BERLIN:
Berlin is one of my favorite cities so I was very happy to spend two days there. Yes, it is a massive metropolis, very international, very focused on art & music, and it's relatively cheap, etc etc etc, but my main passion for Berlin exists because of falafel. I have not had the opportunity to visit the Middle East, the lower Mediterranean, or North Africa, and falafel in the USA is generally restricted to decent Lebanese restaurants, or pan-Euro/Eastern restaurants with "veggie mezza" platters. Counties in the European Union, being much closer to the origins of such cusine, typically has a much greater availability & more culurally distinct versions of falafel. And Berlin is a fucking falafel mecca. The last time I was there, I became obsessed by Nil's Sudanische Imbiss, which features a very coriander-heavy falafel with a KILLER peanut-chili pepper sauce. It is something I've tried to recreate at home, and more significantly, haven't stopped thinking about for a long time. So of course I was determined to go at least once when back in Berlin. And of course it didn't happen.
It was probably a blessing in disguise because instead, I went to three other places (each a different style from a different country) and they were ALL. FUCKING. DELICIOUS. First was "Falafel in Berlin," or possibly "Falafelinberlin.de," or possibly just "Falafel," the signage was pretty confusing. It is located on Skalitzer Strasse and is (apparently) distinctly Syrian. One of the best I've ever had. Very fresh, light and fairly soft falafel with a heavy lemon/coriander flavor, not the over-fried crunchy style that dominates in the US. Top notch & highly recommended.
That night, we attempted to go the new Nil's location in Neukolln, but it closed right after we parked the car. No big deal, we went to another amazing place across the street. I had a vegetarian platter and everything was SOLID. I'm not sure the country of origin for this place, but it was a little less distinct but still very good. Halloumi (fried cheese sticks), some nice tabouli, rice, and three sauces (yogurt, chili and a really nice, unique, orange-colored, curry-based sauce), good (but not great) falafel (crunchier brown style). I don't remember the name... sorry. The next day, we were a bit rushed and Bill insisted that we go to Mo's King of Falafel. I trust the man and he was absolutely right. It was Moroccan style, served by an adorable old lady who's German seemed a bit rough, despite operating this small restaurant in Neukolln for seemingly decades. The falafel itself was quite good, though I preferred the Syrian joint, but the accoutrements is what really came through on this one. An amazingly complex mix of pickled vegetables, halloumi, mint, sauces & the Moroccan equivalent of guacamole. WHAT???
Falafel nerding aside, yeah, everything else was great. We hung out with the excellent Bill Kouligas all weekend who was an amazing host and all around awesome guy. We did two very solid shows, made some new friends, got lost in the flea market, got even more lost, worked it out, and went to the fantastic Pumpsti Pumsti Musick shop (one of the best record stores in the world, excellently curated selection of electro-acoustic/avant/noise/etc). I spent a lot of money on 3 releases I was very happy to get my hands on & we booked it to Hamburg. THANKS BERLIN.
HAMBURG:
We anticipated being late to the Hamburg gig to discover it was a very relaxed show at the FSK radio station. It felt really good to soundcheck & relax for a couple hours before the gig. I went for a run and saw some cute Hamburg shit. The show was nice, mellow, and friendly. The radio station was covered in typical independant radio station ephemera: posters, a list of radio-rules, and band stickers. But very strange (and seemingly restricted to Germany and Austria), was the proliferation of pro-Israel political/punk/antifa stickers (statements such as "Isreal Supporting Antifa" and vice versa=. Apparently everywhere else in the "punk world," the consensus is overwhelmingly pro-Palestine, to which I am fully sympathetic. My views are not intended as an attack on certain avenues of German culture, but it was a stark reminder of the Anti-Deutsch movement, which is virtually invisible and unknown throughout the rest of Europe and the US (where various "chapters" of Anti-fascist activist groups exist), and is a fascinating but, in my opinion, very misguided and myopic perspective. Guilt and history can be very intense motivators. Politics aside, Thomas and Martin were great hosts and it was really nice to see them again, and spend a night in Hamburg.
MALMO:
We went straight to the gig, a nice upstairs gallery that kindly allows weird music shows. It was a good, small show, mellow night, good performances all around. Halfway through the night, I spotted a dude wearing a VILE HORRENDOUS AERIAL BOMBARDMENT patch, which defies all logic because, A: less than 10 of those patches exist in all of Europe, which Charlie and I gave to some friends in 2010; B: it is a band I play in, which has never played outside of the USA and it is extremely likely that this man is familiar with the band; and C: it was on the jacket of a fucking insane dude who had no idea what the patch was, had never heard of the band, and just happened to end up with it and just happened to sew it onto the jacket and wear it to the gig. Life is strange. Thanks to Rickard & Hannes for a nice night in Malmo. And thanks to dude for cluelessly sporting V.H.A.B. patch.
That night, we attempted to go the new Nil's location in Neukolln, but it closed right after we parked the car. No big deal, we went to another amazing place across the street. I had a vegetarian platter and everything was SOLID. I'm not sure the country of origin for this place, but it was a little less distinct but still very good. Halloumi (fried cheese sticks), some nice tabouli, rice, and three sauces (yogurt, chili and a really nice, unique, orange-colored, curry-based sauce), good (but not great) falafel (crunchier brown style). I don't remember the name... sorry. The next day, we were a bit rushed and Bill insisted that we go to Mo's King of Falafel. I trust the man and he was absolutely right. It was Moroccan style, served by an adorable old lady who's German seemed a bit rough, despite operating this small restaurant in Neukolln for seemingly decades. The falafel itself was quite good, though I preferred the Syrian joint, but the accoutrements is what really came through on this one. An amazingly complex mix of pickled vegetables, halloumi, mint, sauces & the Moroccan equivalent of guacamole. WHAT???
HAMBURG:
MALMO:
We drove to Malmo. We thought paying 75€ for the ferry from Germany to Copenhagen was too expensive, so we thought we would save money by driving an extra hour through the Danish mainland. Then we paid about 75€ in bridge tolls. Goddammit. On the plus side, it was a really nice ride and we got the take the bridge, check out some nice Danish water, and it wasn't all that much longer than the ferry. Auspiciously, there was a seemingly deserted, but very capsized boat right as we crossed into Sweden. Good sign.
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