Following on the footsteps of last Easter, I decided to spend this easter in the marvellous city of Berlin again. Easter in Berlin is — after Folsom Europe — probably the busiest kink event in continental Europe. And it surprised pleasantly once again.
Having optimized my airfare I arrived in Berlin already on Wednesday — definitely not the busiest day of the week. The only party of choice that night was the Black eXXXtreme party at Woof, with a dresscode of all-black; leather, rubber, you name it. Unfortunately my friends did not take it seriously, were turned down and called it a night. I however had packed my black rubber along, and enjoyed first Woof and Mutschmanns after that.
On Thusday we hit Blackstyle once again, and they had a surprisingly nice discounts in the store — I got myself a black surfsuit with codpiece, original price 195 EUR, discounted price 43 EUR! In the evening it was time for Mutschmann’s rubber night. If you’ve ever been to Mutschmann’s, you know how desperately crowded it is during all times — except during special events like the rubber night, which started early and had a strict dresscode. Therefore the mood was pleasantly social — until 11pm when they let the swarm of leather drones in, and it became packed in an instant.
On Friday it was time for the Rubber eXXXtreme at Scheune, same party and same venue as last year, and it was a partial failure. Scheune is simply too small to accomodate a party of such size, and in frustration I saw several of my friends leave to get some breathing room.
SNAX is one of the most under-advertised parties I’ve ever seen, but still huge, held at the dance venue Berghain every Easter Saturday. Berghain is in an old power station and usually houses vanilla electronic music fests. Ticket presales are mysterious, happening somewhere at some day and nobody quite seems to know where and how. Therefore we were unable to secure a ticket, and had to arrive at opening time to avoid the endless queue that forms quite rapidly for the non-ticketholders. We got in easily, but in a venue and party of that size, that was the last I saw of my friends. Everyone goes home from SNAX on their own (or with new friends).
Sunday saw my first visit to lab-oratory, a smaller dedicated kink venue adjacent to Berghain, where Gummi the rubber party was the party of the day. Crowds were more plenty than on an average Gummi, or so I was told, and it was a perfect balance of quality people and enough space to chat and relax.
Overall, there is no considerable difference in the magnitude and quality of parties between Easter and Folsom Europe, although the latter has the legenday street festival that Easter lacks. I often joke about how Berin is the Mecca of gay kink, and that everyone should pilgrimage there at least once, and that still holds true. Schöneberg — the gay district of Berlin — during a weekend in Easter or Folsom Europe — is something that eveyrone should experience, and not just for the parties, but for the kink-friendly atmosphere that is beyond anything the rest of Europe can offer.