{"id":1791,"date":"2021-04-14T06:15:53","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T06:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/july-2015-page-2-of-2-uberlin\/"},"modified":"2021-04-15T06:37:22","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T06:37:22","slug":"july-2015-page-2-of-2-uberlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/july-2015-page-2-of-2-uberlin\/","title":{"rendered":"July 2015 &#8211; Page 2 of 2 &#8211; \u00fcberlin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post hentry\">\n<h5 class=\"postDate\"><abbr class=\"published\" title=\"2015-07-19T14:48:06+0000\">July 19, 2015<\/abbr><\/h5>\n<div class=\"postContent\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"\/berlin-moments-july-13-19\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Berlin Moments: July 13th \u2013 19th<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"vcard author\">by <span class=\"fn\">Zo\u00eb Noble<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p id=\"top\"><strong><a href=\"\/tag\/moments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Berlin Moments<\/a><\/strong> is a weekly collection of our favourite photos from our favourite city! Unless otherwise stated, all photos are by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.zoenoble.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zo\u00eb Noble<\/a>. To be featured, just tag your photos with #uberlinmoments on Twitter and Instagram, and we\u2019ll include our favourites in our weekly roundup.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-160044-jul13.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14077\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-160044-jul13.jpg\" alt=\"berlin street photography rain umbrella\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-160044-jul13.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-160044-jul13-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-155153-jul14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14076\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-155153-jul14.jpg\" alt=\"berlin street photography birds rain black and white\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-155153-jul14.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-155153-jul14-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/uberlin-warschauer.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14081\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/uberlin-warschauer.gif\" alt=\"berlin gif warschauer fernsehturm skyline\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150717-165045-jul16.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14080\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150717-165045-jul16.jpg\" alt=\"berlin grunewald lens flare lake\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150717-165045-jul16.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150717-165045-jul16-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150319-170913-jul17.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14075\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150319-170913-jul17.jpg\" alt=\"berlin sunset schlesisches tor\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150319-170913-jul17.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150319-170913-jul17-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140926-174701-jul18.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14074\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140926-174701-jul18.jpg\" alt=\"berlin ICC ubahn man walking street photography\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140926-174701-jul18.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140926-174701-jul18-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-164232-jul19.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14078\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-164232-jul19.jpg\" alt=\"berlin summer rain reflection puddle\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-164232-jul19.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150713-164232-jul19-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssb-share ssb-share-14073 defualt\" post_id=\"14073\">\n<div class=\"defualt-button-fb\"> <iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http:\/\/www.uberlin.co.uk\/berlin-moments-july-13-19\/&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=false&amp;height=21&amp;appId=743541755673761\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"defualt-button-twitter\"> \t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"\/berlin-moments-july-13-19\/\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postMeta\">\n<div class=\"postMetaCategory\">Category: <a href=\"\/category\/photos\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Photos<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"postMetaTag\">Tags: <a href=\"\/tag\/moments\/\" rel=\"tag\">Moments<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"comments closed\">           \t             <span>comments closed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post hentry\">\n<h5 class=\"postDate\"><abbr class=\"published\" title=\"2015-07-16T08:52:48+0000\">July 16, 2015<\/abbr><\/h5>\n<div class=\"postContent\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"\/doggystyle-liz-ivy\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Doggystyle: Liz and Ivy<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"vcard author\">by <span class=\"fn\">James Glazebrook<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p id=\"top\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143439-0004.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143439-0004.jpg\" alt=\"berlin doggystyle streetstyle french bulldog\" width=\"650\" height=\"975\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14104\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143439-0004.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143439-0004-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is Poison Ivy \u2013 she\u2019s five&nbsp;years old.<\/p>\n<p>Does she have any strange personality traits?<\/p>\n<p>Well, she snores quite loudly\u2026&nbsp;She likes to ride in cars, with her head out of the window. And she doesn\u2019t know what privacy is. She follows me everywhere \u2013 to the bedroom, to the toilet. She just wants to be with me all the time.<\/p>\n<p>I couldn\u2019t imagine life without Ivy. I\u2019m so happy to have her. When I\u2019m sad, or my moods go overboard, I can take my dog outside and everything\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143447-0005.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143447-0005.jpg\" alt=\"berlin doggystyle streetstyle french bulldog\" width=\"650\" height=\"975\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14105\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143447-0005.