gay Berlin clubs bars sex from discodamaged

Böse Buben - DD Review

Böse Buben is a house in south Schöneberg, Berlin where they have gay sex parties, usually with an S&M theme, two or three nights per week. It's quite hard to find. You turn off Sachsendamm through the arch in a sixties block of flats (pic) into a large yard containing light industry workshops. At the left hand end there is a small sign indicating you round the corner into a narrow alley. Welcome to Böse Buben. There is a half-outdoor changing area, which is cold in winter, but once inside Hans the owner and barman gives you a refreshing beer.

The ground floor of the house is used as an entrance, small lounge and bar. The next two floors contain sex rooms with various kinds of equipment: A room with a cross or two to be shackled to, a room with large beds for fucking on, a very dark room for the shy ones and a very empty room where they have not quite decided. The crowning glory is up on the 2nd and top floor. It is a medical room with two surgical trolleys, a gynaecologist's chair and other assorted scary medical bits and pieces.

All the rooms, especially the last, were spotlessly clean. Prices for entry (5-10€) and drinks (3€+) are very reasonable.

For upcoming Böse Buben events go to the gay Berlin calendar page and search for Buben.

Facts

Where	Sachsendamm 76-77, 10829 Berlin-Schöneberg
When	Friday, Saturday (21:00) and Wednesday (16:00) and a few others but check teh calendar or the website.
Web	http://www.boese-buben-berlin.de/
Attracts	Young crowd (20s and 30s) with a few older ones.
Quantity	20-80
Darkroom	Yes, yes yes ...
Dance	No

Insomnia / Opium - DD Review

Discodamaged sent Jack down to Insomnia the mostly straight fetish club in Berlin-Templehof on Friday April 19. Opium had a night on that night, so not all of this may represent the normal Insomnia. But we do know that Insomnia is a straight fetish club and 'queers are welcome'. Here's some info about the club and how Jack got on there. Click the headline for the full story.

Stupid Jack had not dressed for the outing and the doorman promptly told him that he could not come in. Jack said, would naked be OK? - The doorman smiled and waved him through.
The Layout
Insomnia has a large entrance with plenty of room for changing then wide stairs leading up to the dance floor and bar. The dance floor is large with a seven-meter ceiling. On one side there are stairs leading up to a large mezzanine level, which they use as a sex play area. Under the mezzanine part there is also a separate small room with a bar where people smoke. On the other side of the dance floor a huge curtained door leads to some smaller rooms, the toilets and a luxury open plan shower area.

The Atmosphere
The club is very well appointed and begs comparison with Kitkat. It's smaller but cleaner and smarter and the guests seemed younger and a bit posher but very friendly. The music was similar (not a strong point of either) and the luxury shower in Insomnia cannot beat the swimming pool in Kitkat.

Facts

Where	Alt-Tempelhof 17, Berlin-Templehof
When	Tuesday - Sunday. Pricey entry was 16€, drinks not cheap
Web	http://www.insomnia-berlin.de/
Attracts	Young well (un)dressed ladies and gentlemen
Quantity	up to 500
Darkroom	Yes, sex play area
Dance	Yes

Friendly Mixed Gay Bars in Berlin

An English Rose is visiting Berlin in February and she wrote asking: Are there any nice friendly mixed gay bars worth a visit maybe? Good restaurants that aren’t too pricey?
I took the CLUB BAR list (over there on the right and down a bit) and removed all that allow women in not at all or very rarely. Of the mixed friendly remainder about half are clubs. There's dancing, sex, S&M, fetish or just a quiet drink. Of course they are all friendly to people they like.

You can find out more my Rose by
1) clicking on the name in that list over there.
2) Use the menu at the top to find the Club Calendar, set the date to when you arrive and search for the name. Just because a place is not mentioned doest not mean that it is not open. Details of Februrary events are not complete, but will be by the end of this week. (Jan 27)
3) Use the menu at the top to find the A-Z | Gay Map where you will find the location, a short summary and the place's website.

Here's the list of girl friendly bars and clubs (but possibly not girl friendly every night.)

