Kreuzberg or SO36

I am trying toke in as much as I can here, but the history is extremely complicated. A biker rode by the other day with a shirt saying, " Berlin, poor, but sexy". That described it perfectly. There is this sort of charm about the city. It attracts, what some would say are the outcastes of society, or those trying to escape reality. The city as explained by the guy on the tour yesterday, is basically artificial. This was no ordinary tour. There were only three others, and this guy was a crazy old drugie, who was extremely brilliant. We would stop for beers, and he refused a tip. It was more just hanging out and letting him go off on his rants about the city he was so passionate about, and the architecture, of which he is obssessed. He and his wife found themselves here when they were caravanning around Europe in there old rv. They came across an environmental check, and because of it's age, it would not pass. They were from great Britain originally. They found themselves lost in Berlin, and didn't want to leave. After two years of emersing themselves in the city scene had flown by they decided to set up actual residence. They set up a cafe, and it has become one of the most popular in town to there surprise. You would expect this story of a five year period to be coming from late twenty or thirty year old, but no...they are in there fifties. He just quite partying all night. His wife started to feel left out because she couldn't stay up all night anymore, so they started doing the after party scene at five or six in the morning, wake up fresh, eat breakfast, and go party the rest of the club night. Haha hilarious.
This city is very much comprised of trends. One cafe sets up, and another shuts down, every week he said. Where I was going with, an artificial city, is that the city practically generates no income for the country and is entirely subsidized practically by the government. For a population of3.5 million, which has actually gone down since the war, tourism, whichnis it's only market really, would not be able to sustain that aortic population. Tourism is also very conflicting with the city culture. Most the people that do have a steady income in the city, setup residence here because it is inexpensive, but them have clients elsewhere, are journalists for other places, or authors and artist. There is a German phrase I can't remember but basically it says something like, half the city serves the other half of the city coffee in the morning, and then everyone switches in the afternoon. There is practicallyno market here. It is an extremely confusing culture. It has the best scene in Europe, but very much underground. It is nothing like the other western European cities. There Re still empty spots in the city, slowly getting filled in, but you can set up a caravan,and some random tables and have a bar. It is so neat. You used to be able to ride your bike through all of the buildings around some areas. It is slowly deve,oping, but to the dismay of many residence. Everyone here bikes as well. They are everywhere, old retro bikes with headlights. There is quite a division here, and many of the people of the city oppose gentrification, and development. Here is a bit of that history so it makes sense, and I pro ably won't do it much justice.
After the wall came down many of people who had come to the western part of Germany to escape oppression, or just found themselves on this side when the conflict began, such as Turks, Slavs, and many other eastern European nationalities were then stuck here. As borders between other countries were established, they could not just move freely to other parts of western Germany, and many of them had been settled in Germany for a very long time and it was home now. It created quite a nationality identity crisis. These people's origins could not be traced, so they could not get a passport. In Germany citizenship goes by nationality, and not by were you are born. So over the decades there have been generations of Turks and other nationalities, who have never been to Turkey, can't get thereto establish a nationally and get a passport and have no way of becoming German citizens. This area of the town we were in, is made up of a great deal of these peple. Due to not being a citizen, or filing for rights as an immigrant, they are unable to get jobs, or work under the table with no benefits. The buildings around this area had once been upper middle class residence, but because the wall was erected right near this part of town, many of the residence left, landlords were losing money, so left properties unattended and abandoned. Many of the property owners in this part of town had also been Jewish, and had all been killed in the Halocaust, and if they had not, never returned to this part of Germany again. So after the war, this became a squatter residence. People would set up residence here, like the poor, the refugees from other countries and so on. It became a place that attracted many anarchists, and leftist. It became the place of anarchy and organized rioting as time went on and the city began to develop. The squares became organized, and many of the ring leaders of a certain squat actually gained ownership during the seventies and eighties, and after the wall had come down there was a huge last afford to pour money into this sinking city for renovation, and to excelerate it into the rest of the western world, mostly funded by the U.S. These square still exist, and unless you were told, some of them you would wander up to and think were quite lovely with pubs and caves set up. So e even have there own schools. The anarchy still thrives, and riots still occur. Somewhat out of tradition even. When a public pool was being opened, many of the people came to protest. Jim Hutson, the guy taking us on his tour, had told us a story about a friend he had who was a doctor, and had told him the story of everyone coming and throwing paint against the walls, and he asked why would you protest a community pool. His response wS, "it's kruezberg, that's what you do, you protest." This rational is understood only by the people from here I believe. The spray painting that covers literally every square foot of this city is just a part of the squatter culture, and has been accepted as such. The fire station is even graffitied. This was actually commissioned by the fire department. There are murals of flames, and Berlin burning behind butch firemen carrying scantily dressed woman out of the flames. It is unreal. The riots here are also quite organized. It happens the first of may every year. There is a huge street parade during the day. The shop keepers have to decide between making money and protecting there properties. It is quite a scene as described by Jim. The shops and bars board up there buildings, then set up stands outside with beer and food holding baseball bats. Once the parade clears out the rooters line up on the eastern end of Georenstrausse, I believe I can't really remember specifically, but the main steer through the town, and the riot police assemble on the other. The riot police are pretty much thugs themselves who are quite jacked up and actually serve no other purpose in keeping law and order. The rooters throw bricks, paint and smash anything in sight. Blow up cars, and the riot police meet them in the middle where it is a full out brawl. Hugely violent, yet strangely organized. A place unlike any other without andoubt. This tour is actually never held, so the guy was just really stoked to be sharing it, and hanging out with the handful of us. All of the best might clubs are in this area, although I think I'll be sitting out that scene, unless I were to meet a born and raised Berliner in the next day. Even the bar SO36, which the area is also known as, is raided lured and destroyed, and the money gained by the looters, is used to reopen it and reclaim it from the group of thugs that had owned it before. It has just recently shut down, but who knows for how long.
The synogogue in the area, or what still remains of it is quite often attacked, but by the right wing extremist groups. The mosque has only been damaged just because it is along the streets of the riots and they were setting fire to the shop below it. The Islam practiced amongst the Turks is similar to the Israeli Islam, in that is very lax, and peaceful, so the only attacks that Easter Germany has had to deal with is from other extremist Muslim groups.
The parks in these areas are amazing. They are set up like little festivals every weekend, with seemly no organization. The pop culture is fascinating here. The peple attracted to this city are attracted to the anarchy, and lawless free culture in a way I guess.

I am going to see if I can rent a bike for half the day to see all the other districts. Each little district here is like it's own little city. For this afternoon though I think I am going to do a quick walking tour to just the main central attractions, to see them quickly and get a brief history. I may just do everything by foot too. It would take me a few hours, but easier to look at the map and figure out where I'm going without being on a bike. They are also branded rental, and you kind of want to be discreet as a tourist here. Berlin, poor, but sexy.
Talk to you all soon