Turns out there is still hope out there. Out there, beyond your day-to-day, somewhere out on the road its not all politics, hurricanes, bad vibes and bad memes. In fact, the other day I found myself way outside the bad lands somewhere in Berlin. Just off the plane I walked around the Mitte District. I meandered up to Mauerpark, where I read about a flea market chocked full of food trucks and beer stands…or as I like to call it: an afternoon well spent.
The land on which the park is located once had the Berlin Wall running straight through it, and used to be called the “Death Strip” because it was a hot spot for bad shit happening between East and West Berlin. What I found was quite the opposite: thousands of people picnicking, drum-circling, punk rocking, raving and living. The epicenter of it all was a natural amphitheater where brave folks were getting up to sing karaoke in front of 1500 cheering people. I sat there for a couple hours, buying 24 oz. bottles of Becks for three Euro a piece and watched Russians, Argentinians, Slovakians, English, Americans and tons of Germans get up and let it rip. Old, young, good performer or not – the crowd got behind everyone and cheered them for having the balls to go for it. I was so fired up at witnessing the high vibes that humans are capable of. There is still hope to be had after all!
Turns out this is occurrs every Sunday in Berlin, and if you ever find yourself cruising around one of the best towns out there, I highly suggest you check it out. Next time I go, it’s gonna be a Cyndi Lauper kind of day. —Adam Warren