About Blank August II BarbieDeinhoff Berghain Berghain Kantine Bierhimmel Blond Brunnen70 Busche, Die Chantals House of Shame Club Culture Houze Club de Visionaere CockTail d'Amore Comet Eldorado Festsaal Kreuzbeg

Gay Beach / Wiesn Gegen GMF Goya / N5 Hafen HarDie's Kneipe Heile Welt Incognito Insomnia K6 Kitkat Klub International Kumpelnest 3000 Monster Ronson’s Sing Inn Möbel Olfe Prince Charles

Quälgeist Raststätte Gnadenbrot Rauschgold Roses Sanatorium Sankt Veit SchwuZ Shade Inc Silver Future SO 36 Spy Club Südblock Tante Horst Tresor Vögelchen ZMF

As for restaurants, we're not a restaurant guide and 'good' is not a word much used about German cuisine. It's mostly cheap. The only two I would recommend are
More, Motzstrase 28, Schöneberg Web Map
Il Caslorare, Grimmstrasse 30, Admiral Str / Brücke, Kreuzberg Map.

Anybody else got a tip for an English Rose? Leave a comment.

Bordel / L.U.X. - DD Review

Jack went to L.U.X. on Saturday to try out new club night Bordel where they promised "French, in Berlin, rebellious, libertine, mad, condoms, dj's, erotic shows, dark room and a live band." There was a very slow queue outside at 1.30 when he arrived and he should have known better: There were lots of girls in it, but being on the guest list and having travelled so far from Schöneberg, he waited the 20 minutes.

Inside it's a small bar with a token dance floor and it was rammed with about 150 people. There were a few guys and a couple of girls with their tops off, for which you got free cloakroom and a free shot. The 'darkroom' was a very small lounge upstairs by the cloakroom. A few people of both sexes were sitting around there - one hetero couple were snogging.
 
So a big disappointment, although there were a few sweet interesting people who Jack talked to - the only upside. A topless polish guy said the music was ditty, another straight one recommended the film Männer zu knutschen (Men to kiss) and two members of the Berlin gay rugby team were very friendly. There was no sign of "mad, condoms or erotic shows".

Bottom line: It's straight.

AA at August II - DD Review

Team damaged visited AA at August II last Wednesday. It's recently appeared on the scene and has billed itself as gay. It's gay-ish. The clientele are young well dressed Mitte types, the men slightly outnumbering the women. We reckoned about half the men were gay. But how can you really tell until you stick your hand in their trousers? It's got a small bar upstairs and they had a good DJ but there's very little room for dancing and no one was. There's another larger room downstairs which was empty of people and furnished only with two hefty armchairs and a cheap imitation Persian rug.

The outstanding feature of August II is the toilets (photo). All three cubicles have a mirror shelf at the back with handy mirrored cards lying about. If that's not an invitation to do coke, I don't know what is. We arrived about midnight and when we left about 2, the crowd upstairs was thinning out. Prices weren't bad: 7.50€ for vodka coke and 3.50 for a bottle of Pilsner Urquell.

Bottom line: Worth a visit if you are nearby.

Facts

Where	Auguststrasse 2, 10117 Berlin-Mitte
When	Every other Wednesday from 23:00
Web	http://www.facebook.com/events/440077656004338/
Attracts	Fashionable youn Mitte men and women
Quantity	50-70
Darkroom	No
Dance	No

 

Homopatik - DD Review

Our curiosity was aroused by an article in Siegesäulle* "Homopatik im about blank, 21.7". Homopatik begins on a Friday night and the article raves about the party in the garden the following day. So far so good. Discodamaged was there for the special a couple of weeks ago arriving 3pm on a Saturday, there was a great atmosphere, about 500 beautiful queers dancing, drinking and doing other nice things in the garden and the tranquil wild forest. The cold baths for cooling off tired feet in the trees were especially welcome. Click the headline for what really happens.

Gay Charlottenberg - DD review

Click the headline for full review and more pics. Discodamaged had a quick tour of Die Neue Oldtimer, Harlekin and Die Kleine Philharmonie. These bars are not really in Charlottenburg but just on the border - and Charlottenburg sounds nicer than Wilmersdorf, doesn't it? Die Neue Oldtimer and Harlekin are clearly gay bars, In Die Kleine Philharmonie (top picture) it is not obvious but it beats both the others for the camp-factor.

