Berlin for all senses

Dancers at Clärchens Ballhaus.

After 4 nights of milongas, a minimal amount of sight-seeing (consisting mainly of riding my bike past well-known sites, not even stopping), a lot of worrying about the bike and very volatile moods am now getting ready to move on. In the end, I had to replace both the tube and the outer tyre to fix the bike, as the old ones had become totally destroyed in the process of pushing it through the suburbs. Luckily however, the wheel itself was not damaged, and despite my initial fright when I did not seem to be able to fit the rear wheel with its new tyre in its place, in the end all was well. The time spent in uncertainty  was certainly a very much needed reminder of how easily my tour can be brought to an abrupt end: all that is needed is a technical problem that makes riding the bike impossible, and all of a sudden I feel like a bird without wings.

Unfortunately, my time in Berlin was also marked by a disappointment on the personal front which left me feeling as if all air had been knocked out of my lungs. A pattern of events, something I discussed in an earlier post, was once again repeated, and despite all the previous experiences in dealing with the consequences, I am having a bit of a struggle. Nothing that time won't cure, but certainly affecting my ability to enjoy this city and all it has to offer.

Despite these setbacks, the stay has been a memorable one and I can clearly see why Berlin is so well liked by many. Indeed, it is a city where I could even imagine living, as the elements of German society that often make me feel uneasy are far less pronounced here: it is not as meticulously organised, disciplined and, dare I say, boring, as many others, and people here seem to possess a fair deal more capacity to enjoy life. There is even, and I realise this sounds somewhat preposterous of me (but its my blog so I can say it!), a sense of genuine interest and caring for other people that generally keeps itself quite well hidden in this country . Sure, the general expression on people's faces is almost as dull as everywhere else, their demeanour is often slightly rude, and there is absolutely no flirting (I wonder if any frenchmen ever survive here for more than a forthnight? ;-), but still, there is something really appeling to this place. In terms of history, it is certainly a very interesting place, and the solutions they have found to the problems of reintegration are often creative. Although the only cultural offer I have been sampling is that related to tango, as far as I have understood there is no end to the concerts, theatre, opera performances, as well as exhibitions that are offered on any given day.

Dancers at the outdoor milonga in Monbijou Park.

In terms of tango, there is an incredible variety of offer too. On every night of the week, there will be at least two (!!) milongas, often many more, and the venues all have a lot of charisma and plenty of dancers. The level of tango is generally varied: a vast majority of tangueros are dancing just like anywhere else I have seen on this trip (I dont know why I was expecting it to be otherwise?), but towards the end of the evening, the really good dancers always appear, and the atmosphere changes. All of a sudden, the dance floor is full of couples doing incredible moves with great ease, expressing the music to the finest detail,  most of them really beautiful people too. This is when I always start feeling that it would be better just to sit and watch, and anyway, when almost no-one asks me to dance anymore. It seems that at the later hours, most people will only dance with those they already know, and will also prefer the more experienced and  advanced dancers.

There is one thing that I have been slightly puzzled about though. For some reason, with only a couple of exceptions, here only men considerably older (say 15-30 years my senior) seem to ask me to dance. There is no shortage of men my age (or younger!) at the milongas, but they dont generally even look at me, lest I should take it as an invitation to dance. To be honest, I am more than a little disappointed by this, and asking myself what might be the reason. True, some of the younger guys are really quite good dancers (and probably can see immediately that I am not), but I also see many of them dancing with women not much, if at all, more proficient than me. I would like to think it is not because I look too old either, but who knows. There are some very young, very attractive girls, mostly dressed to kill, in these milongas, and my outfits and appearance might just not meet the standards the guys expect. Whatever the reason, it is a reminder of my experiences in Prague that does nothing to lift my moods.

Since Tango Loft, I have been to three other milongas. The one on Monday and Wednesday took place outdoors, in front of a riverside bar in the Monbijou Park. The wooden floor is quite uneven, the music can hardly be heard on one side of the floor and there are a million people crammed onto it, but the place is lovely and the atmosphere quite special. Obviously, the warm weather (it has been close to 30 degrees here every day now) also contributes to the popularity, as in addition to the the dancers there are a lot of spectators too. On Tuesday, I went to Clärchens Ballhaus, a historic building where people used to go for dancing already in the 1920's. It was another lovely venue, with a nice floor and a very special atmosphere that got very hot as the evening progressed. Still, I would say that for me the Tango Loft was the most appealing location, if only because there even younger guys asked me to dance! ;-)

Have now made up my mind about the homeward journey and booked the Tallink Silja Superfast ferry from Rostock for Sunday morning. To get to Rostock, I will need 2-3 days of easy cycling while the sea journey to Helsinki (the same I took last year upon returning from the Adriatic) takes a good 26 hours. I will be setting off still today, am just getting ready to pack up the bike and go.