The Re-Awakening of Berlin
Violent Music in the Damp, Sweaty Cellar of a Mint Factory
It just has been a short 3-day trip, but when coming to places like this, very often the density of what was lived, shared and experienced provides enough to reflect upon for long. As usual -when flying solo- no preparations or planning. Just following the white rabbit(s).
First night, hedonistic dance-orgy accentuated by violent electronic music in the damp, sweaty cellar of a historic coin-mint factory. Thousands of unbridled people, all suffering from severe textile allergy, rubbing their sweaty bodies against each other. For this night, masks, distance and fear are exchanged for freedom, love and ecstasy. If such a voluptuous event isn’t clear proof of the end of the pandemic, what else is? #altemünze #pornceptual
The Truth Would Have Been Alien to Them
Early in the morning, I get lost in the 5-storey monstrosity that is Berlin’s main station for more than an hour. On this occasion, I make brief friends with a young couple from Kyiv who arrived in Berlin the same night. They are in a surprisingly positive mood. They see their escape from their country as some kind of wild adventure. In a way, it really is. When they ask me how I spent the night, I give them a very vague reply. The truth would have been alien to them.
Manifestation for peace in Ukraine, Berlin 03/2022
Bonfire, Singing, Instruments, Dancing, Gratefulness
Few hours of sleep. My way takes me to a “Manifestation and Concert for Peace in Ukraine” at the Brandbenburger Tor, with an estimate of 20.000 participants. The collective emotional energy is fueled by fear and anger.
For the night, I celebrate Ostara with #berlintribegatherings at the Drachenberg. Bonfires, singing, instruments, dancing, gratefulness, consciousness. This crowd does not seem to be afraid at all. Is it because they haven’t forgotten the value and fragility of freedom and peace in the first place?
The morning starts with yoga in a lovely park in Neukölln that I randomly discovered after breakfast. A group of youngsters joins me in my routine. I’m surprised by how polite and enthusiastic they are. However, their flexibility can be improved.
Ostara celebration, Drachenberg Berlin 03/2022
Berlin Offers Everything to Everyone
I wander around the city, randomly coming across places that evoke memories and emotions from the past. Places where I shared precious moments with people I loved who are no longer part of my life. How many lives have I already lived, since being in this body? Sometimes it seems overwhelming, almost surreal.
The night is spent with old friends. We exchange about individual and collective evolution, the maintenance of optimised mental programming parameters, the details of the rulesets of the various layers of reality and -most importantly- the art of Shibari. There is wine, homemade sushi, Dutch cheese and 4 tarantulas. Some people have eccentric tastes when it comes to their choice of pets.
The last day was wellness day. I enjoyed a massage in the morning, followed by a meditation in the pleasantly warming spring sun on the Spree promenade. The rest of the day I pampered myself in a hidden gem of a sauna & spa. Concealed behind the facade of a typical row house, an oversized metal door is all that gives a hint – to those who know.
As I write this text on the night train, a phrase I heard during the Ostara celebrations keeps coming back to my mind:
“Berlin offers everything to everyone”
© Philipp, 22 March 2022
