Day 1: Hard Wax: WHY DOES BERLIN HIDE EVERYTHING!

So inspired by my friend I've decided to start a blog following my travels in Berlin as well as other cities. I want to tell a little bit about the Berlin nightlife, the DJ scene, and what everyday life is like for someone who can't speak a lick of German. Today I decided to visit a record shop known as Hard Wax. By now I've learned the train system well enough that I can get around to the places I need to.

Berlin has 6 million people in it and it is huge. Connections are often sketchy, and due to recent construction the train lines look like if someone tangled a yarn ball. 

So I began my adventure, it was swift and easy, no problems with connections. But while walking on the streets I felt a little bit lost in the sense that the surrounding area was unfamiliar, and generally even people who do speak english don't really want to. So I slowly made my way to a street to any normal person wouldn't even be regarded as a street. It was narrow, and one car could barely fit its width. Berlin seems to love these hidden gems, it is as if the streets were crafted in order to make anyone with an iphone map app lose their mind. So I began down the street, the address being 44. 40...42....42...44? It was a cafe, packed with people. Honestly at this point I've learned that these discreet "dj places" can be anywhere. So I took a look in and settled with the fact that this probably wasn't the record store I was looking for. I continued down the street, but nothing came up. Frustrated and sort of annoyed I made my way back towards the mouth of the street where I began. But alas I couldn't find anything! I walked down the "parallel street" thinking maybe I'd find something but no. I had almost admitted defeat just when I saw someone with what looked like a dj bag headed for the street I had been on so I followed in pursuit. Luckily for me, I had been correct. The store was on the corner in an unmarked unadressed studio building. In order to get to the store you had to go through an alley which led you to an alley where a small sign hidden by bushes "led you" to hard wax.

Of course the cool record store is in an unmarked building with the only sign of its existence a mailbox. So I ascended the stairs, descended the stairs and finally found a small sign outside a huge metal door that read hard wax.

I've got to say if you had to give a prize for the most undrground record store, Hard Wax would win. As soon as you open the door you are met by steel grating which forms a small hallway that seperates you from a very large room filled with and endless array of records.

I'm not much of a vinyl guy, I see it as sort of a dying breed of music, but I appreciate it and just wanted to see what a real record store looks like, and I was gladly surprised. The room is musty and vintage, and in a way so are the people who fill it. Which let me know that these people had been in their for hours silently pacing around the room looking for vintage gems to add to their next set or vast collection of collectibles. I sort of just picked up a few records in an attempt to blend in, walked over to the record players and listened for a while. It find it interesting that in the age of computers, mp3's and spotify people are convinced they can find something special in a room full of plastic. Not a judgement, more of an observation. I put back my records and looked for anything familiar, but I came to the conclusion that i had no clue what was going on and swiftly left. Next time I'll definitely do my research. I ended my day with a lovely half chicken from Chicken House met by a nice conversation from one of the workers. I came to a few conclusions today. Berlin is a confusing city, and made even more confusing by the intention to make things underground. I shouldn't judge a book by its cover even though most of the time my initial judgements are correct. And lastly that I should try to get out of my comfort zone because the average person is happy to help.

So in my first day of my quest to become a Berlin DJ I saw some cool stuff, updates will come soon! If you know anyone in Berlin who has connections to the entertainment industry and speaks english I'd love to meet them!

Till next time!