”Summertime, and the livin’s easy.” (Like a true gay, I’m quoting the Lana Del Rey cover version, of course.) With summer also comes droves of new people, and securing a comfortable space at any of the queer summer hotspots becomes its own expedition.
This summer, get off the apps, and take a deep dive into the stream of people.
Teufelssee? No way. Hasenheide? Go ahead and try. Habermannsee? Getting there. Secret queer Berlin is hard to find. Summertime, and the livin’ isn’t always easy after all.
Am I bitching? I wouldn’t be a Berliner if I didn’t bitch. But there’s no relief; you’ve got to embrace the crowds.
If you think going into hiding and staying at home is the answer, you’re going to miss what Mistress Berlin has to offer. Part of what I love about this city is the openness on the streets. Swelling numbers of tourists (and potential residents) also bring moments that just won’t happen anywhere else.
One doesn’t need an app for a hookup here. Summer officially opened for me in late spring, when after an Abwärts concert at SO36, a handsome young man sat down next to me at a Späti on Oranienstraße. The streets were full of punks, not queers, and still he honed in on me and within seconds we were snogging. After he left the next morning, I remember feeling as proud of Berlin as I did of the conquest.
If you’re not open to the crowd, you’re going to miss out. Aside from the general atmosphere on the street, the myriad lakes and parks and the thousands of club nights, summer in Berlin is also the land of Prides. The official CSD (Christopher Street Day, the German term for Pride) in Berlin happens on Saturday, July 22, but if you want a less mainstream crowd, there’s a Pride in every colour of the rainbow here in the Hauptstadt – useless to even count them all, since the numbers change every year.
For something with a more static location, be sure to check out the Lesbisch-schwules Stadtfest (“Lesbian-Gay Street Festival”) which happens on Motzstraße from July 15-16 and mill about in Berlin’s ‘gaybourhood’.
Am I bitching? I wouldn’t be a Berliner if I didn’t bitch.
For lesbians and their supporters, there’s the legendary Dyke March on July 21, which is sure to have a banging party this year as it ends at Festsaal Kreuzberg.
For queer Russians and Ukrainians looking for a bit of shared-language community, Marzahn Pride on June 24 is specifically aimed at the Eastern European LGBTQ* community.
For those looking for something even more alternative, the Anarchist Pride (born in 2020) and the Trans* Pride are likely to return this summer but have yet to announce fixed dates.
Aside from Prides, be sure to check out Queer Summer Splash at Sommerbad Kreuzberg on July 2, in which queer city magazine Siegessäule organises a takeover of one of Berlin’s most central public pools, complete with food, drinks, music and, of course, swimming.
This summer, get off the apps, and take a deep dive into the stream of people. It might not always be easy and there might not be a lot of room, but queer Berlin is, indeed, warmly waiting for you.
