Entering Berghain was a dream come true, it took me about two hours to realize that I made it past the entrance. The first thing that I wanted to do was to explore the premises. I always like to see everything that a club has to offer, it also helps finding your way when you're drunk. To make things easier to understand I'll talk about three floors, the ground floor, the first floor et the second floor. Berghain is located on the first floor and Panorama Bar on the second. I went right away upstairs to reach Berghain, it was really crowded. The music played didn't strike me as awesome at that point. I was looking for Panaroma Bar which I didn't know was upstairs again. I asked around and finnally got to it. Same as in Berghain it was very crowded. I didn't pay too much attention to the music played, I was still visiting the place. At the bar counter I saw two persons wearing white cloths just like the people I had met earlier at the station. I went closer and it was them indeed. They were really happy that I got in and they took my number and my friend's too. I decided to start drinking at that point. So I took a chair at the bar and ordered a vodka Redbull which is my drink. Two things about that drink are worth mentioning, the first one is the price, 6,50€ which is quite cheap for that mix in a club, not only that but in a world famous club like that it's even not expected at all. The second thing is the mix itself. It's real Redbull, which might seem logical but is not in clubs I've been in in France, with Absolut vodka, not the best vodka but not the cheapest as well. The best thing about it, is that the bartender pours the vodka in the glass without the use of a measuring cap and he doesn't seem to really count, he gives you a good vodka Redbull, you don't need to order a double like in England. So I got my glass and started to drink. My friend did the same. Knowing that the club is nowhere near closing time is really relieving. You don't have to get drunk right away and dance as much as you can before the time is over. No. You can take your time to enjoy your drinks, listen to the music get in the vibe. I pulled out my glow sticks and started to offer some to my friend and my new German friends. I also offered them earplugs but too proud they said they didn't need to. I didn't want to put my earplugs on right away, I wanted to enjoy the music as much as I could. The sound is way clearer and better without them, but given how loud the sound was it can easily damage your eardrums, but more on the sound later. I was really tired and not in the mood for dancing right away. I just sat there and watched people as I was struggling to stay awake. Suddenly, seing my glowstick, a girl approached me and ask me for one, she said that she would give me a kiss if I gave her one. I would have given her for nothing, but since she offered, why not? So she kissed me, on the chick, and her friend asked for one too, I gave her without asking for anything but the first girl told her that it was the rule, she had to kiss me order to get the glow stick. Well she did then. Everyone was happy. I just thought that it was going to be a hell of night. After a little while I went out of Panorama Par looking for the toilets, peed and sent a text to a friend in France telling him that I got in Berghain and that it was going to be a long night. At that point it's 4.30am. As I made my way back to Panorama Bar I met with two French guys, they were really excited about being there, we had a talk and they told me that when they queued, two gorgeaous Irish girls were standing right in front of them. They thought there was no way in hell that they wouldn't get in and being two guys dreaded to be turned away. But that's not what happened, what happenned is that both the Irish girls got turned away and the French got in. They told they had a really good night sleep and that they were here to stay a long time. They were looking for MDMA, which I didn't have and wasn't interested in finding. They told me that if then did find it they would give me some, I didn't want to ruin the "friendship" and said ok. I gave them a glow stick and left. I went back to Panoramar Bar meet with my new German friends and my other friend. When people talk about Panorama Bar they never tell you how busy it gets in the middle of night and how hot it is. There so many people that you can't move easily, besides, even though smoking is not allowed in public places in Germany like in all Europe, people do smoke in the dancefloor or anywhere else in the club. It's my understanding that it's the same in every nightclub in Berlin. When it's not too crowded it's not that bad, but when there that many people you can easily get burned buy a cigarette. Anyway, the heat was really unbearable, no ventilation whatsoever in that room and the music played wasn't that great. In Panorama Bar they usually play house music while downstairs in Berghain it's harder techno. In my opinion, Berghain's music is not that hard, I was really expecting something harder, especially given the fact that I'm used to listening to dutch hardcore music. But apparently it was hard enough that most people would not enjoy it so much and concentrate in Panorama Bar.
I was still very tired, and it was hard for me to dance. I went completely downstairs, ground floor, ordered myself another vodka Redbull with a bottle of water, I was really thirsty, the bender I had the day before completely dehydrated me, and vodka does not make things better. I lost the two German guys and met with my friend. The ground floor is composed with a bar opposite to two big oblong boxes that you can sit and on the left side, just opposite the stairwell a bunch of sofas. The room goes further in the dark, with very little light. I think it's done on purpose because in Berghain sexual intercourses are allowed and I've seen people getting really hands on in those sofas. At the end of the room, in the dark there's another flight of stairs that you really can't see if you don't go that far, upstairs does not lead anywhere really, just more sofas in a smaller area in a blind spot I'd say, no security was there. I suspect they do get a look at things sometime but no too often. A word on security, I had read a lot of comments about security being completely non existant in Berghain. I have to disagree, they don't wear cloths with "security" written all over it, but still they are everywhere. If you pay attention you see them. It's very tall and husky guys, wide awake, not dancing nor moving to the rythm, standing from a good angle of the room and watching everything. They are very discreet, but they are there. It's really great in my opinion. As I was saying, I met with my friend at ground floor and sat on the sofas. I didn't know how it happenned but I met two girls and a guy that I had already met with the last night when I was in Tresor. I remember telling them that I was going to go to Berghain the next day and that I was going to stay until my body collapses, they thought it was funny but didn't take me too seriously. I really thought they were German, but as turned out they were not. The guy was Scottish and the girls Swedish. They were really happy, or so it seems, to see me. I was really surprised that they made it past the door since they got in in a group of three which is not recommanded, but worked out fine for them. I talked for a little while with the guy, and my friend just fell asleep on the sofa. I was really disappointed, I don't think it was even 5am he had slept until 7pm and didn't drink much the day before, I just thought what a waste. I was so happy to be in Berghain that I think bored Scottish, telling him that I wouldn't trade me being there for anything else at this point in time. For instance I told him that if a very hot girl wanted me to do her and take her to my hotel room I'd told her to fuck off. And then I took the example of my friend telling him that most of people go to clubs to get laid, like him sleeping right in front of us, and said "but look at him, does it look like he's having fun? Hell no!" And of course, how could he have, coming to pick up women in Berghain might not be the best thing given the large amount of gay people. At some point the girls wanted to go dancing, I wanted to go with them but I had not finished my vodka and I never let a drink unattended in a nightclub, so I had to finish it, she told me to hurry which I did, she left anyway but the Scottish was still there, I told him to wait for me that I'd be a minute because I really needed to go the toilet. I've done my best to go as fast as possible, but he was already gone when I came back, I was a little bit disappointed by his behavior but didn't care too much.
