Psicle: Ich bin ein Berliner

Having not seen Lutz for ages due to his sailing around the world we decide to eschew the usual trip to coincide with a St Pauli home game and go for an international friendly instead. Well, as friendly as Germany vs England can be which isn't altogether harmonious off the pitch as it turns out. It happens to fall on Easter Saturday so makes for a long weekend. I fly out late afternoon on Good Friday and am glad of my earphones as the two rows behind and at the side of me are taken by Ingerlund supporters. How can a fellow read an intellectual book such as Sapiens with drunken ooligans out shouting each other about sexual conquests and drunken brawls. Lutz meets me at the airport and on the platform of the autobahn going into town has to help an English couple negotiate the ticketing system which is crazily complicated. The guy has shorts and England top on which Lutz thinks is hilarious and typical of the English. He lived in London for quite a while so knows that we go out with next to nothing on in the freezing cold and wet. Makes us hardy. Whereas the Germans are clad in full winter uniform usually made of extremely sensible "functional" materials. Waterproof jackets? Who needs them. (I did take one but didn't need it as it didn't rain all weekend). We decide to go straight out rather than waste time going to his so we go for a quick drink in a bar and as we walk in I've forgotten how awful smoky pubs are. You can still smoke in German bars and it's thick with it. Taking a if you can't beat them join them attitude I decide to be at one with the people of Berlin (as JFK famously said, he didn't say that he actually was a Berliner). Well, when in Rome, or rather when in the homeland of the gothic hoards... Unsure of whether to go for old school punk, a punk rock karioke or some psychobilly we plumb for the latter mainly because it's in the Wild At Heart which is a great venue. Leaving my bag just inside the door (surely I wouldn't do that in London) we go in and it's pretty busy. There's a lot of serious rockabilly and psychobilly haircuts and we guess that every 'billy in Berlin if not eastern Germany is here tonight. They're playing straight up rock n roll music and soon enough the first band take the stage. King Moroi are a straight up rockabilly band complete with double bass and they sure churn out a great noise. The singing alternates between shouty bassist for the punkier songs and more crooning guitarist who sounds a lot like Johnny Cash. Indeed the guy is American and as we find out later when chatting outside from Chicago. The drummer drives along the songs whilst the bass adds a lot of rocka psycho billy flavour often going off into intricate solos. The guitar is a great deep twangy dirty sound just like rock n roll should be fantastic. After a quick set change the Astro Zombies take the stage. These lot are French and the rich vein of the Gallic RnR tradition has been mined tonight. They flit between teasing lo fi country rock and roll ditties which then often speed up tempo and energy until we've flown past RnR and then punk and gone full pelt into psychobilly country getting the audience jumping and the macho guys with big punky quiffs standing in a circle in the front throwing their arms out and around themselves. I'm sure back in the day that was a way to ensure you didn't get thrown about the mosh pit too much but this was a non contact mosh. Odd but I guess you're less likely to be thrown on the floor (see FWF entry). So all in all an excellent night of rock and roll. I'm surprised it wasn't more crowded as everywhere in Berlin seems to have RnR playing. I don't really notice how odd it is but the bands sing and chat in English which is the second language here. If not the first. So many signs in the city and cafes have both German and English and many are just in English. Must be odd for locals. Is it just Berlin or is German dyeing out? (there's a Gunter Grass book title in there?) We don't stay for the post band disco and head off to the Frankel pub which like so many in Berlin is grubby with foul toilets but great atmosphere, graffiti and cool looking people. Lutz says everyone mad or interesting in Germany ends up in Berlin. Hamburg could give it a run for it's money though. After hours we listen to music back a Lutz's.

