My Own Love Parade

I survived the dreaded 5am train ride to Berlin by wrapping myself in my sleeping bag, inflating neck pillow and doing all that I could to imagine that the drunk German tour group behind me was not actually there. Funny how the brain has a way of making things more fun when you are really sleepy!

I arrived in Berlin at around 11:30, raced to my hostel (in the former East), dropped my bags and went down to reception. You see, I had only been able to book one night this hostel because, for some strange reason, July 15 was all booked up. It turned out that they were indeed full, as is every other hostel in Berlin, excused by this mysterious occurrence known as "Love Parade." Yes, from what I have learned, this techno music parade/protest/excuse to take ecstasy and dance all night, has been on hiatus for the last two years due to funding problems. Well, now that the "love" is back, there's no room at the inn(s) for Ethan. Literally. I called around to few neighboring villages with the same result. Nada. I temporarily thought about partying all night in true raver spirit, but my night of no sleep and my 10am checkout time at the hostel got the best of me. So, faced with the probability of 24 hours in Berlin, I planned for Prague, knowing it was only a quick train ride away.

But not before another bike tour, a lightning fast look at the Berlin Wall and related sights, another evening of smooth, tasty German beer (mmm...) and a night walk with two older German men and their dogs. Neither spoke any English, but we bonded over our love of Golden Retrievers (a love which has no language barrier).

The next morning, I raced to the EurAide office at Berlin Hautbahnhopf and prayed for ticket availability. Indeed, there were tickets to Prague! Four trains leaving that day! Hurrah! Salvation and a hostel bed! However, the next train with availability left at 16:42, giving me a leisurely five hours to hang around this train station (hey, I never said I got up early!) With that time, I figured that a trip to sights and the Love Parade were more or less out of the question, especially considering that the line for bag check was up to an hour wait. I slumped against a wall and decided to make the best of it.

My first discovery was that German fast food is amazing! I hopped over to the food court, searching for some sort of lunch, and discovered a (get this) fast food fish restaurant. Not the breaded-and-fried variety that we are used to in the States. No, this was a filet of the best (and salmon too!) Comes on a real plate with potatoes and salad for the cost of a Big Mac Extra Value Meal. I ate greedily as I read a copy of the International Herald Tribune.

My next, and perhaps most entertaining, discovery is that the Love Parade unofficially starts in Berlin Hbf. Not any sort of really parading, but more the whole "we got dressed before we came to Berlin and are holding a boom box blaring techno so we're gonna party like it's 1989" kind of parade. Everywhere. I passed a group of guys with spiked hair dyed orange in platform boots, jamming out to some sort of funky beat. Then it was the woman in what appeared to be a only a thong and pasties, strolling with her boyfriend, clad in a silver Zoot Suit with dreads down to his waist. My favorite, however, were the pack of Playboy Bunnies (in rainbow colors) of mixed genders. Not only were they a sight to behold, but they somehow figured out how to slow dance on the platform to some sort of techno sound. The station's shiny globalized non-place-ness was punctuated by these bright bits of color and locality, making my five hours of people watching (accompanied by salmon) almost as good as a day at the Parade.

Despite the fact that I missed the view from the Reichstag, a relaxed stroll through the Checkpoint Charlie museum, any sort of quality time with the Berlin Wall and all of the theater that this vibrant city has to offer, I'm not calling it a bust. It was a side of the city most people only whiz through, but I got it all. And, boy, was it fun!