Go Away! To Christopher Street Day, Berlin

Feature | 26 Mar 2011

Where?
Christopher Street Day (CSD), Berlin.

What?

Annual European LGBT celebration. Generally known as Gay Pride events elsewhere, in Germany they are named in memory of the  first big uprising of homosexuals against police assaults that took place on Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, New York in June 1969.

Why?

Actually, why not? Berlin is an amazing city to visit at any time of the year, for a huge variety of cultural and hedonistic reasons. But 25 Jun sees added extras such as a multitude of brightly coloured floats and even more brightly coloured people, sound systems all along the route and basically parties everywhere. There is, of course, a serious point being made, it is a celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community and rejection of discrimination which exists towards its members. So the event is also used as a platform for political campaigning. There's also an alternative CSD, called the Kreuzberger CSD, which has a ban on commercialism at all times and limits political grandstanding.

How?

Flights to Berlin are frequent from both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The Myers hotel is a classically themed establishment in Kollwitzplatz, an area with lots of galleries, bars and restaurants from €100 a night. The Circus Hostel at Weinbergsweg is cheap (from €19 a night) and incredibly cheerful, with an all-you-can-eat buffet and bike and Segway hire.

 

25 Jun 2011

www.myershotel.de

www.circus-berlin.de/

http://www.berlin.de/kultur-und-tickets/events/csd/index.en.php