Stop by for a beer and stick around for the crowd that streams in as the night descends. Tiny, tasteful and terribly nice, this small bar caters to an upscale Mitte crowd mainly pouring in for a post-work cocktail or two.
Tucked away in a busy post-industrial complex in Friedrichshain, Zum Schmutzigen Hobby is both bar and club in one. The regular drag shows are a favourite. There are plenty of private booths for shyer songbirds, but the real magic happens in the main room. The drag shows on Tuesdays are also worth your while.
The hippest and hardest electronic music club in Berlin, if not Europe. The building is a Communist-era power station transformed into a concrete cathedral of techno over two floors, with the Panorama Bar upstairs and Berghain below. Saturday nights see Berghain awash with pumped-up, shirtless dancers of all genders sweating it out on the dance floor or in the dark room at the back well into Sunday afternoon. In summer, the party pours out into the garden chill-out area, bar and dance floor.
Arrive after 6am to avoid the massive queues, and be sure to keep your cool in the line. Once on Am Wriezener Bahnhof, just follow the stream of taxis to reach the door. Cameras are prohibited, taken at the door and returned late. Some things, we guess, are best seen with your own eyes. Located under the housing development on the roundabout at Kottbusser Tor, the mixed crowd enjoy drinks and dancing night after night, as well as many one-off rock parties.
As his savings dwindled, he began sleeping in his car, bought a second-hand karaoke machine, and was soon driving to squats all over Europe, throwing karaoke parties and getting paid to do it. Aspiring divas can belt out songs in one of several private booths, some small and intimate, others complete with their own stage area where drag queens put on a show for the ages every Tuesday night.
