ARE YOU EDGY? you must come here: BERLIN 🇩🇪

another day another mini travel guide! this time i'm bringing you to Berlin, Germany, an underground artist’s paradise! i popped by this city for 36 hours last week and i have to say this city has left quite an impression on me to say the least in the limited time i had there! SO if you’re a history buff, or someone who loves all kinds of art and the underground music scene (especially techno), then Berlin is the place for you!

i've experienced the feeling of getting lost and figuring out the way things work here so you don’t have to and here are just some tips and recommendations i have for you so you can have a better and easier time when travelling there!

🏙️ Figuring out the PUBLIC TRANSPORT

yes, i've heard about the S-Bahns and U-Bahns and everything else in-between and never quite took the effort to understand the differences but I was forced to when I arrived. so your S-Bahns are essentially overground trains that reach places further away than the U-Bahn, which is essentially like our MRT. then there are the trams, which run all around the city as well sharing the roads with other vehicles, and finally the buses which work just how you would imagine it to work. buying tickets are quite straightforward, you can get it from most stops and stations at the machines and they are relatively affordable (cheaper than other cities like Paris!) and the same ticket can be used across all the different modes of transport so that was really nice! if you’re travelling around for a short time like me, then you can simply get a 24hr ticket for only 9.5 and you just need to validate the ticket once at the station (for the trains) or in the trams/buses (just look for those small machines like the ones we use to tap our ez-link cards) and you’re good to go! like most European cities, there are no barriers to enter and random checks are instead conducted and in Berlin, i experienced it once when a few completely random people dressed in normal clothes suddenly came on and surprised everyone by pulling out their ticket device and asking for tickets to inspect. as you can imagine, plenty of people who were taking advantage of the system started shifting to other carriages or alighting immediately haha!

🏙️ Berlin’s AESTHETIC is not for everyone

it can feel very edgy and dull to some people, and that’s because of the brutalist-style architecture you will see almost everywhere. people dress up in ways that may seem extreme to many people in SG, and some areas can be a little sketchy. however, i think that this is what made me really like this city! i love how everyone could just express themselves and nobody judged or gave them second looks at all, and the vibe of the city just felt non-pretentious which can make a person feel at ease.

🏙️ A treasure chest of HISTORY

of course, you have the famous Berlin Wall and the numerous museums and artefacts (?) left from the world wards and the cold war, but as a result you also have many hole-in-the-wall places which carry antiques from that era and many vintage shops that a collector would love. i personally found myself hunting down a few of these spots and got myself a pair of enamel pins from the soviet era for 1 each! so if you’re into history like these, i think Berlin would be right up your alley!

🏙️ nightlife is BUZZING

just take a walk along the streets at night and you’ll find plenty of bars filled with locals and foreigners alike having a drink. different bars have different themes and they are all different, so don’t just stick to one if you have the time and energy, but instead do some bar hopping! and then there are the clubs, which are infamous. some are underground and for those that are more commercial, you’ll find long queues and a relatively strict door policy (i've heard so many stories of people not being able to get in after queueing up for literal HOURS) so one of the advices i get is to always know which DJ is playing (because they WILL ask you at the door and a wrong answer will deny you entry) at which club and dress to fit in with the rest as a general rule of thumb (unless you’re looking to get in to those special-themed clubs)!

🏙️ third-wave COFFEE SCENE

To be honest, I have no idea why is it called third-wave, if it means more coffee i'm all for it haha. as a coffee lover myself, i always find myself testing out flat whites (idk why but it has to be specifically a flat white) at multiple coffee shops in every city i go to to get a sense of the coffee culture there and Berlin was filled with coffee shops. every street has at least one and you are really spoilt for choice. some carry their own brand of beans but I noticed many of them carry from a select few brands of coffee roasters. there are hits and misses of course, and i have included some recommendations below if you’re looking for a nice cup of coffee while you’re there!

🍽️ FOOD RECCS:

1. Curry Mitte (nice curry wurst in a local takeaway shop)

2. Daluma (superfood, healthy options, vegan and vegetarian friendly)

3. Markthalle Neun (nice food market, something like Timbre+ in SG)

4. Dome Nino Fleischerei (unassuming butcher shop that sells local cuisine at cheap prices)

5. Ma-Makan (i didn’t try this, but walked past it and it sells SG and Malaysian food?? Someone pls try and let me know if it is good!)

☕️ CAFE RECCS:

1. Story Coffee Roasters (nice coffee and pastries)

2. Cerebra Coffee (work-friendly cafe with solid coffee)

🥂BAR RECCS:

1. Lois (nice cocktails, friendly staff in a relaxed atmosphere away from the busy street)

so there you have it, these are some tips and recommendations based on the (very short) time i spent there and while it is not exhaustive, i hope some of these will help you! if you have anything else to add or if i made a mistake anywhere, please do let me know below, i would love to hear them! that's all for now, and as always, stay safe and happy travelling y’all 🐢

#solotravel #travelguide #travelrecommendation #traveltips #travel #lemon8travel