Germany playing the hot shots from, wait, some faraway place, where, to my surprise, people do seem to live who like sports which does not include running over your opponent and trying to break his backbone..

After that free rolling, picking games as they come along, visiting the Finals in Jo´burg and then 5 more weeks through, hopefully, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and back to Namibia..

If you like, stay tuned, this might be  a small collection of badly shot videos, amateurish photos and semi-poetic e-Mails, but at least, Mama, you´ll see that I am enjoying myself..:-)..

Hope you all have a great summer, sing silently “It´s coming home…” at your breakfast table, and we see each other soon..

Andreas

Becker’s African Diary #1: And Away We Go!

28. Mai 2010 in Becker's African Diary, Stuff We Like, Travel by Paul | Comments closed

As some of you might know, Andreas Becker – who is one of the owners of The Circus – is heading down to southern Africa for the next three months, where he will be riding his motorbike through Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Lesotho…stopping off for the odd football game here or there.

But then, you do not need me to tell you what he is up to, as Andreas has promised to make some short videos and blog entries throughout his trip, and here is the first:

You can keep up to date with Andreas’s trip here on the Circus Blog, where all his videos and posts will be collected under Becker’s African Diary.

Stuff We Like #5: Das Direktorenhaus

27. Mai 2010 in Art, Berlin, Design, Stuff We Like by Sandra

5e35ca81b0Just opened in Berlin, the Direktorenhaus is a new “art space” that aims to combine traditional art and craft methods with analogue technology and digital media. The first exhibitions – which are detailed on the website – look extremely interesting, as is the building itself. Built as part of the State Mint in 1935, the secured vault was used during the Second World War to protect artworks from the city’s state museums from bomb damage. So it already has (kind of) artistic history, even before its current incarnation.

The Direktorenhaus can be found at Am Krögel in Berlin-Mitte, overlooking the river Spree, and is open from Monday to Saturday, 11am until 7pm.

Jim Fixed It for Shani…to Learn to Juggle

26. Mai 2010 in Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Circus News by Paul | Comments closed

Jim'll Fix It BadgeAs you might know, we have our very own Jim at The Circus, who in the spirit of this man – only minus the cigar, the jingle-jangle jewellry, and running marathons in shell suits – has decided to reserect the spirit of popular British children’s television show Jim’ll Fix It.

For his first “Fix”, Jim arranged for someone staying at The Circus to have their very own personal juggling workshop, which as the weather was finally fine took place in the nearby Weinbergspark. Our teacher was Declan, our student was Shani from Sydney, Australia, Jim joined in the fun, and the juggling lesson went something like this:

1) The warm up. As with all physical activity, it is important to prepare your body for what is to follow. So the first step was to stretch out those arms, rotate those shoulders, and do a little dance.

Warm Up

2) Beginning with one ball and then onto two, Declan explained the basic concept…this was obviously a fascinating moment for Bella the dog, who came over to join in the fun.

Two Balls and a Friend

3) After the preparations, the tips and tricks from Declan, and whole minutes of practise, Shani was ready to attempt the three balls…look Mum, juggling!

Shani Attempts Three

4) After such a intense workshop, which included visits by small dogs, the awed gasp of kindergarten children as Jim kept three balls in the air at the same time, and the amused smiles of sunseekers stretched out in the park, it was all over…all that was left was the team photo.

Team Photos

A very pleasant morning in the park…and keep your eye on the blog and the website for next installments of The Circus’s own Jim’ll Fix It…next time it could be you.

(Altogether now…“Now you’ve done it, Jim has fixed it for you, and you and you and bah, bah, baaah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah-bah baaah…”)

Eurovision Song Contest Party @ The Circus

25. Mai 2010 in Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch, Goldman's Bar, Music, Stuff We Like by Paul | 1 comment

eurovision06_wideweb__470x312,0Oh Lordi (geddit?), it is that time of year again. Every twelve months the nations of Europe come together in the spirit of cultural exchange, for an evening of poptastic fun that features more cheese than a Dutch lorry crossing the border into Germany. And every year at the Circus Aussies, Americans and others who did not grow up on this great continent of ours come down to Goldman’s Bar, look at the images, listen to the tunes and then turn to each other and say “What the f**k? Are these guys for real?”

But us Europeans should be proud, yes PROUD of annual celebration of europop in all its weird and wonderful interpretations. Where else would we witness such era-defining artistic performances such as Finnish “rockers” Lordi (see photo), Lithuanians poking fun at the whole enterprise by declaring themselves winners in the chorus of their song, the annual national embarrasment of the British entry every single year, or tunes from Moldova, Armenia and other corners of this great continent?

And when the music’s over, we get to see what local newsreaders in Tallinn, Valletta and Skopje look like when they give us their nation’s results. Like football, Eurovision allows us Europeans to be peacefully biased for and against our national neighbours by tapping a few digits into our mobile phones. Which is why Britain or Germany never win, and the Greek public always give their 12 points to Cyprus.

