Berlin report
Jun. 7th, 2008 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gothikmausThe Berlin pictures are finally online:
http://pics.livejournal.com/gothikmaus/gallery/0001pwd7
I couldn't take any decent picture on Friday as I was stuck in the third row between Bela and Rod, I could see perfectly well, but it was too crowded to take photos. I gave it a few tries but then gave up. Things went better on Saturday and Sunday, I was standing in the front and second row respectively and after a while I even found the right setting to take nice photos without a flashlight.
And here's the report from my trip.
Thursday
The fangirling began on the plane, I was browsing through the AirBerlin Magazine and a title caught my eye: "Urlaub am Felsen von James Bond". Of course I only read "Urlaub am Felsen" and started giggling.
My friend was busy in the morning and early afternoon, so I put my bag in a locker at the Zoo station and wandered around till 5 PM. I finally saw the inside of the Gedächtniskirche, bought some stuff for my mum at the Kadewe (I swear they must be the cheapest items they have there, like 90 cents XD), saw the Neptunbrunnen (I'd never seen it before, WTF?) and visited the Marienkirche.
After eating a yummy kebab ans squeeing at a mum sparrow feeding her chick, I went to my friend's house, where I stayed for dinner. We sort of lost track of time and I left around 10 PM, fetched my stuff at the station and went to Jannowitzbrücke to meet Jenny. By that time I had completely lost my voice and could only whisper or croak. But I still squeed when I saw she had got me 3 packs of apple and cinnamon Cheerios from the US! Eeeh!
Friday
I walked to Ostbahnhof with Jenny and decided to take a walk around before going to the Wuhlheide, as it was only 9:20 AM. I found an Internet café in Kreuzberg, read some hot B/F slash, had a cough fit and then went.
I got to the Wuhlheide around 12:20 and there were already about 50 people waiting. WTF? The security guys were still building the gates, when they were finally done we could sit down in the shades, as it was very warm and sunny. I also managed to exchange a few words with another fan, who was positively shocked when I told her I'm from Milan. ^_^
When the gates opened, all hell broke loose at usual, besides you have to run up a hill and then go down some stairs, but when I saw the first row was already full I slowed down and searched for a decent spot. I ended up in the third row between Bela and Rod and could see perfectly.
Before the concert I kept thinking "Is it really worth it? Taking a plane, waiting so long, being crushed... All in order to see this stupid band..." But at the first chord of Himmelblau all my doubts disappeared and then when the curtain fell I knew just why I wanted to be there. And I thought the same thing I had thought at my very first DÄ concert at the SO36: "OMG Rod is so much prettier than in pictures!" XD
The concert was good but far too crowded, luckily I managed to get some water from the security. BFR didn't talk much (for their standards) and I had the impression the audience didn't really "let go", but it was a good show. During "Deine Freundin" the audience had to scream a typical Berlin comment, that is, "Mann, halt die Fresse!" And at one point a dozen male dancers wearing only silver boxers got on stage and started "dancing." I was dying.
After the concert I met up with Almut, bought a "Jazz my Ass" T-shirt and we went back to Jenny's flat, where I lasted about 30 minutes before collapsing.
Saturday
I got to the Wuhlheide earlier, still when I arrived around 11:00 AM there were already 20 people sitting in front of the gates. DÄ fans are crazy. I killed time reading a book on haunted houses while waiting for Almut to get there and, even if it was a Saturday, it wasn't much more crowded than the day before.
We managed to get to the front, but Almut fell and sprained her ankle while running down the stairs and we couldn't even sit down in peace because there were three girls who were constantly trying to squeeze in, so we had to stand. They spent the two hours before the show trying to push us away and when one of them asked to be taken out during the concert, I was told off by one of the security guys because I moved a bit to the right, so I wouldn't be so crushed anymore. All that because there was a short girl behind the one who had been taken out, the security guys had seen her but I hadn't (how could I?) and they thought I was trying to push her away. Even after I apologised and said I hadn't seen her, the guy was still pissed off and the discussion went on after the show, when he told me not to "play dumb", said I'm "asocial" and warned me he would throw me out if he saw me again the next day. I apologised more than once, but he just wouldn't listen. Arsehole.
That pretty much destroyed the mood of a great show, the guys had seemed to be in better form than the day before, the setlist had been brilliant and I even got a pick from Rod (he pretty much threw it in my face, I was standing in front of him), but that bastard had to go and ruin everything.
