Postcard from 1920’s Berlin Project - Symphony of a Great City – Glossom Resident Reporting…

Dear friends,

The time capsule was the best virtual invention of the twenty-first century!  I took the TP airlines that brought me to the surroundings of Berlin train station, still with a foot in the present. Upon arrival there were warning signs to follow the vintage dress code before boarding so I took advantage of some lost boxes on the floor with a sign saying freebies to dress up and repack my bags with proper clothing, As I got on the train the powerful engine bended the tracks of time and took me back to the 20's. Destination: Berlin 1920’s Project. More than a trip to the past, it is an immersion in history.

 I had visited this city several other times, but every time there was something new to be discovered. As I stepped out of the train station, I paused to listen to the symphony orchestrated by the sounds of the city, pure music to my ears, to breathe the smells and absorb the amazing atmosphere. Berlin is a city in motion! Jo Yardley, the owner of this role-playing venue and the woman who presents us with Berlin in the 1920’s at the most genuine level, is the force behind a very tight-knit community, always promoting constant activities that reenact actual historic events and give life to this virtual city.

As I walked through Berlin heading towards Hotel Adlon where I had booked a room I gazed intently the streets filled with iconic monuments, the buildings and characteristic neighborhoods, the cafes and clubs, cabarets, the very original shops for my eyes and so many more opportunities to explore. During my tour I came across several people with short haircuts and dress that revealed the beginning of women’s emancipation. Those people greeted me as if they knew me already. I felt welcomed. Soon I would feel completely integrated into this frantic city life and would have met interesting people with fantastic life stories.

We are in the year 1929. Glamour, dandyism and fury of living are the keywords that describe these "roaring twenties", portraying the hectic urban environment. Berliners seek the pleasures of life, the worldly pleasures, the entertainment at parties and clubs, Jazz, the luxury of the upper class, with the excessive drink, tobacco and dancing. It is a period of excesses, without contention, it is also a time of fashion, culture: theatre, music and so much more. But Berlin has also been severely affected by the Global economic crisis which began precisely this year. There is extreme poverty, street riots and political struggle. The leaflets scattered in the streets and pasted on walls all over the city are proof of troubled times.

I have met with Frau Tequila Mockingbird (Tequila Krovac) at Café Elektric for a tea and a delicious slice of pie. Tequila Mockingbird: is a young flapper who had to run from Mexico during the Cristero war. As a sibling of a mason family, all her family was killed. She is very rich and had the chance to come to Berlin through a family connection, who is also her business partner: Herr Vogel. Here in Berlin, she became a dancer, the choreographer, and stage designer for the world famous fabulous Flapperettes which is the first Berlin chorus line. She also started the Vintage Expressions Magazine, a lifestyle and fashion magazine soon to launch its first issue. She also writes poetry and exhibits some photos at some galleries now and then

Conversing with Frau Tequila:

Glossom Resident: Was it easy to adapt to Berlin?

Tequila Mockingbird: I fell in love with Berlin the very first day I visited the city. At first, I did not understand too well what was it that I could do in order to integrate to this community. A lot of people here are very well educated in terms of History and though I was interested in the period, the kind of stuff I wanted to experience was very shallow, like fashion and such. Luckily, Zeno pitched the opportunity to open this chorus line and that helped me defining my role in the community.

Glossom Resident: how is it to live in Berlin in the year 1929? How is the daily life of a Berliner?

Tequila Mockingbird: I came to Berlin with a friend who managed to get one of the villas in Behrenstrasse and we were sharing that villa for a while. Then I got a house in Dorotheenstrasse and now I am living in the Attic of 7 Friedrichstrasse. I love living in Berlin. I mean, the city is amazing but the community is the very best of the project. We have some regular activities, like every year we do a recreation of the May protests. Also we do a recreation of the drugs banning and everyone ends up in jail.

Glossom Resident: My twin sister died in this year's riots. Poor Morganic Clarrington, had to close his bakery for a month because of the blood.

Tequila Mockingbird: Oh, my goodness. I stayed at home watching the people being chased through the window. It was horrible. The policemen can be so hard on the citizens some times. I saw them shooting at people as if there was no tomorrow. The hospital gets very busy that month

Glossom Resident: Is Berlin a safe city?

Tequila Mockingbird: Sometimes some criminals disturb citizens here but they get sued and get trials. Mo case has been one of the most famous trials recently. Apparently he got crazy on absinthe and started shooting people from the balcony. He was sent to prison for a while.

Glossom Resident: Does police patrol the streets?

Tequila Mockingbird: Yes, they do. And they try to keep things under control, but it is not easy these days. A lot of people do not have employment and that always leads to criminality. I remember someone stole some coal bag from the docks like 2 years ago. It was winter and very cold.

Glossom Resident: Talking about financial struggle, when visiting the city, I couldn’t stop noticing that there are different social classes: the smells, the poor buildings of some parts of the city. Is there any kind of support for the less fortunate?

Tequila Mockingbird: There was woman who used to have a kitchen soup near Eldorado but it got burned. But visitors are always welcome to help the homeless, though.

Glossom Resident: Is there any separation between the different social layers during the regular activities?

Tequila Mockingbird: Not really. Of course there are some people who are too depressed to participate in any kind of activity, like the guy who is regularly passed out on a table at Der Keller or our homeless war veteran. But normally the community is engaged with everything that goes on here. You can see the response that Morgie's carnival is getting.

Glossom Resident: What would you write about Berlin/Berliners in a postcard to your relatives or friends?

Tequila Mockingbird: People capable of having smart conversations and building a tight community where History combined with sense of humor and a taste for vintage lifestyle delivers a wonderful entertaining experience. Berlin is actually the bee's knees!

                                                                                                                             

Frau Tequila had to rush back home so I thanked her for sharing her living experiences and continued exploring this amazing city and meeting with genuine and warm people from the past.

Keep an eye on your SLE mailbox, as I will continue to send postcards from my trips to the past.

TELEPORT: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/1920s%20Berlin/115/96/27