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/150715-143447-0005-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssb-share ssb-share-14028 defualt\" post_id=\"14028\">\n<div class=\"defualt-button-fb\"> <iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http:\/\/www.uberlin.co.uk\/doggystyle-liz-ivy\/&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=false&amp;height=21&amp;appId=743541755673761\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"defualt-button-twitter\"> \t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"\/doggystyle-liz-ivy\/\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postMeta\">\n<div class=\"postMetaCategory\">Category: <a href=\"\/category\/people\/\" rel=\"category tag\">People<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"postMetaTag\">Tags: <a href=\"\/tag\/doggystyle\/\" rel=\"tag\">Doggystyle<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/french-bulldog\/\" rel=\"tag\">French Bulldog<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"comments closed\">           \t             <span>comments closed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post hentry\">\n<h5 class=\"postDate\"><abbr class=\"published\" title=\"2015-07-15T07:39:29+0000\">July 15, 2015<\/abbr><\/h5>\n<div class=\"postContent\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"\/wedding-workers-foreigners-beer\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Wedding: Workers, Foreigners and Beer<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"vcard author\">by <span class=\"fn\">Guest Blogger<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p id=\"top\">\n<div id=\"attachment_14017\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/linkaaodom.com\/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-14017\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Wedding_LinkaAOdom-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Linka A Odom\" width=\"650\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Wedding_LinkaAOdom-1024x768.jpg 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Wedding_LinkaAOdom-300x225.jpg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Wedding_LinkaAOdom.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Linka A Odom<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>[EDIT: this competition is now closed.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/demons_galore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click&nbsp;<\/a><\/em><em><a href=\"\/tag\/competition\/\" onclick=\"__gaTracker('send', 'event', 'outbound-article', '\/tag\/competition\/', 'here');\" title=\"\u00fcberlin competitions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>&nbsp;to see if we\u2019re running any open competitions]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Letters<i> from Berlin<\/i>&nbsp;is a collection of 12 weekly essays, each focussed on a different district of the city. Bringing together photographers, filmmakers, writers, translators and theatre directors,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thepigeonhole.com\/books\/letters-from-berlin\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Letters from Berlin<\/i><\/span><\/a>&nbsp;(published by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepigeonhole.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Pigeonhole<\/a>) reflects the many creative facets of this uncanny city, creating an album of vivid snapshots.&nbsp;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Enjoy an excerpt from one of our favourite essays,&nbsp;<span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/marcel-krueger.squarespace.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcel Kr\u00fcger\u2019s<\/a> walk through Wedding, and enter our competition&nbsp;to win a free subscription to the series.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Links, links, links, links,<br \/>\nEin Lump wer kapituliert.<br \/>\nLinks, links, links, link!<br \/>\nDer rote Wedding marschiert!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u2013 Erich Weinert, 1929<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Wedding was a raw expanse of towerblocks, tattoo pits, kebab shops. Nogoodniks in mauve-coloured tracksuits decorated every corner. We had a properly respectful air as we passed through. This was how Berlin was supposed to be. [\u2026] The rearsides of the towerblocks loomed either side of a dirt pathway itchy with catkins beneath our sandals, and the word \u2018proletariat\u2019 rolled its glamorous syllables over my tongue.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u2013 Kevin Barry, from \u2018Berlin Arkonaplatz \u2013 My Lesbian Summer\u2019, 2012<\/p>\n<p>\u2026Sometimes I think that while Berlin is the ever-changing Moloch on the plains of Brandenburg and the wetlands of the Spree, its outgrowth Wedding has remained endearingly static over the last fifty years. Maybe it always had a certain roguishness that prevented beautification and change. Wedding is allegedly always up-and-coming. \u2018<em>Der Wedding kommt<\/em>\u2019, Wedding is coming, some of my friends used to say when I visited Berlin for the first time in 2001, staying near the fleshpots of then ungentrified Prenzlauer Berg. Some keep repeating it to this day. <em>Der Wedding kommt<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s Sunday, by now after lunchtime and I\u2019ve walked a bit: it\u2019s definitely time for refreshments. I take a detour from Seestra\u00dfe and step into a neighbourhood brewery, Vagabund Brauerei on Antwerpener Stra\u00dfe. Three American home brewers opened a small taproom here in 2013, and they serve their own craft brews together with classic German and Belgian beers.<\/p>\n<p>Like many other working-class areas, Wedding has a long tradition of brewing, which is slowly being rejuvenated. On nearby M\u00fcllerstra\u00dfe is Eschenbr\u00e4u, one of Berlin\u2019s first craft breweries, open since 2001, and also close by is the best small beer speciality store in Berlin, Hopfen &amp; Malz. There\u2019s also the VLB Berlin (Versuch- u. Lehranstalt f\u00fcr Brauerei in Berlin), which provides research, training, education and service for the brewing industry. Founded in 1883, it moved to its current location on Seestra\u00dfe in 1898, and until 1981 it even operated the <em>Hochschul Brauerei<\/em>, or brewery university, where students could try brewing different types of beer, which were then sold to the public.<\/p>\n<p>Vagabund Brewery has become a poster child for the local craft beer scene. It has been featured in articles in <em>The New Yorker<\/em>, <em>Forbes<\/em> travel, <em>Der Spiegel<\/em> and a plethora of German newspapers feting the craft-beer trend. One could easily say that Vagabund is a pub catering only to moustachioed expat drinkers and not to locals and is therefore a prime example of gentrification pushing out existing social structures, a topic hotly discussed in Berlin. As I enter the bright interior of the taproom, almost deserted so early on a Sunday afternoon, I\u2019m glad to see both Matt Walthall and David Spengler, two of the three owners, manning the bar. We soon start chatting about beer and gentrification.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018So often people ask us about this \u201ctrend\u201d of locally brewed craft beer,\u2019 Matt says. \u2018David and I studied history, and that is part of what draws us to brewing: there\u2019s so much history involved. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, every Berlin neighbourhood had its own brewery \u2013 so, for us, the whole appeal is not about being trendsetters. We clearly see ourselves as part of a tradition.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We didn\u2019t plan to come to Wedding specifically. We looked all over Berlin for a year and a half, but we couldn\u2019t find the right combination of brew room, taproom and a big enough basement. I was actually the one who was the most sceptical of Wedding \u2013 I thought of Bernauer Stra\u00dfe, Plattenbauten and so on. And then I moved here and now I\u2019m the biggest promoter. Wedding still has a strong community feel to it, and there are no areas here where whole blocks have been bought by developers, like in Neuk\u00f6lln. And it\u2019s one of the few places in Berlin where the classic population structures have not been pushed out \u2013 the majority of our neighbours have been here for twenty or thirty years.