To all karaoke fans, this one is for you.

Matthias and friends performing "Billie Jean"

Having lived in Berlin all my life I thought I had seen everything worth seeing, but I was mistaken: Last Sunday I experienced the time of my life at the Mauerpark (wallpark), a park in my new favorite district, Prenzlauer Berg.

The former grounds of today’s Mauerpark were split by the Berlin Wall, but after the fall of the wall the area became the most popular “outside-in-nature-gathering-area.” Sunday at noon, I jumped on my bicycle and headed toward the park while enjoying the warm spring breeze.

Almost everyone else had the same clever idea of taking their bike; finding a parking spot was a real challenge! While some parked their bike on top of someone else’s, I had difficulties finding a spot and promised myself that in the future I will walk the last bit. (Hint, hint.) At last, I discovered a safe spot for my bike and entered the park. Immediatly my senses were overwhelmed by many stimulating things: the sweet smell of a barbeque, beautiful music by streetmusicians, artists who were exhibiting inspiring works, people dressed in colorful clothes, and joyful faces everywhere I looked.

Many People come every Sunday to watch the Karaoke

Nowhere else in Berlin have I seen so many positive feelings come together to create a wonderful and welcoming athmosphere. The Mauerpark is a magnet for fun. Halfway in the park I met my friend Cherie who was elated about the textiles she found for her new collection.

Together, we continued to work our way through the large crowds and finally reached our destination: The karaoke spot, an amphitheater in the midst of the park. As far as the eye could see, people were standing, sitting, and squeezing to see the show. I was surprised to join an audience of more than 500 people who had made a circle to form a stage on the ground.

In the middle of this stage stood our host with a mic in his hands, on the floor next to him was a white macebook hooked up to a speaker system. Friends had saved me a seat, and I was happy to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. The first performer was Matthias, a young teenager, who performed Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.“

The Fernsehturm is in the background =)

When he started dancing, the entire audience began cheering and screaming. It felt like the whole park was rocking to his performance!

The athmosphere was incredible, and the young boy’s performance entertained everyone. Although I must confess that his voice was not good, he delivered a stellar performance. Halfway during his show, two of his friends jumped up on the stage and started doing the moonwalk. This was the highlight of the act and impressed everyone.

After Matthias and his backup dancers left the stage, many other performers came and knocked us off our feet with their acts. Later on, we went across to play a game of basketball, but we lost against the boys. I still wanted to check out the fleamarket, and there I found some useful things. They have everything you are looking for! If you are coming to Berlin and want to take part in this excitement, come to the Mauerpark on Sunday. I can’t wait until next Sunday, maybe I’ll dare myself to do a little bit of karaoke myself…