I, for the life of me, cannot remember the name of the company that took us out on our bar crawl, but I do know that there were a bunch of them in Berlin and they all do the same things, relatively speaking. When we exited the subway and made our way towards the nightlife that the Mitte (literally meaning the middle of Berlin- where East meets West), there was a gigantic sign being held up announcing the bar crawl. It was 20 euros for a night of balls to the walls drinking.

The first place that we started gave you a shot with every drink you ordered (yeah, that’s right; you paid for your own drinks after paying a cover charge). After an hour or so, a whistle was blown and our drunken army gathered its forces and marched on to the next battle. But troops need provisions, so our bar crawl hosts along the way provided everyone with shots of vodka.

This bar was the coolest thing that I have ever seen; it was an artist colony with indoor and outdoor bars all throughout. Outside, a Fidel Castro look-a-like sang old blues songs in English while adoring fans sat on giant metal letters in the sand that were acting like benches. There was also a bar with a TV proudly displaying the World Cup matches and beers flowing as if the river itself were made of beer and now had overflowed. Inside, there were different floors that housed artists (like an apartment building) but you could walk in and out of rooms seeing what people had created. If you wanted you could purchase things, or just keep walking. On every other floor, a bar was situated overlooking the outdoor area and seeing the letters in the sand and hearing the band. There was also a strong odor of pot on every floor, and it got stronger the higher you went.

Then the bell rang and off we were again to our next destination. And along the way, the vodka flowed as if it were the elixir of life. When we got to the final destination, this bar seemed a bit fancy for our crowd. The entire bar was painted in a gold color with the room to match and the bartenders seemed thoroughly unprepared for the mayhem that was happening.

So, while you are in Berlin, head to the Mitte and experience a taste of the new bohemian area through its lively bars and crazy inhabitants and of course, through its drinks. Enjoy. Danka!