Berlin: European capital of cool
BERLIN -- It's a Friday evening in May, and every deck chair on Berlin's man-made riverfront beach is taken. People sip beer and cocktails on a sandy pier overlooking the Badeschiff, a 105-foot-long swimming pool floating in the River Spree.
As the sun sets, the DJ cranks up the music. The lines grow longer at the outdoor Bite Club, where vendors serve everything from pizza to dim sum to Reuben sandwiches. The vintage Hoppetosse boat transforms into a floating nightclub.
The crowd turns rowdier at this industrial complex filled with bars and clubs at the edge of the gritty neighborhoods of Kreuzberg and Treptow.
"Do you want a cuddle?" a tipsy British man asks me outside Club der Visionare, a bar overlooking a canal. Before I can answer, he wraps his arms around me, lifts me, and sets me back down before joining his friends. On to the next club.
It's hard to believe such frivolity could take place in what used to be part of a forbidden zone between East and West Berlin. Only German Democratic Republic soldiers had access. Now, Berliners from east and west mix with people speaking French, Spanish, English and other languages.
On Nov. 9, 1989, the world watched as Berliners climbed on the wall that divided their city and stood as a symbol of the Cold War. Twenty-five years after the Berlin Wall came down, a city that once isolated itself from the world is inviting everyone in.
"Berlin has come from nothing, a bombed-out, divided city," says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin. "In the last 25 years, Berlin has staged a comeback."
Parties 'by the people'
What an extraordinary comeback it is. The city has emerged from its ignoble past as the capital of Nazi Germany to become the European capital of cool. Among all it has to offer: world-class museums, art galleries, music venues, restaurants, boutiques, beautiful public parks, and a nightclub scene that few cities can rival. And all can be explored for much less than you'd spend in London or Paris.
"What makes Berlin so interesting, so cool, is the alternative scene, the parties, the clubbing, music, outdoor festivals not organized by the state but by the people," says Martin Wollenberg, owner of Berlin on Bike, a tour guide company.
Berlin's reunification wasn't easy, though. The years after the Wall came down were "wild, anarchic," Kieker says. "It took 10 to 15 years to recover, but now, the city is in overdrive."
That much is clear as I stand in line to get into Prince Charles, a swimming-pool-turned-nightclub in the former West Berlin neighborhood of Kreuzberg.
"You don't go to clubs," says Alexander Schroeder, a young Berliner standing in line behind me. "You go to parties that happen at clubs."
Schroeder informs me that I am about to enter a singles party.
It's just after midnight, and the club is filling up with casually dressed hipsters. A DJ is playing house music and hip-hop. An outdoor bar is packed. I go inside, into what feels like a basement, where the lighting is red. A disco ball spins above us. Couples gyrate on the dance floor.
Clearly, some people won't be leaving the club single tonight.
Kreuzberg once was flanked by the Berlin Wall on three sides. Because of its cheap housing, it attracted many immigrants, especially from Turkey. The neighborhood also drew hippies, squatters, artists and punk rockers.
It is no longer as cheap as it used to be, but Kreuzberg still maintains an edginess that reminds me of New York's East Village. If you want to party until dawn, this is the place to do it.
Kreuzberg is what the East Berlin neighborhood Prenzlauer Berg was after the Wall came down. Prenzlauer Berg had once been home to dissidents, students and working-class Berliners.
"After the Wall came down, this was the most interesting part of the city," Wollenberg says in his office in Kulturbrauerei, a former brewery turned entertainment and cultural center in Prenzlauer Berg.
Apartment buildings that were built more than a century ago were refurbished. Cafes, boutiques and art galleries opened. Eventually, the dissidents and students grew up and had children. Strollers are everywhere.
Culture with an edge
On a Saturday evening, I join a friend for wine at Weinerei, a bar on the border of Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte. It operates on the honor system: You pay 2 euros to rent a glass and fill it as many times as you want. When you're done, you pay what you think you owe.
For dinner, we head to W Imbiss, a fancy fast-food establishment. Canadian chef and owner Gordon Wojcickowski, or Gordon W., as he introduces himself, chuckles as he points out that his restaurant's logo looks like McDonald's arches upside down. His creative menu includes pizza made with naan.
When Gordon W. opened his shop 12 years ago, "we were pretty much the first people on the street," he says.
Some complain that Prenzlauer Berg has lost its bohemian vibe and that, as areas like Kreuzberg gentrify, they will, too.
On our way to get a nightcap, we stumble upon Tuntenhaus, a housing project run by gays and lesbians that is famous for its graffiti-covered walls.
Graffiti art became popular while the Wall was still standing. Its West Berlin side became a canvas for artists. The East Berlin side remained blank. When the Wall came down, the artists spread their work east.
I spot Little Lucy, a playful, wide-eyed girl who has become a recurring character on walls across the city. A sketch of a soldier carrying a rifle is signed by famous Berlin artist El Bocho. Another of a little girl with horns on her head and a bouquet of roses in her hand is signed by Alias.
As I gawk at the art, I come to a conclusion: Berlin will never lose its rebellious streak.
If you go
Several events and exhibits are taking place this year to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The main event will happen the weekend ending Nov. 9, the day the Wall actually fell in 1989.
Illuminated balloons will form a 7 ½-mile border across the city center passing landmarks such as Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. A human chain made of Berliners and guests will follow the path of the balloons.
Also on Nov. 9, the Documentation Center at the Berlin Wall Memorial in the historic site on Bernauer Strasse will re-open with a new exhibition. A prayer service will take place at the Chapel of Reconciliation, on the spot on Bernauer Strasse where the original Reconciliation Church was demolished in 1985.
Other events that will mark the anniversary this year:
Ai Weiwei exhibit. The Chinese contemporary artist's works of politically charged conceptual art and installations will be on display at the Martin Gropius building, itself an attraction with classical and Renaissance features. Location: Martin Gropius building, Niederkirchnerstrasse 7, Berlin-Kreuzberg. Hours: Wed. to Mon. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. though July 7. gropius-bau.de
Color for the Republic: Commissioned photography on life in the GDR. This is an exhibition of never-shown color photographs of daily life in formerly divided Berlin. Pictures depicting the life of women are also on display. Location: German Historical Museum, Unter den Linden 2, Berlin-Mitte. Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. though Aug. 31. dhm.de
West Berlin: An Island in Search of Mainland. An exhibition focusing on the mentality and lifestyle of West Berliners. Location: Museum Ephraim-Palais (Nikolai Quarter), Poststrasse 16, Berlin-Mitte. Hours: Tues., Thurs.-Sun., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wed. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Nov. 14 to June 28, 2015. stadtmuseum.de
Opening of the Spy Museum Berlin. Scheduled to open in July, the museum is dedicated to detailing the espionage and secret services that took place during the Cold War in Berlin. deutsches-spionagemuseum.de/en/
The Berlin Wall Trail Run. Individuals and relay teams will run 100 miles along the former inner city border in honor of the victims of the Berlin Wall. Aug. 16 to 17. 100meilen.de
A complete list of events can be found at visitBerlin.de.