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the neighbouring commercial establishments are a strange mix of shisha bars, corner pubs with Sternenburger posters (\u2018Sterni\u2019 is the cheap and mass-produced Berlin beer preferred by many inhabitants of Wedding) and bookmakers with bright neon signs reflecting off the street\u2019s wet cobblestones. Three years ago, a man ran amok on the street here, armed with two knives and an axe, and was shot by the police. But in general nowadays, things are fairly quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We love how laid back the street is,\u2019 David chips in. \u2018Sometimes when I\u2019m in some of those \u201chappening\u201d districts down in the southeast of the city, I\u2019m amazed because there\u2019s just so many people. In our little promenade street, it\u2019s much more laid-back and chill. I also like knowing the people from the neighbourhood and even having a drink with them sometimes. I think that might be harder to do somewhere else.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018In the beginning I was quite nervous about whether the neighbours would accept us,\u2019 Matt admits. \u2018There was this elderly woman walking past the shop every day when we were renovating, and she was always giving us this look, and I thought, \u201cShe probably hates us.\u201d Then one day when I was outside cleaning the windows she came up to me and said, \u201cOh I\u2019m so glad that you kids are here now!\u201d Afterwards we learned that the previous tenants were Hell\u2019s Angels.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>I ask David how he feels about gentrification, especially in Wedding.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I guess some people would consider us gentrifiers,\u2019 he says, \u2018but really, that word just plain sucks, along with its negative connotations. We didn\u2019t take over the entire block with the intention of knocking down all the old buildings, building new high-rise apartment complexes and charging three times the rent. That, to me, is \u201cgentrification\u201d. We just built a small brewery and bar in a place that once sold heroin out the back door. If a small, independently owned coffee shop or bookstore or chess store opens up, is that also gentrification? Where is the line, the gentrifi-demarcation? I made that last word up, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We both laugh, and I drain my glass. Time to walk more of Wedding. I finally hop on one of the trams and travel along Osloer Stra\u00dfe to the former border, clanking past the <em>Currywurst<\/em> booth on the corner of Prinzenallee, where sausages are served with the hottest sauces in Berlin; they have names like \u2018Pain Is Good\u2019, \u2018Ground Zero\u2019 and \u2018Holy Shit\u2019. We cross the Panke, the small, ancient river that runs all the way from Bernau in Brandenburg through Pankow and Wedding until it ends in the Berlin-Spandau shipping canal, another former border between East and West. I switch from tram to U-Bahn and emerge onto the corner of Brunnenstra\u00dfe and Bernauer Stra\u00dfe soon after.<\/p>\n<p>After the Second World War, Wedding became part of the French sector of Berlin. French troops occupied a large military complex near Tegel airport and erected a cultural centre complete with a 15-metre-high faux Eiffel Tower on M\u00fcllerstra\u00dfe. They protected the Western Sector, but the development of prospering Wedding still lay in the hands of the West Berlin city council.<\/p>\n<p>The buildings on the north side of Wedding\u2019s Bernauer Stra\u00dfe and the street itself, including sidewalks, were in the Allied sector, while the buildings along the southern side were in Soviet territory. When the Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961, many of those who lived in these buildings frantically jumped from their windows before the buildings were evacuated and the windows bricked up. Wedding was also the western terminus of one of the first refugee tunnels dug underneath the Berlin Wall. The tunnel ran from the basement of an abandoned factory on Sch\u00f6nholzer Stra\u00dfe in the Soviet sector to another building in the West, passing underneath Bernauer Stra\u00dfe. Though well constructed and successfully kept a secret, the tunnel was plagued by water from leaking pipes and had to be shut down after only a few days of operation. Near the spot on Bernauer Stra\u00dfe where the tunnel ended, a section of the Wall has been reconstructed as one of the official memorials to the division of Germany.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks before my walk, I was talking to Sven Goldmann, a journalist for the Berlin newspaper <em>Der Tagesspiegel<\/em>, who remembers growing up in Wedding during the Cold War: \u2018My grandmother often reminded us how good we had it,\u2019 he told me. \u2018In the Thirties, Wedding had been a communist area and dangerous. People were shot here. Every third man was out of work and the women were sitting at home. Well, my grandmother was old. The younger generations had a better time: all the communists were living behind the Berlin wall, and there were no people out of work here. As kids we were happy: our parents worked at the Wittler bread factory in Maxstra\u00dfe or at the Rotaprint printing press, and we played football on the many empty spaces among the buildings. Well, at least until the builders came and we had to find another pitch.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">As Annett Gr\u00f6schner writes in <i>City Spaces: Filling in Berlin\u2019s Gaps<\/i> (Readux, 2015; trans. Katy Derbyshire), when the Wall was built, the neighbourhood around Brunnenstra\u00dfe \u2018lent itself to urban planning experiments. For the reconstruction of Wedding, soon revealed as its eradication, a gigantic money-wasting machine was set in motion, private land was bought up by non-commercial housing associations, old houses demolished and new ones built that looked thin-skinned and made only for sleeping in.\u2019 Today, this is known as Brunnenviertel, a striking conglomeration of 1970s concrete and plastic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2018One day our teacher took us to one of the watchtowers for tourists, from where we could observe East Berlin,\u2019 Sven Goldman said, \u2018and she told us how lucky we were to have all the new buildings here while the people in the East had to live in the shabby old houses.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>After the Wall fell and capitalism had defeated communism, Wedding suffered. In a united Germany, Berlin companies no longer received state subventions, and many of the factories in Wedding closed as business was outsourced. In the last twenty-five years, unemployment in Wedding has been at a steady fifteen per cent, and even though there are initiatives by both state and city to tackle this, it seems many people here will remain without jobs for the foreseeable future. Petty crime is also widespread. Soldiner Stra\u00dfe near Gesundbrunnen, for example, had such a bad name that footballers at the 2006 World Cup described it as \u2018Berlin\u2019s Soweto\u2019. Around the turn of the millennium, various groups were formed in an attempt to bring some positive energy to the area. The arts initiative Kolonie Wedding, founded in 2001, set up studios and galleries in what would be otherwise empty shop fronts and once a month hosts coordinated vernissage weekends with walking tours between the different venues.