Fernweh & Heimweh in the time of corona
Fernweh (German noun) — a feeling of longing for far-away places. Heimweh (German noun) — a feeling of longing for home; homesickness. This pandemic takes from us in so many […]
Author Archives: Caitlin Hardee
On radio addiction, music for wanderers and #resisting in Berlin
Like loving the outdoors, live music and the ritual of brewing a pourover coffee, my involvement with radio isn’t something I found at random in adult life. More like: It […]
Berlin Music Video Awards showcase bright stars, hidden gems
What do a rave-age Joan of Arc with an inhaler, Luke Evans running away from things and a rapper channeling Genghis Khan vibes have in common? They all show up […]
I’m With Her: Paeans of the wandering soul
Folk-bluegrass supergroup I’m With Her are playing their first show in Berlin, and they’ve already discovered the nude sunbathers in Tiergarten. That feeling, lying around hedonistically under the trees, is […]
Berlin goes banjo: The old-time invasion
Think in Berlin you’ll only catch live banjo music at a Mumford show? Think again. Interestingly enough, this city harbors a small but thriving old-time music scene. Nor is it […]
On the value of going solo
“Go simple, go solo, go now.” The mantra of the late, great paddling legend Audrey Sutherland is solid advice in all kinds of situations, whether gathering your guts for an […]
Berlin by boat, or how I learned to stop renting and love the inflatable kayak
The oldest of the three Santa-suit-clad stand up paddlers squints his eyes against the falling snow and eyes my inflatable kayak, bobbing at the foot of Molecule Man, with friendly […]
Elegy for the Starman: Goodbye to Bowie
On average, over 150,000 human beings die each day. But on January 10th, one of those people was David Bowie, and such was the creative brilliance of this artist, that […]
#Heimkommen: Expat holidays & sobbing over supermarket ads
Once again, it’s December in Berlin – the month in which snow falls and Christmas markets spring up like mushrooms, the scent of Glühwein wafting from every corner store. A […]
Dylan in Berlin: Long live The Poet
The information patterns holding some atoms into myself are hurtling in their trajectory through time and space, and the information patterns holding some atoms into Bob Dylan are hurtling in […]
Coffee with Leon
In which my Resting Bitch Face slips and a would-be smooth talker ends up telling me his life story. Sometimes, all you can do is listen.
Larkin Poe bring Deep South grit to Berlin
Act to watch: Soulful sister rock duo Larkin Poe. Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell found time in their whirlwind tour schedule, supporting artists like Conor Oberst and Elvis Costello, to […]
The other Karneval: Culture goes underground
Subversive, subterranean, sublime: While almost all of Berlin was over in Kreuzberg watching samba dancers at Karneval der Kulturen, I was exploring a lesser-known festival of alternative culture and living […]
Brewing glory at the German AeroPress Championships
My hometown of Seattle and my adopted metropolis Berlin have much in common. Aside from the often cloudy weather, widespread love of plaid and strong music scenes, both cities have […]
Tokio Hotel acoustic in Magdeburg
The Germans like to keep Sundays chill. Long brunches, a newspaper on the balcony, an extended Spaziergang, not too much excitement – they have mastered this art. I’ve learned to […]
A conquering Lorde returns to Berlin
This is not Lorde’s first time in Berlin. Ten months ago, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter played in the German capital for about 90 people, by her memory. Her first European tour […]
Lykke Li seduces Berlin with ‘Wounded Rhymes’
A queen of indie pop in the kingdom of minimal techno: On Tuesday, April 29, Sweden sent another of its most successful music exports, Lykke Li, to make waves in […]
Coffee quest to the cradle of civilization
Thessaloniki. City on the sea, crowned with crumbling ruins, ancient ramparts looking out to the Aegean. On my extended weekend here in late March, I left planning and organization behind […]
Legend of Nein: The man behind the monocle
What Grumpy Cat is to the Internet’s feline lovers, @NeinQuarterly is to Germanistik appreciators everywhere. The endearingly pessimistic Twitter feed, created by University of Pennsylvania professor Eric Jarosinski, has long […]
Birdy captures Berlin with soaring vocals
Thursday, Feb. 27, 8:35 p.m., Berlin’s Astra Kulturhaus. Billy Lockett’s soft, earnest vocals drift in a cloud of smoke out the open venue door, as I huddle in the entry […]
Berlinale me, bitch: Aaron Paul hits the Hauptstadt
Hard to believe that a full year has passed since last year’s Berlinale film festival! But once again, Berlin is festooned with red carpets and studded with stars. I dropped […]
Techno temple Magdalena ‘on deathbed,’ calls for aid
When I first got to Berlin, a wide-eyed college kid drinking in the vibrant metropolis, one of the first things my program showed us was a film called “Berlin Calling.” […]
Winter blockbuster season begins
Thunder gods, astronauts, rebel starlets and small men with furry feet: The fall/winter blockbusters of 2013 have started rolling into theaters. I headed over to Berlin’s CineStar at Potsdamer Platz […]
Berlin liebt dich: 35. Christopher Street Day
June 22 was Berlin’s 35th annual Christopher Street Day, or Pride Parade, and it was just as vibrant and beautiful as I remembered. Crazy to think that two years ago, […]
Karneval der Kulturen
Primal drums, paper dragons snaking through the skies, massive billowing feather plumes to make a peacock look pale, spandex and techno, otherworldly forest nymphs clad only in green paint and […]
Euphoria—just another word for fun.