I need to describe Berghain floor, very high ceiling (18 meters to be accurate), six Dance Stack of Funktion One, which is a lot for a night club that usually have no more than too, and that is if they even use Funktion One loud speaker at all. On the right side there's a big bar with a swing-like bench, there's also a flight of stairs that leads to higher level where they sell icecream. The bar compartement is really separated from the dancefloor with see-through pane.
You can still hear the music very loud. There's some light coming right from the bar, it's some kind of yellow light that makes you feel like its candle lited like you suppose it would be in ancient time. I really felt like I was in a temple. The temple of Techno. The ambiance is really great, time seemed as if it had stopped completely, no way of telling wether it's day or night, you're just in Berghain continuum.
In the main room gain, there's a big hole, sourrounded by fences for people not to fall, the hole is just the metal stairwell that leads to the ground floor. On the left side, there's another flight of stairs to Panorama and beneath that stair there's a darkroom. More on that later. Right before the stairs there are other rooms where you can find sofas and a smoking lounge.
For a while, I didn't really dance. I was on the first floor in Berghain leaning back against the balcony, head banging a little bit, as a support because I was so tired that I couldn't stand on both my feet for too long. I was going back and forth to the Bar next to it. I remember that at some point I ordered a vodka Redbull, I actually ordered quite a few of them, and a glass of water, I took a stool to seat on and another to put my glasses, I was just standing back agains't the dancefloor and right in front of the bar. As I was enjoying myself, getting in the mood for dancing, I sipped my drink. It was not cold, it was not hot, just perfect temperature, perfect air, good music and vibe. That really was perfect. And I remember watching the wall thinking it's not going to close anytime soon. I had asked the bartender when it was scheduled to close and he told me probably on monday morning. I was feeling better and less tired. I had lost my friend, and he suddenly reappeared not too happy. He was followed by a fat girl, who was really into him, but didn't know how to get rid of her. And he asked me to do it for him. This was not my problem and I didn't want any part of it. Eventually he got rid of her, I'm sure about the details. I lost my friend again and randomly ran into the two German guys I had met earlier on. We danced a little together, one gave me a beer, I didn't want to drink any beer, I had drank too much the day before and my stomach couldn't tolerate any more beer for that night, but out of courtesy I drank it anyway. We went into the crowd and danced a little bit. It was really crowded, but strangely enough there was enough space for everyone to dance without getting bumped into like in any other regular clubs. One gave me a chewing-gum and at some point they just left the dance floor, and stayed on the side for a while. I went up as to reach Panarama Bar but stayed on the balcony that was still inside Berghain main room, and I was hanging there for while. I was holding the banister and moving my feet to the sound, slowly getting to the mood. At some point I lost the German guys, which I nerver saw again from that point forward.
I don't recall exactly the time but I think around 6 am I hit the dancefloor in order to really dance. I went onto one of those oblong boxes, which seemed like subwoofer given how much more vibration you could feel, and started to dance slowly. There was a girl, I later learned that she was German and spoke no English whatsoever, dancing on that box, after a little while I tried to talk to her, get acquainted, but had weird reaction. I tried again a little bit later and she seemed pissed off. Well I didn't insist. I just thought fuck it, she must think I one of those people whose sole purpose is to get laid. So I went on dancing and completely ignored her. I had my earplugs in my ear, which were completely necessary. I think I put them on really early on, I'd say about an hour after I got in. My earplugs are very discreet, it's some kind of special disposable wax that you put in your ear duct and really protects you in a more efficient way than the ones in plastic. I was kind of drunk at that point, and I was really thirsty. I kept going to the bar getting a bottle of water, which weren't conveniant to dance with as they were long glass-bottle. And since I was drinking a lot as peeing a lot too. So I went a lot to the downstairs toilets.
I was dancing harder and harder to the point that my tiredness got away. It was really great but, too many people were coming up and down those boxes, it was annoying. At around 7am, something really interesting happened, I don't know who was djing, but he increased the volume drastically, it could almost hurt my ear even with my earplugs. And all the poeple that weren't prepared for such a nightclub, i.e. unwanted tourists started to flee like ants. So many people left to the point where the dance floor was almost empty. And I was completely drunk of music, didn't pay too much attention about, all I saw was that I had at last enough room to enjoy myself, and I danced and danced. The German girl I mentioned was still there dancing, sometime she would go and come back using me to help her up the box. I kept on dancing there for another two hours. At around 8am other people all rest up came into the club, and started to dance. It was not crowded though, everyone has enough space for himself and the dancefloor was half full. At around 8.30am maybe 9am, the Berghain's demon got into me, I went upstairs into Panorama Bar. The ambiance was completely different, first thing that stroke me was the brightness, it was the day there. In Berghain, day or night it's always dark, but Panorama Bar has lots of windows with blinders shut but still the daylight go through. The sound was way better then before in the night, and the there were fewer people, though still a lot. I danced a little bit there and went up a flight of stairs to reach some kind of balcony where you could see the Panorama Bar's dancefloor from above. There were sofas where everyone was resting, I, on the other hand, was full of energy and drunk with Berghain's demon. I danced there like a mad man, I was realy into it. I remember seing very tired people looking at me with an expression telling that they were kind of impressed that I was still very energetic, given the time, but maybe it was all in my head. I stayed there a while and then back again in Berghain. I spent most of my time down in Berghain, but sometimes I'd go up to Panorama Bar. I'm not sure when, but at some point I went to the ground floor, and sat on one the two oblong boxes. The German I talked about came out of nowhere and sat on the other box. Around 10/15 meters were separating us. When she saw me, she came and sat right next to me, didn't say a word, finished her cigarette and left. I went upstairs to the bar, sat on the swing, head banging, and he was there, I talked to her but in vain. I actually took a break because I danced too much that my ankle was really hurting me, my feet as well. I was trying to tell her that I loved dancing and that I couldn't dance just right away because of the pain, but miserably failed. She didn't spoke a work of English, and that was really a shame because in Berlin everyone seemed to speak English except for her. She was pretty, obviously loved dancing and her behaviour towards me led me to think that she was attracted to me. I tried in German, but it had been too long since I had learn German, I ended up giving up. After that, she seemed tired, she went to the room full of sofas next to the smoking lounge and I never saw her again.
