Schönhagen, an airport about 30km from the border of Berlin, place of event of this years Classic Days 2010 with over 100 classic autos from the past 60 years.
I have to admit, I’m not a car-lover and I have no idea which car is the best car of all time but, it was quite interesting so see all these different models on one place, especially the ones you only get to see in magazines these days.
The third Asian festival this year, the Japan Festival Berlin-Steglitz (located in the Steglitz district of Berlin), but this time it was more like a little Japanese market rather than a festival. Tables loaded with all kinds of Japanese goods. Figures, books, Japanese snacks and foods, chopsticks and ramen bowls, all those things you wouldn’t find at your local supermarket.
I tried a japanese lemonade called Ramune, it tasted a bit like Sprite, but less sweet.
It also had a very pungent cough syrup after-taste.
And again I visited Berlin’s Gardens of the World because last weekend they celebrated the “Asian Dragon Festival”. It was quite interesting to see an original Chinese dragon carried by 15 helpers performing different figures. They also demonstrate a Chinese dragon kite, but only a small version of the normally 80meters long monsters.
The dragons are seen as wise, benevolent and bringers of good fortune. The heads are all individually hand painted, each one is unique with its own “character”.
I’m a big fan of the Japanese Sakura Trees and their Cherry Blossom Festival but sadly I don’t have the time to travel 12 hours just to watch them bloom.
So I visited the Japanese Garden of Berlin’s Gardens of the World and it seems that I wasn’t the only one who had that idea.
A Renaissance Festival is fun for the whole family and every year around Easter, the knights are back in town. With fire-eaters, blacksmiths, knights, jugglers and jesters everything you need to feel like you are back in Medieval Times.
All over the place you can smell the scent of freshly baked bread, cold beer and roasted sausages. A minnesinger is playing his lute and somewhere you can here the sounds of jousting knights.
After the Narrenbaum was erected, the city was ready for the big Night Parade. Led by a couple of marching bands, thousands of different Narren (as I said yesterday, Narren are something like a jester or Joker) ran through the city. Jumping, laughing, whip lashing and tangerine throwing, it was a fascinating moment.
Every city has their own traditional costumes, first you will see the city of Rottweil with their Federhannes, Schantle and Gschell. If you can sing a well known carnival quote, you will be rewarded with a handful of candy.
Last weekend, I took a plane to Stuttgart , to watch an event which only takes place every 3-4 years, the Narrentag (which probably means something like “Day of the Jester”), organized by one of four famous carnival cities; Rottweil, Oberndorf, Elzach and Überlingen, all of them part of the Viererbund, a union between these four cities since 1958.
This year the parade took place in Oberndorf (Black Forest), about 1 hour away from Stuttgart.
As an opening ceremony, a decorated tree, the Narrenbaum, was erected, as a symbol that the Narrentag has officially begun.
I’m a bit late but, I hope you all had a great start into the new year! It’s still cold outside and the snow is about 20 cm high. It’s pretty rare for Berlin and I can’t remember the last time we had so much snow, even with temperatures around -15°C (+5.0 °F).
Anyway! I wish you all the best for 2010!
It’s Christmas Eve in Berlin, people celebrating this day with their families and relatives, singing Christmas songs and giving presents (yep today, not tomorrow). Therefore and for the last time of this year I will show you some fancy Christmas decorations.
Like every year, the Coca Cola Christmas Trucks were on a tour through every major city in Germany and the final parade was held in Berlin yesterday. Ten trucks with four stages and a snack bar to buy Bratwurst and Glühwein against the cold.
With -16°C (3.2°F) and heavy snowfall, it was the coldest day of the year. But that was not a real problem and thousands of people were following the parade on its way from the Kurfürstendamm, via the Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburger Tor to its final goal, the Rote Rathaus Berlin.
