They Roared Here, Too

Another first.

1) Attended wedding reception in Berlin.

Actually, there were two firsts in one night.

2) Not only attended first German wedding reception, but also attended first theme oriented (1920s!!) wedding.

Oh, the roaring 20s! I have such romantic notions of this era, the women with their coal lined eyes and short, sassy haircuts and the hard drinking men sporting fedoras and carrying who knows what in those violin cases? And although the amazing swing of Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and the like didn't really get cooking til the 30s, ragtime and other kinds of jazz were in full force. Who can't help but glamorize the idea of flappers and gangsters meeting in basement speakeasies to drink and dance the night away?

But as I surveyed the room the room the other night, I realized I had little idea of what the 1920s were like in Germany. I knew that my idea of the this decade most definitely involved prohibition and Al Capone. So without those two, I needed to re-conceptualize.

Looking around, I quickly learned that the 20s had been roaring all over the place. Style wise, the fashions were apparently the same. The wedding guests surrounding me were sporting the same kind of clothing I was used to seeing in American photos: pinstriped suits, wingtip shoes, fringed dresses, feathery headbands, and strings of beads. I chuckled as a friend in true 1920s fashion whipped out a flask from his jacket pocket and passed it around the table. (FYI - the word for a flask is Flachmann. I shall never forget).

Then I started thinking about what I knew about the 1920s scene in Berlin. Answer: Not much. So I decided to do a bit of reading. As you can imagine, the initial post-WWI years were horribly depressing. Reparations. Strikes. The plummeting mark. However, by the mid 20s, between the new chancellor and loans from other countries, the economy picked up and people, quite frankly, started going a little crazy. It wasn't just about jazz and Marlene Dietrich, either. From what I've learned, it was complete hedonism. Back in America as flappers and gangsters drank and danced the night away in underground bars, this was only stage one of a night in Berlin. (Ahh, some things never change!)

Berlin became an incredibly tolerant town and while Burlesque was indeed popular, so were gay clubs and errr, a whole lot of anything goes type of clubs. But the overall vibe in American cities and Berlin was the same: drink, dance, and for the love of God, rid yourself of some of those uptight social graces and allow yourself to be a bit free! I am quite pleased to report that certain elements of this liberal lifestyle have remained. Want to be a anarchistic, squatting, cross-dressing, Lego installing artist who only works on Saturdays? Come to Berlin! Or perhaps more importantly, you can simply admit that you're trying to figure it all out and that an open-minded setting is exactly what you needed, even if it sometimes leads to pangs of homesickness.

But with a drink in her hand and a Charleston in her step, this American with her short, sassy haircut and smokey eyes felt quite happy the other night to be an independent, open-minded gal in the middle of Berlin. And with those wing tips thumping and those feathers bouncing, it also helped to be reminded once again that home isn't really so far away.