The deep freeze

Cyclists braving the cold

We all knew it was too good to be true, but deep down we hoped for a miracle, i.e. that we would get to the end of winter without experiencing any really cold spells. But this is Brrrrlin after all and sooner or later it was bound to happen.

The cold arrived about a week ago, at the end of January, and it doesn't look like it will leave us any time soon. 

The temperature in the mornings oscillates between -10 and -14 degrees Celsius, then slowly creeps up and reaches -6 degrees or so during the "warmest" hours of the day. 

I'm not complaining: it could be worse and it could have started a lot earlier. Two years ago it was much much worse. Plus I'm one of the lucky ones: I work from home so I don't need to leave the house when it's -14. I wait till it's at least -9 to pop out to the baker's and the greengrocer's!

I have to admit that Berliners are a tough lot. You still see them out on their bikes, even cycling through snow and ice. And they don't all hide indoors... the other night I was really surprised to see that the cinema Hackesche Hoefe in Mitte was packed. In this day and age of high tech, high def, high res, 3D, etc. it was refreshing to see a silent film in black and white like The Artist, but it was even more refreshing walking home from the tram stop with a temperature of -9.

R.I.P. Klub der Republik

The last days of KdR

The funeral

After the legendary Bar 25, Maria am Ostbahnhof, Kiki Blofeld, Knaack, Icon - just to name a few - the latest victim among the Berlin club scene is KdR, located on Pappelallee in Prenzlauer Berg.
 
The funeral took place today among a loyal crowd of mourners on a sunny but cold day on the corner of Oderberger Strasse and Eberswalder Strasse, just opposite the Mauerpark. 

There are not may clubs left in this part of Berlin (Knaack and Icon have closed, while Magnet Club has relocated to Kreuzberg) as new investors, complaints about noise and high rents take their toll. 

I liked the Klub der Republik. It was an unpretentious club, with a typical east Berlin charm and decor, where you could dance, listen to good music while resting on one of the vintage sofas, sip a drink or two and generally have a good time without spending a fortune.  It attracted a mixed crowd of locals and tourists and was always packed at the weekend.  It was a bit too smokey for my taste (the ban on smoking is yet to have an impact on the German capital) and the windows were always closed - because of the noise I presume - but it was a place with character and it is sad to see it go. One of my favourite features of the club was the  dodgy staircase that you had to climb in order to get into the venue. The combination of drunk club goers and precarious staircase would never pass a health & safety inspection. Alas, we will never risk breaking our necks there again!

The precarious staircase leading to the entrance of the club

Bubble tea – just another hype?

If you live in Berlin, particularly in the trendy (former East Berlin) areas of Prenzlauer Berg or Mitte, you can’t have helped notice the emergence of a particular type of cafe, the bubble tea cafe.

Apparently bubble tea originated in Taiwan during the 1980s.  It has been a popular drink in the US and A for years and now it has made it to the German capital.  I have to admit that I have not yet summoned the courage to walk into one these cafes, somewhat put off by their non-appealing look: they tend to be loud, bright and colourful (in a Japanese comic sort of way) and attract a young crowd of teenagers.  Not my cup of tea and certainly not very gemütlich!

What I find striking about the bubble tea cafes in Berlin is that they seem to have sprung out of nowhere and suddenly you see them everywhere, even in the Alexander Platz underground station, an addition to the various smelly burger joints and shops selling sandwiches, donuts, muffins and Japanese crepes.

It reminds me of another trend that has also become extremely popular in recent months, the frozen yogurt shop.  This seems to be particularly prevalent in the fashion conscious Mitte district of Berlin, where being skinny is a way of life.  After all you could never possibly imagine a Mitte hipster digging into an über-caloric chocolate ice cream!

Luckily I live in an area that is densely populated by children and therefore I have a choice of over 10 different ice cream shops just in my neighbourhood, selling all sorts of exotic varieties, such as lemon and basil or strawberry and mint, but more about this in spring/summer.  Most of these places are now closed and will not reopen until sometime in March/April.  So until then it’s either bubble tea or a glass of traditional Glühwein to warm up during those cold Berlin winter nights.