5 MIN READ
From not knowing any German to stumbling into a club on a Monday night to discovering the secrets of the U-Bahn, read about the vibrant, eclectic (and anything-goes) energy of Berlin with one of nKoto remote’s very own. Ja?
Hallo? Nein? Ja? These were pretty much the only three words I knew before coming to Berlin. While my level of German is still close to none, at least I can order auf Deustche and say genau (natürlich). I’ve lived in Berlin three months long enough to have understood more or less the coolest things to do and the culture of the very loved city of techno.
When I first arrived three months ago, Berlin was unlike any city I’d been to. Yeah, I know, every city is different—but Berlin has no real city centre, the streets are filled with graffiti, and it’s just huge. I had a few friends here and there, but for the first time, I was really alone in a foreign city without any knowledge of the language.
The first month here was weird. For one, I really did not know any German, and I couldn’t navigate my way around the U-Bahns and S-Bahns (which, what the difference is between the two I will never understand). Some people on the U8 scared me, and it just felt so, so foreign. It took me two months to even go to ku’damm and to even begin to understand that life doesn’t just happen during the day but spills into the night. You go to places you wouldn’t even think of going, and you’re at these places at times when most other cities are asleep. In Berlin, the city breathes life into you, and before you know it, you’re part of its wild, eclectic rhythm.
I like to say that in this city, you don’t find things to do, they find you. You’re drawn into unexpected situations that you’d never planned for. Take, for example, the time I ended up in a (swinger) club on a Monday night. Definitely wasn’t on my bucket list. But that’s Berlin for you—a place where people go to be themselves and to mess around. It’s a city that thrives on spontaneity and freedom, where the norm is to embrace the unexpected.
Berlin is all about being open to whatever comes your way, embracing the chaos, and finding your own place in it all. It’s a place where creativity knows no bounds and where you’re free to explore every facet of yourself. Whether you’re here for the techno, the culture, or just to live a little differently, Berlin has something for everyone.
So then, as my final parting words: Berlin is a lovely, chaotic, beautiful mess of a city that I’ve come to love. It’s not perfect, and it doesn’t try to be. But if you’re willing to dive in and let the city guide you, you’ll find that it’s exactly the kind of place where you can be yourself, and maybe discover parts of yourself you never knew existed. Berlin shows you who you can be.
Danke und ciao, Berlin.
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