Berlin's nightclubbers sip their drinks, await better times

BERLIN (AP) — Battered by the pandemic, Berlin’s legendary nightclubs are starting to reopen. Sort of.

Several of the German capital’s nightspots have managed a limited restart along with pubs and restaurants over the weekend.

Clubs are opening their outdoor spaces to guests only as beer gardens or for small concerts and performances, provided the party people present a negative COVID-19 test or a vaccination certificate. But the days of hammering beats, pumping basslines and expressively dressed patrons dancing until early morning are still shut down in one of the global hot spots of vibrant nightlife.

Pamela Schobess represents the interests of Berlin club, party and cultural event organizers as a member of the board of the Berliner Club Commission. “We are allowed to do gastronomy at the moment, so we can have beer gardens and things like that. We can also do small concerts, but everything seated, everything with distance, with mask and hygiene rules,” she said.

“It’s a start, but it’s not club culture,” Schobess said.

Performers, guests and owners said they were excited to be open again. But standing about outside with a drink isn’t really clubbing, those attending reopened clubs conceded over the weekend. Many are still hoping that infection numbers will continue to decline and the vaccination campaign will go forward to be able to also hold outdoor events with dancing soon.

At the Wilde Renate club, the disco ball swung outside in the late afternoon sunlight. For patrons like Konstantin Karl, 24, who stopped in on Saturday night, better than nothing.

“It’s definitely a strange feeling, it’s been a really long time, “ he said. ”Of course I’m happy that you can do something again, and get out again for once.”

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