Part 2: Dance in Berlin
Part 1: Eat in Barcelona here.
Oh Berlin, Berlin, Berlin — I didn’t expect to like you this much. After a wonderful week long reunion with my high school best friends in Hamburg 🇩🇪, I was back on the train for my next stop: Berlin. I sat next to a friendly Kenyan immigrant who told me how much he enjoyed living in Hamburg. I asked him "what brings you to Berlin?"
"I love going to Berlin on weekends to dance. This is my favorite way to release stress from work".
At that time, I had no plans to dance in Berlin. Similar to my Barcelona itinerary, I had a list of tourist attractions to visit in Berlin.
But that list never saw the light of day.
Unlike Barcelona where I spent the majority of my time alone, I made a local friend in Berlin, SH, through a college friend. SH and I had a similar upbringing — we both came to the United States at a young age without our family. She moved to New York while her family remained in Malaysia. I moved to Florida while my family remained in South Korea. We talked about our cultural shock when we first came to the US. For her, it was the metal detector placed in her high school. For me, it was being the only Asian kid in my high school. Our similar unique upbringing instantly made us feel closer to each other.
She and her partner invited me to Beatgarten Open Air music event at Teufelsberg, an artificial hill where the Nazi’s military tech college is located underneath. It was used as a listening station by the US and British during the Cold War. I walked through the woods for about half an hour to to get to Teufelsberg. I didn't expect such greenery so close to the bustling urban side of Berlin.
San Francisco has great parks, but this one in Berlin felt different. In cities like NYC or San Francisco, green space is allocated to designated areas, making it feel as if nature was part of the city. In Berlin, however, it felt as if the city was part of nature, built within the natural landscape itself.
It turns out this was a carefully planned structure via Jansen-Plan in 1910.
If Jansen-Plan brought nature an essential part of Berlin landscape, it was Scharoun-Plan that brought the natural characteristics to Berlin by reviving green space on top of the existing structures. Teufelsberg is a great example of this: It revived green space on top of Nazi’s military tech college.
Before heading to the music scene, we checked out the graffiti, which gave Teufelsberg its character and transformed the once forlorn site into a vibrant, dynamic landmark.
After catching the rave bug at Teufelsberg, I was determined to try a nightclub in Berlin. I am no stranger to the nightclub scene after having lived in Miami for almost 5 years in my early 20s, but I've been told Berlin nightclubs are different. Boots and wearing all-black outfits are common here, unlike Miami, where I often wore heels and dresses. (I've heard GenZ has made things more casual - great job).
Berghain is the most famous one, but getting in isn't guaranteed. A group of Palestinians I befriended at Teufelsberg recommended I try KitKat on a weeknight. It wouldn't be too crazy, but still had the right dose of Berlin-style quirkiness. I looked up the DJ lineup for each night at KitKat and chose Thursday, when techno DJ Ole Niedermauntel was playing.
I had packed zero club outfits, so I went shopping that Thursday morning. I purchased cheap black boots at Mauerpark Flea Market and picked up cute tops and shorts from CODE Berlin. I ended up wearing all of them again at Burning Man later that year (RIP black boots that got destroyed by dust).
KitKat was an experience. First, the music was good. Three DJs performed, and Ole Niedermauntel was my favorite. (His set is sadly no longer on SoundCloud.) Second, I loved the no-phone rule. I think every club should adopt this rule. Third, I am glad that I went on a weeknight.
By the time I left KitKat, the sun was already out. It was 5 a.m. On the train ride home, I was exhausted—but I couldn’t stop laughing.
“I can’t believe I went to KitKat.”
Making new friends in a new city
During our last lunch together at House of Small Wonder, SH told me that in Berlin, age matters less, and I found that refreshing. I spent my first 14 years in South Korea where ageism is deeply ingrained. Berlin is one of the few places in the world where older people can go out and do enjoy activities that, in some countries, are reserved only for people in their 20s. They're active in society and have vibrant social lives. I loved that mindset.
I don’t think I would've liked Berlin this much if it weren’t for local friends like SH. From dancing together at Teufelsberg to sharing meals at restaurants and her home, I loved seeing how much of a difference one person can make in helping you get to know a city.
It reminded me of 2023, when I had a trial stay in San Francisco. The unique blend of city and nature drew me in, but it was my colleagues, gym friends, Buildspace alums, and hackathon/meetup crew who made me fall in love with it. That’s why I officially moved to San Francisco in January, 2024 to start a new chapter.
I promised myself that once I returned, I’d host a brunch, dinner, or work session at my place, just like SH did. I’d mix different groups I think would get along and use my space to spark new friendships. I believe most people want this, but are simply waiting for someone to make the first move. I was like that too, waiting for someone to initiate. But now, I’m going to be the one who initiates.
