"Dinner en Blanc"

Last Thursday evening, nearly 500 people gathered on Odeonsplatz and sat down to eat their evening meal together. Organised through social network sites, the gathering was quite secret and unofficial. Even many of the 500 attendees did not know much of what to expect from the evening ahead of them.

The evening's motto was "Dinner en Blanc" and saw patrons arrive dressed from head to toe in white-as encouraged, lugging tables, chairs and all manner of food towards Odeonsplatz. Crates of drink and bags of ice were brought along, while all sorts of breads, cheeses and meats were hauled from all over the city and baskets of fruit graced the tables of the unexpected visitors. The meeting point was Max Josef Platz and at 8pm the start of the festivities began when a loud whistle was blown.

There was a 'forbidden' nature to the entire dinner, which was held on public property. The puppet master, whose nom de guerre is simply 'The Colonel', pulled the electronic strings when it came to organising the secret event and continues to remain anonymous. However, both this cover name and the event has led to his being seen as a hero within the Facebook "Dinner en Blanc" sphere.

The atmosphere was tremendous; the secret event brought unusual life at unusual times to Odeonsplatz, in the early and late evening. The company parted ways surrounded by the warm glow of old friendship and newly made acquaintances. In true German tradition, as the participants left, behind them there was no trace of anything out of the ordinary having ever taken place.