A longer stay in Berlin

At the hostel, we have the chance to meet many people. Everyone has a story, their own reason to stay in Berlin. Most guests are here for just a few days, but sometimes we have guests staying longer, and we end up building a nice friendship.

That’s exactly what happened when Julia was here. She stayed with us for one month, and during this time we got to know her better. She’s such a lovely and intelligent person, and every moment spent together came with an interesting conversation.

Luckly we kept in touch and recently we invited her to share a little bit of her experience here. Enjoy it:

"I stayed at Lekkerurlaub from mid-September until mid-October. Having quit my job and having left my home in New York City, I came to Berlin in search of a change of pace and different cultural environment. I arrived on a sunny afternoon, and couldn’t believe my luck regarding Lekkerurlaub’s location. Berlin is a large and rather spread-out city, so even in an exciting district like Kreuzberg, it can be difficult to select a hostel which is both located on a lively street and has convenient access to the U-bahn.

I spent a lot of time writing during my trip, so most of my days were spent at one of Kreuzberg’s numerous and cozy cafes-- my favorites were Kaffeekirsche Roastery, Atlas Cafe, Myxa Cafe, Okay Cafe, Tischendorf, THE BARN Cafe, and Katie’s Blue Cat. By the way, cafes in Berlin all have such excellent cake! When I wasn’t writing, I travelled around the city exploring flea markets (I bought so many sweaters), cool old movie theatres like Sputnik Kino, vintage stores like Sing Blackbird or JUNO JUNO VINTAGE, and amazing parks like Tempelhofer Feld.

Berlin is a very international city, which means the food (don’t miss the Turkish Market by Lekkerurlaub on Tuesdays and Fridays!), languages, and cultures, while all very diverse, intermix with each other in a beautiful way. At Lekkerurlaub, I met people from all over Europe, Australia, North America, and South America and got to know so many of them over breakfast or tea. I will always cherish the memories of my month-long stay in Berlin— the relaxed aura of the city combined with its cozy bar and cafe scene helped me unwind from my life in New York and helped me make some great friends in the process!"

Testimonial and picture: Julia Grosek
Text: Larissa Galli Fontana