What a fabulous summer it was!
I didn’t come here for buildings
Monuments to pain and grief
Shadow walls of delusion
That echo disbelief
I came here for the people
The street life and the food
For the novelty of living
As a new guy in the ‘hood
To struggle with a language
Outside my comfort zone
Learning like an immigrant
The meaning of alone
Black-topped girls on bicycles
Confident and serene
Dressing down like waitresses
Cool in the Kreuzberg scene
Scruffy streets and cosy bars
Where it’s okay not to booze
Where European football
Is the conversational news
Adult soft drinks are not sticky
Black coffee is always there
With free internet on offer
Bars are not too hard to bear
No racing, rugby or Foxtel
In banks around the room
No steroid junky bouncers
Designed from a cartoon
Dickheads from the suburbs
Are nowhere to be seen
Glass and chrome are absent
Replaced with aged beams
Relaxed and cool with alcohol
Because it’s everywhere
No sign of shit-faced drinkers
With a vibe that says beware
I like it here in Kreuzberg
Friendly without airs
Covered Turkish maidens
Poverty, flowers and stairs
hugh wade 