At around 10/10.30am as I was going to the downstairs toilets on the ground floor I met with a girl there. There's something peculiar about these toilets. Men's toilets are not separated from women's and there are big basin where men piss and a little further closed toilets, which women always queue to go to and can easily watch you pee. It's really not that great. But anyway, as I was washing my hands, a girl came to me, and ask me how she looked. The fact that there's no mirror throughout the whole club is disturbing and after a while annoying, but it's part of the game. Obviously she had been there all night, just like me. Her mascara was running off her eyes like he had cried. She looked very tired. I told her that she looked alright except for the mascara. She asked me to take it off. It was a little uncomfortable cause it was so close to her eye that I didn't want to hurt her. I took some water with my finger and tried my best to get it out, but it wouldn't come. Finally she said, I have mirror in my purse, I'm a girl after all. She looked at herself. I asked her to lend it to me. She told me that I looked very nice and that I shouldn't worry. I looked at myself, and indeed I wasn't looking bad at all, I was expecting really something else. And I thought, great! Then I notice that in the toilet a door leading outside had opened. I went outside and discovered something I never read about anywhere. Berghain's terasse and third dancefloor. There was a bar, lots of chaise longues. In a garage-like room was a mainfloor with no one inside, just a DJ and a music played not very loud. There was a sofa right next to it which I sat in. Around me were big boxes with room to get inside. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently you can get food from that bar, I only read about it afterwards. I didn't stay too long, but it was nice to get some fresh air.
I went back to Berghain and danced again. I had made a necklace with three glowsticks, and I had at least four glowsticks on earch wrist. My friend who I lost a lot of times, told me that I was really easy to find since I was the only one who glowed. People came to me asking for them. I usually gave them. A girl came asking me too and I had a little talk with her; She told me that she had woken up at 8am that morning and came to dance all day. I thought that it was really great. Great mentality. She was not drunk or fucked up, completely sober and well rested. I myself was sober as well, with all that water that I had drank, and I was getting a little bit hungover. But everything was alright. My friend would come sometimes and go. I noticed he slept again against the fence of the little balcony. I was taking breaks and back to the dancefloor. My ankle was really hurting and I met a very nice gain who actually gave me a massage. He told me that he had been partying for the third day in a row and that his feet were burning him. He was really nice. But I was a little bit scared he was gay, though he might not have been, he didn't look like one. But in any case I didn't went him to read anything into my behavior towards him. So at some point I took my distance from him. In Berghain's mainfloor there were quite a few gay people half naked dancing as if there were in the gay pride. There was even a tranny. I didn't mind too much the gay people, those I expected, besides they weren't aggressive, no one approached me or anything, but the tranny I minded a little bit. But around 11am I think, they started to put us in a fog that you couldn't see who was in front of you.
The sound system in Berghain is very powerful, I'd say it is way more stronger than it's brother Panorama Bar, and it's definitely the best sound system I've ever heard in my entire life. The sound was really clear, really pure, no scrambling or anything, the bass was really beating hard as well. There two other clubs I know that have a very good sounds system, London super clubs Fabric and Ministry of Sound. I'd say that the sound in Fabric is very good, the body sonic gives you a great feeling with 400 bass attached to sections of the floor, but the sound doesn't sound as pure. In Ministry of Sound, I have nothing to say about their sound system, there is a room where there's a notice saying "cautious excessive sound levels", and they are not lying about it, you can't stay for too long without earplugs. But the sound played wasn't really good. I mean it's very mainstream, sound you would here on a techno radio, nothing that is really worth the detour. I was not able to correctly assess their sub system.
But Berghain Dance Stack from Funktion one were amazing. Sometime I would approach the speakers put my back on them and get a dose of bass. It's an sensational feeling, your whole body shivers to the sound being played. The music played in Berghain has no vocal whatsoever. Just music and beats, lots of beats. The pace wasn't really fast, but fast enough to dance without getting bored. Never in a nightclub have I heard such a good music for so long. The only match to Berghain's music, in my opinion, was the old Fabric room 2. I'm not sure it has stayed the same now.
The demon had worn off a little bit, though I was still every enthusiastic and still dancing keeping up. When the damon was at its peak, I had this crazy idea of wanting to stay until the end, ie Monday morning 9am since that's what the bartender had told me Berghain would close the second time I asked him. At 12am I was still motivated to do it. My friend would sometimes came to me and show me the time, I don't think he was expecting that I would want to stay that late. And I felt like he wanted me to decide to go. I think he was incredibly bored. He's not that much into electronic music, and at this point there were no girls alone left. Lots of gay dude and couples. I was basically alone in the nightclub because my friend would never really be here, and when he was he didn't dance, he was just standing there half-asleep. I wandered what was the point of staying if you're not having fun. But I think pride had a lot to do with it. He didn't want to leave first. He wanted to make it as long as I am. But what he didn't understand, and that's what I regret about this trip, is that he didn't get it, he didn't get the vibe. I was really hoping that seeing me dancing never giving up, staying so late, seeing all these people dancing around, the good music, the good ambiance, the fact that it does close, would give him something to thing about, just like it did for me a years earlier in Fabric during an on & on night that lasted until 3.45pm. I think he was getting depressed the more time went on, because I was still there, drinking water, dancing the same pace, at the same place glowing. He came back again at 1.30pm I think. At about 2pm I got really tired. Also being alone, having no one to dance with doesn't help. I was watching other people dance, and I notice a few couples, it was great seeing them dancing, they seemed really on the same page and in harmony with each other. I wish I could have met someone there to dance with too, but unfortunately after 9am I feel like the regular social club is closed and only people who know each other stay together. I wasn't drunk at all, so it doesn't make it easier to strike up conversations with people. Anyway, as I was mentioning 2pm stroke, and I started to doubt my ability to stay until Monday morning. From 2am to 3am it seemed like it lasted a few hours, and I was doing the maths in my head, there was still 19 hours to go to reach 9am Monday. I had been there for 12 hours already, so I wasn't even at the half of it. So I just thought I try 8pm instead. As long as the music was good and I was still having fun I was there. But to my great disappointment, Berghain closed at exactly 3pm. I was really in shock and disappointed. The light went on and people applauded the DJ. Everyone headed to Panorama Bar then.
