Category: Berlin

This was the first photo I took in Berlin when I was there in August 2012.  Although simplified, the cross and circle reminded me of the “white pride” symbol I’ve seen online from white supremacist groups like Stormfront and others. The sun cross symbol is often associated with neo-Nazi groups, and the Anti-Defamation League refers to it as a hate symbol called the Celtic Cross or Odin’s Cross.  The ADL has a Web site called Hate on Display, which I’ve been using as a reference to figure out what’s going on in certain stickers I pick up.  The ADL makes…

M99 in Berlin-Kreuzberg had another 40 or more new protest stickers today, which amazes me every time I go there.  I went in late April and picked up a bunch of stickers, and four months later, so many new designs.  If I were to try to categorize, the new stickers are less old school photo-collage and more cartoon-ish and digital, perhaps made in Photoshop or inDesign like the ones in the lower left of the photo below. I also went to Red Stuff around the corner to see their stickers, but unlike last time, they wouldn’t let me take any…

I’ve picked up a bunch of stickers for May Day in the last few days, which is one of the reasons I chose to come to Berlin at this time of year (that plus a cheap ticket!).  On Monday, April 30, starting at 2:00 is Das Antikapitalistische Walpurgisnacht, a rally and “Reclaim Da Streets” concert in Wedding.  A march begins at 6:00.  More about the various activities and events can be found here, on the Indymedia Web site here, and SDAJ Berlin Web site here. On May 1, Kreuzburg will hold its annual Labor Day festival with concerts on several…

I took an early evening bike ride on Thursday, this time southeast from Greifswalder Strasse along Danzinger, which functions sort of like a ring road.  Danzinger turns into Petersburger Strasse, and as I approached Frankfurter Tor, I noticed a couple of good-looking stickers on an electrical pole, but as I got closer, I could see they were covered with paint.  Looking around further, I saw a storefront with shattered and taped up windows, and in fact, the entire building façade and sidewalk below had been splashed with several layers of pink paint. The shop was a Thor Steinar outlet, a…

Arrived in Berlin safe and sound yesterday morning, slept, and spent a couple of hours in the late afternoon walking a loop around Prenzlauer Berg from Greifswalder Strasse up to Danzinger Strasse and back on Stredzkistrasse.  I collected about 60 stickers in just a few hours, mostly political and a bunch announcing May Day-related strikes and demonstrations.  The one below is for an anti-capitalist strike in Wedding on Walpurgisnacht, or Walpurgis Night, with several events listed here.  Walpurgis Night is a traditional pagan spring festival celebrated April 30 or May 1, six months from Halloween, in which huge bonfires are…

Tourism and gentrification are on the rise in Berlin, with an estimated 20 million overnight stays in 2010 reaping nine billion Euros.  And the city hopes to grow that number to 30 million, according to the German newspaper, der Spiegel, which will make Berlin the third largest destination point in Europe after London and Paris.  In the past ten years, entire districts, especially in the former east Berlin, have been re-defined on the one hand by an influx of foreign tourists, yuppies, and backpackers and a growing number of cheap hostels, open-air bars, restaurants, and clubs, and on the other…

Which is about as far as I’ve been getting lately.  Lots of bookmarks, printouts, etc., while I bide my time to still my thoughts, focus, and write.  It’s been busy busy at school since I got back from Germany, but I am working on a post about my short trip to Hamburg and the St. Pauli football game the night I arrived (and the related stickers!).  The post is called “Hamburg ist braun weiss” meaning “Hamburg is brown/white,” which is the color of the team’s home jerseys and the text on one of the stickers I picked up.  Other topics…