Traveling in Berlin 2026'
- Vlad Borisenko
- 2 days ago
- 12 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
Welcome to my first travel blog post. This is the beginning of a series where I'll share my travels, the places I stay, and the experiences I have along the way. I'll also be featuring my photography to help bring each story to life and give you a closer look at the places I visit.
Day 1 - 5/30/26
The adventure began with a three-hour drive to New York City. There, I met up with my friend Emanuel and dropped my car off with his family before heading to the airport. Our flight departed at 9:45 PM, taking us across the Atlantic to Vienna. After a quick one-hour layover, we boarded our final flight and soon found ourselves descending into Berlin—the first stop on our European journey.
Upon arriving in Berlin, we ordered an Uber to take us to our hostel, St Christopher's Inn Berlin - Mitte. Unfortunately, we accidentally selected a different St Christopher's location, which left us with an unexpected 20-minute walk to our actual destination. In hindsight, the mistake wasn't all bad. Walking through Berlin gave us our first real impression of the city, allowing us to observe the architecture, the atmosphere, and the people going about their daily lives. Eventually, we arrived at the hostel and checked in. Like many hostels, St Christopher's offered shared rooms with other travelers. However, we had reserved all the beds in our room, giving us some extra privacy and peace of mind when it came to our belongings. After checking in, we made our way to our room on the fourth floor. There was just one problem—the elevator was out of service. As we would soon discover, climbing endless flights of stairs would become a recurring theme throughout our European adventure. At the time, though, it was simply the first challenge of many that awaited us on the trip.
Once we got settled in, we headed to a Späti, one of Berlin's iconic late-night convenience stores. If you've ever been to New York City, think of a bodega—but with benches outside where customers can sit, enjoy a drink, and socialize. They're a unique part of Berlin's culture and can be found throughout the city. Emanuel and I grabbed our first beers of the trip and began walking in the general direction of our dinner reservation. Rather than taking public transportation, we decided to explore the city on foot and take in as much of Berlin as possible..
Along the way, I stopped frequently to photograph what caught my eye. Berlin's streets were lined with impressive architecture, from massive historic churches to grand government and commercial buildings. The city's mix of old-world history and modern urban life was immediately apparent, making every block feel like something worth documenting through a camera lens.
Prior to the trip, my friend Danny, who goes by DLORDINK, along with another graffiti artist named Pesco, gave me a collection of their stickers to bring with me. One of my personal side missions throughout the journey was to find interesting locations to photograph and feature them.
While exploring Berlin, I found the perfect spot near a traffic crossing directly in front of the Humboldt Forum. I recorded a quick video, gave a shout-out to Pesco, and documented one of his stickers against the backdrop of the city.
From there, we made our way toward the massive museum complex. The scale of the building was impressive, and after taking in the architecture, we headed inside and rode the elevator to our dinner reservation at Baret, a rooftop restaurant offering spectacular panoramic views of Berlin.
Dinner was nothing short of incredible. Before we were seated, I spent some time taking photographs from the rooftop, capturing the sweeping views of Berlin as the city stretched out in every direction below us. To start, I ordered a cheese board along with a bone marrow dish that was rich and packed with flavor. Emanuel opted for a salad as his appetizer. For our main course, we both chose a chicken dish that ended up being one of the highlights of the meal. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to track down the exact menu from the night we visited, as the restaurant appears to rotate its offerings frequently. What I do remember is how well everything was prepared. Between the quality of the food, the attentive service, and the stunning rooftop setting, the entire experience felt special. For anyone visiting Berlin for the first time, I would wholeheartedly recommend Baret. Whether you're looking for a memorable dinner, a place to enjoy a drink with a view, or simply a chance to see the city from above, it's a destination that's well worth adding to your itinerary.
One of the things I enjoy most about traveling is how easily conversations can start when everyone is exploring somewhere new. What began as a brief introduction over dinner quickly turned into an unexpected connection. After we finished our meal, the two women decided to join us, and together we headed out to experience our first night in Berlin. With no real plan beyond exploring the city and seeing where the evening would take us
After dinner, we headed back to the hostel to relax and have a few drinks before continuing the night. The two women joined us, and I took the opportunity to stop by our room and grab some of my camera gear so I could better document the evening.
Earlier that day, I had picked up a bottle of Jameson, some ginger ale, and a beer from a nearby Späti. Before long, I poured a few drinks, and by the time we left the hostel, I was already feeling the effects. Beer in hand, we set off on foot toward our next destination.