I understand later that Berghain doesn't always run for days on end. Only Panorama Bar has set scheduled from Saturday night 11.59pm until the last set that starts at the same time 24 hours later. So it leaves a good 26/27 hours of music for sure. And it can last longer into the Monday morning.
So like everyone else I went up to Panorama Bar. It got crowded again, since there was all the crow from Berghain too. It was really hot there again with all those people, still no ventilation. I had a hungover and it was hard to bear. I was still getting bottle of waters from the bar. I was really tired at that point, I found my friend and went with him seat on a sofa a little bit further. There was a painting on the wall with men's ass and you could see his ball. I think there was a vagina before because that's what I read on the Internet, but they must have changed it. The vagina painting would have been more pleasant than this men's ass.
From where I was sitting I was able to see all the people dancing, I noticed even more that they were a hell of a lot gay people. People say that Berghain is gay and Panorama Bar hetero, but I would say that Panorama Bar is super gay and Berghain not that much. Some gay would make out, I saw an other one guiding his friend holding his dick through his underpants. It wasn't too great of a spectacle but somewhat not shocking, I just thought it was part of the landscape of that nightclub besides I was too tired that it couldn't have triggered any emotion.
I sat in the sofa for an hour, resting, my friend was sleeping, I didn't, my eyes were wide open, I just didn't have the strenght in my body to continue dancing. At one point my eyes started to close and I was trying not to let them but I couldn't, my vision got blurry and distorted, it closed for a second. I immediately opened them back on, I stood up and went again dancing in the dance floor. The heat really bothered me, and the sound was not too great. Sometimes they would open she blinders to let some light get in to the room and give people some energy. The bass was missing in my taste. They would play something, reduce the bass until there were only the melody and after a little while put the bass again. They kept on doing that crap which I thought was shitty. I checked up on my friend, he had enough. Seeing that I was not giving up killed it and he told me that he was leaving, it was 4.30pm, I told to wait a little longer that I wouldn't stay too long because it was getting crappy. People say that Panorama Bar's Sundays afternoon sets are the best. I strongly disagree. I might not have been there the right day I guess, but I liked better the morning set. From 9am to 1pm, the times that I was there I found it way better, better sound more bass, better ambiance and most of all less people and heat. I had told my friend that I'd leave at 5pm but it was really hard, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I mean my only reason to go to Berlin was that place, leaving it means the end of my trip. Also I was not sure when I would come back again and whether I would be let in again. I felt like the sound was getting better and even though I was really tired, I had got back in shape a little bit and felt like I could have kept going a couple of hours more. But the heat was really too much for me and my hungover, so that fact made me leave after I was still dancing as I was using a flight of stairs I had not seem that joined Panorama Bar directly to the main entrance.
I went to the cloakroom get my sweater, I didn't mention that actually, but at some point in the night I was getting too hot and I let my sweater at the cloakroom and instead of giving me a ticket like in most clubs, they gave me necklace with a medal attached to it with a number on it, so you don't lose it even if you're completely wasted. I got my sweater back, asked when Panaroma Bar would close, the guy told me he didn't know, just some time Monday morning. I noticed there were selling T-shirt, I wanted one, but there were all sold out. So I didn't get one. I made my way to the entrance, and told the bouncers "Auf wiedersehen!" which is "good bye" in German. I took off my earplugs, and I felt completely disoriented. It was cold outside. My body was hurting everywhere, my head was spinning and I was really tired.
It got us two hour to get back to the hotel because my friend who had slept all day was full of energy wanted to eat and he was mocking me because I could barely walk and desperately wanted to sleep.
I got to bed at 7pm and slept until 5.30 pm. When I woke I wanted to go to a club again and I tried the Kater Holzig again. The same women was guarding the door and she told me in German, something like, do you have a stamp to which I said no and told me to get out in such a rude manor. So since I had not eaten for the last past 36hours or so, I just thought I'd get something to eat. That's about it for my Berghain's night.
Something I'd like to add though is a comment on the darkrooms. The darkrooms are fucked, apparently there are two of them, I only found one. I asked some guy and he told me where they were. As I said earlier, just beneath the stairwell going to Panorama Bar. I knew more or less what to expect before getting in. Though on the Internet, there's not much about it. I guess maybe they respect the privacy of people inside. Basically a darkroom is a small room with no light whatsoever and sofas all around it. I had taken a pen with a LED light in it, in order to explorer the place. What I had read was that people just have sex in there. But really I didn't expect to see what I saw inside. I won't talk about it, I feel like some things must stay there. I really enjoyed that club and I feel like by going with my light in that room I crossed some kind of line. People inside were definitely not happy to see me there. So that's why I won't talk about it.