Fickstutenmarkt - DD Review

The fuck mare market (Fickstutenmarkt / Hores Fair) takes place irregularly in gay sex clubs in Berlin, Hamburg and Mannheim. Mares (Stuten) offer themselves to stallions (Hengste) without ever seeing them (or anything else). And the stallions never see the mares' faces. Our reporter visited it in Aug 07 at Blackbox and said there were about 150 gay men, divided evenly between mares and stallions. Many of the mares were very sexy. He had a big smile on his face while he gave his report. He said he was going back for more. August 2008: Fickstutenmarkt Berlin has now moved permanently to Kitkat and in 2011 Jack is still a regular visitor, occasionally as a mare, along with many other adoring fans.

Where	@ Kitkat Dragon Room, Brückenstr. 1  Mitte Berlin
When	Irregular dates in Berlin ~ once every 1-2 months. Mares 17.30, Stallions 19.00 see gay berlin diary or main Fickstutenmarkt entry.
Web	http://fickstutenmarkt.com
Attracts	Ages 25-55, adventorous gay berliners
Quantity	150. Half mares, half stallions
Darkroom	Yes
Dance	No

Mares arrived first at 17:30 and were prepared by the 'Deckhelfers'. Decken = cover, service (fuck a mare); Helfer = helper. Deckhelfers help the mares get fucked. I decided not to be a mare. Can you imagine? Standing around blind all night and nobody touching you? I had not even thought of the problems with finding your drink, cigarettes or the darkroom. Or just finding a seat. But the Deckhelfers are fabulous, and are frequently seen guiding mares to the toilet, getting them a drink and even serviceing the less popular ones.

It's open from 19:00 for stallions, I arrived at 20:00. It was like a scene from Dante's inferno. All I could hear were loud cries of sexual pleasure, grunts and groans. I could see men being fucked at the bar and fucked on the benches around it. I hadn't even been in the darkroom. Condoms and paper towels littered the place, there was a smell of stable. Phwoar. I got naked and had a beer and a fag while I got used to the place. There were a few mares standing around, alone, looking very miserable. I noticed one on the bench who was cute, so I went over and fucked him. A stallion started fingering my arse while I was doing it. Gay stallion? I came (too) quickly and had to have a break. Then the serious fucking business started. It was fucking and fucking and fucking. Eventually I met Dave the 26 year old English hottie and fucked him too. I was very satisfied by all of it. It finished quite early around 11pm and I trotted up to Greifbar.

APOLLO SAUNA - DD REVIEW

You know that after lunch feeling: slightly tired and a hard on. Normal practice is to make a dash for the work toilets and have a wank, but could Apollo Berlin's biggest gay sauna be a viable alternative? We sent Jack to find out. Click the headline for the full report.

Jack came back with a negative report of older men and rent boys. One friend said that at the same time of day he had much more fun. He had ventured further into the very dark steam room. Another friend said that early one morning he had more luck there than in Boiler, where a few twinks were getting all the attention. Jack was also told that he must check out the Kino scene. Read on for what Jack saw that day.

Shade Inc (was nbi) - DD Review

Shade Inc (was nbi) is a gay dance club at Flamingo. It runs every Wednesday and fills up quickly after 11pm. It's got a medium size popular dance floor, a comfortable bar / lounge area and spacious toilets downstairs. It's only 3€ to get in, attracts a young gay crowd and they love dancing to the poppy indie music. With 200ish people there, it gets nice and crowded.

Fun night out.

April 2010 they changed their name to nbi after pressure from a hotel chain called Hilton. They also have many other nights in the club. Check the website.

November 2011 they moved to Flamingo.

Where	Flamingo, Kleine Präsidentenstr. 4a, am Monbijoupark, Mitte
When	Wednesday's from 22:30
Web	http://shade-inc.de
Attracts	20s-30s gay up for it crowd
Quantity	200 ish
Darkroom	No
Dance	Yes

Updated address / website Nov 2011, not visited since 2008.

QUÄLGEIST - DD REVIEW

We translate Quälgeist as 'tortured soul' and with nights like "Bondage", "SM for Beginners", "Slave camp" our Jack was reluctant to go there. Eventually he did with a friend to assist. They approached nervously - like innocent lambs to the slaughter....

