It was past midnight. I should have been in bed, but there I was, stepping out of the U-Bahn stop at Warschauer Straße. I trekked through the snow, the dark, empty streets reminding me that I was alone. I approached an expanse of dirt, barbed wire and broken glass. I looked up to see a large concrete building contrasted against the night sky: I had arrived at Berghain.
Upon coming to Berlin, I had inevitably heard about the famous club. My faint idea of it was that it was some sort of techno mecca that seems to be as hard to get into as college and threw wild parties that lasted for days at a time. I became intrigued by its exclusivity and dreamed of what lay behind its doors. I sifted through the countless guides online that claim to know something (or nothing) about how to get in.
While researching, I discovered that there is an online training site that takes you through the Berghain bouncer experience virtually, called Berghain Trainer. Its welcoming mobile icon displays the words “Only 2/10 get in.” The trainer tracks your body language and emotions while you answer 3 questions in German at the “door.” It’s startlingly realistic, and pretty nerve-wracking. I learned about it only after I got in, but it would’ve been good practice. Try for yourself if you’d like: Berghain Trainer. It’s quite awesome technology, but the fact…
