St Christopher’s Inn Berlin - Alexanderplatz

Berlin operates on its own schedule where nightclubs open Friday and close Monday morning, museums hold Egyptian artifacts and Babylonian gates on a single island, and the Berlin Wall's history appears in checkpoint museums and kilometer-long street art galleries. Berghain's door selectors care about your energy over your outfit. Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag dome tell Cold War stories textbooks never captured properly. The East Side Gallery transforms concrete barriers into open-air murals that change how you understand 1989.

Kreuzberg mixes Turkish bakeries with experimental galleries in former factories. Neukölln transformed from working-class district to creative hub where street food markets happen in nineteenth century market halls. Friedrichshain balances residential streets with nightlife chaos, particularly around bars where locals drink Späti-bought beers on the pavement before moving inside. Currywurst at 2am defines Berlin street food—sliced bratwurst with curry ketchup that sounds wrong until you try it. Döner kebab here sets the standard everywhere else attempts to match.

German beer culture runs deeper than ordering a pint. Berliner Weisse comes with woodruff or raspberry syrup turning beer bright green or red. Beer gardens open March through October with communal tables where your group shares space with strangers who become your evening. The city makes sense once you stop expecting it to make sense, construction cranes share skylines with Cold War architecture, and luxury apartments rise beside squatted art spaces.