Berlin Underground

I was slithering about on the web today and found myself unexpectedly under the streets of Berlin, Germany. Like most cities, Berlin has a lot of stuff underground -- subways, utility tunnels, and an extensive network of underground bunkers and connecting tunnels built by the Nazi's in WWII. Well, perhaps not many other cities have this last feature, or at least not to the extent that Berlin has.

There is a general fascination with all this underground stuff, and somehow evolving out of this has quite naturally come a restaurant with a unique dining experience. Nocti Vagus is a restaurant where you eat in total darkness, waited on by blind waiters/waitresses. It is one of Berlin's most popular spots. I've not personally been there, but accounts I've read confirm that it is dark -- can't see your hand in front of your face dark. It seems that part of the motivation behind this is to simulate the experience that a blind person might have dining out.

"It is an incredible experience to eat in the dark, to open your mind to a different way of eating," says the Road Junky website. "But more astounding is the feeling of liberation of not having to watch your behaviour, or to watch the people, or feel watched. You can eat with your hands, and get your face covered with food. That alone makes it an amazing eating experience."

To go with the dining experience, there is a full range of entertainment from music to theater, including evenings dedicated to the reading of erotic stories and sensual music, "erotic snack included."

It all kind of reminds me of the party games when I was a kid where you blindfolded someone and then made them reach their hand into a bowl of cold spaghetti-o's.

I wonder if spaghetti-o's are on the menu?