Living in Berlin + Where to Eat, Drink and Dance

Germany
Written By Liah Natoli

Produced by RA in 2012. Watch.

This guide contains everything you need for your trip to Berlin. After four years of living and loving this city, you will not find more authentic recommendations anywhere else

I wasn't like most young adults when I graduated high school in Melbourne. In society, students are expected to apply to a university and study immediately. However, with my dual citizenship (Italian passport), I thought I'd have a gap year and go backpacking around Europe (which turned into five gap years). In 2015, I travelled around Europe for three months.

I love Berlin for its party and techno scene. Berlin is grungy and raw; let’s not forget how cheap it is. 2€ shots of Pfeffi, 1.70€ beers at the späti. The most I paid for a takeaway meal on Uber Eats would have been 12€. I spent two of those three months travelling Europe in Berlin, trying to find a job when I decided I wanted to live there. Let me just tell you that moving to Germany is not for beginners.

I spoke no German and ran out of money, forced to move back to Australia. 6 months later, I sold up all my belongings and car to give it another shot. This time, I managed to get an English speaking job and apartment. I stayed for almost 4 years.

The logistics and admin of moving to Berlin

Moving to Berlin was equivalent to doing a Rubix cube. How the fuck do you get all the colours to match up? How do you solve the puzzle of getting an anmeldung (registering as a resident with a tax file number, which you need to be on a rental lease to obtain) to get a job (which you need an anmeldung for), to get an apartment (which you need a current job/payslips).

German Bureaucracy 

If you're not like me with citizenship, how could one foreigner compete with a German for a job? Especially if you didn't speak German. English was not a celebrated 2nd language in Germany; trust me, they made it extra hard for foreigners. Even if you speak German, they will resist your language development and respond in English. If you need a visa sponsorship, you must prove to the visa office that a German person (or anyone else) couldn't do your role except you. All of this sounds like a head fuck already, hey?

Now, you could easily sublet a room to stay in, which I did the first time I stayed in Berlin, but to obtain your anmeldung, you must be on a rental lease (your name on a rental-contract with an address). So how do you hack it?

If you are skilled enough that the job you found wants to hire you, your employer might allow you to register at the address of your work building if you are lucky. I don't precisely know the logistics of this, but I've heard that's possible.

Germany is very old school and set in its ways. It values maximum paperwork and communication. It wants every little detail and piece of document that could exist about something PRINTED on paper. Nothing is digital. So you'll have to head down to your local spätikauf to print your paperwork. Even my payslips were printed and given to me in an envelope each month.

I was very grateful that I made a beautiful friend, Jack, who is now my friend for life. He was living in Berlin when I visited for the first time. He was the one who convinced me to move back and give it another try; it could not have been possible without him; he let me crash with him in his apartment.

I found a job before I found an apartment, so I had to register for it. I wouldn't suggest this legally, but I had no choice but to photoshop my name on his rental contract and pop my last name under his name on his doorbell to receive mail (very important tip!). How else could I register? My job didn't offer to register at their address. His apartment was a studio apartment and only allowed one person to register (if they didn't cap how many people could register at an address, we wouldn't have this problem).

Once I had my tax file number, I signed the contract for my job (which was a British company and operated in English, thankfully), and after a few payslips, I found an apartment to myself. I had a 2-hour appointment with the real estate company, which spoke ZERO English. Thankfully, I brought my German friend, who translated the contract verbally for me on the day.

All apartments in Berlin are handed over completely bare. I mean, no light fittings, kitchen, or even a sink!! I'm not kidding. Usually, previous tenants sell their kitchens to the next tenant. 600 euros later, and on a trip to Ikea, Basti and I built a kitchen and installed light fittings and a sink.

The first night in my own apartment on Stralauer Allee with darling @ChrisRawson

What makes Berlin, Berlin.

Berlin is a liberating city and is not for the close-minded. Other than the RA video at the blog's beginning that sums up the history and party scene in the 90s and how Berlin became what it is today, you truly won’t understand this unique place until you immerse yourself in it.

The museums, art, and history are a constant reminder of how recently this city was once divided between the East and West. Berlin’s architecture paints the history of the town. Original structures of buildings remain that serve a new purpose, lacing the history and feel of the city. The Soho House Berlin building was once the Reich Youth Leadership organisation’s headquarters during the Second World War. Before, it was a large department store in the late 1920s. This iconic heritage-listed establishment now serves as a private roof to a membership club in Mitte (SHB, which was my employer when I lived there).

I lived on Stralauer Allee, a well-known street in Friedrichshain where half of the Berlin Wall still exists. I loved my 45sqm high-ceiling, large windowed apartment, which was situated across the spree from the nightclub Watergate and within walking distance of Berghain.

The first time I went to Berghain (and finally got in), I looked around and almost had a panic attack; it was very overwhelming and not for the faint-hearted. This little techno hub of a city is not for virgins. Gay men s*cking each other off in front of me and people having sex in nooks and crannies of Panorama bar. But the best techno DJs in the world are playing their sets in this establishment.

The party scene is raw and non-judgemental; most nightclubs are sex clubs with the best-selected tunes you could ever dream of. You don't have to engage in sex and can be there for the music. Dr*gs, alcohol, 24-hour clubs, there is no mondayitis, no frowned upon looks of the walk of shame. This might sound like a lot, but I suppose since there are no rules to break, Berliners know how to respectfully push their limits and not cross the line.

I also noticed that Berlin is a very international city and not socially cliquey. I reckon the entire time I lived there, I never saw a high school kid or underage partygoers saturating the party scene. Berlin is a mature city for like-minded adults of all ages, where your age doesn't discriminate. There's a reason why getting into clubs is hard (which you must be 21+ to enter).

Let's move on to my selection of favourite bars, nightclubs, cafes, and places to go.

This interactive map contains all of my recommendations for Berlin. If you’re wondering what clubs to go to, my best suggestion is to visit the Resident Advisor website to check club listings and who is playing to see your favourite artists.

*Below, I have linked the Google location for each recommendation. Click on the bold underlined text next to each listing to view it on Google Maps.

Favourite Specialty Coffee Spots

Five Elephant Cheesecake

Must Visit Brunch Cafes

  • Annelies (Modern day diner) in Kreuzberg

  • Cafe Mugrabi (Israeli eatery) in Kreuzberg

  • Gorilla Bäckerei (Delicious Bakery Cafe) in Neükolln

  • The Store X Berlin (For Fresh Salads and Coffee located in the lobby of SHB. The store is a designer boutique store).

  • Klub Kitchen (Fresh Salads and light eats) in Mitte

  • Albatross Bakery (for Coffee and Pastry) in Kreuzberg

  • La Maison (Coffee and small bites) in Kreuzberg

Annelies is a Must Visit, pictured above is the buttermilk pancake

Go-to Dinners

Indulgent Fancy Dinners

893 Ryotei (photos credit: Allen Kaufmann Photography)

Bath Houses, Essential for your hangovers

Local Watering Holes for Those Summer Days

  • Haubentaucher (now called Maaya_Berlin) (similar to a beach club) serves drinks and has a DJ with indoor club in the evening - in Friedrichshain

  • Badeschiff (a pool floating in the spree) in Kreuzberg

  • Sommerbad Kreuzberg (family friendly)

Maaya Berlin Pool (Previously Haubentaucher)

Favourite Cocktail & Wine Bars

Wax on Bar is a must visit

Late Night Bars:

Favourite Clothes Stores:

Liah Natoli
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