Florida Agenda

BY PHOEBE MOSES

BERLIN, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY – On Monday, German police officials announced the arrest of the fugitive Luka Rocco Magnotta, who had fled from Canada on May 26, after committing the grisly murder of his boyfriend— an incident that he videotaped, and which he followed with the cannibalism and sexual mutilation of the bound and naked man, a graduate student from Concordia University in Montreal. The gruesome crime precipitated what police call the largest manhunt in Montreal’s history.

Six days after Interpol issued a “Red Notice” alert for the fugitive, Magnotta surrendered to Berlin police with a simple utterance of, “You got me.” Magnotta—a former gay porn star, whose real name is Eric Clinton Newman—became the subject of the international manhunt after a video circulated online showing a man—identified by investigators as Magnotta—stabbing another man with an ice pick, and then dismembering him, while the soundtrack from the movie “American Psycho” plays in the background. In the video, Magnotta reveals that he has slashed the other man’s throat, and then proceeds to dismember the body, and perform sexual acts upon it.

Magnotta was dubbed the “Butcher of Montreal,” “the Chameleon,” and “Canadian Psycho,” after it was discovered that he had carved up the victim, 33 year old Lin Jun, a student whom Montreal police say had been “in a relationship” with Magnotta.XXX The 29-year-old former porn star was sought by Canadian authorities for first-degree murder, defiling a corpse, and using Canada’s postal system to deliver “obscene, indecent, immoral, or scurrilous” material.

Canadian police say the murder happened on May 24 or 25. Four days later, on May 29, authorities told shocked reporters that a severed human foot had been sent to the headquarters of the ruling Conservative Party. (For this action, Magnotta is likely to be charged with threatening the life of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.) The grisly details continued when Ottawa postal officials reported intercepting a hand in the mail that was addressed to the opposition Liberal Party, and police discovered a mutilated human torso, which was later identified as belonging to the victim, Lin.

French investigators—who the daily Le Figaro described as “terrified” of Magnotta—described him as a “profoundly disturbed man” and “habitual liar,” and used the accused killer’s cellphone signal to trace him to a hotel in a Paris suburb. Although Magnotta was not on the premises, on Saturday, Paris police found adult magazines, in addition to airsickness bags issued by Air Canada, the commercial carrier that Magnotta used to affect his escape from Montreal to Paris, disguised—as surveillance tapes from Montreal-Trudeau International Airport show—in a dark wig and Mickey Mouse T-shirt.

Canadian authorities are also attempting to learn if Magnotta has killed in the past. Montreal police cite an online video depicting a man who resembles Magnotta committing torture against cats. Police say that animal rights activists have been looking for almost two years for a man who killed cats, and then posted the videos of it online. Montreal Police Commander Ian Lafreniere said of Magnotta, “This is the kind of guy that’s looking for attention. He likes to glorify himself with the Web. The Web will glorify him, and the Web is also going to bring him back to justice, because there are a lot of pictures of him out there, and it will help lead him to us.”

As it happened, Berlin police arrested Magnotta at an Internet café after French authorities were tipped off by a client of Magnotta’s, who had recognized the fugitive and alerted officials. As the Montreal police commander, Lafreniere, predicted, it was “the Web” that proved his undoing, as he was reading about himself online, and looking at his image on the computer, which enabled the witness to recognize him.

According to a former lover of Magnotta’s, he will do “anything to be famous.” Nina Arsenault, a transgender woman, said that the accused murderer would boast to her of his killing fantasies. Arsenault told police that Magnotta was a “f****d up kid,” and said he spoke regularly about killing both animals and people, including members of his own family. She told police that he once said to her, “I’m afraid when you look in my eyes, that you’ll see there’s nothing inside of me.

By ROBERT ELIAS DEATON

Part One—In and Around

Berlin is a city best approached with a very open mind. Forget any image you might still possess of a graffiti-covered Berlin wall being toppled, or guarded gates separating East and West. While Berlin of the present is one very much rooted in its past, there is a sense of celebration in the air here that carries with it the scent of liberation.

Getting There

There’s good news and there’s good news about flying to Berlin. The city is not only easy to reach by non-stop flights on Air Berlin from Miami, it happens to be more affordable than any other European city to book. Round trip airfares can be purchased for just over $900 any time of the year directly through Air Berlin’s website (www. airberlin.com).

Until a few years ago, there used to be three airports in Berlin—Tegal located five miles northwest of the city; Tempelhof to the south; and Schönefeld, outside the city in Brandenburg, bordered by the famous gate. Tempelhof was closed to the pubic in 2008, and the first week in June 3, 2012, Tegal and Schonefeld will close as well.

On the same day, a new airport called Berlin Brandenburg will open in their place using the airport code BER. Like all things German, it will be executed with precision, having been in the planning stages for years.

The rail system has already been rerouted to include a stop directly underneath the new main terminal, with trains to the center of Berlin taking just under a half hour, and departing every 15 minutes. It’s about the same amount of time to make the journey by cab, but far less expensive. So if you don’t mind a little hassle with carting your bags, use the train and save the dough for some Wiener schnitzel.

