You see and hear it again and again. It is available in almost every book, small grocery or tourist shop and if you look like a tourist, you will probably have to deal with street vendors trying to sell it to you. The internet is filled with different versions of it and all your British friends ask you for it. I’m talking about the ultimate Berlin guide. However, you were born here and the only thing you can do upon hearing or reading the term “ultimate Berlin Guide” is smiling and shaking your head because you know that it does not exist. There simply can’t be an ultimate Berlin guide. Those who are still looking for the mother of all Berlin guides like it is some kind of Holy Grail, here are the reasons why such a thing does not exist.
A guide to get to know a city is in fact just a bundle of paper. A Berlin guide can never possibly embody the spirit, the microcosms that inhabits each and every Kiez, which Berliners lovingly call their different boroughs. Berlin is like an ever-changing organism where new bars, restaurants and clubs are opened on a daily base. While popular sights like the Brandenburger Tor or the Fernsehturm may be destinations noted down on every Berlin tourist’s to-see list, you will never be able to grasp the spirit of this city only by taking photos of famous buildings like an elderly Chinese tourist couple.
Getting to know a city means getting involved with the locals. Throw away your Berlin guide you bought in the duty-free shop at the airport. Head to the places that aren’t particularly mentioned in a guide. Use online platforms like couchsurfing.com or even tinder to meet locals that can show you around their favorite places in Berlin. But most importantly, you have to understand that Berlin just like any other big city is full of different facets and that it’s simply impossible to depict the heart of this lively and bubbly metropolis with a single Facebook post or three or four Instagram photos. Before you become desperate looking for the perfect Berlin guide, just visit this beautiful city already and explore it on your own, with your eyes eager to see the beauty surrounding you and with your mind open for the beast that inhabits this city that is surely one of the most exciting destinations in the world.