In the past couple months, a German television show has worked its way into my generally television-free life. It’s the sort I would normally take particular care to avoid: A […]
Herrenmagazin ramp up for album release
Perched over Kottbusser Tor, in a nest of slanting glass, rests a warm, smoky bar called Monarch. The Monarch curves cozily above the street, on eye level with the elevated […]
Berlinale Impressions Part I: ‘Don Jon’ journeys boldly through porn, sex, love
A man with devastating charm and good looks, capable of taking home any woman in a club—and yet reliant on Internet porn for true satisfaction. This is the premise of […]
Winter in Berlin
A year has passed since my nostalgic days in exile, grumping around my college campus while longing for the knifelike cold of a Berlin winter. The appeal is hard to […]
Die Toten Hosen shake Berlin with ‘Krach der Republik’
In tackling the full-on, devastating intensity of experiencing Die Toten Hosen in live concert, I’d like to maintain some objectivity. Therefore, I will start by providing a considered, nuanced list […]
Silbermond lights up Berlin in cathartic home concert
Currently in the midst of their “Himmel auf” tour, Silbermond illuminated Berlin’s O2 World arena last night with their unique, powerful brand of emotional Deutschrock. The four musicians, originally from […]
Herrenmagazin talk touring, surviving as musicians, love-hate for GEMA
They sing of failed love, disillusionment, and despite all the pessimism and cynicism of postmodern society, a certain stubborn tenacity of spirit. They have inherited the mantle of Hamburger Schule […]
Berlin art scene blooming with transatlantic eclecticism
Berlin is all about defying labels, fusing cultural movements together, being many things at once. A bartender in a techno club wearing fashion from her own international vintage boutique store. […]
Robyn electrifies Berlin with ‘Body Talk’
Sometimes massive stars don’t seem real onstage. You can be clinging to the barrier, looking up at this person from five feet away, but maybe they’re too glamorous, or too […]
Lifeboat Deutschland for sinking eurozone—an outsider’s perspective
As the eurozone continues to flounder under the looming specter of insolvency in the southern nations, more and more of these countries’ best and brightest are preparing to jump ship—namely, […]
American artist Daryl Alexsy captures architectural impressions of Berlin
Berlin is a melting pot, a meeting of worlds. The city’s architecture is a prime example—old, stately apartment buildings, their raw brick corners gnawed by air bombardment, mingle up against […]
When wanderlust clashes with travel advisories…
I have a serious problem watching movies all the way through. Blame it on the insidious influence of Twitter and constant Internet exposure on our brains, insatiable hunger for trivial […]
Festival of Lights ignites in Berlin
The trees in the Hauptstadt are ablaze with bright fall hues, and now Berlin’s most iconic structures are as well. The Festival of Lights 2012 kicked off tonight at Potsdamer […]
Nomad Nightlife: White Trash Fast Food, Weekend, Subland
At the end of August, two days after a nightmarish appointment at the Ausländerbehörde, which only created further uncertainty about the state of my visa, I moshed all my stress […]
Freelancing in Berlin
I received some excellent news on Friday, Sept. 28—a mere two days before my last written departure deadline, word came through from the Ausländerbehörde that my application for a visa […]
Nomad Nightlife: ://about blank, Club der Visionaere, Kater Holzig
As another weekend rolls around, the Nomaditor-in-Chief is finally getting around to last weekend’s nightlife report. Nomad dispatches sometimes take a while to arrive—you know, camels and all that. :) […]
Nomad Espresso: Godshot, No Fire No Glory!
Godshot Coffee Klub, Immanuelkirchstraße 32, Prenzlauer Berg. Reviews seemed to tout this place as one of Berlin’s best coffeeshops, so my expectations were set a bit high. Arriving, I was […]
Nomad Nightlife: Magdalena, Weekend (Paul van Dyk Sunset Session)
A footloose, nocturnal nomad could write entire books about the club scene in Berlin alone. You could probably go to a different bar or dance club every night in this […]
Nightlife patrons take to streets, march before GEMA
On Thursday, Sept. 8, Berlin’s club culture gathered again in protest of the new tariff structure proposed for 2013 by the GEMA, Germany’s only significant copyright management organization for musical […]
Nomad Espresso: Tips from the coffee caravan…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy frequently lists a towel as the wanderer’s most essential object for successful travels. However, barring a nutrient-endowed towel like Roosta’s, a nomad needs to […]
Planned GEMA tariff reforms incite ongoing protest
The widely-reported proposed increases for 2013 in GEMA’s taxes on music clubs and nightlife venues continue to provoke outrage, counter-demonstrations and artistic protest initiatives across Deutschland. Berlin is a natural […]
Tacheles forcibly closed, artists evicted
The end of an era came yesterday for the beautiful, crumbling ruin in the heart of Berlin Mitte. Long a symbol of the wide-open, “arm aber sexy” spirit of post-unification […]
Leaves on the wind…
Another blog, another beginning. I intend to maintain Midnight Monsoon and Nomad Musik as part of my portfolio, but each corresponds to a phase in my life and writing that […]
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