Zen and the art of the Berghain door policy

when asked by a friend of a friend
"how to get into Berghain"
(or, I guess, about the Berghain door policy) this was my response:
"hi- honestly - gosh... as far as I can tell 

there is very little rhyme or reason to it -

even regulars get turned away every now and then.  

as far as I can tell I have heard they don't like big groups

and bros and tussis are usually automatically out - and Brits. 

don't dress too nice and don't be loud and drunk in line -

supposedly they favor germans (or at least german-speaking locals?) but I don't have much evidence for that-

and i as far as I can tell if you are asian or black you have no problem getting in

 - most Germans seem overly-afraid of being accused of racism...

(but then again they seem have no problem turning away Spaniards and Italians... )

that is about all I got - 

but honestly every time I tried to plan it out and thought i'd get in I didn't 

and then every time 

I went impulsively and was dressed like crap and expecting to be turned away 

I - ironically - ended up getting in - soooo - go figure! 

plan b: if I don't make it in I usually just go to Eslewhere and have an amazing time. Although Berghain is considered the holy grail of Berlin clubs I have just as much fun anywhere else... 

good luck!"

While we are on be topic I stumbled across this article by the NY Times' Nick Kulish about the fascinating life and photography of Berghain doorman Sven Marquardt http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/world/europe/03germany.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Tags berghain club Berlin