Gauklerfest Berlin 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen, Lasses and Lads, Step right up and gather 'round for the most fun festival in Berlin! The Berlin Gauklerfest is back and we had the chance to enjoy it last night for the first and hopefully not the last time of the week.

"Walk right up and buy your tickets!" The three Euro entrance fee gives the visitor a chance to sample Berlin's finest festival fare on Am Opernpalais. We enjoy sipping drinks to live music on one of four stages, last night's choice was a Dixieland/Swing band named Jazzin' Hot Fellows. Before and after such entertainments we enjoy strolling through the market and taking a look at all the well-chosen handicraft tents. I say well-chosen because there isn't the normal cheap crap here. A majority of these items are hand-crafted and high quality. I've got my eye on a necklace (of course) and No is thinking about a cool new pen holder for her desk.

If you give LEO (I love LEO and don't know what I would do without him) a spin on the word Gaukler you get the translations "juggler" and "imposter". This is what sets the Gauklerfest apart from other street festivals, the entertainment offered is so much more interesting. All along the paths are street performers such as magicians and fire-eaters working to entertain the crowd. Some of them aren't so obvious until you fall victim to one specializing in tomfoolery and find yourself the butt of the joke. Others are like this spectacular fellow who wore a plastic suit, funky contacts and performed a robot-like skit to music, complete with dying as the music came to an end.

What really trips my trigger about the Gauklerfest are the edible treats. No and her mother usually head directly for the sheep cheese in sauce tucked into a thick pita, while FIL makes his way to the nearest Wurst stand. I however, am a Dresdner Handbrot kinda girl!

This wonderful concoction is a most fantastic type of bread pre-filled with cheese and your choice of Schinken (ham) or mushrooms. They then bake it in a large wood oven right there on the premises.

Here is Mr. "I don't move very fast because I have hot work" as he pulls a sheet of bread from the oven and begins to cut it into already pre-set sizes.

This is the point at which he ladles Sauerrahm (sour cream) into the areas where the bread has split while cooking, and then sprinkles chives and a little bit of either Schinken or Champignon (mushrooms).

He is almost done, the smell is quite enticing by this point. This time we stood in line about 10 minutes and watched the way he worked. Let's just say that he knows his oven is slowing down the process, and he takes advantage of this. In a way he is nice, looking at each and every customer, and having a nice exchange with some as he works his magic. The handing out process is horribly slow if you ask me, but once again, he can sell them only so fast anyway. Otherwise people are standing around waiting for the next batch to come out of the oven.

Finally it is MY TURN! As I said, he hands out the nectar of the GODS with a smile on his face... but not half as big as the smile on my face!

4 Euro ($5.68) is what this handsome little devil costs, up .50 from last year, but who is counting anything but the minutes before I get to enjoy this wonderful treat again?

Don't you touch my Dresdner Handbrot!
What? No! Get your own!




When: 24 Jul - 2 Aug 2009 (annual)
Where: Am Opernpalais
Cost: €3; evening ticket from 10pm €1.80; under 14s free
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri from 4pm; Sat & Sun from 2pm
Website: http://www.gauklerfest.de/
Address:
5 Unter den Linden 10109
Directions:
By U-Bahn: to Friedrichstrasse.
By S-Bahn: all east-west S-Bahn lines to Friedrichstrasse.