Awrooo! I've been at my first CSD. For those not from Germany the acronym CSD might not mean anything, but it stands for Chistopher Street Day and is what our pride parades are called. Unfortunately for the CSD Hamburg I was sick with the flu, and had to stay at home in my bed. So when AJ Noer and Lucky asked me if I wanted to acompany their group to the CSD in Lübeck, I was immediately on board.
In this post I'll take you with me through my impressions and feelings throughout the CSD, so tag along with me!
Sweet little lies
Now for the start of our second section I'll have to immediately apoligize for I have lied to you. I was only half immediately on board. Sure I really wanted to go, but my social anxiety kicked in and made me really unsure, but as there was not much else planned for my weekend I jumped over my shadow and said sure.
The anxiety acompanied me all through up to the day of the CSD, the 19th of August 2023. But I pulled through and boarded my bus starting my travel to Lübeck.
After arriving I started walking towards the bridge I was meant to meet the others in the group, or so I thought, as through a little miscommunication I walked to the wrong bridge at first. Luckily on my way to the right bridge I found AJ Noer, Pup Lucky, Rado, and Axel, who is not a kinkster but was still happy to tag along.
Pups just wanna have fun
Even though I was a bit nervous being outside as Raider for the first time, that feeling quickly went away and I completely killed the feeling when we were turning the corner on to the bridge: We walked past an older couple and the woman said to her man "Oh look, those people are dressed as dogs", to which I promptly reacted by barking at them which sent her into a long and hearty laugh. This event set the tone for the next few hours to come with people regularly coming up to us and asking about our puppy hoods and/or wanting to take pictures with us and of us. I almost felt like a mini celebrity, and even better I felt accepted and alive.
After the acceptance and everything just feeling right, probably the close second best thing was finally getting to play with Pup Lucky. We got in a lot of cuddles, headpats and boops. At the end Lucky had me leashed and pulled me along to the group of all the other puppies we only managed to find at the very end of the parade.
God loves gays... but maybe a bit too much
Now I'm not a religious pup by far, but when pride parades get weather like the one we got it's obvious if there is a God they love the gays. We got 30° C and enough sunshine for a whole week. This was great when moving, but when the parade had to stop for a bit it quickly became really warm and my water bottle came in really handy. Lucky and I quickly escaped to the shadow then. At some points I felt like it would get too much. AJ however did an even bigger sacrifice for his gear fetish with his goggles constantly being fogged up from the sweat and heat. But I personally think it was worth it, as the full gear looked awesome.
AJ was the only gearhead with full gear on we saw at the whole CSD. Guess nobody else dared to wear a helmet all day in the summer heat
After the parade we went to a local Café to rehydrate and muck about. I tried on AJ's (sweaty) goggles which looked quite hilarious (I've attached a picture below for your enjoyment) and I was invited to join the group in a BBQ, which was the perfect end to a perfect day.
What am I taking home from the CSD?
I've learnt a lot about how nice, open and interested most people up here are in learning about puppies. Everyone was really happy seeing us as a group of puppies and a gearhead. Sure we've got some strange looks, but overall the reactions were largly positive.
I also once again learnt how overcoming my anxieties can lead to me having amazing experiences I'd otherwise have missed out on. My mental health has taken a huge boost from the event and if I could I'd immediately go again!
And probably most importantly I've made some new friends. Much to the surprise of everyone who saw us, neither Lucky and I nor AJ and I had ever met prior to the CSD, but I can't wait to go out riding our motorbikes (and as it turns out I didn't need to as we went the next day) and I hope we can build a lasting friendship. 😀
-- Raider 🐾