Country Article / Postcards
Berlin's Urban Beaches
Date: 07/30/2007The urban beach along the bank of the Spree River is billed as Berlin's "open air meeting point." The 80 tons of sand
(imported from Italy) needed to create this trendy concept have been welcomed as a user-friendly element to shake off that big-city feeling-it's hard to imagine that the urban beach occupies the site of former industrial ruin (mostly closed-down factories).
The instant success of the man-made beach caught some by surprise. So many locals and tourists have flocked to the sandy oasis that more than a hundred excursion boats have started offering river trips. Business is booming and locals are scrambling to rent out spare rooms to so-called beach tourists.
Nightlife is pulsating as well. Seemingly overnight, beach bars appeared on the scene. Most don't charge an entry fee, though they are by no means ultra-chic. A beach bar is born when someone cranks up a turntable and invests in a few plastic chairs and tables. Fancy cocktails and cheap beer flow, and the mainstays in terms of food are stone-oven pizza and snacks.
Each bar offers its own unique version of a beach party to attract the crowds. As one party-goer commented, "This is where the underground culture discovers fresh air." Beach volleyball offers no-cost entertainment in the sun with a bit of friendly amateur competition. Locals have learned that if they set up nets, people will come. Waiting times to play can be long, but this just means more spectators. And more thirsty beer drinkers.
Playing (or dancing) on the beach is a new concept in the German capital, although Berlin certainly has never been short of waterways (the rivers Spree, Havel, and Dahme converge here). Several nearby outdoor swimming pools attract swimmers who then like to use the city's beach for an afternoon snooze. All this celebrating happens in the heart of the city's otherwise rather stuffy government district.
And the downside? The fun is limited to the months of July and August only.
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