The club claims to be in the fourth back yard in a block on Mehringdamm. The yards were well enough lit and they found the place for tortured souls tucked in the corner at back of the last yard. It was about 5€ to get in and the guy on the coat check was full of welcoming smiles. They went into the bar. It was a Wednesday around 9pm and there were ten to fifteen people there. Most looked unremarkable - students even. Jeans and T-shirt was a popular style. There were a few guys in rubber and leather. After the bar there was a door to a well lit play room, where Jack went after a drink to get his courage. It was crammed with toys - a sex play ground: beds, slings, stocks, St Andrews Cross, gym ladders and more. And they were all clean and well looked after. No torture, nobody tied up. Jack met some nice people and had fun.

Bottom line: Not half as scary as it sounds and rather like a small version of lab.oratory with better and cleaner equipment. Definitely worth a visit.

Where	Mehringdamm 51, Berlin-Kreuzberg
When	Irregular. Check website or Discodamaged calendar
Web	http://quaelgeist-berlin.de/
Attracts	seees like anybody ...
Quantity	10-70
Darkroom	Yes (not dark but lots to do)
Dance	No

NEW ACTION - DD REVIEW

The 'new' New Action has been around for a year now. The old New Action had steadily sunk into seedy derelict oblivion until it closed unclean and unloved except by a few. It's main use seemed to be as a drinking place of last resort in the early hours and in that it had been eclipsed by Bull next door on Kleist Str. Last year Thomas Pfizenmaier from Slutclub Hamburg took over the rent and gave the place a complete makeover. We think he likes leather, it is definitely a leather bar, and even on nights with a 'relaxed' dresscode most of the punters are hanging around, wearing leather, looking grim.

It all got off to a shaky start a year ago and we weren't sure if Thomas would stay the course. It seemed pretty empty whenever we went there and there were comments like
"I found the doorman unfriendly at the start, unhelpful, almost poisonous"
"they clearly don't like English speakers"
"The venue is a now a big, bland, black box"
"the barman is so unfriendly" ...
But more recently the comments have got better
"it was a pleasant surprise"
"turned into a leather bar and was very crowded."
"renovated with great taste"
"toilets are better than all the other bars I know"
And the bar has got busier. It looks like the new New Action has found its leather niche and is here to stay.

Where	Kleist Str. 35 Berlin-Schöneberg
When	Daily 22:00-05:00, later at weekend. Thursdays 2-4-1.
Web	http://www.newactionberlin.de/
Attracts	leather, sex, SM, Dresscode 25-55
Quantity	10-70
Darkroom	Yes
Dance	No

LA DEMENCE CRUISE 2011 AND 2012 REVIEW

The La Demence cruise 2011 is over and the 2012 cruise is taking bookings. Prices are pretty much the same this year, except they say there will be no last minute discounts. Click the headline for the 2011 review by team damaged and watch the video for an idea of what the ship, the rooms, the parties, the restaurant and the shows were like.

lab.oratory - DD review

Lab.oratory is the best equipped hard core sex club in Berlin. That probably makes it the best in the world. It's worth visiting just for the architectural design. It is in the same building as Berghain and the entrance is round the side. The listings magazines and the website don’t really tell you that. It’s secret! They also don’t say what the dress code is on a Friday. In fact there is none. Clothing, or lack of it, ranged from nothing to jeans and T-shirt. You are only allowed to enter between 22.00 and 24.00. There is a bar and the rest is a huge maze / dark room. The equipment is first class Teutonic industrial.

The Friday I visited there were about 100 people there. They use the number-on-you-arm paying system. I was rolling a joint with a nice guy and he wanted to get a beer. I showed him the number 266 on my arm and he was able to get one for me too. So civilized. I f*cked him after the joint.

In addition to the bar / maze with the uncountable slings, beds, cubicles and other equipment, there are two upstairs bits, one downstairs bit and, in the summer, a backyard. One upstairs bit is a smallish room with a sling, the other was a very busy darkroom within a darkworld. The downstairs / cellar bit was smallish, tiled and smelt of piss. The ceiling was open … It wasn’t in use that I saw, but they do have piss nights. There are good proper water showers down by the toilets. The concrete yard has benches and small play areas. Interestingly, there's a fine view of it from the tops floors of the fire station behind Berghain.

Top Tip: If you go to lab.oratory you can jump the queue into Berghain later. Get a stamp as you leave. Yuo may even get into Berghain free if you ask nicely.