 The Neighborhoods

To get your bearings in this metropolis of some 300,000 gays, think of the city as a big round pie. In the center is the neighborhood known as Mitte, German for “middle” and the hub for tourist traffic.

It’s the place to find what little remains of old Russian rule, including Alexanderplatz,- -the center of the old Communist Berlin— as well as Checkpoint Charlie—the crossing point at the Berlin wall, and now a museum that’s you’ll definitely want to make a point to visit.

On the West side of Mitte is the Tiergarten district, famous for the botanical gardens whose groomed lawns are the perfect place to find nude sunbathers—all perfectly legal in this city of abundant decadence.

On the East side of Mitte is Friedrichshain. This is a transition area that was once the center of East Berlin’s concrete slab dwellings and warehouses.

Consider this neighborhood as Berlin’s version of New York’s Lower East Side and Soho combined.

For those who like it on the rough side and want to see skinheads and white supremacists in the wild, continue east at your own risk.

Prenzlauer Berg is to the northeast of Mitte, an historic neighborhood of lovely old townhomes and trendy street cafes and coffeeshops that will appeal to the more traditional artistic types and classy gays of a certain vintage. There’s yuppy wealth all around the place in Prenzl’berg, so prepare to spend some cash while there.

Aim for the south of Mitte and find Kreuzberg, home to the area’s largest lesbian population and a growing commune of anarchic punks. Even under the former Communist rule, it was always a place where the cool congregated. That much hasn’t changed; just gotten a bit more gentrified.

Head further south still and reach Neukölln—Kreuzberg on steroids. Artists find the inexpensive housing a draw, and there are lots of local galleries to prove the point.

And then there is Schöneberg. We’ve saved the best for last for a good reason. To think Gay Berlin is to think Schöneberg.

It was in front of Schöneberg’s town hall that John F. Kennedy made his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, and meant it. You too will feel at home. This is a neighborhood with more rainbow flags than cafés, and first-time visitors may never venture outside its confines, so plentiful is the assortment of goodies provided within.

But that would be a shame. Berlin is a city that needs to be explored for all its flavors.

It’s a huge, sprawling wonderment of variety and inbred tolerance. So inbred, in fact, that it was over ninety years ago that the first gay club was opened here. It was in Schöneberg that Christopher Isherwood wrote his “Berlin Stories” that became the hit musical “Cabaret.” And you, too, will be singing “Willkommen” before you can stop yourself.

Grub and Such While most Germans speak fluent English, the majority of German restaurants will print their menus in their native tongue.

This is particularly true in the smaller kaffees, which you should not hesitate to frequent. These small restaurants are not only some of the best places to meet the locals, they are also the source of some fantastic regional cuisine.

There are over 1,500 types of sausages in Germany, with some 300 of them made in Berlin alone. Look for the word wurst if sausage is your thing. Bratwurst is usually made from pork; blutwurst is as well, though it’s been darkened with blood; and darker still is schwarzwurst, which often is made using the blood from geese.

Fortunately, it tastes better than it sounds.

If you’re in the mood for fish, look for local trout or salmon listed as forelle and lachse. Spargel is the local name for white asparagus; spätzle is a large, flat noodle; knödel is a delicious potato dumpling; Kartoffelpüree are mashed potatoes; and pizza is, well, pizza. Some things are just too good to change.

German breads are as fantastic as they are plentiful. Look for roggenbrot if you like rye; mehrkornbrot if multi-grain is your taste; and kürbiskernbrot if the concept of pumpkin seeds inside dark rye sounds interesting.

Since Berliners and the tourists that love them play night and day, fast food is available 24/7. While you’ll notice the familiar signs for McDonald’s and Burger King, the real favorite here is doner kebabs, the German version of gyros served on pita bread with a yoghurt sauce.

All the better to eat and run.

Next week, Part Two—the Clubs, the Hotels, the Adventure. It’s worth the wait, liebling.

FORT LAUDERDALE – This month, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (GFLGLCC) sent representatives to attend the annual ITB Travel show, in Berlin, Germany. Keith Blackburn, president and CEO of the GFLGLCC reports that more than 113,000 trade visitors and nearly 60,000 consumers were in attendance at the Messe Berlin Convention Center.

The attendees had come to see 10,644 exhibitors from 187 countries, including those representing Greater Fort Lauderdale and its LGBT community. The chamber reps had set up an exhibition area in coordination with the Greater Fort Lauderdale-based International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), a stand that ranked Number 13 among NGO/Non-Profits by the Cologne Business School for their annual ITB “Best Exhibitor Award.” Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit paid an official visit to the booth.

The GFLGLCC was formed last year by members of Broward County’s LGBT business community, with a mission that includes promoting business and economic opportunities for the LGBT and LGBTfriendly community, promoting tourism with a unified approach, and serving as an advocate and resource for all equalitypromoting member businesses. It is a 501c (6) non-profit organization.

The GFLGLCC’s mission to Berlin was endorsed by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). For more information about GFLGLCC, visit gogayfortlauderdale.com.