photos: Vismante Ruzgaite.
Berlin on the first of May, Labor Day. What was once a day of protests and revolts where the Kreuzberg anarchists and punks would throw bottles at the police, set cars on fire and smash shop windows is nowadays one of the biggest street parties taking over most of Kreuzberg 36 and some other parts of the city.
You could argue that Berlin has lost its edge and that the youths now frolicking through the streets with beer in their hands have totally forgotten about the history and meaning of this important German Holiday. But on the other hand, isn’t this free-spirited way of celebrating life in any given place and for any reason Berlin’s major trademark since basically the early 90s?
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by Frank | Photos
The first of May, also known as Labor Day, was just a holiday day for me until I came to Berlin. No matter how hard you try to describe to other people that have never been to Berlin what goes on here, you cannot fully understand it until you experienced it. You have to be there. And as they say, what has been seen cannot be unseen.
The first of May is a day when you see children innocently sliding down slides at the park with really wasted people lie scattered around in the grass taking a break from drinking. And that’s not even the craziest thing you will see. Maybe that’s why Berliners are just different because they are raised from the crib straight to the party. All their life they are exposed to the most unusual situations and therefore embrace randomness, spontaneity, and surrealism.
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by Amanda Artiaga | Party, Stories
photo: Sel Dizman
Everybody is looking at the weather forecast like crazy these days. For obvious reasons: 1st of May, the most favorite celebration of the Berliners and the tourists visiting town is hit by numerous parties, open airs and all kinds of celebrations. We put together a couple of parties and open airs we love to go to. Also, we heard about some crazy rumors about infamous club reopenings. Anyway if you are not deadly sick or hit by a truck there is no reason to not go out on first of may and enjoy the parties, the people and the smiling city.
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by Claudio | Clubs, Party
Foto: Timor Kodal
People from all around the world say: there is no better place to be for first of May then Berlin Kreuzberg. And it is true that compared to other big street parties which are mostly horrible for me (Karneval der Kulturen is more of a tourist-trapping torture than a real party) first of May is kind of awesome. This year I spent my first of May wandering around and observing strangers and friends from above. I found a hidden staircase that brought me to the nicest rooftops of Kreuzberg and from there I could enjoy the day sitting in the clouds. And you? Where did you spend your first of May 2012? I found two very nice videos from this years celebration. One showing the open air of the Luzia team which is often called the best one among my friends, and a really impressive video from the party on the Tempeholf Airport, which seemed more like a giant music festival than a free open air. Still I am asking myself if all this partying is really contributing to a better understanding of all the cultures living in Kreuzberg. Around the Mosque at Görlitzer Bahnhof were several women with a headscarfs peacefully selling Turkish bakeries to the wandering people, that was nice for me to see. Going home a friend and I walked by some older Turkish guys selling beer. They offered it and as we declined they called us shitty faggots in Turkish. So you see there are still some steps to go towards a tolerant multi-cultural Kreuzberg. Still it was an incredibly amazing day. Enjoy these moving memories of a great day after the jump.
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by Claudio | Party, Videos
