Day 87 Berghain and Berlin

So! I’m on a roll here, at this rate I’ll be all caught up before I leave Berlin on my midnight bus! I’m thinking that I’ll do a final post before I’m done with this trip about the stats and cost of everything, plus a few top ten lists, but until then, I just want to leave you with a little bit of advice: DON’T PLAN TOO FAR AHEAD. I always have one or two plans on the go, but from now on I going to differentiate between "plans" and "guideline routes." For example, I have a guideline route that I want to get to Croatia on my way to Italy and Greece, but I had a plan to get to Berlin by plane from Budapest, and this plan caused me to spend twice as much as I needed to. If I had relaxed and let things fall where they may, I would have saved close to €50 which I could have spend on more tours or adventures. I would have saved this money by taking overland transport, because not only would I have saved the air fare, but I would’ve slept on the bus, thus saving me from paying for a hostel as well. This happened once before when I flew from Istanbul to Krakow, which I could’ve reached overland, thereby going to Bulgaria, which I will now miss out on. SO, to sum up: have a general idea of what you want to see, but trust in the Universe to get you there in the best way possible. You meet the coolest people, and pick up the coolest tips when you travel, and they should be your guide - not the scared voice in your head that says you should always know your next move.

Berghain in the daylight.

That being said, allow me to enlighten you on what may be THE single greatest night of my life. Berlin is renowned for a few things; liberalism, avant-garde music and fashion, history, and of course - nightlife. Of all the clubs in the world, they compile a list of the best, and Berghain is a prime component year after year. We had heard about it on our trip from some people who had been there, and many who had been turned away at the door. An average waiting time is between 1.5 and 2.5 hours, usually in the darkest part of the night. Berliners go out extremely late, and it’s been the case at the hostel that people will have a nap around 10 in order to start drinking around 11 and to go out anywhere from 1 in the morning to 3. Nightlife starts around 4, and ends whenever you cannot stand any longer. We decided, having been lame, tired people the night before, to join a few guests in drinking and going out - it was after all Friday night! I met Louis, an Aussie, as well as a few other young people who were all keen for some cards (of course...) and we began to think about where to go. Many clubs here are over 21, and the age of the present company was going to hinder us somewhat in that respect. David wasn’t incredibly keen to go out, and had gone with some other guests to an art exhibit. By chance Louis wandered over to the staff on duty and asked what was good. We were told that IF we could get in, Berghain on Fridays is excellent. The problem is, even when you wait in line for two hours, you are not guaranteed entry... in fact only about 10% get in.

Louis, Me and David at the end of the night.

The bouncer is famous for his eclectic method of deciding who parties. It’s honestly like social engineering: he chooses the people he wants based on what kind of atmosphere he thinks is best. He’s terrifying -  barbed wire tattoo on his face, long slicked back silver hair, jewelry and rings all over the place. But he’s it, the only deciding factor if you get in or not. Louis decided that being his last chance to go out in the city, he was going to try regardless of whether or not we wanted to go as well. I have heard from people about what to do and not to do to maximize your chances of success: dress casual, act like you don’t care, be different in some way, don’t look at the bouncer, don’t move forward in line when it’s your turn, be a small group, be a mixed gender group, and more. It’s honestly ridiculous when you think about it, but I guess in the end it works, because I’ve never heard of anyone who got in complaining about their night. I was with Louis -  go big or go home, and David when he returned agreed to try it out, though he honestly didn’t care either way if we got in or went home (which may have worked in our favour!) We waited for two hours, and the others in the original group also decided to try, though were far less enthusiastic. We kept seeing people just coldly (literally) get turned away from the door, and my stress levels kept going up, even though I knew it was nothing personal to be dismissed. These lovely German girls we were talking to in line got turned away right in front of us! I was wearing my new loop scarf like a turban against the cold, and just kept it on when it was our turn. Louis, David and I went in together, and I spoke our number in German to optimize our chances of being mistaken for locals. I don’t know what it was: our multiculturalism, the German, my turban, David’s "whatever" attitude -  but we got in. Unfortunately we were the only ones of the small groups that originated at the hostel to be successful.

We were patted down for drugs at the door, and paid our cover and coat check. You have to leave your camera as well, as it’s forbidden to take photos in this club. I won’t say much more because it was just ridiculous in there, but you know what to ask me about when I get home. We left around 9 in the morning, and people were still going in! Crazy, incredible music and company and night/morning.

Hunger Strike at Parisen Platz.

Victory and I go well together...

