Berlin

The last time I took an international trip with Andrew and Vy were when we went to Amsterdam in 2019. This is the first time taking an international trip with Alex, Monica, and Peter. It’s nice to finally be able to take a trip altogether.

We were in Berlin from August 17-24.

Overall, even though I did not get into Berghain and some points of the trip were challenging, it was still a lot of fun.

Things I love about Berlin

You can walk around with an open bottle on the sidewalk and beers are cheaper than water. The cheapest we paid for beer was 1.60 Euro for two bottles of beer at a grocery store.
Most people speak English, there were the occasional communication barriers but that is always to be expected.
Public transit is great and easy to use. BVG, the main public transport company, had a special offer of 9 euros for travel all over Germany.
Very dog friendly. We saw a lot of dogs off leash and responding to their owners commands

Things I don’t like about Berlin

Wasps
- I hate them and Berlin has plenty. Every time we ate outside it was pretty much guaranteed at least one wasp would hover around our food and table. Not a fan.
Getting into nightclubs
- We were aware Berliners were particular about who they let in. Nightlife is supposedly amazing in Berlin, but we had multiple issues trying to get in. Usually this would not bother me but we came to Berlin specifically to experience the nightlife so at some point it does become discouraging being turned away.

Berghain

The primary goal of this trip was to get into Berghain. Sightseeing and doing touristy things was secondary. We tried going in at the following times:

Saturday, 2:45 AM – 1 hr 45 minute wait – Denied
Saturday, 9:15 AM – Line closed
Sunday, 7:40 AM – Peter, Andrew, Vy get in. Alex, Monica, and myself were denied
Monday, 3:30 AM – Line closed

So I did not get into Berghain which, for lack of a better word, sucked. I’m glad some people in our group got to go and experience it. I am willing to try again at some point in the future but the wounds of not getting is still fresh.

Even if it is amazing inside, how many times are you willing to try before it affects your experience, even if you get in. 5 times? 10? You spend so much time and energy getting that the opportunity cost of not planning any other trip becomes really high.

It’s easy to feel salty about it, but when I look back, it was still really fun being in another country with close friends, even if that was never the point. Everyone had a different experience in Berlin.

Food Highlights

Currywurst: Deep fried German Sausage with curry ketchup on top. They slice it open multiple times hamburger style
Schnitzel: Thin veal slice which is breaded. Reminded me of a katsu
Asian food (Vietnamese and Laotian): We ate at two Vietnamese restaurants and I had a quick sample of some Thai Lautian food. Each place was really good or maybe that’s just my bias of asian food

Mistake = Bonus Vacation Day

The Airbnb checkout was Wednesday morning but Peter and myself had a flight for Thursday morning. Oops! We got a hotel and spent an extra day walking around and exploring. We had a beer while sitting next to the river bank.