Getting to Berlin…and LaDIYfest 2009!
It seemed no coincidence that the ending of our job at the chateau fit nicely with the dates of the LaDIYfest Berlin 2009, so I took it as a sign that the universe definitely wanted me to go for a second year and booked a flight from Paris to Berlin. I planned on going alone, as I had kept in touch with several of the girls I’d met last year I had no compunctions about having a ready social circle. But I was thrilled when I found that my friend from Portland, Annie, would be able to make it with me and was equally as excited!
I left the chateau and all my friends there with a teary goodbye on a sunny July afternoon. I was to take a train from our local station to Toulouse, then an overnight train from Toulouse to Paris. Once at the Paris train station it would be a walk across the Seine to another Paris train station where I’d be able to catch a shuttle directly to CDG Airport. After the quick hour long ride to Toulouse I ambled off the train laden with bags significantly lighter than they would have been if Jon hadn’t gallantly offered to carry some of my stuff with him until we met up again in Paris a week later (but still really heavy). I found my overnight train to Paris without problem, and located my berth.
Normally I would have purchased just a seat, as it’s half the price, but all the seats were sold out and only berths were left. Not such a terrible concession to make…the berths were absolutely lovely! With room for six to sleep, they looked new and hardly touched – and each berth had laid out on it a little sleeping kit which included a sleeping bag, water, cookies, earplugs and a mask, wetwipes, and a pamphlet about how to make myself really comfortable when I sleep (but I’ve pretty much got that down to a science). I settled myself into my middle berth and waited for my co-sleepers to show up. Shortly past 10pm the train started rolling along and it looked as if I would have the entire room to myself! What luxury! The night passed quickly and comfortably, and at 7am I woke up happy to be in Paris.
Paris is a bit unique in how it has it’s major transit system set up. Instead of having one major point of entry for trains, it has six (on the map below each station is the circle marked SNCF). That means that if you’re taking a train through Paris and on to somewhere else you pretty much have 100% chance that you’ll have to manically run from one station to another in an impossibly short time. Most people take taxis.
On that day I had only to get from Gare d’Austerlitz to Gare de Lyon. As you can see from this oversimplified map I had only to stroll across the River Seine where I’d easily catch my connecting bus to take me to CDG Airport. Super! I got off the train looking for the huge map or information booth to tell me how to get out of where I was and get to the Gare de Lyon. No map, no information. I asked cops…mysteriously they didn’t know where the other station was. I asked security guards…same thing. I asked taxi drivers…nope, no idea what I was talking about. Come on, people! I know it’s only a short walk across a bridge – I just need to know what direction to walk in! Thinking they were perhaps just weary of travelers always asking about other train stations (maybe they feel protective if there’s a popularity competition amongst them) I started tricking them by asking standers-by to direct me towards the Seine. Still I got blank looks and half-hearted shrugs. Come on people! I’m not fooled! I KNOW you know where the Seine is!!! Ugh. Finally I found a young German couple puzzling over a Paris guide book, and though everything was written in a foreign language at least I could derive some basic information from the pictures on the map in the back: like which direction the Seine was. It turned out that the Seine was, in fact, about 50 yards from where I was standing. In fact if I had raised my eyes and gazed forward I would have seen the boats floating by the tree lined bank. Oh. Well at least I had confirmation.
