decided last night to leave my comfort zone, this meant trecking over to the other side of the city in serch of a bar called roses which has been recomeded to me. I got as far as finding the street but couldn't see anywhere called roses. I did see a cafe/bar called bierhimmel with a rainbow painted on the window, so i popped in for a beer. It was very busy but I managed to get a seat at the bar. I plucked up the courage to chat to the couple next to me who told me that roses was the bar a few dors down, with no sign on the front. They also advised a few other bars and a night club, called the powerstation... or something like that.
After a few more drinks I moved on to roses. from the outside it looked scairy, painted black with a bulldog on the door. But when I went in i was amased. It was fantasicly, gloriously camp. The walls and celing were covered in thick pink fun fur, hanging on these walls a tacky, glowing picture of the virgin mary holding baby jesus was hanging next to a painting of miss piggy reclining on a chez long. I counted 7 chandeleers in this tiny bar, as well as several glitterballs accesorized with rosery beads. the main focus of the back wall was a mirroed crusifix surounded by fairy lights. It might all sound awful, but when something is this camp and potentialy offensive you have to love it. I managed to make a few "single serving friends" (see fight club) and the couple from the other cafe came in and We chatted for a few hours. Its depressing trying to explain to someone who has seen their city change so much in their lifetime and is so effected by the after effects and politics of the wall coming down, that I come from a country where more people will vote for magaret thatchers daugter to eat a kangaroos bollock, than will vote for a political party.
before the couple left they again recomended this club although it wasnt called powerstation it was called beghain, and although it wasn't far i would have to get a taxi. So after drinks with a flock of jolly lesbians, thats what i did. I started to worry when the taxi driver turned off the road and drove down a dirt track in a very rundown industralised part of town. After a few mins the track stopped next to a disussed warehouse.
"This is as far as I go, from here you walk round the corner and you will see it" said the driver.
Hell, what had i gotten myself into?
I followed his instructions and saw a long queue of young people standing in front of a hudge building, then it clicked. The club wasn#t called powerstation, the club was in an old powerstation. So I joined the queue in the frezing cold. I could see the bouncers were slowly letting people in, in groups of 10 at a time. As I queued for 30 mins I told myself that all these people wouldn't be so happy to freze there tits off unless it was really worh it.
When i got through the doors I was in a room which was as large as any club i had been in, along one side of the room was a relly long counter, not a bar because this hudge area was just the cloack room. In return for my jacket and a few euros I got a dogtag to hang around my neck, with 1038 printed on it. I walked up a flight of stairs and saw the club in all its glory. BArs around the outside, harsh stone walls, a powerful but uncomplecated lighting rig hanging from the celling. and a sea of young people chearing and dancing to the techno music. On the dance floor I could see groups of straight couples, young queens, gay skinheads (who really didn't know how to dance), muscle marys and straight lads. all having a great time together. as i explored the building i discoverd staircases, corridors and hanging walkways which lead to smaller bars and other dancefloors. I am sure there were lots of other hiden gems that i didnt discover. There was even a darkroom hidden just off the main dancefloor. by 7am I was flagging & decided to make my way back. as I left people were still ariving. when I got outside I noticed that during the nmight it had snowed which meant that for my train ride back to the flat I got to see the citys sites coverd in white.
It had gone 8 by the time I got back, so you'll excuse me for not doing much today other than sleep.
Right lets see what tonights got in store for me. Its sunday so i am hoping to find some kareoke action