Back at the hostel we were bombarded with questions, and gamely answered them all. Still kind of wired about the whole thing, David and I decided to join a few guests who were planning on going on the 11:00 free walking tour. This was a struggle. We managed it, and it was much better after the coffee break, but there were a few kicks delivered amongst us to keep up. I’m glad we did it though or we wouldn’t have learned so much!

Monument to the Murdered Jews.

We hit the hostel afterwards, intending to take it easy, cook dinner, and then head to bed. I only really did the latter... and I had another 14 hour mini-coma. This pattern’s probably terrible for my health, but at the same time, when am I ever going to live it up like this again? Just another day in the life! The chicken salad I planned on making was just as delicious in the morning when we decided to hit the East Side Gallery and the Topography of Terror exhibit.

Monument to the Victims of War and Tyranny.

National Theatre.

But back to the walking tour! Our guide was a bubbly Brit, who had moved to Berlin specifically to do these kinds of tours. We started at Parisen Platz, home of the iconic Victory arch. The name is actually a taunt to France, as the statue on the arch is the Goddess of Victory... therefore there is always Victory over Paris! She gave us a huge rundown of Berlin history in a nutshell, from when it was a small swampy town, to when it became the seat of the Prussian state, to when it gained a Kaiser and participated in WWI, to the tragedies of WWII and it’s present condition. Say what you will about ’ze Germans, but at least in Berlin they are not in any way trying to hide or make excuses for their past crimes. The Topography of Terror exhibit we visited the next day made that perfectly clear, accurately outlining Hitler’s rise to power, his intense use of propaganda, the crimes of the S.S. and the hoodwinked actions of the German people. We went past the longest stretch of the wall which still stands in it’s original location, stood on top of the bunker where Hitler committed suicide, and visited the Monument to the Murdered Jews.

Largest piece of the Berlin Wall in its original location.

The monument is something special. It’s total cost was €27 million, which caused abit of a stir at the time. It’s a field of uniformly rectangle cement blocks, though built at varying heights. It’s chaotic to look at from the outside, all different levels, and the ground is also very uneven, however when you enter, you can see it’s built on a strict grid. Later when we were discussing the significance, upon which the artist has been purposefully vague, I postulated that it mirrors the insider and outsider views of the Holocaust. People have wondered if it’s also a giant bar graph, reflecting statistics of those murdered, or the demographics of families shipped to camps. Whatever the case, it is actually pretty powerful, and snapped me out of my tired state for a while.

Bits of the wall painted all around the city.

We didn’t just focus on WWII though, we also talked about the Treaty of Versailles, in which Germany was forced to take all the blame for WWI, and to pay an indemnity of huge proportions, the amount of which was only settled completely in 2005. This Treaty is often cited, along with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, as the reason Hitler’s National Socialist Party was able to gain support in the polls. Combined with some serious PR backing, the Nazi Party needed only to gain a foothold before slamming the doors of democracy shut and implementing their plan for a German social community based on an ideal race and uniform thought process. Did you know they took Mother’s Day as an occasion to promote the bearing of Aryan German babies? They handed out gold, silver and bronze medals to women with a certain number of desirable children, and further ostracized and threatened those who propagated no idyllic offspring with sterilization.

We did also learn lots about Germany when it was still known as Prussia, and about the great leader Freidrich, who was a patron of the arts and built the first opera house that was not attached to a palace. He wanted everyone to be able to experience culture, knowing that Berlin couldn’t survive as a capital unless it drew all kinds of intellectuals as well as peasants. He also wanted to increase the population, which had been decimated by the 30 Years War between Catholics and Protestants, as well as the Black Death. The war, which saw Germany on the Protestant side, saw many Catholics unhappy with their current place of residence. In order to achieve this goal of growth, Freidrich invited these folk to settle in Berlin, and to sweeten the deal he built them a great cathedral, and promoted religious tolerance. I know Germany and tolerance aren’t always associated, but honestly it’s a city of such diversity both before and after that time. We saw this amazing commemoration of this near the end of the tour, a great square full of various coloured balls depicting instances of multiculturalism in the city.

Checkpoint Charlie U-Bahn stop.

Our guide showed us the monument to the Victims of War and Tyranny, which is housed in what used to be the old guard house of the palace. The Palace was completely demolished, and having no royal family, as it was disbanded in the Treaty of Versailles, there was no reason to rebuild the structure. The current government, in all it’s wisdom, has undertaken a massively large project to bring it back, which isn’t the best use of the money to be honest...