The women led us to Kilkenny Irish Pub, an Irish pub located about a 15-minute walk from our hostel. The walk itself was enjoyable, giving us another chance to experience Berlin after dark as the streets buzzed with nightlife. Once we arrived, the night quickly shifted into another gear. Between the conversations, the music, and the steady stream of drinks, the evening became a blur of laughter and new memories. Our new friends seemed determined to show us a good time and kept ordering round after round of Jägerbombs. Before we knew it, we were all thoroughly enjoying ourselves and fully immersed in our first real night out in Berlin.Looking back, it was one of those travel moments that can't really be planned. We had arrived in a new city only hours earlier, met complete strangers over dinner, and somehow ended up spending the night exploring Berlin together. Those unexpected connections are often what make a trip memorable long after the landmarks and attractions have faded from memory.
Day 2 - 5/31/26
Waking up after a night like that and immediately heading out for a walking tour was brutal. Still recovering, we got up and went for breakfast at what I believe was Cappuccino Grand Cafe. I had some French toast and drank plenty of water, trying to get myself back to life before the day really started.
After breakfast, we walked toward the tour meeting point and, almost fittingly, passed the Irish pub from the night before—a small reminder of how far the previous evening had taken us. The walking tour covered several of Berlin’s most important sites.
We visited the grounds of Humboldt University of Berlin, stood at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, walked past sections of the Berlin Wall, and eventually reached the Brandenburg Gate. Along the way, we also stopped to try currywurst. I wasn’t personally a fan of the curry flavor, but Emanuel enjoyed it more than I did.
Some Sights of Berlin
While on the tour, I also continued my small personal “side mission” from the trip, placing another sticker near parts of the Berlin Wall and documenting it along the way. In a way, it felt like quietly leaving traces of our own story within a city already layered with so much history.
After the walking tour, we headed back to the hostel to rest, recharge, and figure out our plans for dinner. By that point, we had already covered a good portion of the city on foot, and a short break was definitely needed.
One thing we noticed during our stay was that the hostel wasn't quite as social as others we had experienced in the past. There was always activity—people coming and going, and the bar downstairs stayed busy—but most travelers seemed to keep to themselves rather than mingle with everyone around them. It wasn't a bad atmosphere, just different from what we were used to.
After changing, we set out once again, passing by our familiar neighborhood Späti before making our way toward dinner. Interestingly, the restaurant we were heading to was a place we had noticed on our very first day in Berlin.
That evening, we finally made our way there. If I remember correctly, it was a Thai restaurant located not far from the Grand Cappuccino café. I've tried finding the exact location on Google Maps so I can link it here, but so far I haven't had any luck tracking it down.
Our server enjoying a cirgarette I took a photo cause it looked cool
For dinner, I started with an order of gyoza before moving on to a beef dish for my main course. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what I had to drink—or if the drink on the table was actually something Emanuel ordered. Travel has a funny way of blurring some of the smaller details while leaving the overall experience crystal clear.
Emanuel ordered a soup to start, and we spent the evening dining outside, enjoying the atmosphere of the neighborhood. There was something relaxing about sitting at a sidewalk table and watching everyday life unfold around us. Residents walked by on their way home, groups of friends gathered at nearby cafés and bars, and bicycles passed through the streets as the city moved at its own pace.
After dinner, we returned to the hostel to get ready for the evening. Looking back, nothing particularly memorable stands out from Berlin's nightlife on our second night. If I remember correctly, we made our way back to the Irish pub and explored a few other areas around the city, hoping to find something interesting. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, and many places had already begun winding down for the night. Compared to the previous evening, the city felt noticeably quieter, with fewer people out and many venues either closing early or already shut for the evening.
As we made our way back toward the hostel, we came across a group of Irish girls who were traveling across Europe on holiday. They were sitting outside playing cards, enjoying the evening and making the most of their own adventure. We exchanged greetings, stopped to chat for a few minutes, and before long found ourselves gathered around their table. Somehow, the conversation turned into Emanuel teaching them how to play Durak, a Russian card game popular throughout Eastern Europe. What started as a casual lesson quickly became surprisingly entertaining. To their credit, the girls picked up the rules almost immediately. Within a few rounds, they hardly needed any help at all and were soon running the games themselves, keeping track of the rules, calling out turns, and even correcting each other when someone made a mistake.
Day Two came to an end with the arrival of Ben. Up until this point, the story has mostly focused on Emanuel and me, but there was actually a third member of our travel group. Due to scheduling conflicts, Ben wasn't able to join us at the start of the trip and had been making his own journey to Berlin.
Late that night, he finally arrived at the hostel, completing our trio for the adventures ahead. His arrival marked the beginning of the next chapter of the trip.
Day 3 - 6/01/26
Back Story
When connecting through Vienna International Airport, passengers have to go through passport control and security before continuing to their next flight. The process can be a bit confusing, especially if it's your first time there. When Emanuel and I passed through Vienna, we found a door that led us much closer to customs and our departure gate, saving us a lot of time. Ben didn't know about that shortcut and ended up taking the longer route through the airport. By the time he made it through security and to his gate, he had missed his flight to Berlin. Originally, Ben was supposed to arrive in Berlin on the morning of Day Two and spend the day exploring with us. Instead, he was forced to spend the night at Vienna International Airport while waiting for the next available flight.