One last word I need to say about the club. Before getting in, I really wanted to compare Berghain to London superclub Fabric. Fabric was, in its days, the best club in the world and it really deserved it in my opinion. Fabric had raised the bar very high for me, and I was expecting a lot from Berghain. Lots people say that, in Berghain, the crowd is great and that they somewhat feel at home. That was a feeling I had in Fabric and I can't say that it was the same for me in Berghain. While the ravers are certainly nice I don't find them as friendly as in Fabric. In Fabric there's a unique feeling, for me, that really makes you feel home. Berghain in that sense was completely different. You definitely know you're not home, especially with all those out-of-the-ordinary people. It's an old powerplant that you're partying in and you know that. Lots of things have stayed the way you'd think they were in the 50s and it gives a rough side to it. Also the staff is definitely nicer in Fabric. Fabric is way cleaner too, especially since they keep cleaning up the club as it gets dirty, so it's always clean. It has its drawback though, because there's always a guy pushing you to take away glasses on the floor. Another thing, in Fabric for long nights there are medics that make sure you're not dying or anything. That has its downside too, because they make sure you're not sleeping and if you do after a few warning they make you leave. In Berghain if you're tired you can sleep somewhere and go back dancing later when you're better. Something that struck me in Berghain, and it's the same in Panorama Bar, the lighting. I was used to all the laser they had in Fabric and it gave a really great ambiance. In Berghain the lighting is very rudimentary with regular strobe lights but not laser.
One last thing I want to add about the comparison, Berghain's door policy is very strict compared to the non-existent one in Fabric, I guess it has its pros and cons. I've always thought that the kind of music played in these kinds of clubs is enough to select people by itself. In Fabric the crowd has always been amazing and everyone was welcome to come in, or so I felt like. But Berghain draw so many people that they have to select who can get in and who can't. Be I don't think it's main reason, if that is one at all. I've talked to some Bulgarians who had an interesting theory which make totally sense to me. They only want to chose people that they deem fit to party well without any trouble. It's all about cool people there to party only not make any trouble or show off their money. Which would explain why there's no VIP area too, everyone is at the same level there. Also by doing that they keep their club from being to overrated.
In the end I stayed around 15 hours in the club, out of those I think I danced for at least 10 hours. I really loved it, and I want to say that it's really better than in Fabric and I would recommend anyone who likes electronic music to see for themselves if they manage to get in. I'm definitely coming back whenever I can.
That's all.
https://www.rave-trotter.com
I was still very tired, and it was hard for me to dance. I went completely downstairs, ground floor, ordered myself another vodka Redbull with a bottle of water, I was really thirsty, the bender I had the day before completely dehydrated me, and vodka does not make things better. I lost the two German guys and met with my friend. The ground floor is composed with a bar opposite to two big oblong boxes that you can sit and on the left side, just opposite the stairwell a bunch of sofas. The room goes further in the dark, with very little light. I think it's done on purpose because in Berghain sexual intercourses are allowed and I've seen people getting really hands on in those sofas. At the end of the room, in the dark there's another flight of stairs that you really can't see if you don't go that far, upstairs does not lead anywhere really, just more sofas in a smaller area in a blind spot I'd say, no security was there. I suspect they do get a look at things sometime but no too often. A word on security, I had read a lot of comments about security being completely non existant in Berghain. I have to disagree, they don't wear cloths with "security" written all over it, but still they are everywhere. If you pay attention you see them. It's very tall and husky guys, wide awake, not dancing nor moving to the rythm, standing from a good angle of the room and watching everything. They are very discreet, but they are there. It's really great in my opinion. As I was saying, I met with my friend at ground floor and sat on the sofas. I didn't know how it happenned but I met two girls and a guy that I had already met with the last night when I was in Tresor. I remember telling them that I was going to go to Berghain the next day and that I was going to stay until my body collapses, they thought it was funny but didn't take me too seriously. I really thought they were German, but as turned out they were not. The guy was Scottish and the girls Swedish. They were really happy, or so it seems, to see me. I was really surprised that they made it past the door since they got in in a group of three which is not recommanded, but worked out fine for them. I talked for a little while with the guy, and my friend just fell asleep on the sofa. I was really disappointed, I don't think it was even 5am he had slept until 7pm and didn't drink much the day before, I just thought what a waste. I was so happy to be in Berghain that I think bored Scottish, telling him that I wouldn't trade me being there for anything else at this point in time. For instance I told him that if a very hot girl wanted me to do her and take her to my hotel room I'd told her to fuck off. And then I took the example of my friend telling him that most of people go to clubs to get laid, like him sleeping right in front of us, and said "but look at him, does it look like he's having fun? Hell no!" And of course, how could he have, coming to pick up women in Berghain might not be the best thing given the large amount of gay people. At some point the girls wanted to go dancing, I wanted to go with them but I had not finished my vodka and I never let a drink unattended in a nightclub, so I had to finish it, she told me to hurry which I did, she left anyway but the Scottish was still there, I told him to wait for me that I'd be a minute because I really needed to go the toilet. I've done my best to go as fast as possible, but he was already gone when I came back, I was a little bit disappointed by his behavior but didn't care too much.
I need to describe Berghain floor, very high ceiling (18 meters to be accurate), six Dance Stack of Funktion One, which is a lot for a night club that usually have no more than too, and that is if they even use Funktion One loud speaker at all. On the right side there's a big bar with a swing-like bench, there's also a flight of stairs that leads to higher level where they sell icecream. The bar compartement is really separated from the dancefloor with see-through pane.
You can still hear the music very loud. There's some light coming right from the bar, it's some kind of yellow light that makes you feel like its candle lited like you suppose it would be in ancient time. I really felt like I was in a temple. The temple of Techno. The ambiance is really great, time seemed as if it had stopped completely, no way of telling wether it's day or night, you're just in Berghain continuum.
In the main room gain, there's a big hole, sourrounded by fences for people not to fall, the hole is just the metal stairwell that leads to the ground floor. On the left side, there's another flight of stairs to Panorama and beneath that stair there's a darkroom. More on that later. Right before the stairs there are other rooms where you can find sofas and a smoking lounge.
