Freie Universität Berlin (FU BERLIN)

As favourite night spot, I can't decide myself for a particular one, but I would say all the area of Friedrischain as well as Kreuzberg has plenty of cool nightlife and very nice and well decorated cafés and bars. I wouldn't miss the bar GOA in Friedrishain, were you can enjoy great cocktails (although pretty expensive!) while you are laying on Arab/Roman-style sofas with no shoes on, and under a faded warm light. One event you cannot miss if you happen to be in Berlin in July is the LOVEPARADE, the biggest tecno party event in Europe. It doesn't even matter if you are a tecno fan or not (I don't consider myself to be one), it's just about dancing and having some fun. Coloured hairsprays and wild costumes are the trendiest thing in Loveparade, nothing is too exagerated.

Don't stay at university halls. There are always lots of cheap and amazing flats. It's worth the effort trying to find them.

The good thing about the student residence was that it was in a very green and quiet location of Berlin, and near one of the biggest lakes in the city, where people bath in summer. I also enjoyed the international student atmosphare, the organized parties and events. It was very near from the university -just some underground stations away-, although quite far away from the center of the city. The bedroom wasn't too big, but pretty neat, and with a very affordable price! I had only wished the walls were thicker, because I could hear too loud what my neighbour was doing. As negative aspects, I would point out that the kitchen had to be shared between too many people, about 10, so we didn't have too much space to put our things in the refrigerator and cupboards. It wasn't too clean either, and it didn't have an oven (which would have been practical for such things as pizza). The bathroom wasn't too nice either, and it was for both men and women, not separate (not too confortable). I suppose positive and negative aspects were more or less balanced about the residence.

Since Berlin was a city in flux back in 1996, I am quite sure most of the local hotspots are no longer there. And even though the Berlin Wall was down long before I landed in Berlin, the city was still very divided. My vote? Hang out in the former East Berlin as much as possible. More character, cooler bars, better locals with better stories and better nightclubs. Definatly hit some techno clubs (E-Werk was the spot when I was there).

Most of it comes down to common sense. If you're going to study abroad then the likelihood is you're still quite young; so just go and enjoy it. Any problems that occur are usually quite easy to sort out and there will be someone to help you.