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Berliner Gauklerfest delights visitors Posted
August 8, 2004
By ERICKA J. MILLER BERLIN—“What is that?” my friend said, pointing to the Coke glass the girl in front of us was lifting off the beverage counter. “It’s good,” the girl replied, picking up the deep red liquid brimming with berries and holding it out for us to examine. “It’s sort of a mix between a white wine and champagne, but it has strawberries in it too. Want to try it?”
“Umm, no, but thank you,” my friend told her. We looked at each other and then said at nearly the same time. “Let’s get those!” There we were our first, and only, full day in Berlin, completely submerged in the local culture and we were having a blast. We had stumbled upon this wonderful festival called “Berliner Gauklerfest” while we were out seeing the sights the day before. As soon as we saw it, we knew it was something we had to do before leaving the city. The night before, as we peered in the gates at the festivities now before us, we could see the crowds of people moving from booth to booth of crafts, jewelry, and of course, food and drinks. There were green and purple lights illuminating the sides of the two enormous buildings that formed makeshift walls around the festival.
People had been dancing to the jazz music we could hear playing, and we could see several different stages throughout the area. We were on a sightseeing tour earlier that day and we had passed the location, between the Linden Opera and the Crown Prince’s Palace. Our tour guide had mentioned it, confirming our suspicions that it was a must-see for that evening. “This is the Berliner Gauklerfest,” the recording on the headphones we were using had said. “The Gauklerfest translates roughly into the 'jolly festival' and it is a festival of sinners.” We had laughed at that. While I definitely wouldn’t have put the two of us in the “sinners” category, it only made us more eager to attend. Together my friend and I headed over to the festival around 8:30 p.m. The event opens each day at 4 p.m. and runs until 2 a.m.— however, on Saturday and Sunday, it opens earlier at 2 p.m. By the time we arrived things were in full swing and we were lucky to find one of the only open tables at a cute Italian restaurant near the entrance.
As we sat at our table, more and more people filled the open areas and soon it was standing room only around the small stage. I noticed there was a band setting up. The program told us salsa music would start at 9 p.m.—we were just in time. The band that took the stage was amazing. Together they made the familiar sounds of the Latin nightlife fill the air and I found it hard to remember I was in Berlin and not some nightclub back in Miami. As they continued to play, the band was joined on stage by three amazingly fit and scantily clad dancers. “The sinners, I thought to myself,” and laughed. The three dancers did everything from a hula-like dance to pole dancing and even brought a rather embarrassed young man onto the stage to dance with them. The entire crowd roared with laughter as the man tried his best to impress the three lovely ladies.
We finished our dinner and moved on see to the rest of the festival grounds. We quickly found our way to more food stands and that is when we ran into the girl with the interesting drink. After scoping out several more stands we realized the drink we were holding in our hands— full of a bubbly pink liquid and brimming with sliced berries—was called the “Erdbeer Bowle.” To me, it tasted like strawberry pop with a kick and, after seeing them at almost every stand along the way, we decided it must be our destiny to try them all and crown one the “Best Erdbeer Bowle in the Festival”. We wondered from stand to stand, scoping out the dishes that were filling the air with such a wonderful aroma. The area of food stands is called the “Gourmet Trail”. Each year participant booths are selected from festivals throughout the world and then invited to attend. The Trail is filled with foods from across the globe, including; Indian, southern, Chinese, Thai, German, crepes, mini-donuts and plenty of beverages to choose from as well. And while we were there we sampled foods from three of the stands. After several attempts, we were finally able to free ourselves from the clutches of the food area and made our way to the safer section of the festival, the art area. There, booth after booth was filled with ceramic pottery, silver and stoned jewelry, painting, sketches and even hats and masks. Each booth was more elaborately decorated than the next and it was difficult to keep my eyes on one thing without catching something else that looked even more inviting.
Hundreds of people were hovering around the craft area taking in all the wonderful purchasing opportunities, and I quickly realized that this section wasn’t going to be any safer for me than the food area. Just then we heard a man’s voice from over near the stage we had passed a while back and soon we could hear the full blown sounds of a jazz band. Finally, I thought, a place where both my pocketbook and waistline would be safe. We headed over to the stage— newly replenished drinks in hand— and stood listening to the man play his trumpet. I looked around and strained to hear what people where talking about. Everywhere I turned, all I could hear was more German. Not a single native English speaker in ears range— and, as it turns out; only one percent of all who attend the festival are foreigners— we were truly experiencing an attraction completely untouched by tourists. We worked our way back through the vendors one last time and that is where we found what occupied us for the rest of our night. There, sitting on the curb, opened up for all to see was an old leather suitcase. Inside the case were 20 or 30 differently colored plastic plates and double-sided cups. Along with long wooden sticks, some tied together by a long piece of string.
A crowd of people gathered around the suitcase and soon it became evident what was going on. Here were fully grown men and women trying to balance spinning plates on the tips of these wooden rods. I thought of how different entertainment was here compared to the States. “Can you imagine this happening in Miami or New York?” my friend asked me. “No way. If they just left a suitcase on the curb at a festival, someone would either steal the plates or dump everything out and take the suitcase!” I told her. We sat and watched for an hour or so, watching the waves of people trying to conquer the contents of the suitcase. We laughed at them and they laughed at themselves. Every once in a while someone would get the plate to spin and all those around would stop and applaud. Vendors started to close up shop at around two a.m. and we knew it was time for us to start our way back to our hotel. While we never were able to decide which Erdbeer Bowle deserved the winning title, we did discover a part of Germany that few foreigners have the pleasure of seeing. So, a word to the wise: If you’re heading to Berlin in early August, going to the Berliner Gauklerfest is a must. This year it celebrated its 14 th run, and if the attendance was any indication, one can be sure it will be around for at least fourteen more.
If You Go… Online: Be sure to check out http://www.gauklerfest.de for more information on the event.
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