Not Your Mama's Labor Day

Wow. Yesterday was something. I was really not up to speed on what goes on in Berlin on the Erster Mai, or first of May, or Tag der Arbeit, or Labor Day, or Maifeiertag, or May Holiday, or however else you want to call it, because apparently this holiday deserves multiple names, purposes, and celebrations.

It was a madhouse, to say the least. I met up with friends at 1pm and then we ventured into Kreuzberg, where the bulk of the action takes place- beers in hand, cameras in tow, and sunscreen properly slathered. It is an understatement to say the entire city becomes an outdoor party on this day, and the "dreamy" or "heavenly" weather, as the Germans call it, only egged everyone on. People (and police) were everywhere. Bars and restaurants and random people were blasting music from their establishments or corners. Vendors were on the street, selling everything from Turkish snacks to house-made "mojitos" (with vodka and ginger ale?). The parks and squares were bursting with sunbathers, smokers, dancers, musicians, couples, families, and grillers. A MADHOUSE, I tell you!

Some highlights of my first Erster Mai in Berlin included: making all my friends wear (and reapply) sunscreen, giving and receiving cheek kisses to a very enthusiastic vendor, getting rained on during a boat ride along the Spree, listening to Gangsta's Paradise on the street while enjoying some rot-weiss Pommes (fries with ketchup and mayo), spotting really strange police trucks that looked like they had come out of a museum, getting offered a piece of baklava by a random guy on the subway who told Kelly and I he was training to become an OBGYN, watching a German Volksmusik band perform my karaoke staple: "Believe" by Cher, and singing James Brown on the bank of the river with my gal pals.

I doubt I can do this any more justice with pictures than I can with words, but let's be honest, we all prefer pictures. So I'll leave it at that, and enjoy: 

American girls do Erster Mai!

Bus that was lit on fire

Turkish vendors in Kreuzberg

Polizei on patrol

Bank of the Spree

They're on a boat!

On the way to Treptower Park

Performing "Believe" by Cher

Post-rain shower view from the boat

A German, Italian, and Austrian on a boat!

Rave in the park

Smooch for the "Mojito" Man

I feel guilty being the only one in focus!

Sunset in the Park

Carnage

Nighttime Oranienstrasse parties

Scenes of Spring

It's official. It's spring in Berlin. Need proof?

Street performers:

Sun-worshipers:

Jacket-less at night on the street, Club Mate in hand, all-smiles:

Lunch on the balcony:

See? Told ya.

65 is the new 80

Friday was a big day in Berlin. Our first day of Spring, with temps in the mid 60s and sunshine to boot. People came out in droves and were ready to celebrate. Licking ice cream cones, drinking beers, paddling on the canals, congesting the outdoor markets, swarming the Brandenburger Tor, sitting on every available outdoor cafe seat... it was a beautiful chaos to witness. A few friends and I hightailed it over to a bridge in Kreuzberg for some beers and Turkish snacks and I am not exaggerating when I say it was hard for us to find a place to sit.

Though temps for the rest of the week are looking pretty good I'm still hesitant to say it's officially Spring in these parts. Knowing Berlin we could get snow the day of the half-marathon (which is in just under 2 weeks, by the way!). But man, it is incredible how much a rough winter can do to make you appreciate what comes after. Days like this one are worth waiting for.