I’m not just being lazy with my post title here; they really do say hallo, and it’s a mercy because every other German word is beyond me. But language struggles aside, we’ve been here two days, and I’m a little obsessed with Berlin.
I was definitely ready to leave Prague. It has its highlights (sign up for my newsletter if you want more on this and some helpful tips for visits there), but I don’t think there’s enough to fill a month. A few Roamers were grateful for this, appreciating a more leisurely pace after months of travel. Perhaps it’s because it was only my second month, perhaps it’s because I hail from New York, but I was not into the activity shortage.
Berlin feels like the opposite of Prague: not nearly as pretty to look at but bursting at the seams with things to do. I spent several hours today just reading guides and organizing my calendar.
I’m in the neighborhood of Neukolln (Noy-colin, roughly). Part of it is known as Little Istanbul, and on some streets, you can feel the Turkish influence. But it’s also been gentrified over the last several years, and the hipsters have put their stamp on it. The intersection my apartment sits on has a bar on one corner, coffee shops on two corners, and a teeny cinema on the fourth corner.
If you turn left down that intersecting street, it’s just a line of adorable restaurants, bars, and cafes, with a couple tattoo parlors for good measure. My first night here I had delicious Basque tapas (yes, I miss Barcelona!) and then I went on a lovely date in a little bar where the back room had no wired lighting and was instead illuminated entirely by candles. They had tall tapers in traditional holders, and the server would replace them as they burned down, in addition to delivering your drinks.
Probably my three favorite things in life are books, food, and movies, and Berlin is overflowing with all three. There are at least ten bookstores just in my neighborhood, and our coworking space for the month, St. Oberholz, is also a boutique publisher. There are a dozen Michelin-starred restaurants in the city and so many more bits of yumminess beyond that; I would recommend every restaurant I’ve eaten at so far. And in the summer, the city is filled with open air cinemas, many of which show movies in English or in their original German with English subtitles.
I’m also basking in the freedom I feel here. It’s no secret that I’ve had a tough time adjusting from living on my own and working at home to being frequently surrounded by dozens of people. Berlin is a sprawling city, and we’re very spread out here. My closest neighbor is a 10 minute walk, and we have access to multiple coworking spaces. I can see the group as much as I want, but I don’t feel the same pressure to that I have in the previous months. It feels more like the best possible version of my regular life.
I’m really excited to explore this month. Hope you’re excited to come along for the journey. If you have any Berlin tips, let me know!
