impressions of freedom

Berlin is: art and graffiti. nocturnal. a beautiful, endless world of clubs that don't open until midnight and tiny sweltering bars in run-down brick buildings. they are probably so cozy in the winter; in the summer, not so much.

People are out drinking in the streets and sidewalks all night long, smoking hookah, watching the sun set along the river, or barbecuing in the green space that used to be the death strip along the berlin wall.

Or, of course, dancing, probably to techno.

It feels like a huge contrast to Chicago, where the police literally kick everyone out of the parks at 11pm sharp and fine or arrest you for doing something as simple strolling down the street with a beer.

After my bike ride from the airport, I walked 11 miles and ended up dancing at 2:30am at a place that felt like the 90s- no air conditioning, fog machine, loud house music, literally underground. I got back to the hostel at 5am, walking past still-thumping bars and clubs that don't stop until the sun comes up, and sometimes not even then.

It seems like an endless party here, and it definitely could be if you wanted that. But more generally, I think this is what it feels like when a city belongs to its people.Read more