Wow. Berlin. Wow. Wow. Oh. Wow.
Berlin was a trip in itself. Arriving in Berlin, Friday night, we checked into the Generator Hostel. The place was huge (the rooms were not). Our first night Cameron and I got a double room with private bathroom. Our room was literally like living inside of a pack of cigarettes. Thankfully we were only in that room for one night.
Once we put our bags away we went down to the bar and got some of their famous burgers (famous for being terrible maybe). Then we went back to our room to take a nap because we were anticipating a wild night (It would be).
I have a buddy from Aspen that moved to Berlin to produce and DJ, so he told us all the good clubs to attend. It’s incredible how much better the information from a locals is compared to websites, tourist offices, etc.
He told us some of his favorite clubs and we mapped them out. We found a few that were in the same area so we decided to investigate. The first club we walked into was called Chalet. This place was awesome. It was a old rundown townhouse-building with four floors, each with their own DJ and bar. The dance floors were small which made for an intimate experience.
I was thinking wow, it would be so easy to do something like this KC. There are so many buildings that would cost pennies to convert into something like this. So why not right?... well apparently they are a little a lot more lax on their regulations in Berlin. A US fire inspector would have a field day in this place, not to mention trying to get insurance. I mean, if there was a fire in this place (which wouldn't be that hard because everyone was smoking cigarettes) everyone would be screwed. (At least we would go out dancing).
The second club we went to that night (at 3:30am) was WaterGate, the number two rated club in Berlin. When we asked the front desk about this place they discouraged us from going, saying we probably wouldn't get in (after hearing that we obviously needed to go). There wasn't much of a line so we walked right up… and got denied. We needed to find some girls to go in with us (I was absolutely okay with this). It took us all of two minutes to find some girls to come in with us (more Swiss girls actually).
We originally chose to go to that club because we saw on residentadvisor.com that Huxley was the DJ that night. He had a great set. The club was two floors situated on the river (hence the name WaterGate). There were color changing lights that covered the ceilings and the floor. It was a really cool spot, but defiantly something you would be able to find in the US. The most amazing part of the venue was the sunrise. Having no idea that we were even up that late, they suddenly opened all the drapes at the perfect moment, unleashing one of the most magnificent sunrises I have ever seen in my life. (The picture does not begin to do the sunrise justice).
Soon after the sunrise we got picked up by uber and made our way back to our hostel (there will still people at the bar taking shots at 8am when we left).
We instantly fell asleep until we had to change rooms at 1pm. Charles and Hugh were going to meet us again so we switched to a bigger room. We had a reservation for a quad room, but somehow they lost our reservation (typical). They made up for this by giving us their biggest most luxurious six-person room for the price of a four person (It was not luxurious… at all).
The second night we went out (Saturday), little did I know, would change my life forever. We woke up around 7pm and got some gyros (probably my 20th of the trip). Then went back to the hostel to nap till around 10pm. We showered up went to the hostel bar to start things off. There was a DJ in the hostel (and pretty much everywhere else in Berlin). Charles, Cameron and I went out to the clubs around midnight (Hugh was feeling sick so he stayed in). Since we had such a good night at WaterGate the night before we decided to go back. We tried to get in around 1 am but they wouldn't let us in. They told us we had to wait two hours so we went to Chalet and watched a German rock band (it was pretty entertaining). We left couple hours later and went back to WaterGate. It was once again easy to get in… for Charles and Cameron that is. For some reason they wouldn't let me it. I thought to myself, this is the perfect time for me to try to get into the legendary Berghain.
BERGHAIN. Probably one of the most notriours clubs in Germany Europe the world. I had heard legends about this place, but I really had no idea what to expect. A former power plant Berghain is now the world’s capitol of Techno music. I have heard horror stories about people waiting in line for four hours only to get turned down by the legendary tattoo faced doorman who ‘looks into your soul.’ My buddy who lives in berlin gave me a little advice on what to wear. “Don't dress fancy. Dress hipster or fuckin edgy. It's how it is.” I know hipster, but fuckin edgy (probably should have died my hair blonde again). Luckly, when I arrived the line was only about fifteen minutes long. The people in front of me were trading jackets after being denied the first round (they got denied again). When I was at the front of the line they basically just pointed for me to go in. I was expecting them to test my German (which my mother and grandmother never taught me), or at least ask me about the lineup. Nothing. I got a simple pat down and they told me not to take any pictures, I didn't have to say a word.
Once I got in (4am) the rest of the night (and subsequent day) were a blur. The main floor was a MASSIVE room blasting techno. It was pure madness. Sixty-foot ceilings with blue lights pounding to the beat. I don't really enjoy techno, but in that place, at that time it was perfect. Making my way up the stars to the second floor there was more to be discovered. The ‘Panorama Bar’ played deeper music, which is where I spent more of my time. The ceiling in the panorama bar was covered in color changing tiles; this place was unreal. They had everything, even a café so you get a mid dance bite (I met an ex-couple from London that had been there for 48hours). At one point they opened all the shades in the Panorama bar, revealing the daylight outside only to shut them moments later. The party was still raging. The types of people in this place were all over the board. There were some scary looking Goths (super edgy) and lots of gays (the owner of the club is Gay (and clearly now very rich)). By 10am there were naked men and women all over the club. There were literally no rules in this place. They even had ‘dark rooms’ where you could go and openly … take a nap?... something like that I think. By noon I couldn’t do it anymore (had I know I would have planned ahead to stay longer) it was time to leave (everyone who got that snap knows what happened next). When I left at noon there was still a line to get in. Where else in the world does something like this exist (I don't think anywhere)? I was glad I attempted to get in. It was an experience I will never forget.
For the rest of our time in Berlin we pretty much… slept. We literally didn't see Berlin once during the daytime unless we were coming home from the club (I know it really was a bummer, but it was still probably my part of the trip). The last night Cameron and I took trip to the east side gallery (a painted portion of the Berlin wall) (unfortunately the pictures were corrupted). We also moved out of the hostel into a hotel room (we couldn't handle it anymore) I WILL go back to see Berlin during the day. I know the city has so much to offer and can’t wait to experience all of it.
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