February Berlin meetup?

January 25, 2008 8:21 AM

February Berlin meetup?

So, I heard a rumor that Muckster would be back in town due to this little film festival they're putting on here in town next month. Anyone up for a meetup? Promi-watching in Potsdamer Platz? Or hiding out from it all somewhere else entirely? Wie wär's mit einem Bierchen, Berliners?

posted by Your Time Machine Sucks to MetaFilter gatherings at 8:21 AM (54 comments total)

i'm definitely going to that little film festival and see one or two films, perhaps we can meet at a cozy plaze at Potsamer Platz in between, like the Hofbräuhaus? (kidding, I just don't know a nice place with reasonable prices there).
posted by kolophon at 12:35 PM on January 25

and didn't amberglow say something about beeing in February in the last Berlin meetup thread?
posted by kolophon at 12:59 PM on January 25

Yeah, I was kind of kidding about PP, since it is more or less a mall and it's going to be packed. But, it borders Mitte, Kreuzberg and Schöneberg, so there is likely to be something suitably cozy more or less within walking distance I'd guess.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 1:26 PM on January 25

being in berlin, that is. I want comment editing!
posted by kolophon at 3:24 PM on January 25

Let's make it happen!

But yeah, as far as I'm concerned, we don't have to meet on Potsdamer Platz.

We could just meet in kolophon's bar again, as far as I'm concerned. Rumor has it that Kreuzkölln's blowing up.

(Grudgingly I could also make it out to Potsdamer Platz, if that's what everyone else thinks.)
posted by creasy boy at 4:34 PM on January 25

let's not meet at my bar please, I'm here 5 days a week and long to go out just anywhere else for a change...
posted by kolophon at 5:09 PM on January 25

Count me in, maybe - I'm planning to catch the end of said little film fest, but won't know if I can make it until the 1st of Feb.
posted by jack_mo at 5:49 PM on January 25

this is the thin end of the meta nazi wedge - we'll be having giant meetups in nuremburg next.
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:45 AM on January 26

Is that the first time anyone has tried to troll a meetup thread? That's a little sad.

How about somewhere on or near Oranienstrasse/Kotti for a change? Should be far enough from the Berlinale that it won't be too mobbed, but close enough that it's a quick bus or U-Bahn ride for the people staying around Potsdamer Platz. Möbel Olfe? Franken? Trinkteufel?

If we meet early enough, there might be time to walk over to the Creasy Boy textile shop and ask them what their name means ;) .
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 4:31 AM on January 26

This would be great. And I promise not to go on about creasy boy's un-Mass accent

And hey, I know a great little bar in Friedenau... (/mediocre local humor.) I live such a sheltered life here I can't recommend anyplace, I'm afraid. I will shoot to make it where-ever, when-ever. I have few scheduling constraints beyond the eve of the 8th, so I'll keep an eye on the thread for time & place.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:00 AM on January 26

There was arguably trolling in the Swiss meet-up thread just before us. It was deleted but you can see the traces of it still.

Yeah, I was thinking...in terms of centrality, I could imagine that there might be some bars around Kochstrasse, but otherwise Kotti is the most central thing I know. If you look at a map, it is literally the exact center of Berlin. I like Möbel Olfe, but it's crowded and noisy. Never been to Trinkteufel or Franken... can you sit down there and talk? If so, I'm happy. Zum Franziskaner has kind of a shitty decor nowadays but it's usually not too full and you can play foosball and billiards. Würgeengel is nice but might be a little crowded. Of course there's always Max und Moritz.

What day are we talking about anyway? Have we heard from muckster?

Anyway, From Bklyn: I have evidence that I come from Massachusetts. There is a paper trail connecting me to Massachusetts. And I think we established that your claim to come from Brooklyn is pretty thin.
posted by creasy boy at 7:07 AM on January 26

Some people I know run the Tante Horst, right across from Max und Moritz, so I'm for going there to discuss which neighbouring country we could invade.
posted by kolophon at 8:05 AM on January 26

Ooh, yes please! I'll be staying in Schöneberg this time around but I'll gladly travel to any Berlin Mefite-recommended Kneipe. Timing may be a little more difficult though. I'm in town for the entire two weeks of the festival, but the final schedule won't be announced until Tuesday. It's my first Berlinale, so I'm not exactly sure when and how press screenings are scheduled, but from what I understand, it's pretty much all movies all the time. I hate to be such a prima donna, but if it's ok, could we wait until Tuesday to pick a day? You know how it is -- I'd hate to miss the new Hong Sang-soo. As for Promis, we got PTA, Marty, Natalie, and Scarlett lined up, but I'm not sure if they have mefi accounts. Can I bring Keith Richards anyway?
posted by muckster at 9:00 AM on January 26

I'm a fan of Max & Moritz, so that would be fine by me (and I think it has the enjoyable Altberlin aspect for visitors to the city, without being touristy). I love Trinkteufel but it's really too noisy, I was only half-seriously suggesting it (it's like the Roses of old punk rock). But if I recall correctly, Franken is reasonable, and I think Möbel Olfe could work if we pick a non-popular night/time (but why bother when there are other options). I don't know the Tante Horst but I like the name.

