The Night Berghain Gave Me Two Friends

Berlin's clubs are famous for the queue, the door and the music that does not stop until Monday. What gets discussed less often is the atmosphere inside, which comes from a culture built on progressive thinking. Inclusivity and openness are not slogans in this city's nightlife; they are the reason the rooms work at all.

In November 2018, I got into Berghain. The place has a reputation for being almost impossible to enter, and the internet is crowded with theories about how to improve your chances at the door. That night it opened for me, and inside I found one of the most indulgent environments I have ever stood in. I also found two people I am still friends with today.

Behind the door

Berghain occupies a former East German power plant, and the building does half the work. The rooms are vast, the light is minimal, and the sound is physical. What makes it unusual is the acceptance: inside those walls, almost anything is tolerated, and that permission settles over the crowd like a kind of calm.

A stairwell, a birthday and a packet of chewing gum

It was in a dark, dingy stairwell that my friend and I met a couple who were there to celebrate a 42nd birthday. The conversation began with a small gesture: we offered them a piece of chewing gum. There was no reason beyond it being a decent thing to do for someone who looked a little worse for wear after ten hours inside.

We carried on talking as we walked down the stairwell towards the coat check. It was minus three degrees outside, so there were several layers to put on, and the conversation filled the time it took to find them all.

The walk that did not end

Normally that is where a nightclub conversation with strangers ends, especially when nobody has even asked for names. This one did not. We kept talking as we went outside, kept talking across the street, and were still talking when we reached the train station. At that point we looked at each other and finally introduced ourselves.

With the formalities done, I asked what their plans were in Berlin. They had arrived the night before and had two more nights before flying home to the UK. I had a couple of nights left as well. So we threw our plans out of the window and agreed to spend the day recovering from the night before together.

That is exactly what happened. Before any of us had quite worked out how, we had spent the entire long weekend as a group of four. A three-day bender with two strangers, arranged entirely by chance, is not something that happens often.

What lasted longer than the weekend

The friendship outlived the trip. We have stayed in touch, and we meet up every few months to share our enthusiasm for electronic music. What began as a random conversation in a stairwell has become part of the furniture of my life.

So, if you do go to Berghain: you never know who you will meet in a random stairwell. It could turn out to be a friendship that lasts for years.

Author Bio

Mathew is a music festival and travel lover living in Mallorca. He writes about unusual boutique music festivals and off-the-beaten-path travel experiences at On The Beating Travel.

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