Berlin!

For my 25th Birthday my boyfriend organised for me and him to go to Berlin for the weekend and stay in the Nhow hotel. As we are both big fans of the house and techno clubbing scene, this was an ideal place to dance into the early hours, and soak up the hipster culture of the city.

nhow Hotel Bar Area

So first of all let me talk about the hotel. The Nhow advertises itself as a music and lifestyle hotel which was completely the case. On arrival we were greeted by staff in quirky uniforms and shown all of the mod-cons and amenities of the hotel and our room (including the free use of guitars and keyboards at request). The interiors were modern, with music that followed us down the hallways, a massive mirror TV, and an out of this world bathroom with heated floors (great considering it was -8 degrees on our trip). The staff were incredibly efficient and friendly, and they even left a mini surprise birthday cake after cleaning the room (it's the little things that count).

nhow Hotel exterior

Surprise Birthday Cake

So next I will talk about the area. There is a lot to see in Berlin, and we approached the city like classic tourists - by tour bus. Our hotel was right next to the Berlin Wall, which was amazing in itself, and a great walk to clear of the hangover from the night before. Although it was freezing, we enjoyed staying next to the River Spree as it was lovely to look at and walk along throughout the day when we were heading into the busier parts of the city. Friedrichshain (the heart of Berlin) was a 15 minute walk away where there were a whole load of restaurants and bars, including Raw Temple, our first club of the holiday. We also ventured out to Alexanderplatz, where there was a shopping mall (however closed because it was the Easter weekend), and additional eateries. Oranienstraße was another great strip for restaurants and was a 20 minute walk away from the Nhow, in addition to the many street food joints where you can get currywurst (my boyfriends favourite).

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Now I will talk about the clubs. As ravers, we of course hit up Berghain, and had little success (probably not cool enough), so we moved on to Watergate which was a great club and very inviting. The best club by far though was KaterHolzig (recommended by one of the hotel staff), which was an old disused soap factory that hosted an open end (we was told it was open for 2 days) bank holiday weekend party. The party was insane - probably one of the best I have been to in my life. There were endless rooms of music, DJ's in sheds, an open fire chill out area, and friendly local and international clubbers (unfortunately I was unable to take my own images of inside the clubs).

Overall Berlin is an incredible city for a long weekend of clubbing and culture. I will definitely be visiting again - next time in the summer!