For a while, I didn't really dance. I was on the first floor in Berghain leaning back against the balcony, head banging a little bit, as a support because I was so tired that I couldn't stand on both my feet for too long. I was going back and forth to the Bar next to it. I remember that at some point I ordered a vodka Redbull, I actually ordered quite a few of them, and a glass of water, I took a stool to seat on and another to put my glasses, I was just standing back agains't the dancefloor and right in front of the bar. As I was enjoying myself, getting in the mood for dancing, I sipped my drink. It was not cold, it was not hot, just perfect temperature, perfect air, good music and vibe. That really was perfect. And I remember watching the wall thinking it's not going to close anytime soon. I had asked the bartender when it was scheduled to close and he told me probably on monday morning. I was feeling better and less tired. I had lost my friend, and he suddenly reappeared not too happy. He was followed by a fat girl, who was really into him, but didn't know how to get rid of her. And he asked me to do it for him. This was not my problem and I didn't want any part of it. Eventually he got rid of her, I'm sure about the details. I lost my friend again and randomly ran into the two German guys I had met earlier on. We danced a little together, one gave me a beer, I didn't want to drink any beer, I had drank too much the day before and my stomach couldn't tolerate any more beer for that night, but out of courtesy I drank it anyway. We went into the crowd and danced a little bit. It was really crowded, but strangely enough there was enough space for everyone to dance without getting bumped into like in any other regular clubs. One gave me a chewing-gum and at some point they just left the dance floor, and stayed on the side for a while. I went up as to reach Panarama Bar but stayed on the balcony that was still inside Berghain main room, and I was hanging there for while. I was holding the banister and moving my feet to the sound, slowly getting to the mood. At some point I lost the German guys, which I nerver saw again from that point forward.
I don't recall exactly the time but I think around 6 am I hit the dancefloor in order to really dance. I went onto one of those oblong boxes, which seemed like subwoofer given how much more vibration you could feel, and started to dance slowly. There was a girl, I later learned that she was German and spoke no English whatsoever, dancing on that box, after a little while I tried to talk to her, get acquainted, but had weird reaction. I tried again a little bit later and she seemed pissed off. Well I didn't insist. I just thought fuck it, she must think I one of those people whose sole purpose is to get laid. So I went on dancing and completely ignored her. I had my earplugs in my ear, which were completely necessary. I think I put them on really early on, I'd say about an hour after I got in. My earplugs are very discreet, it's some kind of special disposable wax that you put in your ear duct and really protects you in a more efficient way than the ones in plastic. I was kind of drunk at that point, and I was really thirsty. I kept going to the bar getting a bottle of water, which weren't conveniant to dance with as they were long glass-bottle. And since I was drinking a lot as peeing a lot too. So I went a lot to the downstairs toilets.
I was dancing harder and harder to the point that my tiredness got away. It was really great but, too many people were coming up and down those boxes, it was annoying. At around 7am, something really interesting happened, I don't know who was djing, but he increased the volume drastically, it could almost hurt my ear even with my earplugs. And all the poeple that weren't prepared for such a nightclub, i.e. unwanted tourists started to flee like ants. So many people left to the point where the dance floor was almost empty. And I was completely drunk of music, didn't pay too much attention about, all I saw was that I had at last enough room to enjoy myself, and I danced and danced. The German girl I mentioned was still there dancing, sometime she would go and come back using me to help her up the box. I kept on dancing there for another two hours. At around 8am other people all rest up came into the club, and started to dance. It was not crowded though, everyone has enough space for himself and the dancefloor was half full. At around 8.30am maybe 9am, the Berghain's demon got into me, I went upstairs into Panorama Bar. The ambiance was completely different, first thing that stroke me was the brightness, it was the day there. In Berghain, day or night it's always dark, but Panorama Bar has lots of windows with blinders shut but still the daylight go through. The sound was way better then before in the night, and the there were fewer people, though still a lot. I danced a little bit there and went up a flight of stairs to reach some kind of balcony where you could see the Panorama Bar's dancefloor from above. There were sofas where everyone was resting, I, on the other hand, was full of energy and drunk with Berghain's demon. I danced there like a mad man, I was realy into it. I remember seing very tired people looking at me with an expression telling that they were kind of impressed that I was still very energetic, given the time, but maybe it was all in my head. I stayed there a while and then back again in Berghain. I spent most of my time down in Berghain, but sometimes I'd go up to Panorama Bar. I'm not sure when, but at some point I went to the ground floor, and sat on one the two oblong boxes. The German I talked about came out of nowhere and sat on the other box. Around 10/15 meters were separating us. When she saw me, she came and sat right next to me, didn't say a word, finished her cigarette and left. I went upstairs to the bar, sat on the swing, head banging, and he was there, I talked to her but in vain. I actually took a break because I danced too much that my ankle was really hurting me, my feet as well. I was trying to tell her that I loved dancing and that I couldn't dance just right away because of the pain, but miserably failed. She didn't spoke a work of English, and that was really a shame because in Berlin everyone seemed to speak English except for her. She was pretty, obviously loved dancing and her behaviour towards me led me to think that she was attracted to me. I tried in German, but it had been too long since I had learn German, I ended up giving up. After that, she seemed tired, she went to the room full of sofas next to the smoking lounge and I never saw her again.
At around 10/10.30am as I was going to the downstairs toilets on the ground floor I met with a girl there. There's something peculiar about these toilets. Men's toilets are not separated from women's and there are big basin where men piss and a little further closed toilets, which women always queue to go to and can easily watch you pee. It's really not that great. But anyway, as I was washing my hands, a girl came to me, and ask me how she looked. The fact that there's no mirror throughout the whole club is disturbing and after a while annoying, but it's part of the game. Obviously she had been there all night, just like me. Her mascara was running off her eyes like he had cried. She looked very tired. I told her that she looked alright except for the mascara. She asked me to take it off. It was a little uncomfortable cause it was so close to her eye that I didn't want to hurt her. I took some water with my finger and tried my best to get it out, but it wouldn't come. Finally she said, I have mirror in my purse, I'm a girl after all. She looked at herself. I asked her to lend it to me. She told me that I looked very nice and that I shouldn't worry. I looked at myself, and indeed I wasn't looking bad at all, I was expecting really something else. And I thought, great! Then I notice that in the toilet a door leading outside had opened. I went outside and discovered something I never read about anywhere. Berghain's terasse and third dancefloor. There was a bar, lots of chaise longues. In a garage-like room was a mainfloor with no one inside, just a DJ and a music played not very loud. There was a sofa right next to it which I sat in. Around me were big boxes with room to get inside. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently you can get food from that bar, I only read about it afterwards. I didn't stay too long, but it was nice to get some fresh air.
