Berlin Journals

Impressions of Berlin

A September 1996 trip to Berlin by Brian

Inside the Main Entrance Photo - Hotel am Scheunenviertel, Berlin, Germany

Quote: Berlin is an energetic, fascinating city with an extremely complicated past. I fell in love with this place, despite the fact that I couldn't stop imagining the devastation this city has endured.

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Impressions of Berlin

Overview

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Sitting in outdoor cafes drinking Hefeweissen, going to clubs and staying up all night in the bohemian community which thrived in the old bombed out Oranienburger train station.

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Best Way To Get Around:

We walked around alot and took the subway, which was exceptional and easily understood.

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Hotel am Scheunenviertel

Hotel

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The best part about this hotel, although it was very nice all around, was its location. It is situated in a very interesting part of the former East Berlin, on an active street full of cafes and restaurants, across from a vibrant artists' community. It offers basic, moderately sized rooms with all the normal amenities. There is a simple, complimentary breakfast buffet available every morning, and the hostess was pleasant and helpful, she was involved in every task at the hotel. It was more like a bed and breakfast, small and personal, and I highly recommend this place. The only problem we had was communication. There wasn't anyone on the staff who had a very good command of English, to my surpris...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 22, 2000

Hotel am Scheunenviertel
Oranienburger Str. 38
Berlin, Germany 10117

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Oranienburger Art Community

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A Long Night turns into Morning Photo - Berlin, Germany

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Our first night in Berlin was spent awake, in an incredible artist community located inside and around a partially demolished train station bombed out during WWII. Our hotel was situated right across the street so I got to know it well. Being a New York City artist, I have never experienced any art community such as this. There was an honesty, grit and a lack of self consciousness that you do not find in places like Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Nobody seemed to be pretending. It had the basic appearance of a junkyard, the ruins were covered with murals and grafitti. Sculptures from all disciplines (and some undisciplined) were distrubuted all over the lot. There were painting studios, meta...Read More

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Night Clubs in Berlin

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Another Night Scene Photo - Berlin, Germany

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I went to several clubs in Berlin but unfortunately do not remember any names or addresses. The club scene there had an inclusive quality to it that I didn't feel in New York at that time. There was an underground aspect to the ones I went to there, grungey, more like a party, less tied to fashion and pretentious hipness. The music was cool and there seemed to be plenty of the usual drugs around. The places were gritty, unpolished, energized, and didn't have high cover charges. I don't go to clubs anymore, but I would take that scene over the one in New York anyday. I might start going again, if I lived in Berlin.