Euro 2008: Turkey’s flags competing with Germany’s in Berlin

by Jeffrey White on

It’s that time when Germans dust off their national colors and fly them proudly.

It’s because of the 2008 European soccer championships, which you could argue is the biggest soccer tournament in the world next to the World Cup.

The last time you would have seen so many German flags flying was back in 2006, when the country hosted the World Cup. My friend Marc Heydenreich reminded me the other day how important soccer is to Germans, in light of the schuld, or guilt, the country still confronts over WWII. “It’s really the only time when it’s OK for us to be proud of our country,” he said.

However, if you’ve been in Berlin recently, you’ve noticed that there is another flag almost as ubiquitous as Germany’s black, red and yellow. Turkey’s dominates many of the buildings in some of the city’s best known neighborhoods.

Turkish immigrants here also seem to be using Euro 2008 to demonstrate national pride, and with good reason. The Turkish team is having a hell of a tournament run, having snatched two huge wins, one against the Czech Republic and the other against Croatia, when it looked like they were heading home.

These days there seem to be two home teams in Berlin. The evenings when Turkey has won have become just as rowdy as those following German victories, with cars filling the streets draped in the country’s red flag, honking through the morning’s small hours.

It’s a useful sight for those traveling here, a reminder that Turks are Germany’s largest ethnic minority group, with more than 1.5 million living nationwide. In Berlin, they’re particularly concentrated in the neighborhoods of Neukoelln and Kreuzberg.

I live in Kreuzberg, not really in the Turkish part but it’s still been crazy here the last two times Turkey has won.

Tomorrow? It’s the start of the semifinal round and Turkey is set to play…Germany.

So, Berlin stands to see a celebration no matter who wins. I can’t say the police will be looking forward to it, though, as some here think there could be trouble between the two groups either way. Let’s hope not.

Gnome bandit reignites French-German hostilities

by Jeremy Kressmann on

The French and the Germans have a long, complicated diplomatic history. Aside from the fierce hostilities that took place during World War I and World War II, the two countries frequently bicker over disputed boundaries, in particular the Alsace-Lorraine region. Though tensions have cooled noticeably in recent years, it looks as though a new “international incident” involving garden gnomes (?!) is once again stirring tensions.

According to Metro UK, a sneaky gentleman from France has been charged with stealing around 170 of the statues on both sides of the French-German border. Although the motivation for the crime has puzzled French authorities, some have speculated that it may be part of the work of a shadowy organization known as the Garden Gnome Liberation Front. At the very least, it seems to be only one in a long string of gnome-targeted attacks.

Could this be part of some vast international gnome conspiracy to topple the world order? I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure, though I have my suspicions that Travelocity’s annoying gnome mascot (or at least a clever marketing department) is somehow involved. Stay tuned.

Being in Berlin: Graffiti, graffiti, graffiti

by Iva Skoch on

One of the things you cannot not notice in Berlin is graffiti. You’d be hard-pressed to find an abandoned wall or building without it. Somehow, it works here.

Of course, there is graffiti and there is graffiti. While I hate when vandals ruin the facades of baroque building by spray-painting something on them, I have become a big fan of graffiti in Berlin. I guess you can’t underestimate the legacy of the Berlin Wall; place where graffiti street art was taken to perfection.

Check out this NY Times video piece on graffiti in Berlin to get a glimpse of what Berlin feels like today. I do think that graffiti represents well what Berlin is becoming within Germany and within Europe: an avantgarde metropolis. Rent in Berlin is cheaper than in Prague, while unemployment is 5 times as high. There is no better place for a struggling artist to live. (Oh yeah, those generous social benefits help.)

Being in Berlin: The 12 most beautiful cities in the world (according to Die Welt)

by Iva Skoch on

Walking along the last remaining piece of the Berlin Wall on Friday, I was a little disturbed by this billboard advertising Die Welt city guides. I had to take a picture of it.

It says: “Visit the 12 most beautiful cities in the world.”

It lists them:

  1. Barcelona
  2. Berlin
  3. Rome
  4. Paris
  5. Amsterdam
  6. Munich
  7. Venice
  8. London
  9. Hamburg
  10. New York
  11. Vienna
  12. Milan

I realize it’s just stupid ad for city guides, but I found it a little odd that: A) All, but one of the most beautiful cities (New York) are supposed to be in Europe, and B) Four of these cities are German-speaking; three are in Germany. Call me overly sensitive, but that’s a cocky statement if I have ever seen one.

What about Sydney, Cape Town, San Francisco, or Hong Kong, to name a few?

Naples is chucking muck in Germany’s backyard

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s a song I remember from Girl Scouts that had this refrain: “Don’t chuck your muck in my backyard, my backyard’s full.” The song came to mind when I saw the photo of Naples, Italy’s garbage and read how Naples has no where to put its trash so it’s sending it to Germany.

After the song played for a second or two in my head I thought, “Gee, Naples is probably not be the best place to go for a vacation in the summer months.”

There is an increasing garbage problem in much of Europe, according to the New York Times article, but Naples is the pits. Consider what a 56-car train filled with garbage will look and smell like. That’s what’s heading to Germany so the Germans can take care of it. Because Germans have trash recycling and reduction down to a fine art, their services are being called upon.

Maybe Naples needs to have some sort of pack it out policy for travelers. As you leave town you have to prove that you are leaving with what you brought in. Perhaps Naples could even entice guests to take extra trash out with them when they go. If you do go to Naples, please don’t litter. People have enough troubles wading through the streets as it is.