What more could you want? An evening of top, top entertainment where we can laugh with and at ourselves…surely the sign of a mature, civilised culture. So, you Europeans out there, pull that blue flag with the gold stars – our very own Star Spangled Banner if you will – fly it with pride, and celebrate the diversity of language, culture and glittery costumes that makes our continent what it is.

Our Eurovision Party is taking place on Saturday evening in Goldman’s Bar, followed by a chance to emulate our new-found musical heroes with the infamous Karaoke Klub to follow.

Here’s what else is going on at The Circus this week:

Goldman’s Bar

*** Free keg beer for hostel guests  each night of the week starting @ 8pm until empty***

Tuesday Night:  Club Night (22:00) – with VJ Patrice Lambeau SUI (Indie music).

Wednesday Night (22:00): “Word Express” – Spoken word performance – with host Lady Gaby.

Thursday Night:  Live Music (22:00) with “Shindig” (Celtic, Folk, Singalong) More info : www.myspace.com/seanintrubadore

Saturday Night : Special Karaoke Klub evening – with “Eurovision Song Contest Party”!

Fabisch

Wednesday night (19:00):  Aperitif  – with fingerfood & Dj Frau Brex.

Friday night (22:00): Live music with  Daniel Arruda (Brasilian, Bossa/ Fusion) More info: www.myspace.com/danielarruda

Sunday Night (21:00): Live music with Brian Mitchell (Solo Jazz Guitar)

Forza Pankow! Football in the Berlin suburbs

20. Mai 2010 in Berlin, Circus News, Football, Stuff We Like by Jared

pankow football(Jared and some friends go to watch the football…or, what the Circus staff do in their spare time…Who’s Who from left to right: Andrew, Toga, Josefine, Sean, Bernie, Konny, Jared and Cami )

This past Sunday I woke up with the traditional feeling that it was Saturday night the day before. I woke up to my handy going off with a text: “Football today meet at Pankow S-bahn at 13:30”. So I nursed my small hangover and jumped on the tram to be taken way out of my hood. (I am known for never leaving Berlin Mitte). I arrived in Pankow and could only think: Dorothy, we are not in Kansas no more.

I arrived in Pankow to see a girl beating up her boy friend. Not something you see very often…but as Jim and little Jo Jo arrived with Andy and little Bernie I told them the story and it seemed to be some what of a regular occurrence in this part of the world. Sean rolled in and then Toga on his bike and to top it off, Konny and Cami in a car.

We caught the bus to the stadium, where I discovered we were to watch Konny’s old team Einheit Pankow, who were playing against BFC Preußen.  Arriving at the out door pitch Konny shook hands with the guy selling tickets and organized us a deal at the door. Making our way to the beer Konny seemed to know everybody there. I knew Konny could play football (since I am the official circus physio)  but I didn’t know about his good old days as  a famous player for Pankow. He had to hang up his boots  since he got married and the team demands 3 days of training and one game day.

We hit the fan curve. It was just us all speaking English and about 50 other people drinking  crates of beer and smoking butts.. The away teams fans must have  got lost since they had about 5 of them there.

The game kicked off and we watched and yelled what ever and when even Konny told us too. We got a couple rounds of beer in before half time, and at half time it was time to wash a few sausages down with a few more beers. The second half was supposed to be more exciting than the first half, but the final result was 0-0 and there were few chances for Pankow to score.

The game ended and it was time to retire to the club house. Konny gave me tour of the club house where the players were enjoying asparagus and potatoes. They all looked at me like I was in the wrong place but Konny had my back and showed photos of his famous father on the pitch , in the period when he was a leading light in the over 50s team. Now he is playing for the over 60s!

Paul, Katrin and little Lotte showed up about a half hour after the game – we are still trying to figure out why there were so late – to drink a few beers (not Lotte). The sun came out later in the day and the kids were having a great time.

It was a great day to hang out with people since most have kids these days and they got no time for beer drinking. The weather held out for us, the beer was plentiful and well priced, and the football was as exciting as it gets. Actually I was more fascinated by the planes passing by about to land at Tegal.

Thanks for everyone that made or Sunday trip so much fun and I am sure when there is another game and a trip to the forgotten corners of the Berlin football world,  Konny will let you all know.

Update: Turmkunst 2010 at the Bierpinsel

19. Mai 2010 in Art, Berlin, Design, Events, Photography, Streetart, Stuff We Like by Paul | 1 comment

steglitz

Last month, Digel made a post about the streetart project Turmkunst 2010 which is taking place down in Steglitz, in the south west of Berlin. For the project, a team of artists are decorating the outside of the Bierpinsel – whilst inside the tower they have set up exhibition space and a cafe/bar for the duration of the project. Some of the first photographs from the team have been published, including the one above.

Some more links:
Turmkunst 2010 – Streetart XXL (official website)
The photo documentation of the project comes from Just – website here
Political viewpoint – what the mayor of Berlin thinks.

« Older entries