It took approximately two hours, that’s all I needed to confirm that Berlin and I were just not meant to be. It’s something I probably knew five years ago when I first set foot into the city, but was too green and travel-shy to admit it. Everyone I met raved about the German capital – the troubled but engrossing history, the edgy culture, and even the late night or early morning raves themselves. I am fascinated in the tales from its divisive past, but the transformation that followed is less appealing to me. Berlin is often praised for being grungy and alternative, but frustratingly, I have failed to find the charm in the grit as others do. I am self-aware enough to admit that the truth is, I’m just not cool enough. Berlin, it’s not you, it’s me.
However, it didn’t help that during the weekend we had to shelter in a construction site during a twenty minute torrential downpour, I felt the need to re-try currywurst to make sure they weren’t as bad as I remembered (they were), and I fell horribly ill one day which severely hindered my enthusiasm for seeing anything other than our hotel room! But there was a silver lining… and as ever, my salvation came in the form of food, in particular the food at Industry Standard. Frequently lauded as one of the city’s ambitious new bistros, it seems that when it comes to a restaurants, I might just be cool enough to appreciate Berlin’s edginess…
