tracking the berlin vibe-cession

Berlin was going to be different. If there was anything I’d heard more about this city than its unmatched freedoms, it was that anyone could afford a decent life here on a part-time job’s salary. Universities were free for everyone. I’d enrolled in a master’s program for the visa and found a student job in my first week. I moved into a shared

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in a recent “places to visit ” issue of the curation newsletter Perfectly Imperfect, Delia Caidescribes an ideal Berlin trip:

I find solo trips to be a delicate art—there is nothing more freeing than setting aside an entire week to wander around aimlessly, anonymously. But you do have to factor in a few hours a day for some inevitable existential

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When my friends come to Berlin, they’re thrilled to dive into the scene, eager to check off every hedonistic fantasy. But I’ve felt this kind of numbness, where even the wildest moments barely make a dent. It’s strange how quickly the brain normalises everything, even the extremes. Walking into KitKat and feeling nothing? That’s a sign. It all just... See more

The freedoms associated with liminal spaces – club nights, abandoned buildings, forgotten shopping malls – often have a lot to do with the fact that these places, and the marks people left of themselves within them, will eventually disappear. There’s also something inherently egalitarian about them; a place that nobody owns or stakes an exclusive... See more