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I take the U-Bahn and re-emerge from its depths on Nauener Platz, where the owner of the local kebab shop calls me \u2018neighbour\u2019 every time I stop by, and where a punk with beer on his breath once helped me out with washing powder at the laundrette. I reach my little apartment building again, the grey, two-storeyed one, nestled between the five-storey Wilheminian buildings to its left and right. The sun is finally out and the drunkard\/madman gone, and on the other side of the street Turkish teenagers sit on benches in the park tilting their sunglassed faces skywards. As I enter the building, I find a poster hung there by Berlin police, informing me that someone has broken into our building while I have been out.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is Wedding: fifty-year-old corner pubs that once catered to off-shift workers and now serve those in need of a drink at ten in the morning; communists, resistance fighters and morphine addicts; a mini Eiffel Tower and young Americans reanimating the age-old brewing tradition of Prussian Berlin. It\u2019s not a particularly nice place, but it is a prime example of the fascinating ruggedness often associated with Berlin that is fast disappearing from many other places throughout the city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HOW TO WIN A FREE SUBSCRIPTION FOR&nbsp;<em>LETTERS FROM BERLIN<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just leave us a comment below. The first 10 comments get a free subscription!<\/p>\n<p>You have until 6pm on Friday 24th July&nbsp;to enter.&nbsp;Good luck!<\/p>\n<p>The Boring Bit (yawn, RULES):<\/p>\n<p>1. You must be 18 years or older to enter.<br \/>\n2. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!<br \/>\n3. The first 10&nbsp;comments win. Simple as.<br \/>\n4. If you win, we\u2019ll let you know by email how to claim your prize.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssb-share ssb-share-14016 defualt\" post_id=\"14016\">\n<div class=\"defualt-button-fb\"> <iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http:\/\/www.uberlin.co.uk\/wedding-workers-foreigners-beer\/&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=false&amp;height=21&amp;appId=743541755673761\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"defualt-button-twitter\"> \t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"\/wedding-workers-foreigners-beer\/\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postMeta\">\n<div class=\"postMetaCategory\">Category: <a href=\"\/category\/opinions\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Opinions<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"postMetaTag\">Tags: <a href=\"\/tag\/competition\/\" rel=\"tag\">Competition<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/wedding\/\" rel=\"tag\">Wedding<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">                                 <a href=\"\/wedding-workers-foreigners-beer\/#comments\">10 comments<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post hentry\">\n<h5 class=\"postDate\"><abbr class=\"published\" title=\"2015-07-09T12:30:43+0000\">July 9, 2015<\/abbr><\/h5>\n<div class=\"postContent\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"\/how-to-work-at-a-startup-1-finding-a-job\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">How to work at a startup: 1. Finding a job<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"vcard author\">by <span class=\"fn\">Guest Blogger<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p id=\"top\"><strong>By Federico Prandi.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My mother used to put stuff in boxes. Professionally. She did it for 30 years at the same small-sized suburban Italian company and while the boxes were sent everywhere in the world, my mom and her career weren\u2019t exactly going places.<\/p>\n<p>My dad, the only male among four siblings, had to drop out of middle school to help his father in the fields. Like many of his peers, he learned to think of work as something that is closely&nbsp;related to suffering, sacrifice and blind obedience.<\/p>\n<p>Whenever I tell my parents about company breakfasts, team building events and gamification, they share a very specific look that I\u2019ve come to interpret as \u201cOur son is lying to us. He doesn\u2019t have a job in Berlin. He\u2019s squatting an abandoned building and carries stolen drugs across countries in order to pay for his groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I get that look. I do. Growing up with a blue-collar mindset made me both conscious of my current luck and weirdly aware of the seemingly absurd sides of the startup life.<\/p>\n<p>This series of posts is the natural consequence of that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHAPTER 1:&nbsp;FINDING A JOB<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/BZ3WTd4S0M0rS\/giphy.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"245\" height=\"230\">This is going to sound obvious, but in order to work at a startup \u2013 in Berlin or anywhere else \u2013 you need to either found one or be hired by one. I\u2019m going to focus on the latter \u2019cause I\u2019m a slacker and I\u2019ve made it my life goal to achieve less and less every day.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re smart you\u2019ve probably created alerts that fire off&nbsp;an email every time a desirable position is available, either through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/alerts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google Alerts<\/a> or more specific job hunting&nbsp;platforms like <a href=\"http:\/\/de.indeed.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indeed.de<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/berlinstartupjobs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BerlinStartupJobs.com<\/a>. What you might not know, though, is that when it comes to job titles startups can be as quirky as the side character of an indie TV&nbsp;series.<\/p>\n<p>The chances that your alert will be triggered by the keyword \u201ccustomer relationship manager\u201d are thinner, for example, than the ones for the keyword \u201cCustomer Happiness Ninja\u201d.&nbsp;Stop looking for \u201cSales Manager\u201d and keep your eyes open for stuff like \u201cCustomer retention power ranger\u201d, \u201cOffice management karate kid\u201d, \u201cJava Sorcerer\u201d and any title that could have easily been invented by a Dungeon Master after his sixth pint of mead. \u2018Cause nerdz.<\/p>\n<p>Startups want their jobs to sound so cool that it\u2019s impossible not to want them. I\u2019m perfectly&nbsp;happy with my own job, but if I ever read an ad for a \u201cfluffer of moral erections\u201d, I\u2019ll drop&nbsp;everything and go, even if it means I end up teaching old ladies how to dance salsa in a holiday resort a la Swayze&nbsp;in Dirty Dancing.