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Disc Golf über Alles!
Last week I was on a business trip in Berlin, Germany. The weather was totally amazing- sunny and in the 70's- about 20 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.
I thought I would take a nice walk and do some sightseeing, and ended up in the Regierungsviertel - the Government Quarter where the German Parliament, Chancellor, and various other top government agencies have their facilities.The German Parliament, or Bundestag, meets in the building shown above, the Reichstag building. For those not up on their European history, this is the site of the famous Reichstag fire of 1933. Of suspicious origin, this event was used by the Nazis as an excuse to completely take over the German government.
Technically, the building is known as the German Bundestag, since the German Reich (empire) ceased to exist at the end of WWII, but everyone still refers to it as the Reichstag. The building is open for free public tours, and the inside was totally gutted in the 1990s to make way for the newly united German government's move from Bonn to Berlin. The new interior features lots of glass, natural light, and modern design elements. The inscription on the building, (under the triangle near the frisbee in the photo) Dem Deutschen Volke, translates to "to the German people." The photo originally appeared in a German newspaper on Wednesday, March 14.
In front of the Reichstag is a huge lawn where everyone was enjoying the sunshine. I noticed a group of folks working on their freestyle, and went up to see if they knew anything about the local DG scene. Apparently, there is an object course in Berlin, and when the national tour comes through, they set up baskets. In addition, the guy with whom I spoke mentioned a place where people get together to practice drives. He had never played DG himself , but thought it was really cool, or geil (watch out, geil can also mean "horny").
He asked me if I played (Bist du Golfer?), and was impressed with the state of the sport in the US. He said that it was quickly increasing in Europe as well, although it's very difficult to get courses put in on public land.
According to the German DG site www.hyzernauts.de, the object course is in the Wedding district of Berlin, and they meet on an almost-weekly basis. Looks like I might have to bring a couple of Wurfscheiben (literally, throwing plates or discs) on my next trip to Berlin!
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