Jamie Fehr

I never thought I would spend a May the First Rocking out to a Bryan Adams cover band in East Germany, but then again, I never really wanted to leave Canada in the first place. It’s strange how time can effect drastic change in ones life.

At any rate, the first that I thought of when I got up yesterday morning was about getting to the East Side Gallery in Berlin, the longest still remaining stretch of the Berlin wall. It’s name comes from the fact that the 1.4 km that are left were divvied up between 90 artists who used the wall as a canvas.

Walking along this incredibly large and varied mural was a somber experience. The tyranny and oppression of the Soviet Union didn’t end that long ago and this wall was a big symbol of that era. I couldn’t help but feel the bad vibes that wall brought upon the people. I guess if you translate what the soviets called the wall into english it would come out as the Anti-fascist Protective Barrier, as if it were West-Berlin was where the undesirables hung out and they had to stop them from getting into the great Soviet Republic.

The walk continued. I had decided that the Jewish Museum across town would be a good time and as I was walking I was wondering where the May Day rioters and the May Day riot police were hanging out. I was warned the day before that every first of May a large number of West Berlin’s poorest get together and start a riot just for s***s and giggles.

I thought that seeing a riot might be a unique addition to varied experiences I’ve had in the last year but when I finally did encounter the local Riot Police gearing up I thought the better of it. Tear Gas didn’t sound that bad, but when I heard their vicious man eating dogs start barking I decided it would be best if I didn’t go check out that action, so the journey to the Jewish Museum continued.

The Jewish Museum was awesome, it’s an excellent example of how a modern museum should. Tons of interactive exhibits, numerous examples of great modern art dedicated to the struggle of the Jews and a building design that is in and of itself thought provoking. I won’t go into detail but it’s one of my favorite museums in Europe.

It was at this point noon and I was hungry and I didn’t know what to do, it was a national holiday and all the good places to get food were closed. So I walked over the Nuremberg Trials Exhibit near Check Point Charlie. That was a complete waste. It was all in german except for the welcome sign.

At this point I was really hungry and decided that the near by commercial center in Pottsdammer Platz would probably be my best bet for a good meal but when I finally got there everything I found was way out of my budget and it was in that moment of desperation that I heard the faint poundings of a musical festival in the distance.

“That’s right” I said to myself, “last night half a kilometer from here they were gearing up for a concert, and there were food stands!” Re-vitalized with the thought of cheap fair wurst and beer I set out marching. As I approached the distant pounding of the drums changed from formless noise to being accompanied by a guitar to the tune of Bryan Adams, Summer of ‘69. That was encouraging news. Anwyay, I need to catch a plane, so at the end of the story I ate wurst, drank a little Berlin beer and enjoyed their May Day fair to the fullest it was a great time and most importantly I didn’t get arrested or eaten alive during any meaningless riots.

And I almost forgot, for flying in the inaugural flight of Air Berlin between Berlin and Stockholm they gave me a free teddy bear.