<\/p>\n<p>The exceptions to this rule are the&nbsp;internships. Companies don\u2019t even try to make these \u201cjobs\u201d sound&nbsp;cool, given that&nbsp;the word \u201cintern\u201d is at times already an euphemism for \u201cslave\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Centuries ago, before the invention of coconut M&amp;Ms or, like, minimum wage, I was doing an internship. Money was so tight that I felt compelled to rewrite <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Internship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Wikipedia page for&nbsp;the term<\/a>&nbsp;to reflect my true real feelings about the matter.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-13994\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/internship_wiki-1024x510.jpg\" alt=\"internship_wiki\" width=\"650\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/internship_wiki-1024x510.jpg 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/internship_wiki-300x149.jpg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/internship_wiki.jpg 1154w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p>\n<p>\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffcUnfortunately a Wikipedia editor told me I wasn\u2019t being \u2013 air quote \u2013 objective about the facts. Fine, Mr. Logic. Whatever.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, you need to really read&nbsp;those job postings and check off&nbsp;the required skills one by one, even if that\u2019s boring. And when&nbsp;you\u2019re doing so, try to be honest with yourself about your real capabilities. I once thought my brain had no boundaries, but then it turns out that things like the Norwegian language or \u201cRuby on Rails\u201d (I still think that\u2019s the name of a synthetic drug) cannot be learned overnight.<\/p>\n<p>Bummer.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve found a position that seems perfect for you, don\u2019t just start shooting off applications like crazy. You need to pick the right startup before even letting them pick you. Of course you wanna be employed by a winner and there\u2019s one basic criteria to discern whether an internet company is gonna take over the world. Mark my words: It\u2019s all in the name.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/1379CHbG781Zmw\/giphy.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"220\">Look around: the \u201cGeneral Motors\u201d days are over. Don\u2019t look for class, meaning or authority in a name. The startup world is now calling for \u201cGoojdi\u201d, \u201cFaamp\u201d, \u201cLeerk\u201d and \u201cHuora\u201d (which was gonna be the name of my own startup until someone told me it literally means \u201cwhore\u201d in Finnish). In other words, you need to look for a name that sounds like something between the first words of a baby and what your cat may have written while walking on the keyboard.<\/p>\n<p>The only acceptable alternative to this are Latin words. A lot of startup founders pick these, probably by listening to Harry Potter spells and noting down stuff that sounds nice. Sometimes it works, but other times your web agency ends up being called \u201cferocity\u201d in Italian.<\/p>\n<p>Roar.<\/p>\n<p>In the next episode I\u2019ll teach you how to actually apply for the startup job of your dreams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">Federico is an Italian in Berlin. He <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amorequietplace.com\/)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blogs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amorequietplace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tweets<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amorequietplace.com\/100-days-of-german-words\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">infiltrates the German language<\/a>,&nbsp;and is currently employed at a cool internet company based in Berlin with <a href=\"http:\/\/jobvite.com\/m?3gLathwq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a million open positions<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you liked this, check out <a href=\"\/note-berlin-startup-scene\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">our observations on the Berlin startup scene<\/a>, and get more practical advice about <a href=\"\/so-you-want-to-work-for-a-berlin-startup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">landing a startup job<\/a>&nbsp;(with more GIFs!).<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssb-share ssb-share-13993 defualt\" post_id=\"13993\">\n<div class=\"defualt-button-fb\"> <iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http:\/\/www.uberlin.co.uk\/how-to-work-at-a-startup-1-finding-a-job\/&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=false&amp;height=21&amp;appId=743541755673761\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"defualt-button-twitter\"> \t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"\/how-to-work-at-a-startup-1-finding-a-job\/\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postMeta\">\n<div class=\"postMetaCategory\">Category: <a href=\"\/category\/opinions\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Opinions<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"postMetaTag\">Tags: <a href=\"\/tag\/gif\/\" rel=\"tag\">GIF<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/how-to-work-at-a-startup\/\" rel=\"tag\">How to work at a startup<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/jobs\/\" rel=\"tag\">Jobs<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/moving-to-berlin\/\" rel=\"tag\">Moving to Berlin<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/startups\/\" rel=\"tag\">Startups<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"comments closed\">           \t             <span>comments closed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post hentry\">\n<h5 class=\"postDate\"><abbr class=\"published\" title=\"2015-07-08T09:48:15+0000\">July 8, 2015<\/abbr><\/h5>\n<div class=\"postContent\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"\/berlintercourse-first-orgy\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Berlintercourse: An orgy to remember<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"vcard author\">by <span class=\"fn\">Guest Blogger<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p id=\"top\"><strong>A theme that always comes up when I discuss my latest sexcapades with my flatmate is the fact that, no matter what kind of crazy situation I have just experienced, a crazier one will follow. I often find myself thinking, \u201dThis is it. It can. Not. Possibly. Get any more extreme.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And&nbsp;then it does.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having had threesomes, <a href=\"\/berlintercourse-bdsm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tried out suspension bondage<\/a> and <a href=\"\/berlintercourse-first-sex-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">attended a sex party<\/a>, I was wondering how I could possibly add more notches to my bedpost. That is, until I received a Facebook message from one of the organisers of the sex party, asking if I wanted to attend a \u201ccrazy bisexual orgy\u201d taking place in a hotel suite a few days later.<\/p>\n<p>No need to guess what my answer was. As always, my first concern was the dress code, especially after I found out that we would all be attending dinner at this fancy restaurant before heading back to the hotel.