Story and photos by Nikko Lencek-Inagaki
Berlin may be one of the best cities in the world -- and one of the dwindling few left in the Euro-happy EU -- for cheap travel. Every queer ex-pat that my boyfriend and I have met here in the last 24 hours has also extolled the virtues of gay Berlin, which has solved all of their body anxieties and reminds them of New York in the 1980s. If Roses(Oranienstr. 187, Kreuzberg), with it's arch-kitsch décor, powerful drinks, easy conversation and pink-haired walls is any indication, I'm inclined to agree.
We haven't yet made it to Schönberg, long the local gayborhood, but we have been exploring around Kreuzberg neighborhood, which is a surprisingly easy mix of Turkish immigrants, artsy queer Berliner hipsters, and über-international ex-pats -- all of whom agree on graffiti's value if nothing else.
The food in the area is incredible. Sunday brunch yesterday pulled everyone out onto sidewalk cafés for multi-course cheese and meat platters and deep Milchkaffes ("milk coffee"), filling the neighborhood around Oranienstrasse (one block above the Kottbusser Tor metro stop) with French, English, Spain, Italian and German chatter until well past 4:00pm.
Just a few blocks away is also the best falafel to ever pass through this foodie's lips. For 2-3 Euro, Nil serves up Sudanese falafel and grilled chicken sandwiches laden with fried cheese or dripping with a fresh peanut sauce that is deceptively light for it's body.
