Unscene Berlin

"Politicians do not just want to evict buildings like the school in Ohlauer Straße or the house we squatted. In our opinion they want to evict movements, they want to evict the possibility of free decision making and self-organization. They are sneaking out of their responsibility on the cost of marginalized people." Squattinggroup Berlin, via Indymedia August 27, 2014: Oranienplatz, Kreuzberg. They all had different skin colours, and different accents.   But whether they were short or tall, young or old, they all shared a certain calm, resigned strength.    They all had different skin colours, and different accents. But whether they were fat or thin, short or tall, young or old, they all shared a certain calm, resigned strength. Their eyes, too, shared an piercing wisdom that had been dulled to a defiant smoulder by one too many encounters with overbearing authorities like these. A few words with them reassured me that these people - refugees, mostl...

Whether you've just stumbled out of bed, a club, a bar or a plane, you are probably looking for something to do this sunny Sunday afternoon in Berlin.  Well, you've come to the right place! Here are three tips from Unscene: If your morning coffee is looking a bit like the flyer above, then I suggest you get down to R19 (Revaler Strasse 19, near Ostkreuz) right off the bat, and check out their progressive, psychedelic trance party.  Entrance is by donation and smiles are free!  This slightly-off-the-beaten-track venue is very laid back and friendly and it has a small garden, plus some very nice visuals. It's an ideal place to let your mind float after a hard night of clubbing.  The '10' Exhibition at Berghain Halle.  You'll have to go there to see those photos close up! If you get turned away from Berghain today and still feel like giving them some money afterward just to say "Gee, thanks for that!" be sure to check out the exhibition ...

August 20th: always a laugh-riot for Unscene Berlin. What's the most exciting moment that you've ever had on your birthday?  Unscene Berlin's birthday has been marked by some truly exciting moments, good and bad.  Every year at this time, I read about some unexpected, dramatic upheaval happening somewhere in the world - usually my own.  My favourite anniversary experience to date was about a decade ago and involved a squatted Dalston primary school, riot police, edible fungus, a gun, and lots of crayon drawings. The friends I was with made it all seem kind of fun, though.  Isn't that just what friends are for? Glancing at Wikipedia's entry for this date I am wearily unsurprised to see that it has always been a time for random acts of aggression, both good and bad.  Revolutions, riots, coups, assassinations, you name it.   The war of Spanish succession started on this day... Trotsky was murdered on this day... even when people are just talking, it see...

When I started writing this blog in 2011, Berlin was a city that was all about finding itself, finding the right way of being 'authentically Berlin'.  Every organizer of every event seemed to be clamouring to prove they had that original, underground Berlin spirit.  Droves of people were coming here to find a piece of the Wall, some 1960's clothes or anything else that wasn't nailed down that they could drag back and display like a trophy of the unrefined, undefined Cold War landscape that was vanishing as they watched.  Every weekend I'd see them clawing oversized 1980s jackets off the rails of Humana and scurrying furtively through the streets schlepping musty chunks of GDR furniture like packrats, afraid to run out of supplies.  Supplies of character.  "See?" I could just hear these droves of new Berliners declaring: "Even the chair I'm sitting on is a one-off that was hand-tooled out of old bed posts by an impoverished citizen of East ...