<\/p>\n<p>On the big day, I hurried down the stairs at work as soon as the clock struck 6pm. Chugging a much-needed beer on my way home, I jumped in the shower to get ready for the evening. After a quick wardrobe check, I ended up settling on a long 90s black dress I had found at Humana, paired with faux pony-fur platform sandals and a baseball bomber jacket. Casual chic, I thought, not entirely sure of my outfit choice.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully I ran into&nbsp;a foreign tourist in the U-Bahn, who, upon seeing me looking at my reflection, told me I looked really pretty and didn\u2019t need to check any mirrors. He asked me for bar recommendations and I couldn\u2019t repress a smile when he asked about my plans for the evening. \u201cOh nothing much, just meeting some friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was the last guest to join the table in the backyard of a Mitte restaurant. (Not the cool part of Mitte; the boring fancy part.) All eyes were on me as I greeted the couple I knew and was introduced to the other participants.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I soon realised that we were basically three couples and me. Fine. The men were considerably older, which kind of worried me, but at least the women were cute. Almost all of them were Russian. Journalists, writers and entrepreneurs \u2013 no doubt part of some sort of free-thinking, free-loving, travelling elite.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They were certainly very interesting human beings, and I enjoyed listening to their stories of going to the opera on LSD and driving across&nbsp;Europe on motorcycles. Most of them were divorced and had children, making me feel like a little like a child at the grown-up\u2019s table.<\/p>\n<p>As dinner was served, our conversation switched to opinions&nbsp;on Berlin\u2019s various sex clubs. I listened, occasionally answering questions, unable to shake the thought that I was about to experience something my mind couldn\u2019t have fathomed just a few months ago.<\/p>\n<p>Once everyone had finished eating, one of the guests paid for our meal and announced that we would be making our way to the hotel.<\/p>\n<p>We walked for a few minutes while I talked to this Russian journalist. He was older than my parents and very sweet. His arms were covered with several large tattoos, which I asked about after we\u2019d talked about mine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me tell you the one thing I\u2019ve learned about tattoos,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrowing up, my mother always told me there were three rules she wanted me to follow. One of them was: do not get tattoos, for they will stick with you for all of your life. As you can already tell, I didn\u2019t really respect this one. She passed away several years ago but I still think about her very often. Actually, I was lying on the beach last month and looked at my own tattoos, which reminded me of her rules. And I thought, \u2018You know what, Mom? All of your life is really not that long.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was deeply moved by these words of wisdom coming from a 60-year-old man, and decided that whatever was about to happen, the evening had already been worth experiencing.<\/p>\n<p>Arriving at our suite, the host started putting together an incredible cheese platter and serving glasses of insanely delicious Italian red wine. The guy who\u2019d invited me had already asked whether I was into drugs, so I was expecting more of a \u201cpick me up\u201d before getting naked but, to my surprise, everyone started making out before I could take my first sip of wine.<\/p>\n<p>Since I was absolutely not attracted to any of the participating men, I was working on ways to refuse their advances. Thankfully, this really hot Russian girl started kissing me, keeping me busy while the others were at it themselves. We had sex while her boyfriend watched, leaving me to spend the rest of the evening sipping wine and smoking cigarettes half naked on the suite\u2019s balcony, occasionally going back inside to see what was happening.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I never considered myself much of a voyeur, but I found it easy to witness what was going on. Girl-on-girl-on-boy-on-girl-on-boy-on-boy, basically. A string of naked bodies spread over the suite\u2019s living room and bedroom. Heavy breathing, the occasional burst of laughter. Random enquiries along the lines of private parts smelling like cheese \u2013 there was a cheese platter, remember.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I decided to take care of the soundtrack, occasionally interrupting our host mid-sex to ask him to unlock his iPad, which for some reason was absolutely no big deal.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped out to get more cigarettes and ended up entering a tacky nightclub to use their vending machine. I was buying three packs, which confused the people standing in line behind me. \u201cIt worked, no need to put more money in! Look, your cigarettes are right here.\u201d I briefly considered telling them it wasn\u2019t my fault \u2013 I was buying smokes for a whole orgy \u2013 before leaving the club and getting back to the hotel.<\/p>\n<p>By then things were coming to an end, and we all chatted some more before the organiser\u2019s girlfriend announced that she wanted to go to sleep. I quickly got dressed and suddenly was standing on the street, feeling slightly dizzy from this oh-so-weird evening.<\/p>\n<p>I bought myself a beer and entered the U-Bahn, which I left again to change directions after deciding some dancing was in order. I had a sip, sighed with satisfaction and smiled about the fact that none of the other passengers had any idea what I had just been up to.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssb-share ssb-share-13970 defualt\" post_id=\"13970\">\n<div class=\"defualt-button-fb\"> <iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http:\/\/www.uberlin.co.uk\/berlintercourse-first-orgy\/&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=false&amp;height=21&amp;appId=743541755673761\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"defualt-button-twitter\"> \t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"\/berlintercourse-first-orgy\/\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postMeta\">\n<div class=\"postMetaCategory\">Category: <a href=\"\/category\/opinions\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Opinions<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"postMetaTag\">Tags: <a href=\"\/tag\/berlintercourse\/\" rel=\"tag\">Berlintercourse<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/sex\/\" rel=\"tag\">Sex<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"comments closed\">           \t             <span>comments closed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post hentry\">\n<h5 class=\"postDate\"><abbr class=\"published\" title=\"2015-07-02T14:11:04+0000\">July 2, 2015<\/abbr><\/h5>\n<div class=\"postContent\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"\/doggystyle-gerd-tammo\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Doggystyle: Gerd and Tammo<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"vcard author\">by <span class=\"fn\">Zo\u00eb Noble<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p id=\"top\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181443-uberlin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13981\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181443-uberlin.jpg\" alt=\"berlin doggystyle streetstyle boston terrier\" width=\"650\" height=\"975\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181443-uberlin.