Fleamarket Day

Bike-Ride-Flohmarkt

On Sunday we had a flea market day: We rode our bikes to the Flohmarkt am Pankeufer and to Mauerpark.

As you can see on my FitBit map, it was a ~17 mile journey, which was nice for a Sunday. We split off to the left on the map first to hit up the Pankeufer, and then went to Mauerpark after that before heading home for dinner. 

 

Flohmarkt am Pankeufer

The flea market on the Panke shore, or Flohmarkt am Pankeufer, is an eclectic property that used to be the grounds of a factory back in the 1930s. The market features those selling vintage clothes, books, art, and crafts, a gallery with artists in residence, a cafe, and a courtyard with live music. 

Inside one of the old factory buildings is a gallery. One performance sound artist had an interactive station set up, collecting sounds from a bin of water and manipulating it through a computer program.

Outside the gallery was a room of young children getting ready for a performance of some kind involving a couple large, intricate wooden structures.

Family-friendly market.

Loading dock area where people meet up, or take a rest. 

After we worked our way through the market and factory building, we headed back to the courtyard for some live music. On Sunday, Tanga Elektra was playing a striped down set - just percussion, an electric violin, vocals, and a synth/loop. These brothers form a duo playing pop-y and soulful music with a dash of ska/reggae/island vibes - often inviting other musicians to play with them for a fuller sound. Happy to find a German band to follow!

Mauerpark

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Ekko von Schwichow

The Markt am Mauerpark, is a weekly flea market that takes place on Sundays inside Mauerpark. Mauerpark, which literally means "wall park" is located in a former death strip between the east and west sides of the Berlin Wall. After reunification in 1989, the area between the wall was turned into a green space in several places throughout the city. 

This market has a vintage/secondhand clothing section, furniture and antique section, artisan section, and food vendor section. There is undoubtedly something for everyone here.

Source: Bearpit Karaoke Show

Once you have gone through the flea market stalls, you can head over to the Bearpit Karaoke Show right outside the market. The organizer has built custom speakers and sets up a karaoke system with countless songs available for people near and far to have the opportunity to sing their hearts out. The woman pictured flew in specifically to sing here from Tokyo, Japan! She sang

Admission to the show and singing karaoke is free 100% free, but the organizer passes around a yellow can for donations. They also sell tote bags with their "Ich liebe du" logo on it (which is funny, because it is grammatically incorrect for "Ich liebe dich" or "I love you"). Vendors also roam the aisles selling beer, cocktails, and shots for the audience's refreshment, or perhaps to serve as a little extra courage for the performers about to hit the stage. Some performers were better than others... but the crowd was good at supporting even those who were less talented. 

We also happened upon a kid artist with a portrait set-up in Mauerpark. This little girl was in the middle of drawing a portrait of this hipster gentleman enjoying a beer. 

All in all, It was a good flea market day. I look forward to checking out more of the city's markets as the holidays draw nearer!