cult logic xx: berlin

Sunset at Brandenburg Gate, Berlin / August 2013

Just the mere thought of Berlin is intoxicating. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity of visiting this divine city two years in a row. Sydney will always be home, where I regard the dining, music, fashion and art scenes so favourably - but to me, no city I have visited quite compares to Berlin which is truly in a class of it's own. Everything about the city is so edgy, and hip(ster). It seems to be ahead of it's time in so many different aspects, Berlin sets the trend and then the rest of the world follows.
I know that fashions and tastes change, and all that I find enticing about Berlin now may bore me in a few years when another city takes it's place. But, for now, here are a few of my favourite things about the city.

EAT
Mustafas Gemüsekebap - The time I have waited in line for a kebab from Mustafas has varied in length from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Yes, three. This little street stall will change your entire perspective on kebabs. The kebab is a little unconventional - without ruining the surprise, the ingredients list includes things like feta cheese, fried vegetables and tabbouleh, but I promise you will never taste a kebab like it or this good. I recommend heading to the convenience store around the corner from the stall before you hop in line - grab a few beers to sink in the line to ease the boredom that is waiting in a three hour line. The beauty of street food! (Find a sneaky pic of a Gemüsekebap in this photoset)

DRINK
Chalet - My favourite club in Berlin (because Watergate is pretentious and expensive, and I can't bear the fear of possible rejection from Berghain more than once a weekend) runs out of a 150 year old building, located in the heart of Kreuzberg (duh!). I was initially drawn to the venue by 'all the pretty lights,' and once you go in, you don't come out. (Seriously, it's impossible to find the exit once you're a little inebriated.) The garden is amazing, complete with pond, swimming pool and lounges whilst the rest of the venue is straight up party vibe. Spread across two levels, the decor feels a little bit 1800s Alice in Wonderland saloon and you literally just get lost in the techno.

DO
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp - It has taken me three visits to Berlin to make it out to a concentration camp, but I'm so glad that I finally did. Sachsenhausen wasn't designed as an extermination camp so it wasn't huge and mainly detained political prisoners, however over 30,000 people died there. Until physically stepping foot in one of these camps, I don't think it's possible to fully grasp the full extent of what happened in those concentration camps. The media and film industries have completely desensitised us to images of violence and cruelty, but it is a completely different feeling to be standing there in a cell where prisoners of war were tortured or the barracks where prisoners slept. Sachsenhausen was a very overwhelming experience (and it's not even one of the largest or most brutal camps), visiting it made me really appreciate how lucky I am to live in Australia and so grateful that my family has not first hand experienced horrors such as these.

After 18 hours on 6 different trains, I am finally in Amsterdam. As soon as I have a chance, I will fill you in on Prague. Until then... xx

I'm currently sitting in Vienna, a week since my German bender. This is what I had to say last week when I wasn't blessed with the luxury of sleep or a wi-fi signal:

I’m on the train to Milan after a ridiculous three nights in Germany, two spent at Melt! festival and Berlin in between. I have had approximately six hours sleep since 5am Friday – four hours last night and the other two spread across transit time between Berlin and Gräfenhainichen. I am in no kind of functioning condition to write about anything so hopefully a photo set of the past four days will suffice. At least I will spend the next five days on the beach recovering in Giardini Naxos x