Erasmus experience in Berlin

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Berlin is not like your usual big capital city such as London or Paris, in which everyone falls in love with it straight away for its beautiful old buildings, churches, cathedrals, its romantic charm, its fine houses, etc. Berlin is quite something else. When you first see it, it seems grey, dull, run-down, like it needs to be seriously rebuilt. Don't get me wrong, there are some beautiful parts there such as the magnificent Berliner Dom, Museumsinsel and its 5 or 6 different museums, the Humboldt University, Gendarmenmarkt, the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden, the Hackesche Höfe... But most of it seems very old and dull, especially in some parts of what used to be East-Berlin.

But then, after living there for a few days or a few weeks, it grows on you. It's so charged in history, it's still so recent. You feel the power of the events that took place there, through the memorials, the pictures in underground stops that show how they were closed down while Berlin was separated in 2, the museums and exhibitions about the recent history of Berlin in the 2nd world war and the cold war, the remaining bits of the Berlin Wall that are still standing, and even a random car park with a barely visible sign saying that under your feet is where the bunker is where Hitler spent his last days and committed suicide.

So many empty spaces, empty buildings left for wanderers to occupy like the famous squat Tacheles which will soon be condemned and reconstructed, leaving its present occupants homeless, people who have been living there without a permit for the past decade and living off their own making of jewelry, paintings, and theatre plays.

The street art is omnipresent and if you look closely, you might just recognize some graffiti of famous street artists such as Xoox, known for his depictions of high-class women in fine clothes and high heels peeing on their designer bags.

As for its nightlife, Berlin is the richest and most diverse place to go out. Between Berghain, the club in an old factory famous for its austere bouncers who let in who they want based on whether or not they like the look of you, or Tresor and its sinuous dark corridors and cages resembling an old madhouse, electro music is predominant.

Berghain club Source

The most famous areas for clubbing are Warschauer Straße, where some of the best clubs are like Watergate, Magnet, Suicide Circus, Raw; Ostbahnhof where Berghain is and sadly, some good clubs are being shut down such as Maria; or Eberswalderstrasse and its absinthe bar and good places in the Kulturbrauerei. There are also many hidden or illegal clubs which, if you know people from Berlin, they will show you where they are. One is particularly good in the district of Neukölln, in which one week you can dance to remixed music from the 1920s and another week to folkloric music from the Balkans.

Berlin is also well known for being very open with sexuality, and you will find many porn shops or sex museums in the center or even in metro stops. If you are feeling adventurous, you may even try out the fetish club called Kit Kat, where the dress code is the dirtier the better and they let you in only if they approve of your sexy outfit. If you are easily shocked, stay away!

To sum up, Berlin is so big, rich, diverse, every district has its own personality, there are many parks and lakes, museums and exhibitions, shops and shopping centers, clubs and pubs; you will never get bored there. It's been a privilege to have lived there for 4 months, and in that space of time, I haven't done half of the things I wanted to do. Therefore, I plan on going back there to do a Masters and live there for another 2 years to complete my list of to-dos.

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