Day Three started with all three of us finally together. We headed out for breakfast and, if I remember correctly, ended up back at the Grand Cappuccino once again. At this point, it had become one of our regular spots. We all ordered a late breakfast that was closer to brunch than anything else. While we were eating, we struck up a conversation with a guy from the UK who was staying in the area. He ended up telling us a wild story about his time living in India. From what I remember, he had been living with a woman who struggled with severe alcoholism. One day, she fell down a flight of stairs and suffered a serious head injury. Because he was her roommate and had been helping take care of her, he became involved in everything that followed. According to him, local authorities began treating him as a suspect, and he felt that corruption in the area only made the situation more complicated..Whether every detail was exactly as he described it, I couldn't say, but it was certainly one of the more memorable conversations we had during the trip. We later learned that he was also heading to Amsterdam after Berlin, though we never ran into him again. After breakfast, Emanuel split off to get a haircut. The plan was for all of us to meet back up later at the Brandenburg Gate once he was finished. Since Ben had missed the first couple of days in Berlin, I decided to spend the time showing him some of the places Emanuel and I had visited during the walking tour.
I think our original plan for the afternoon was to do a little souvenir shopping before finding a place for dinner. One thing I wanted to bring home was a jar of German-made Nutella. I had heard that the recipe is slightly different from the version sold in the United States, so I figured it would make a good gift for a friend back home.
While I was on the hunt for Nutella, Emanuel wanted to pick up some clothes, and Ben tagged along with me. Once we had finished our shopping, we started making our way back toward the hostel. By this point, I had a pretty good understanding of the city's layout, at least in relation to where we were staying. Ben likes to joke that I have a gift for navigation. Personally, I think it's just a matter of remembering landmarks and piecing everything together. As we were walking across a bridge, I noticed a restaurant tucked beneath it along the waterfront. It looked like a really cool spot.
"Hey, that place looks cool," I said.
Out of nowhere, a stranger nearby responded, "Yeah, it is, isn't it?"
That simple comment turned into a conversation.
The man asked if we were military. We told him no, and he introduced himself as an American from Kentucky. He was an Army veteran who had been injured during his service. As he put it, "I got blown up." It was also pretty obvious that he had already had a few drinks. He was in a great mood and was especially excited that the restaurant had Budweiser on tap. In fact, one of the first things he did was offer to buy us a pitcher. He seemed genuinely happy to have found something familiar from back home while sitting in the middle of Berlin. We ended up talking for quite a while. Eventually the conversation shifted to what we did for work, and I mentioned that I was a photographer and videographer. One thing led to another, and before long he was asking about hiring me to create photos and video content for his music. Emanuel even captured part of the interaction using his Meta glasses.
Emanuel even captured part of the interaction using his Meta glasses.
The whole situation threw a wrench into our dinner plans since we spent much longer talking than we expected. Eventually, Emanuel suggested that Ben and I head back toward the hostel while he found a restaurant and made reservations for later that evening.
After wrapping things up, we met back up for dinner at an Italian restaurant. Since I had unexpectedly picked up some paid work from the conversation with the veteran, I decided to treat the group and cover Emanuel's and Ben's drinks for the night.
Looking back, it was a pretty unexpected turn of events. We had set out to do some souvenir shopping and figure out dinner plans, but somewhere between buying Nutella and walking across a bridge, I ended up meeting an American Army veteran from Kentucky, hearing stories about his time overseas, and landing a photography and videography gig. Not exactly what I had on my Berlin itinerary, but that's how the day unfolded.
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For our evening plans, we didn’t really leave the hostel until around 11:00 PM or midnight. We tried heading to a spot Emanuel had found earlier, but after some confusion and not being able to locate it, we ended up stumbling into a completely different bar instead. The place had a really unusual layout. It was built almost like a pyramid, with different stepped levels that created separate hanging areas—some with pillows to lounge on and others with chairs scattered around. It gave the space a very layered, maze-like feel. That said, it was still very much a dive bar. The bathroom stood out in particular—dim lighting, a strong smell throughout, and a very rough-around-the-edges feel overall. It definitely wasn’t polished, but it had character in its own way.
We ended up staying there until around 4:00 AM. One of the main issues we ran into was that we didn’t have much cash on us—most of our money was in dollars, and while we usually relied on cards, that night it became a bit of a hassle. Finding a working ATM late at night wasn’t really an option, so we just stayed put and made the most of where we were. Eventually, when we finally decided to head out, we were planning to Uber back to the hostel. But as we were walking and talking outside, two women overheard our conversation and struck up a chat with us. Long story short, we ended up inviting them back to the hostel to hang out and have a few drinks. They were a pretty unexpected and unusual pair, but they joined us for the rest of the night anyway.
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