studentsineurope

Go Off the Grid in Berlin, Germany’s Cool Young City

A call to action on a bright apartment building - just one example of progresive Berlin

Demographically, Berlin is a young city. It’s also home to four universities, and the combination may account for Berlin’s thriving contemporary culture. Walking around Berlin, you run into all kinds of examples of the city’s interesting liberal lifestyles. There are alternative living communities, including one group of anarchists that lives in Conestoga-style wagons in a strip of land that used to lie between two sides of the Berlin Wall. There are solar panels on houses, organic restaurants, and my favorite – guerilla art.

I was wandering around the city with a friend on our way to one of Berlin’s major art museums when we passed a bombed-out building (substantial funding has been put into repairing and updating East Berlin, but West Berlin still contains a lot of evidence of the war). A sign spray-painted onto corrugated cardboard said “art show” and pointed under the building’s brick archway. My friend and I looked at each other – we didn’t have much time. But in the spirit of Berlin, we opted for the unofficial art.

A thin strip of the building – including the archway – was intact, but inside, the roof and some of the other walls were completely gone. In the center of the building – without the roof it was like an open courtyard – a group of pierced and tattooed artists had set up camp. There were several old couches and chairs, as well at least five dismembered pianos. In the corners stood large piles of metal junk. I’m not sure if the artists moved in because people had used the building as a dumping ground or whether they  dragged the junk there to be part of their art, but the combination was hip and surreal at the same time.

To the left, the artists had set up a gallery of welded sculptures. We each paid a euro and went in. The works ranged from decent to brilliant, from table-top to monumental. In the center, an artist with a welding mask was working on something new, and in the back was a small exhibit of paintings.

When we finished with the courtyard art, we realized that the small rooms in the intact part of the building were also being used as studios and exhibit spaces. We climbed up a rusty metal staircase dripping with graffiti to explore several floors of paintings, sculptures, and screen-printed t-shirts. There was even an installation. We unwittingly followed more spray painted signs promising to lead us to a “sexy show” until we were finally confronted with a blank wall (I’m still feeling exposed).

After we had explored all the art we could find, my friend and I sat in a tiny bar on the first floor and discussed what we had seen. Our conversation covered the art, but also the amazing resources and excitement of Berlin and the importance of exploring. So often the real highlights of a city aren’t on the tourist map. I’m sure we would have seen some great Renaissance painting if we had gone to the museum, but the truth is, I’ve seen great Renaissance painting in every European capital I’ve ever been to. I’m glad that this time, I decided to do something that was 100% Berlin.