Yeah, I think Kotti is likely to be least stressful transport-wise for visitors and From CBurg. Seems like we could pick a place but wait a bit to settle on a date until muckster and jack_mo have more of a sense of their schedules.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 9:19 AM on January 26

As a new Berlin transplant I'd like to meet some of you all too. Kotti is perfect.
posted by cotterpin at 12:28 PM on January 26

Hey cotterpin, you're also from Boston.
posted by creasy boy at 1:51 PM on January 26

Anyway, From Bklyn: I have evidence that I come from Massachusetts. ... we established that your claim to come from Brooklyn is pretty thin.

True and true.

I intended only to suggest that I regretted mentioning more than once (more than twice?) your lack of any regional accent, and I wanted to imply I would be -uh- less of an idiot this time around. Unless, of course, the evening stretches long enough. Then it damn well might be back to lamp-shades, risqué songs, tango dancing and tediously belabored inquiry.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:00 AM on January 28

...Come to think of it, and look, this is pretty deep in Wilmersdorf/Charlottenburg but "Hell oder Dunkel"(I've been to the 1st, Güntzelstrasse) is one of the few places I have been to - it also has really good beer. They do a lot of business, so we would probably be best to reserve a table and what with it's location... I dunno if it's best. But it's good beer, good food.
posted by From Bklyn at 6:04 AM on January 28

Hmm.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 4:36 AM on January 29

well, i'm more for Kreuzberg I have to say...
posted by kolophon at 6:15 AM on January 29

I'd go out to Charlottenburg (and since the last two meetups were in Kreuzkölln, it seems like time to consider other neighborhoods) but Hell oder Dunkel isn't quite entrancing me somehow.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 7:26 AM on January 29

From Bklyn, the only thing you did is that you said "You are not from Boston!" and then you said "Where do you park your car?" Tediously belabored inquiry is fine with me, risque songs would be nice, tangos and lampshades are certainly acceptable, tangoing with a lampshade while firing questions at everyone in verse form would make this meetup a night for the ages. But I heard that in Charlottenburg they bring the Ordnungsamt when people start to, uh, express themselves in that way. I would suggest either Tante Horst or Max und Moritz, followed by Roses, followed by Intertank, followed by Wild at Heart, followed by getting kicked out of that "Tam-Tam" African joint on Reichenberger by an angry mob, followed by that Deniz Imbiss place on Pannierstraße, followed by opening kolophon's bar and drinking out of the taps, followed by drinking loudly in the gas-station parking lot until the sun comes up. "Kreuzberger Nächte sind laaaang....."
posted by creasy boy at 8:22 AM on January 29

Is it possible to drink at Max & Moritz without eating? I've never gone there for just beer.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 9:00 AM on January 29

I have to say that creasy boys painting of this evening sounds really enticing! It wouldn't be the first time that my bar was opened after a Long Kreuzberger Nacht to drink out of the taps ... (although we don't exactly have tapped beer in the literal sense...)
posted by kolophon at 6:53 PM on January 29

and I'm sure we could just drink at Max & Moritz without eating. Or just order a snack...
posted by kolophon at 6:53 PM on January 29

OK, then I'd like to put in my vote for starting the Creasy Plan with Max & Moritz, and for singing "Hannelore" at the end, on a canalside so the sound will really carry.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 5:24 AM on January 30

"But I heard that in Charlottenburg they bring the Ordnungsamt when people start to, uh, express themselves in that way."

Well, yes. Actually it seems the Ordnungsamt come by at the slightest sign of any expression. Last week some poor guy got pepper-sprayed on our corner for complaining about parking. Parking.

The Creasy Plan sounds like a damn good time to me.
posted by From Bklyn at 1:35 AM on January 31

Last week some poor guy got pepper-sprayed on our corner for complaining about parking. Parking.

For real?
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 6:18 AM on January 31

Yeah, are you serious? I've never heard of anything like that. I've seen twenty cops trying to argue a bum into not smoking in the subway station. Outside of confrontations with political demonstrators I've never seen German cops get aggro.
posted by creasy boy at 9:58 AM on January 31

...and you saying the Ordnungsamt has pepperspray?
posted by creasy boy at 9:59 AM on January 31

For real?
Uh, no. At least, I can't believe that's what it was really all about, because that would be too nuts, but it's what my spouse and I joked about at the time because the guy kept mentioning parking and he had clearly been maced or pepper-sprayed or something. We just looked out our front window and there it all was, ambulance, Police, Police cars, guy in the middle, hand-cuffed, talking emphaticaly, but with restraint about parking.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:38 PM on January 31

Maybe he was one of those radical Wilmersdorfer parking activists.