I went back to Berghain and danced again. I had made a necklace with three glowsticks, and I had at least four glowsticks on earch wrist. My friend who I lost a lot of times, told me that I was really easy to find since I was the only one who glowed. People came to me asking for them. I usually gave them. A girl came asking me too and I had a little talk with her; She told me that she had woken up at 8am that morning and came to dance all day. I thought that it was really great. Great mentality. She was not drunk or fucked up, completely sober and well rested. I myself was sober as well, with all that water that I had drank, and I was getting a little bit hungover. But everything was alright. My friend would come sometimes and go. I noticed he slept again against the fence of the little balcony. I was taking breaks and back to the dancefloor. My ankle was really hurting and I met a very nice gain who actually gave me a massage. He told me that he had been partying for the third day in a row and that his feet were burning him. He was really nice. But I was a little bit scared he was gay, though he might not have been, he didn't look like one. But in any case I didn't went him to read anything into my behavior towards him. So at some point I took my distance from him. In Berghain's mainfloor there were quite a few gay people half naked dancing as if there were in the gay pride. There was even a tranny. I didn't mind too much the gay people, those I expected, besides they weren't aggressive, no one approached me or anything, but the tranny I minded a little bit. But around 11am I think, they started to put us in a fog that you couldn't see who was in front of you.
The sound system in Berghain is very powerful, I'd say it is way more stronger than it's brother Panorama Bar, and it's definitely the best sound system I've ever heard in my entire life. The sound was really clear, really pure, no scrambling or anything, the bass was really beating hard as well. There two other clubs I know that have a very good sounds system, London super clubs Fabric and Ministry of Sound. I'd say that the sound in Fabric is very good, the body sonic gives you a great feeling with 400 bass attached to sections of the floor, but the sound doesn't sound as pure. In Ministry of Sound, I have nothing to say about their sound system, there is a room where there's a notice saying "cautious excessive sound levels", and they are not lying about it, you can't stay for too long without earplugs. But the sound played wasn't really good. I mean it's very mainstream, sound you would here on a techno radio, nothing that is really worth the detour. I was not able to correctly assess their sub system.But Berghain Dance Stack from Funktion one were amazing. Sometime I would approach the speakers put my back on them and get a dose of bass. It's an sensational feeling, your whole body shivers to the sound being played. The music played in Berghain has no vocal whatsoever. Just music and beats, lots of beats. The pace wasn't really fast, but fast enough to dance without getting bored. Never in a nightclub have I heard such a good music for so long. The only match to Berghain's music, in my opinion, was the old Fabric room 2. I'm not sure it has stayed the same now.
The demon had worn off a little bit, though I was still every enthusiastic and still dancing keeping up. When the damon was at its peak, I had this crazy idea of wanting to stay until the end, ie Monday morning 9am since that's what the bartender had told me Berghain would close the second time I asked him. At 12am I was still motivated to do it. My friend would sometimes came to me and show me the time, I don't think he was expecting that I would want to stay that late. And I felt like he wanted me to decide to go. I think he was incredibly bored. He's not that much into electronic music, and at this point there were no girls alone left. Lots of gay dude and couples. I was basically alone in the nightclub because my friend would never really be here, and when he was he didn't dance, he was just standing there half-asleep. I wandered what was the point of staying if you're not having fun. But I think pride had a lot to do with it. He didn't want to leave first. He wanted to make it as long as I am. But what he didn't understand, and that's what I regret about this trip, is that he didn't get it, he didn't get the vibe. I was really hoping that seeing me dancing never giving up, staying so late, seeing all these people dancing around, the good music, the good ambiance, the fact that it does close, would give him something to thing about, just like it did for me a years earlier in Fabric during an on & on night that lasted until 3.45pm. I think he was getting depressed the more time went on, because I was still there, drinking water, dancing the same pace, at the same place glowing. He came back again at 1.30pm I think. At about 2pm I got really tired. Also being alone, having no one to dance with doesn't help. I was watching other people dance, and I notice a few couples, it was great seeing them dancing, they seemed really on the same page and in harmony with each other. I wish I could have met someone there to dance with too, but unfortunately after 9am I feel like the regular social club is closed and only people who know each other stay together. I wasn't drunk at all, so it doesn't make it easier to strike up conversations with people. Anyway, as I was mentioning 2pm stroke, and I started to doubt my ability to stay until Monday morning. From 2am to 3am it seemed like it lasted a few hours, and I was doing the maths in my head, there was still 19 hours to go to reach 9am Monday. I had been there for 12 hours already, so I wasn't even at the half of it. So I just thought I try 8pm instead. As long as the music was good and I was still having fun I was there. But to my great disappointment, Berghain closed at exactly 3pm. I was really in shock and disappointed. The light went on and people applauded the DJ. Everyone headed to Panorama Bar then.
I understand later that Berghain doesn't always run for days on end. Only Panorama Bar has set scheduled from Saturday night 11.59pm until the last set that starts at the same time 24 hours later. So it leaves a good 26/27 hours of music for sure. And it can last longer into the Monday morning.
So like everyone else I went up to Panorama Bar. It got crowded again, since there was all the crow from Berghain too. It was really hot there again with all those people, still no ventilation. I had a hungover and it was hard to bear. I was still getting bottle of waters from the bar. I was really tired at that point, I found my friend and went with him seat on a sofa a little bit further. There was a painting on the wall with men's ass and you could see his ball. I think there was a vagina before because that's what I read on the Internet, but they must have changed it. The vagina painting would have been more pleasant than this men's ass.
From where I was sitting I was able to see all the people dancing, I noticed even more that they were a hell of a lot gay people. People say that Berghain is gay and Panorama Bar hetero, but I would say that Panorama Bar is super gay and Berghain not that much. Some gay would make out, I saw an other one guiding his friend holding his dick through his underpants. It wasn't too great of a spectacle but somewhat not shocking, I just thought it was part of the landscape of that nightclub besides I was too tired that it couldn't have triggered any emotion.
