Berlin short-trip
April 8th 2011Flatmate: Hey we still have these cheap railway tickets which are only valid through 30th March. Let’s visit Berlin!
Me: Uhm, great – let’s do it!
So two friends and I spent 3 days in Berlin in late March. We had a good time and it was worth the rather long trip by train (note to self: make a reservation and do so earlier than 10 minutes before departure).
I haven’t been to Berlin for ages, for sure not alone without parents. Luckily we three share similar interests and also aren’t too much into planning. So off we go!
Deciding on where to base ourselves in Berlin for trips and going out wasn’t easy but we ended up staying in Prenzlauer Berg in the hostel Pfefferbett. Friendly staff, nice community area, clean rooms, good breakfast & great location – what else to wish for. We paid 15 € per night for a 4-person-dorm which I think was excellent value. So if you look for a place, consider them – full recommendation.
We did a walking tour around Berlin to explore Street-Art and other hidden places. Our guide, an irish artist, had excellent knowledge and shared many interesting tidbits along the way. The tour itself is free but you tip as much as you feel the tour was worth at the end. An interesting approach and it seemed to pay off for her in the end. See below for some impressions. So full recommendation, as well: Alternative Berlin Tours.
Night-life had to be explored as well
The Berghain has quite a name and standing in line observing the bouncers denying access to some guys remembered me of the old days when we we were indeed too young to legally enter a club… And leaving at 6am just to see the line didn’t get any shorter was also an experience. We may not have had the best night music-wise but other than that, recommended. I can’t really compare to other places though, talking to other people I had the feeling the club is a bit overrated. But go see for yourself, I’ll do so again someday.
Luckily my company and I share another interest as well: food! We had, in no particular order, japanese, thai, ethiopian, turkish, lebanese and indonesian food. All good, no exceptions. Okay, I’m hungry now.
Some impressions of Street-Art and the city
Really like how the shot of the Brandenburger Tor at night turned out. Didn’t have a tripod but hooray for image stabilizers!
Berlin, I’ll come back sometime soon. It was a pleasure.