Some of the highlights of the show: in the end Bela reached out his right hand towards Farin and turned to Rod at the same time and Farin, instead of taking his hand, just stepped closer until his crotch brushed Bela's palm. Perv! XD
The played "Dinge von denen"! Bela and Farin swapped clothes, Bela was wearing one of Farin's T-shirts and holding his tea cup, while Farin had put on Bela's coat and hat and was playing air-drums with his sticks. Here, I have evidence:
Oh, and in the middle of the concert I saw Rod then Bela look at something with an incredulous expression, so I turned around and saw a guy climbing up one of the big steel threads attached to the stage covering. Crazy!
On the way home Almut's ankle got worse and the road to Jenny's flat was blocked, there were about 30 police cars and vans, broken bottles and what looked like the aftermath of some kind of urban guerrilla lying all around. Ah, the joys of living close to an occupied area.
Sunday
Almut's ankle had swollen up during the night, so we brought her to the hospital. Luckily there was nothing broken, but they bandaged her foot and gave her crutches. By the time we got to the Wuhlheide it was already 2:30 but it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. The fans waiting were much more lively than the other two days and time went by relatively quickily. Also, I love guys wearing skirts. :3
We were among the first to get in and lost each other in the mess, but when I got down in the field I saw Jenny standing in the front row left from Farin! :D I stood in the second row a bit more to the right and it was perfect: I could see everything (all right, Rod sort of disappeared every now and then) and no one pushed me, I wasn't even sweated by the end of the concert.
The show was by far the best of the three, the guys kept talking and joking, during "Jag elskar Sverige" farin kept coming up with new lines just as Bela was trying to walk back to the drum kit, so he had to run back to the bongos. Until he told the roadies to just remove the bongos, quick! XD
And I squeed when at one point Bela told Farin "Gimme a kiss!" and got ready to get a kiss, he moved his mic aside and closed his eyes, but Farin bent down and kissed his crotch! XD
EDIT: And how could I forget this precious moment: Bela walking up to the edge of the stage and urging the audience to spit on him, while he just stood there with his mouth open. EWWW. And Farin telling him "So now you finally know the difference between semen and saliva!" XD
The end came more abruptly this time, they had talked so much they had lost track of time and were surprised when one of the roadies told Farin it was 11:00PM and they had to stop (Farin: "No music after 11:00, or other bands who want to play in the Wuhlheide will have problems. You don't want Rosenstolz to have problems, do you?" XD)
The journey home started with some difficulties as Almut couldn't walk properly, until we convinced one of the guys who were selling beers to "lend" us their shopping cart to use as wheelchair. XD
The worst part is that I spent most of the night coughing my lungs out, probably waking up the whole building. =/
Monday
Jenny and I walked Almut to the station, then Jenny went to work and I had a walk around the Brandenburger Tor, saw the memorial to the murdered jews and headed to Potsdamer Platz to eat something before going to my friend's place. At the Arkaden I had 2 more fangirly moments: I had just walked out of a supermarket when I heard a familiar tune; 2 seconds later I realised it was Junge and I just had to walk into the shop where they were playing it. ^_^ Then I sat down and ate something and, just as I was finishing my Brötchen, T, the chef of the DÄ security, walked right in front of me. The first thing I thought was "OMGWTF that's T!!! Stalkstalkstalk!" But I'm not a creepy stalker, so I only follwed him with my eyes as he left the building.
In the afternoon I went to my friend's place, assisted him while he composed the score for an animated short film, went for a walk with him at a small park near his house and arrived spectacularly late at Görlizerbahnhof, where poor Jenny was waiting for me. =/ We had dinner at one of my favourite placed in Berlin, Yellow Sunshine, and then walked around Kreuzberg.
When we got back to his flat and I was done packing up, I looked around the empty living room... and had to choke back tears at the thought it was already over. =(
Tuesday
I woke up at 2:30 AM as I had to take a night bus and then the bus to Tegel and wasn't quite sure where the bus stop was. Luckily I found it with no problems (but I avoided Oranienstrasse just in case, it was 3 in the morning and I was alone) and got to the airport perfectly on time. Once on the plane I had tears in my eyes again, even if I knew I would be back in little more than a month. I can't help it, it happened when I was leaving London too, but with Berlin is even more intense. Well, at least I didn't burst into tears on the U-Bahn platform at Alexanderplatz like I did 2 years ago. =/
And to make things worse, it took me 4 hours to get home from the airport in Bergamo because of an accident on the highway. Welcome back.
