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Amerikafest - Beef Jerky & Politics at Brandenburg Gate
by phoenixesrose | July 6, 2008 at 06:47 am | 411 views | 3 comments
I was here on Saturday, and let me just say that they had only planned for around 100,000 people to show up. German Police estimates show that about 250,000 showed up and took part in the festivities. I love the fact that he mentioned the Bi-partisan tent - because I was in the Democrats Abroad side.
Beef Jerkies at Brandenburger Tor
Weather: solid 83° Fahrenheit. Crowd: Tempelhof-groupies and EasyJet-set. Food: German, served with Stars & Stripes. Welcome to Amerikafest 2008.
Now open to the common people, the new American Embassy in Berlin. And by open we mean you may now enter the twenty meters security zone and touch the sand colored granite walls of this maximum-security diplomatic outpost. Sources say, it’s so secure in there, the ambassador has to use the restrooms of Hotel Adlon next door, because no one knows where they are located in the Embassy.
Yesterday, Angela Merkel and George H.W. Bush went to see for themselves. Result: Total satisfaction, German-American relationships strong as ever before, and the Americans make a triumphant return to the center of a unified German capital. And all that on a Fourth of July.
The smell of history kept lingering in the air today. Germans, Americans and visitors from all over the world could still notice it, while taking a bite from their free beef jerky. Right behind them the travel offices of West Virginia, the Deep South and the Capital Region had set up shop; looking at the prices these days, most passersby figured that the Baltic Sea isn’t so bad after all.
Real authentic American Sports were on display: Football, Cheerleading, Break dance, and the king of it all – Segway riding. Politics was present too, Republicans and Democrats Abroad shared a tent (hooray for bi-partisanship), clearly demonstrating who has the German public’s sympathies. While the Democrats had to fill balloon after balloon for German Obamamaniacs, the Republican side looked deserted and somewhat pitiful (yet those present at the booth were of high hopes, check back for a full interview with a Republican and a Democratic Berliner).
Leaving the transatlantic Volksfest we look back at a US-themed, Bratwurst flavored family party. The attendees presented their version of the US, with the holy trinity of Indians, Fast Food and SUVs.
I'll agree with this person's impression of the festivities. There was even an Elvis Impersonator singing at one point.
I've attached my personal photos from this event - and will note that the tent I worked in gave out over 4000 inflated "Obama" balloons and sold out on Obama pins and bumper stickers. The actual Amerika fest itself started at 10 AM, and continued on Saturday until 22:00 PM. From the moment the gates opened, the outside of the tent was crowded with people cheering and clamoring for balloons and other Obama merchandise. It was an amazing experience.
(Note that in one picture, you can see the Democratic side of the tent, and the other the Republican side.)
Update: I read that at the Kennedy Museum, which was the center for registering people to vote, they registered 70 people, and a few hundred (still waiting on confirmation from the states themselves) to vote from abroad. Most were registering in hopes of voting for Obama. According to the attendee blog, on Obama's site, one of those voting absentee reported this was the first election he would vote in for 20 years.
For More pictures of the event, please check out my flickr pages here.
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July 6, 2008 at 06:47 am by phoenixesrose, 411 views, 3 comments
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Comments (3)
at 10:10 on July 6th, 2008
Great work!
at 10:51 on July 6th, 2008
Enjoyed the photos.
As I understand it, the new embassy stands where the old embassy stood until WWII. Is that right?
It's great to get first-hand accounts and photos!
at 11:35 on July 6th, 2008
Yes, that is correct. The new embassy is once again on Parisier Platz, and is one of the most fortified buildings on the square. (Across from it is the French embassy which looks much more friendly and less hostile. ) A really nice article was in the Deutsch-Welle newspaper about it at:
New US Embassy Opens in Berlin on Historic Pre-War Site
It has been rather controversial because the building is in a post modernist style, and from the outside is bland and boring by comparison to many other embassies in Berlin. I will say, however, that as an American, to me, it's pretty yet understated in comparison to its historical surroundings. And while it's not a classic design, it's clean and crisp - and seems to fit in with them rather than stand out rather garishly (which is what it would have done had they decided to build it back to the original Pre WW2 designs.) I believe I have a few pictures in the set - but the guards are all facing the wall since they're not supposed to be photographed.