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181443-uberlin-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181513-uberlin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13982\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181513-uberlin.jpg\" alt=\"boston terrier close up\" width=\"650\" height=\"975\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181513-uberlin.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20140423-181513-uberlin-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe farts all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssb-share ssb-share-13980 defualt\" post_id=\"13980\">\n<div class=\"defualt-button-fb\"> <iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http:\/\/www.uberlin.co.uk\/doggystyle-gerd-tammo\/&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=false&amp;height=21&amp;appId=743541755673761\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"defualt-button-twitter\"> \t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"\/doggystyle-gerd-tammo\/\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postMeta\">\n<div class=\"postMetaCategory\">Category: <a href=\"\/category\/people\/\" rel=\"category tag\">People<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"postMetaTag\">Tags: <a href=\"\/tag\/boston-terrier\/\" rel=\"tag\">Boston Terrier<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/doggystyle\/\" rel=\"tag\">Doggystyle<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"comments closed\">           \t             <span>comments closed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post hentry\">\n<h5 class=\"postDate\"><abbr class=\"published\" title=\"2015-07-01T06:06:17+0000\">July 1, 2015<\/abbr><\/h5>\n<div class=\"postContent\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"\/portrait-matthew-gordon-taiko-gallery\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Portrait: Matthew Gordon, Taiko Gallery<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"vcard author\">by <span class=\"fn\">James Glazebrook<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p id=\"top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13935\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/hjjvfoe7Bgxh2DWsE-2-ralaWTbZ0s-Jsu5N1arasIs.jpeg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon, Taiko Gallery, Berlin\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/hjjvfoe7Bgxh2DWsE-2-ralaWTbZ0s-Jsu5N1arasIs.jpeg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/hjjvfoe7Bgxh2DWsE-2-ralaWTbZ0s-Jsu5N1arasIs-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><em>Meet <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/matthew_gordon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matthew Gordon<\/a>, the co-owner of Taiko Gallery, a new tattoo studio and art space on Sch\u00f6nleinstrasse in our beloved Graefekiez.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Originally from Sydney, Matthew first landed in Berlin two years ago, after travelling to Europe with his Taiko partner Wendy Pham. They visited fellow tattoo artist <a href=\"http:\/\/conspiracyinctattoo.blogspot.de\/p\/uncle-allan.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Uncle Allan<\/a><b> <\/b>in Denmark, who mentioned plans to open a German outpost, and invited the Aussies to join him. Already half a world away from home, they were unphased by the last leg of a journey to a city they\u2019d never even planned to visit. As Matthew says of his fellow countrymen, \u201cwe\u2019re all crazy anyway!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-016.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13951\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-016.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon art space Berlin\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-016.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-016-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Moving to Berlin was just the latest in a series of risky but rewarding moves for the young artist. At 19, he quit a promising career as a 3D animator, designing levels for video games and fly-throughs of skyscrapers in Dubai, and persuaded the guy who had started covering his body with ink to train him as an apprentice. Then Gordon cut his apprenticeship short to move to Melbourne, where he opened up a private studio with Wendy.<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by <a href=\"http:\/\/theskullandsword.com\/artists\/grime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grime<\/a> of San Francisco\u2019s Skull and Sword, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.yellowblaze.net\/shige-full-body.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shige<\/a> of Yellow Blaze in Yokohama and local hero&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/otatts.com\/home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Owen Williams<\/a> of TAMA, Matthew started carving out a niche in the tattoo world: \u201cI don\u2019t look at any other work or references. I draw from my head, and if it\u2019s wrong, it\u2019s wrong. It\u2019s the only way to give yourself a style\u201d. That style, which Matthew calls \u201copen illustrated Japanese\u201d, renders Eastern-inspired imagery in vibrant colour and (not surprisingly) perfect 3D, with dragons and snakes covered in intricate, interlocked scales that pulsate from the subject\u2019s skin. He conservatively estimates that his forthcoming art book contains over 5,000 hand-drawn scales.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13939\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-004.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon Medusa snakes sketch\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-004.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-004-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p>The desire to be different that informs Matthew\u2019s work is also shaping the shopfront that he single-handedly renovated from a water-damaged, nicotine-stained <i>Fahrschule <\/i>into a beautiful, white-walled, multidisciplinary space. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to create something different, that\u2019s not just a little hole-in-the-wall studio,\u201d Matthew explains. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Taiko-Gallery\/909747892372809\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiko Gallery<\/a> &nbsp;is \u201cmore about the art, and less about making a million dollars,\u201d serving as an exhibition space for the founders\u2019 paintings, and a venue for life drawing classes and other creative events. Above all, it is \u201ca positive place\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150508-matthewGordon-003.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13975\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150508-matthewGordon-003.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon art space Berlin\" width=\"650\" height=\"975\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150508-matthewGordon-003.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150508-matthewGordon-003-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, not everyone is pleased about the latest development of this small Kreuzberg side-street, where old school Berliner haunts like the 24-hour bar Bei Schlawinchen rub up against the internationally-owned curiosity shop <a href=\"\/the-cheese-mountain-tragedy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Cheese Mountain Tragedy<\/a>.