May Day

As I write, fireworks are going off in Berlin in celebration of International Workers Day. In Kreuzberg, since 1987, there have been riots in "celebration" of this day. As you can see, the riots don't happen until much later in the day.

The little one looks dangerous, eh?

Kreuzberg has a very high population of Turkish immigrants, and for every stand promoting the worker, there were three selling kabob or kofteh. On every main street there was a hastily constructed stage, surrounded by 17 year olds who appeared to represent the "security". The musicians - a term which I am using very loosely here - ranged from an apparent snake charmer to a death metal band. The death metal band was strangely popular, as was another group I heard sing "Oh Happy Day". The popularity of the second I understand. That's a great song.


To the right is my friend Kristen, a grad student at the Institute who is also trying to figure out what these signs mean. Integration of what? I don't know, but they're clearly against it. Other signs featured more easy to read slogans, one of which was "No Nazis Here." Of course, it was in German, but even I can translate that!

The Germans tell me that the riots are nothing to worry about, kept under control by massive police forces that are brought in from all over the country. Apparently, officers request a chance to come to the riots, er, festival. I'm not sure what they get out of the experience, but they're presence is obvious wherever you turn.



We ended our day at the festival as anyone should. We went to a bar. On the river Spree, just past a section of the Berlin Wall, sits a seemingly Caribbean bar. Everything is outdoors, with copious amounts of sand. People play volleyball, kids dig in the sand. Yes, kids. They were all over the place at this bar. I think their parents were working there, or drinking there, or both.



The graffiti in the background of this shot is a common theme in all of Berlin, but particularly in the eastern portion. Actually, I'm not really sure that this is a true statement as I can't always tell when I'm in the east and when I'm in the west. In fact, even when I was standing next to a remaining segment of the wall, I wasn't sure which side I was on. (I am told it was the east.)

This segment of the wall runs 1.3 km (thank you Wikipedia) and is referred to as the East Side Gallery. While these murals were painted after reunification, there was a great deal of graffiti on the wall on the western side before 1989. These murals were painted in 1990 and vary greatly in scope and style. The Einstein painting was not nearly my favorite, but it's Einstein after all. A photo opportunity.