I'm slightly relieved at least to hear that it was an actual ambulance-/armed-cop-involving kerfuffle of some kind and not just the usual pair of Ordnungsamt scolds, pepper-spraying for emphasis. Because the next step after that is the ladies at the Bürgeramt pepper-spraying for documentation infractions. You know they already want to.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 2:34 AM on February 2

Hey, sorry for not figuring this out sooner, but I'm still completely overwhelmed by the Berlinale programme (and that list doesn't include the press screenings). Honestly, the only day I *know* there won't be any movies is Wed the 6th because the festival hasn't started yet -- but it's also the day I get in so I'll be severely jetlagged. After that, it's a complete mess. Sunday the 10th and Wednesday the 13th look comparatively open but there's really no telling. Do you guys want to pick a date, I'll try to schedule around it, and we'll see how it works out?
posted by muckster at 11:12 AM on February 4

The 6th is 2 days, that's a little early I think. I'm game for sunday or next wednesday
posted by cotterpin at 12:05 PM on February 4

Wednesday is fine for me.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 2:22 AM on February 5

13th I meant. Although come to think of it, Sunday the 10th would also be possible.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 10:06 AM on February 5

Wednesday and Sunday are possible for me. The sixth is today. We're celebrating the Chinese New Year over here. If any of you want to come by for a drink and an egg roll, feel free. Dresdner Str. 23, "Arrieta". We'll be burning money to celebrate because...because none of this was my idea, I just live here.
posted by creasy boy at 8:40 AM on February 6

Although next Wednesday is better than Sunday.
posted by creasy boy at 8:42 AM on February 6

Happy New Year, creasy. Hope they stuck to small bills.

OK, proposal: Wednesday the 13th, 8pm, Max und Moritz, Oranienstr. 162, Kreuzberg (map).
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 3:58 PM on February 6

Thanks, happy new year to you too. We got fake money from the Asian store with what looked to me like Confucius on the bills. Now it's year of the rat...unappealing.

Your proposal sounds good.
posted by creasy boy at 2:27 AM on February 7

OK. I'm only ever planning about 4 hours ahead, but I'll try to make it. Here's some coverage in case you're interested.
posted by muckster at 1:00 PM on February 10

meh, sorry. Ain't gonna make it, can't avoid working on wednesday...
posted by kolophon at 12:26 PM on February 11

Should someone make a sign? I've seen muckster, Time Machine, From and the absent kolophon but I forget what everyone looks like about 5 minutes after seeing them.
posted by creasy boy at 8:06 AM on February 12

With regrets, family stuff has come up and... if there is a last minute re-scheduling, this week-end works...
posted by From Bklyn at 10:56 AM on February 12

I too have saturday and sunday....
posted by kolophon at 5:22 PM on February 12

OK; I'm a tiny bit surprised that no one spoke up until yesterday to say that Sunday is better, since I don't get the sense anyone would have minded making that the plan. My proposal wasn't intended to be last-word authoritative (I didn't add it to the meetup calendar, but it did show up there -- maybe that's why no one spoke up?).

So, let's just move things to Sunday, since muckster let me know he'll be delayed, making this potentially a pretty small meetup!

Mrs. Your Time Machine Sucks and I are still going to be at Max & Moritz at 8pm tonight having dinner, so if anyone wants to say hi or have a beer, we are a height-dimorphic queer couple of the butch persuasion and we'll probably be in M&M's fairly nifty back room. We're friendly! Otherwise, same place same time Sunday?
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 1:31 AM on February 13

Thanks for the considerate re-scheduling.

Also, I appreciate your trying to pin down a date that will work for the most people - will this work for most everyone (I am asking everyone)?
posted by From Bklyn at 3:45 AM on February 13

I too can come on Sunday. Time Machine, I'll probably stop by tonight.
posted by creasy boy at 4:42 AM on February 13

Excellent, we can have a micro-meetup tonight (and maybe see a little of muckster if the planets align) and then, with luck, a bigger get-together on Sunday if people confirm that that works for them.

This will be a mostly-Mass-origins affair tonight* so maybe cotterpin also wants to come by (having read your profile, I'm in a similar field, so we might have intel to exchange). Everyone brush up on the secret New England handshake please.

*Except for Mrs. Your Time Machine Sucks, but she's from the North Sea coast, which is comically similar.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 5:10 AM on February 13

Allright. For cotterpin and any possible lurkers: me and my girlfriend together look like two large land mammals in blond and red. I'm not sure if she's coming, though, and by myself I look indistinguishable from about 99 percent of this country.
posted by creasy boy at 6:08 AM on February 13

Max & Moritz, Sunday (tomorrow), 8 - 8:30?
posted by From Bklyn at 10:22 AM on February 16

Hey, just got out of my 4th movie of the day. I've got some reviews to post and I'd like to get something up about the scandalous Golden Bear for the Brazilian movie glorifying fascist thugs, but I'll try to stop by before the night is over...
posted by muckster at 12:59 PM on February 16

Wednesday was fun but I'm going to have to skip tomorrow -- seemed pretty quiet here w/r/t the Sunday plan so I decided to go ahead with other stuff, but I wish you guys a good time! Have a beer for me.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 1:54 PM on February 16

I will be stopping by, I live right around the corner.
posted by creasy boy at 2:23 AM on February 17