<b>&nbsp;<\/b>The subject of thoughtless protests against the perceived gentrification of long-gentrified <a href=\"\/tag\/graefekiez\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Graefekiez<\/a>, Matthew finds himself cleaning spit off the gallery\u2019s window almost every day.<\/p>\n<p>But far from feeling threatened by such low-level hostility \u2013 \u201cI\u2019ve got a scythe in the back; I\u2019d like to see them try\u201d \u2013 he has been surprised by the extent to which foreigners are tolerated, if not always embraced, in Berlin. \u201cMost of my time is spent in my own little bubble. I feel like an alien sometimes, but that\u2019s OK. I\u2019m in my own little world, no one really pays attention to me, and that\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-005.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13940\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-005.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon at work tattooing\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-005.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-005-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s definitely opened my eyes to the way that Australians deal with foreigners. If you go to Australia, and you have trouble speaking English, it\u2019s horrible for you. People are abused to their face, and it\u2019s just shit. If I ever go back and see that, those racists are getting told to shut the fuck up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Provincial attitudes aside, Matthew is optimistic about the future of Taiko Gallery and his adopted home: \u201cEven in the two years I\u2019ve been here, I\u2019ve noticed more art going on and I\u2019ve met lots of interesting people. Berlin is a great city. It\u2019s a good place to have a new thing, one that doesn\u2019t really exist yet. In five years, you\u2019ll have built a reputation, with expats and Germans alike.\u201d Put simply: \u201cBeing able to see Berlin grow is cool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Matthew\u2019s book of snake illustrations, the&nbsp;<\/em>Compendium Vipera<em>, is now available via <a href=\"http:\/\/illustratedmonthly.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Illustrated Monthly<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13936\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-001.jpg\" alt=\"Taiko Gallery, Sch\u00f6nleinstrasse, Berlin\" width=\"650\" height=\"975\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-001.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-001-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13937\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-002.jpg\" alt=\"Taiko Gallery, Sch\u00f6nleinstrasse, Berlin\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-002.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-002-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13941\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-006.jpg\" alt=\"Tattoo ink bottles\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-006.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-006-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13942\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-007.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon leg tattoo\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-007.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-007-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13943\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-008.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon tattoo sketch skull snake\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-008.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-008-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13945\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-010.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon Taiko Gallery paintings\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-010.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-010-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13948\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-013.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon animal skull painting\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-013.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-013-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13946\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-011.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon painting close up\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-011.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-011-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13950\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-015.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon self portrait close up\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-015.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-015-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13947\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-012.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Gordon, co-owner Taiko Gallery in Berlin\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-012.jpg 650w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20150508-matthewGordon-012-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssb-share ssb-share-13933 defualt\" post_id=\"13933\">\n<div class=\"defualt-button-fb\"> <iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http:\/\/www.uberlin.co.uk\/portrait-matthew-gordon-taiko-gallery\/&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=false&amp;height=21&amp;appId=743541755673761\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"defualt-button-twitter\"> \t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"\/portrait-matthew-gordon-taiko-gallery\/\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postMeta\">\n<div class=\"postMetaCategory\">Category: <a href=\"\/category\/people\/\" rel=\"category tag\">People<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"postMetaTag\">Tags: <a href=\"\/tag\/art\/\" rel=\"tag\">Art<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/graefekiez\/\" rel=\"tag\">Graefekiez<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/kreuzberg\/\" rel=\"tag\">Kreuzberg<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/matthew-gordon\/\" rel=\"tag\">Matthew Gordon<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/portraits\/\" rel=\"tag\">Portraits<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/taiko-gallery\/\" rel=\"tag\">Taiko Gallery<\/a> : <a href=\"\/tag\/tattoos\/\" rel=\"tag\">Tattoos<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"comments closed\">           \t             <span>comments closed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pageNav\">\n<div class=\"prev\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"next\"><a href=\"\/2015\/07\/\">\u00bb<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July 19, 2015 Berlin Moments: July 13th \u2013 19th by Zo\u00eb Noble Berlin Moments is a weekly collection of our favourite photos from our favourite city! Unless otherwise stated, all photos are by Zo\u00eb Noble. To be featured, just tag your photos with #uberlinmoments on Twitter and Instagram, and we\u2019ll include our favourites in our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}