i just had my first trip out that way in March/April and am so hooked. spent 4 weeks there and barely scratched the surface. i stayed in neukolin and loved walking my neighborhood around the canals in the afternoons, populus cafe has good coffee, theres a great bakery down the same road (maybachufer) too. kabobs galore, had great ramen n angry fried korean chicken. mitte is good for food but its overrun with oblivious hipstery startuppers without edge or culture. can feel like any big city’s tech clusterfuck and be boring for that reason. but that was just my experience, and a very short one at that.
for music i dug griessmuehle, about blank, berghain, ohm, and watergate…in that order, sure there’s plenty more that can be much better, but depending on the night/crew/vibe/dj everything can change. also all the patios are open this time of year so sure its a whole new ballgame. for hard techno tresor n berghain are your spots.
my suggestion would be to go to a hostel bar and talk to folks. i stayed at sunflower and after i rented a flat i came back on nights i was going out to drink and meet english speakers and catch the vibe of what they were after and see if my plans aligned or if i wanted to check what they were after…gotta separate the freaks you wanna hang with from the freaks you dont but once you do good times will be had. if youre at sunflower say hi to joel the aussie from nor cal nick.
im curious about other folks’ experiences too since i’m def going back, maybe as soon as october.