Since I’d killed about 45 minutes finding out that I was exactly where I needed to be I got walking at a quick pace towards Gare de Lyon. After a bit more confusion and another hour of walking in circles I found the small postcard-sized sign indicating that this bus-stop would sometimes feature a bus which would eventually take me to the airport. It’s not that Parisians are rude or unhelpful, though every SINGLE person I asked ANY question to answered the same way: with a long, deep drag on their cigarette and a one shoulder semi-shrug. Not unhelpful really…more bored. I mean they live in one of the most oft visited cities in the world, and if it were me after being asked the same question a billion times by harried foreign travelers gesturing wildly and not speaking my language I would probably start to screw with them too. Maybe. Anyhow, I finally got to the CDG Airport, found my gate and prepared for a long day of waiting. It was 10am, I would get to Berlin at 7pm, and the flight was only an hour long. Luckily Annie was making a connection through Paris too and so we met and had a croissant and cafe together for a few hours before my flight left and she had four more hours of waiting before her flight left. I did my waiting at the Berlin airport and finally Annie arrived. We set off together to take the very sensible and easy to use Berlin bus system to the house of Clara, a friend I’d met last year who offered to put us up her centrally located apartment! Here’s lovely Clara:
Annie and I arrived at Clara’s house around 11pm, tired from traveling but exhilarated to be in Berlin for a week. Of course the main reason we were there was to check out the happenings at LaDIYfest. Here’s the address of the 2009 program:
The next morning we took the train to the first workshop we wanted to attend, all about making your own alternative power source by fashioning a small wind turbine out of PVC and bicycle parts! On the way we stopped for food and I had vegan sushi for the first time since I left Portland a year and a half ago! We were really happy about the sushi.
After our DE-LISH-OUS sushi meal we walked over to one of the oldest organized squats in Berlin: Schwarzer Kanal
Schwarzer Kanal is cool for many many reasons: a collective of Queer friendly folk living happily off the grid, growing much of their own food and recycling everything they can get their hands on to use for the betterment of their community. They inhabit the grounds of an old derelict factory which hasn’t been used since the mid century. They’ve turned the parking lot into a bountiful veggie garden. They’ve turned old factory trucks into comfy homes. They don’t want for anything, they live in clean and neat harmony and have taken it to the next level to give back to the community around them. They offer a bike rental business and give free classes about sustainability and other great DIY things.
This shows the wind turbine being put together using bike parts for the electricity generating motor in the middle.
The workshop was hugely informative, and while I don’t think I could build a replica from scratch by myself at least I know this is possible and it would easily generate enough electricity to light one room and charge a laptop or music player. That’s exciting!
That evening there was a show at Schwarzer Kanal featuring some awesome girl bands, especially Las Kellies a fantastic rock band from Argentina! We had a great time and eventually made our way back to Clara’s apartment with plans to get up early the next day and do some workshops and sightseeing.
Our week progressed along in the same vein of awesomeness. We saw a funny two-girl play about adventures in menstruation, we sat through a disturbing contemporary art/theater response to suicide, we attended an anti-antiabortion lecture, and at night we saw more super fantastic music from all over the world. Another notable band that everyone should check out is a Swedish five piece girl band called Skilla. We loved this band so much that we even bought their cd at the show. Here’s a video they made to give you a taste:
Skilla Music Video: Tragic Song
In the midst of LaDIYfest fun, Annie and I were able to fit in some other Berlin cultural experiences. We had a great day at an eclectic market where we saw loads of great handmade creative items, antiques, and had an awesome lunch at a vegan burger stand which was very popular for good reason.
We saw monuments, we visited the Berlin Wall (which I’d missed last year), we walked important routes, and Annie visited the concentration camp outside Berlin that I’d gone to last year but couldn’t bear a repeat visit to. We cooked great meals for Clara in the evening and…height of girlie fun…did each others hair in the kitchen.
No doubt about it, LaDIYfest was another huge success! Annie and I had a fantastic time together and found it hard to leave at the end of the week…Berlin has got to be my favorite city in Western Europe! But we had more adventures ahead of us as we caught a flight direct to Paris where Jon was waiting for us. We three would spend the next five days exploring Pair-eee and all it had to offer. So one more picture on the plane:
And soon we landed safely in Paris and met up with Jon who surprised us by meeting us at the airport (instead of the train station an hour away as we’d planned). Once again I’m left with the feeling that I can’t wait until LaDIYfest Berlin 2010….but next year I’m taking Jon with me!
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