God, this is ridiculously long...
http://pics.livejournal.com/gothikmaus/gallery/0001pwd7
I couldn't take any decent picture on Friday as I was stuck in the third row between Bela and Rod, I could see perfectly well, but it was too crowded to take photos. I gave it a few tries but then gave up. Things went better on Saturday and Sunday, I was standing in the front and second row respectively and after a while I even found the right setting to take nice photos without a flashlight.
And here's the report from my trip.
Thursday
The fangirling began on the plane, I was browsing through the AirBerlin Magazine and a title caught my eye: "Urlaub am Felsen von James Bond". Of course I only read "Urlaub am Felsen" and started giggling.
My friend was busy in the morning and early afternoon, so I put my bag in a locker at the Zoo station and wandered around till 5 PM. I finally saw the inside of the Gedächtniskirche, bought some stuff for my mum at the Kadewe (I swear they must be the cheapest items they have there, like 90 cents XD), saw the Neptunbrunnen (I'd never seen it before, WTF?) and visited the Marienkirche.
After eating a yummy kebab ans squeeing at a mum sparrow feeding her chick, I went to my friend's house, where I stayed for dinner. We sort of lost track of time and I left around 10 PM, fetched my stuff at the station and went to Jannowitzbrücke to meet Jenny. By that time I had completely lost my voice and could only whisper or croak. But I still squeed when I saw she had got me 3 packs of apple and cinnamon Cheerios from the US! Eeeh!
Friday
I walked to Ostbahnhof with Jenny and decided to take a walk around before going to the Wuhlheide, as it was only 9:20 AM. I found an Internet café in Kreuzberg, read some hot B/F slash, had a cough fit and then went.
I got to the Wuhlheide around 12:20 and there were already about 50 people waiting. WTF? The security guys were still building the gates, when they were finally done we could sit down in the shades, as it was very warm and sunny. I also managed to exchange a few words with another fan, who was positively shocked when I told her I'm from Milan. ^_^
When the gates opened, all hell broke loose at usual, besides you have to run up a hill and then go down some stairs, but when I saw the first row was already full I slowed down and searched for a decent spot. I ended up in the third row between Bela and Rod and could see perfectly.
Before the concert I kept thinking "Is it really worth it? Taking a plane, waiting so long, being crushed... All in order to see this stupid band..." But at the first chord of Himmelblau all my doubts disappeared and then when the curtain fell I knew just why I wanted to be there. And I thought the same thing I had thought at my very first DÄ concert at the SO36: "OMG Rod is so much prettier than in pictures!" XD
The concert was good but far too crowded, luckily I managed to get some water from the security. BFR didn't talk much (for their standards) and I had the impression the audience didn't really "let go", but it was a good show. During "Deine Freundin" the audience had to scream a typical Berlin comment, that is, "Mann, halt die Fresse!" And at one point a dozen male dancers wearing only silver boxers got on stage and started "dancing." I was dying.
After the concert I met up with Almut, bought a "Jazz my Ass" T-shirt and we went back to Jenny's flat, where I lasted about 30 minutes before collapsing.
Saturday
I got to the Wuhlheide earlier, still when I arrived around 11:00 AM there were already 20 people sitting in front of the gates. DÄ fans are crazy. I killed time reading a book on haunted houses while waiting for Almut to get there and, even if it was a Saturday, it wasn't much more crowded than the day before.
We managed to get to the front, but Almut fell and sprained her ankle while running down the stairs and we couldn't even sit down in peace because there were three girls who were constantly trying to squeeze in, so we had to stand. They spent the two hours before the show trying to push us away and when one of them asked to be taken out during the concert, I was told off by one of the security guys because I moved a bit to the right, so I wouldn't be so crushed anymore. All that because there was a short girl behind the one who had been taken out, the security guys had seen her but I hadn't (how could I?) and they thought I was trying to push her away. Even after I apologised and said I hadn't seen her, the guy was still pissed off and the discussion went on after the show, when he told me not to "play dumb", said I'm "asocial" and warned me he would throw me out if he saw me again the next day. I apologised more than once, but he just wouldn't listen. Arsehole.
That pretty much destroyed the mood of a great show, the guys had seemed to be in better form than the day before, the setlist had been brilliant and I even got a pick from Rod (he pretty much threw it in my face, I was standing in front of him), but that bastard had to go and ruin everything.