I sat in the sofa for an hour, resting, my friend was sleeping, I didn't, my eyes were wide open, I just didn't have the strenght in my body to continue dancing. At one point my eyes started to close and I was trying not to let them but I couldn't, my vision got blurry and distorted, it closed for a second. I immediately opened them back on, I stood up and went again dancing in the dance floor. The heat really bothered me, and the sound was not too great. Sometimes they would open she blinders to let some light get in to the room and give people some energy. The bass was missing in my taste. They would play something, reduce the bass until there were only the melody and after a little while put the bass again. They kept on doing that crap which I thought was shitty. I checked up on my friend, he had enough. Seeing that I was not giving up killed it and he told me that he was leaving, it was 4.30pm, I told to wait a little longer that I wouldn't stay too long because it was getting crappy. People say that Panorama Bar's Sundays afternoon sets are the best. I strongly disagree. I might not have been there the right day I guess, but I liked better the morning set. From 9am to 1pm, the times that I was there I found it way better, better sound more bass, better ambiance and most of all less people and heat. I had told my friend that I'd leave at 5pm but it was really hard, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I mean my only reason to go to Berlin was that place, leaving it means the end of my trip. Also I was not sure when I would come back again and whether I would be let in again. I felt like the sound was getting better and even though I was really tired, I had got back in shape a little bit and felt like I could have kept going a couple of hours more. But the heat was really too much for me and my hungover, so that fact made me leave after I was still dancing as I was using a flight of stairs I had not seem that joined Panorama Bar directly to the main entrance.
I went to the cloakroom get my sweater, I didn't mention that actually, but at some point in the night I was getting too hot and I let my sweater at the cloakroom and instead of giving me a ticket like in most clubs, they gave me necklace with a medal attached to it with a number on it, so you don't lose it even if you're completely wasted. I got my sweater back, asked when Panaroma Bar would close, the guy told me he didn't know, just some time Monday morning. I noticed there were selling T-shirt, I wanted one, but there were all sold out. So I didn't get one. I made my way to the entrance, and told the bouncers "Auf wiedersehen!" which is "good bye" in German. I took off my earplugs, and I felt completely disoriented. It was cold outside. My body was hurting everywhere, my head was spinning and I was really tired.
It got us two hour to get back to the hotel because my friend who had slept all day was full of energy wanted to eat and he was mocking me because I could barely walk and desperately wanted to sleep.
I got to bed at 7pm and slept until 5.30 pm. When I woke I wanted to go to a club again and I tried the Kater Holzig again. The same women was guarding the door and she told me in German, something like, do you have a stamp to which I said no and told me to get out in such a rude manor. So since I had not eaten for the last past 36hours or so, I just thought I'd get something to eat. That's about it for my Berghain's night.
Something I'd like to add though is a comment on the darkrooms. The darkrooms are fucked, apparently there are two of them, I only found one. I asked some guy and he told me where they were. As I said earlier, just beneath the stairwell going to Panorama Bar. I knew more or less what to expect before getting in. Though on the Internet, there's not much about it. I guess maybe they respect the privacy of people inside. Basically a darkroom is a small room with no light whatsoever and sofas all around it. I had taken a pen with a LED light in it, in order to explorer the place. What I had read was that people just have sex in there. But really I didn't expect to see what I saw inside. I won't talk about it, I feel like some things must stay there. I really enjoyed that club and I feel like by going with my light in that room I crossed some kind of line. People inside were definitely not happy to see me there. So that's why I won't talk about it.
One last word I need to say about the club. Before getting in, I really wanted to compare Berghain to London superclub Fabric. Fabric was, in its days, the best club in the world and it really deserved it in my opinion. Fabric had raised the bar very high for me, and I was expecting a lot from Berghain. Lots people say that, in Berghain, the crowd is great and that they somewhat feel at home. That was a feeling I had in Fabric and I can't say that it was the same for me in Berghain. While the ravers are certainly nice I don't find them as friendly as in Fabric. In Fabric there's a unique feeling, for me, that really makes you feel home. Berghain in that sense was completely different. You definitely know you're not home, especially with all those out-of-the-ordinary people. It's an old powerplant that you're partying in and you know that. Lots of things have stayed the way you'd think they were in the 50s and it gives a rough side to it. Also the staff is definitely nicer in Fabric. Fabric is way cleaner too, especially since they keep cleaning up the club as it gets dirty, so it's always clean. It has its drawback though, because there's always a guy pushing you to take away glasses on the floor. Another thing, in Fabric for long nights there are medics that make sure you're not dying or anything. That has its downside too, because they make sure you're not sleeping and if you do after a few warning they make you leave. In Berghain if you're tired you can sleep somewhere and go back dancing later when you're better. Something that struck me in Berghain, and it's the same in Panorama Bar, the lighting. I was used to all the laser they had in Fabric and it gave a really great ambiance. In Berghain the lighting is very rudimentary with regular strobe lights but not laser.
One last thing I want to add about the comparison, Berghain's door policy is very strict compared to the non-existent one in Fabric, I guess it has its pros and cons. I've always thought that the kind of music played in these kinds of clubs is enough to select people by itself. In Fabric the crowd has always been amazing and everyone was welcome to come in, or so I felt like. But Berghain draw so many people that they have to select who can get in and who can't. Be I don't think it's main reason, if that is one at all. I've talked to some Bulgarians who had an interesting theory which make totally sense to me. They only want to chose people that they deem fit to party well without any trouble. It's all about cool people there to party only not make any trouble or show off their money. Which would explain why there's no VIP area too, everyone is at the same level there. Also by doing that they keep their club from being to overrated.
In the end I stayed around 15 hours in the club, out of those I think I danced for at least 10 hours. I really loved it, and I want to say that it's really better than in Fabric and I would recommend anyone who likes electronic music to see for themselves if they manage to get in. I'm definitely coming back whenever I can.
That's all.
https://www.rave-trotter.com
Love the experience! I wrote some of my Crazy Berghain Stories and tips on how to get into Berghain on my website: https://getintothis.club/
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