Monument to Diversity. Each colour represents an area of life.

We got a lot of information on the Wall, and Berlin’s period of separation. When Hitler was finished off, the country, and the capital, was divided into four parts and given to America, France, Britain and Russia respectively to administer. The issue with this is that almost immediately after WWII had been resolved, the Cold War began, and former allies now regarded each other with the greatest mistrust. We went past Checkpoint Charlie, so named for it’s position as the third and final checkpoint between East and West Berlin (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie...). The wall, a monstrously hard structure to cross due to it’s hight, patrolling, and special top, which made it impossible to grab onto, was erected to stop East Berliners from escaping Communist control. The story that stuck with me the most from this part of the tour though, was how the wall came down. It all started with a press conference, held by a high-ranking member of the government. He had missed the briefing that morning, which had outlined a plan to begin loosening the boundaries between East and West in order to calm a restless population, who saw other parts of Russia-controlled Europe gaining more and more freedom. When asked about the meeting he had missed, he basically ad-libbed from the minutes, neglecting to mention all the extra limitations which would be necessary for someone to cross the border, stating only that the borders would be opened. People immediately started clamoring for more information, and in the interest of not looking stupid, he came up with the answers on the fly. His response to the question of "when" was "immediately." Border guards were soon after flooded with people wanting to get through, as it was now considered legal. The masses were too much to keep track of, and all order was lost as people and families which had been separated for 28 years embraced. There is a famous scene of the fraternal kiss immortalized in the East Side Gallery from that momentous finale to Russian domination.

The famous fraternal kiss when the wall came down in 1989.

Park near the East Side Gallery.

Our tour was great, but in all honesty I have not fallen in love with Berlin the way I have other cities. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic, but it’s a little more modern than my ancient history-loving self is down for. It’s also sprawling, and even though the public transit system is fabulous, it’s just a hassle to have to plan how to get everywhere. We saw everything we wanted to though, and have had some awesome times in the clubs (well really the only one that counts...) and cafes. We took it easy Sunday night and saw a late movie at the most posh theatre I’ve ever been to, Looper. It was great to catch up on some Hollywood, and I always love a good sci-fi! Problem was that it was pretty rough getting home on the night bus system, which we had forgotten would be our only option after midnight! Luckily through a combination of asking people, and realizing that bus lines run on the same route as the U and S-Bahn train lines, we made it back to the hostel in under an hour! Booyah!

David and I on the U-Bahn.

The public transport system was actually started here in 1896, as there were already traffic problems that early in the city’s history. The many lines cover the whole city, and even connect to others in the surrounding area. Once you get the hang of it, all you really need is a map! The check are infrequent about ticket validation, though a few people got dinged while we’ve been here, so better safe than sorry I suppose! It’s so strange how some places are really strict, and you need a ticket to get past turnstiles, and sometimes even out of the metro as well, and some places are essentially honour system!  Ah well, I’ve been pretty lucky so far, time for me to become a legitimate trasit-user before I wind up with an unwanted ticket... though when are tickets ever wanted?

Edelwiess Cafe in Kreuzberg.

One of the cool buildings.

We spent our last day together visiting areas in Kreuzberg and cool coffee joints. The amount of urban chill spaces in this city, and the amazing street art is mind-blowing. The place we went today, Edelweiss, was a grungy/hip spot with mismatched furniture and a great terrasse, though because of the cold we wimped out and sat indoors. A guitarist in the amphitheatre outside completed the vibe, and we just hung out and  relaxed for a while, soaking in the atmosphere of the city. Though David’s here until Thursday, when he flies to see his lady in Madrid, I don’t know when I’ll return. It was a nice way to finish it off. I’ve been so lucky to find such a cool guy to spend so much time with, and it’s going to be interesting to see where I end up after this.

Beautiful Autumn Day.

Fanciest movie theatre of ALL TIME.

I leave tonight on a bus back to Budapest. I swear I’m not going just to party some more, though that is how it will work out with bus times. Retox for one more night, before I head to either Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia or Bosnia, which all depends on prices and times of travel! It’s kind of exciting to plan on the fly, and certainly better than realizing how much you could’ve saved if that had been the case all along! (see earlier blog portion...)

being a tad hipster in Kreuzberg... ah well, that’s Berlin!

I love you all. And thanks so much for reading! I’ve gotten almost 1000 views, and it makes it a little more worthwhile to share it all knowing I’m not typing my fingers to the bone for nothing!

Lots of Heartfelt Love!