Some of the highlights of the show: in the end Bela reached out his right hand towards Farin and turned to Rod at the same time and Farin, instead of taking his hand, just stepped closer until his crotch brushed Bela's palm. Perv! XD
The played "Dinge von denen"! Bela and Farin swapped clothes, Bela was wearing one of Farin's T-shirts and holding his tea cup, while Farin had put on Bela's coat and hat and was playing air-drums with his sticks. Here, I have evidence:
Oh, and in the middle of the concert I saw Rod then Bela look at something with an incredulous expression, so I turned around and saw a guy climbing up one of the big steel threads attached to the stage covering. Crazy!
On the way home Almut's ankle got worse and the road to Jenny's flat was blocked, there were about 30 police cars and vans, broken bottles and what looked like the aftermath of some kind of urban guerrilla lying all around. Ah, the joys of living close to an occupied area.
Sunday
Almut's ankle had swollen up during the night, so we brought her to the hospital. Luckily there was nothing broken, but they bandaged her foot and gave her crutches. By the time we got to the Wuhlheide it was already 2:30 but it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. The fans waiting were much more lively than the other two days and time went by relatively quickily. Also, I love guys wearing skirts. :3
We were among the first to get in and lost each other in the mess, but when I got down in the field I saw Jenny standing in the front row left from Farin! :D I stood in the second row a bit more to the right and it was perfect: I could see everything (all right, Rod sort of disappeared every now and then) and no one pushed me, I wasn't even sweated by the end of the concert.
The show was by far the best of the three, the guys kept talking and joking, during "Jag elskar Sverige" farin kept coming up with new lines just as Bela was trying to walk back to the drum kit, so he had to run back to the bongos. Until he told the roadies to just remove the bongos, quick! XD
And I squeed when at one point Bela told Farin "Gimme a kiss!" and got ready to get a kiss, he moved his mic aside and closed his eyes, but Farin bent down and kissed his crotch! XD
EDIT: And how could I forget this precious moment: Bela walking up to the edge of the stage and urging the audience to spit on him, while he just stood there with his mouth open. EWWW. And Farin telling him "So now you finally know the difference between semen and saliva!" XD
The end came more abruptly this time, they had talked so much they had lost track of time and were surprised when one of the roadies told Farin it was 11:00PM and they had to stop (Farin: "No music after 11:00, or other bands who want to play in the Wuhlheide will have problems. You don't want Rosenstolz to have problems, do you?" XD)
The journey home started with some difficulties as Almut couldn't walk properly, until we convinced one of the guys who were selling beers to "lend" us their shopping cart to use as wheelchair. XD
The worst part is that I spent most of the night coughing my lungs out, probably waking up the whole building. =/
Monday
Jenny and I walked Almut to the station, then Jenny went to work and I had a walk around the Brandenburger Tor, saw the memorial to the murdered jews and headed to Potsdamer Platz to eat something before going to my friend's place. At the Arkaden I had 2 more fangirly moments: I had just walked out of a supermarket when I heard a familiar tune; 2 seconds later I realised it was Junge and I just had to walk into the shop where they were playing it. ^_^ Then I sat down and ate something and, just as I was finishing my Brötchen, T, the chef of the DÄ security, walked right in front of me. The first thing I thought was "OMGWTF that's T!!! Stalkstalkstalk!" But I'm not a creepy stalker, so I only follwed him with my eyes as he left the building.
In the afternoon I went to my friend's place, assisted him while he composed the score for an animated short film, went for a walk with him at a small park near his house and arrived spectacularly late at Görlizerbahnhof, where poor Jenny was waiting for me. =/ We had dinner at one of my favourite placed in Berlin, Yellow Sunshine, and then walked around Kreuzberg.
When we got back to his flat and I was done packing up, I looked around the empty living room... and had to choke back tears at the thought it was already over. =(
Tuesday
I woke up at 2:30 AM as I had to take a night bus and then the bus to Tegel and wasn't quite sure where the bus stop was. Luckily I found it with no problems (but I avoided Oranienstrasse just in case, it was 3 in the morning and I was alone) and got to the airport perfectly on time. Once on the plane I had tears in my eyes again, even if I knew I would be back in little more than a month. I can't help it, it happened when I was leaving London too, but with Berlin is even more intense. Well, at least I didn't burst into tears on the U-Bahn platform at Alexanderplatz like I did 2 years ago. =/
And to make things worse, it took me 4 hours to get home from the airport in Bergamo because of an accident on the highway. Welcome back.
God, this is ridiculously long...