Wake late on Saturday feeling the worse for wear. Trip to the supermarket and breakfast sorts us out. The supermarket isn't cheap and eating out is cheaper than buying food to cook. Crazy. Most places have beer at under £2 a bottle even with the crap exchange rate. No wonder everyone wanders around the city clutching bottles of beer. We chat about the UK leaving the EU and Lutz says that most people in Germany think that we must be crazy. They've had no coherent reason given as to why we'd leave. I'm not sure that I have either but that doesn't mean there aren't any. We get the train out to an old disused Spreepark amusement park on the river Spree but they've taken down the main attractions and put up a big fence so we can't go in anymore. Anyway we have a walk in the lovely sunshine down the river detouring into Treptower Park to see a massive Russian monument commemorating WWII and it's massive. A hidden gem. Walking back into town everyone wanders around with bottles of beer. Like you're at a festival or surrounded by smart and trendy looking alcoholics. We then get the tram back to Lutz's where Tina is waiting for us with cyborg ear. We sit in the sun drinking prosecco and chatting. Lutz's flat straddles the old east west division line and right next to the wall and a replaced church that was out of bounds for the east Germans and became a symbol of the divided city. We go out to eat and I try my first currywurst. A vegan currywurst no less (they have two vegan options!) with chips and vegan mayo. Berlin truly is the vegan capital of the world. So many places advertise vegan options and everyone understands what vegans eat. From eating we travel out to the 1930s Olympiastadion to watch the Germany vs England friendly. The German guys on the train know the premier league well and soon most of the carriage is gently teasing me about penalty shoot outs. Once at the ground we discover that you can drink beer in the ground and at the seats so we're not left thirsty. We're next to the English fan block and there's a fair few on our side too. Some of who are climbing over the dividing fence and then someone clocks a steward on the nose and there's blood everywhere. Cue riot police to wade in and make their presence known. On the pitch it's fairly exciting too. Germany score each side of half time and then England stage a magnificent comeback to win 3-2. I just catch our winner as I come out of the tunnel up to the stands having been for a comfort break (all the beer). Soon the match is over and the Germans stream out. Lots of English near us singing and the team come over to applaud the travelling fans. The PA starts blaring out Always Look on the Bright Side of Life when is enthusiastically sung by the English quarter and those of us left on the other side. Poor old Lutz has to endure this and everyone realising that he's not English. Good sport Lutz! We have an uneventful train home then go for cheap pizza then into an ex squatters pub playing northern soul but Lutz isn't into soul music and we're both tired and so go back home. Well, it is well past midnight.

Another lovely bright morning and we walk to the Mauerpark flea market where we wander round not buying anything and listen to a couple of bands then get a train to the 1930s Tempelhof Airport now disused and Berliners sensibly voted to not build on it but to leave it as it is. We can't get a tour as it's currently being used to house refugees which is a far better place to be than Calais' Jungle. We sit in deckchairs lapping up the sun at a beer garden. Very civilised, We walk back through Kreuzberg stopping for cheap but lovely asian food before stopping off at the must see Ramones museum. It's Euros 3.50 in or 5 including a beer. Value for money indeed! It's not that big but is playing Rock and Roll High School (not worth the entrance fee) and elsewhere they're playing live footage (well worth the entrance fee). We lounge in chairs drinking beer and loving th excellent music. As there's nothing much on tonight in Berlin and we've walked for miles and we've had two exciting nights we stay in a watch a film about the East German Stasi called The Lives of Others. Very good film and recommend.

Monday is sunny too so we walk into the centre past the Reichstag, the old Jewish quarter and museums.
Johanna and Levi are soon back so I'm engrossed in painting and drawing and reading the new book I bought Levi. We eat at an upmarket though very reasonably priced fully vegan restaurant which is nouvelle cuisine style but excellent food and lovely puddings. Vegan is so mainstream now in Berlin. Thanks to Lutz and Johanna for treating me. Afterwards I'm engaged in railway construction until the Little Nipper goes to bed. Us adults have an early night as we're all tired. I slink off in the morning rain to get to the airport too early as usual. Back in England we're promised good weather by our plane captain but all we get is a thunder clap and a hailstorm at Gatwick. Soon I'm home and although I may feel at one with Berliners I'm a Londoner at heart. It's good to be back.