Where	Round the corner of Berghain: Wriezener Karree, Friedrichshain
When	Thurs (naked) from 9, Fri. from 10, Sat from 10, Sun from 4. Check web site or dd's gay berlin diary for times and dresscode. 2-4-1 on Fridays.
Web	http://www.lab-oratory.de/
Attracts	Hardcore, pleasant crowd 25s - 50s. Depends on night.
Quantity	40-400
Darkroom	It's all darkroom, apart from the bar.
Dance	No

Updated July 2009. Read the comments: all positive.
Updated July 2011: "In lab.oratory last Friday 29/7/11 and it was more crowded than ever: over 300 guys some just socializing some getting more intimate. I met a handsome Irishman called Neil who said the review here was SHIT. After polite enquiries he revealed that the review gives the impression the lab is just a gay sex club.  Yes, it is quite a social event on Fridays, so a good day to come for the shy folk, but there's still plenty of sex action for those who want to go further. I asked Neil to leave a comment. He hasn't done so yet. And the next day it was the mud party. Friends said that was superb. Marcus never got out of the mud tub."

HARDIE'S KNEIPE - DD REVIEW

 
I can hear you asking already, "What's a kneipe?". Kneipe is a very useful German word which means your local pub where you go for a drink with a couple of friends or just to see others who like a tipple. And that's more or less what Hardie's Kneipe is, with two exceptions:
1) Most of the clientele are charming middle to older aged Schöneberg queens (among whom I count myself). And one of whom said to me, "It's the only gay bar in Schöneberg with no sexual energy."
2) The rest of the clientele are passing trade, many of them shoppers who have just staggered out of the side entrance Ka De We the 'must visit' department store in Berlin's top shopping street, Kurfürstendamm.

Where	Ansbacher Str. 29, Berlin-Schöneberg
When	Daily from midday, closes midnight or 2am Fri-Sat
Web	http://www.hardieskneipe-berlin.de
Attracts	Older crowd and shoppers
Quantity	100
Darkroom	No, not here please!
Dance	No

SPY CLUB - DD REVIEW

Last month team damaged went to Spy Club at Cookies to check it out. It was a very nice surprise. It says it is on the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Unter den Linden. It is. And on the same corner as the Westin Grand hotel, so it looks like part of that and we worried that it might be too up-market for us. No such problem. We arrived about 00:30, got quickly past the friendly doorman (no queue) and it was the usual murky entrance to a gay Berlin club. Once we had done the coat check and navigated tortuous corridors we found the large dance floor and bar which was busy enough and filling fast.

It's a big room with two bars, plenty of seating and a large dance floor. There's another small room with a bar where the Jailbait crew (lower pic) were DJ-ing. It doubles as a smoking room. It was a fog in there, even for a diehard smoker like me. The other punters were mostly young gay men, up for it, dressed sexily in every style including nothing but running shorts. To begin with we preferred Jackee Word and Jailbait's tunes but then the minimal electro on the main floor caught our mood and we joined the other dancers there. Before we left about 3am it was rammed and staff said it usually got even busier.

The bar staff were perfect: Numerous, happy, smiley, sexy and fast. It was instant beer (4.50€) whenever you went to the bar. There were a couple of security staff around as well, one of them seemed permanently stationed in the larger toilet. The other didn't have much to do except to tell absent minded smokers who lit up to get into the smoking room.

Bottom line: Good dancing, good space, good service, good boys, good fun.

Where	Friedrichstrasse/ Unter den Linden, Berlin-Mitte
When	Once a month (usually 4th Saturday) / 10€
Web	http://www.spyclub.de/
Attracts	Young crowd 20s-30s, some ladies. Some fashionistas
Quantity	500-900
Darkroom	No
Dance	Yes

PET SHOP BEARS – DD REVIEW

We've always listed Pet Shop Bears, albeit with scanty info, but I've never been because I imagined a rather dreary event full of large hairy men in dungarees swigging pints. I must put up my hands here and confess to having an irrational fear of bears. When I actually meet them, they invariably turn out to be sweet and friendly and I often want to cuddle them. With Pet Shop Bears I was proved doubly wrong because there was scarcely a bear in sight and the place was rammed with sexy gay Berlin men of all persuasions dancing, drinking and having a great time. There's a good size, busy dance floor and another area with seats and sofas. The only complaint I heard was from a young Englishman who couldn't find any drugs, poor chap. Regular DJs / promoters are Justin Case and Open Mike. OK - one at least had a beard.

Basic facts

Where	Berghain Kantine, Wriezener Karree, Friedrichshain
When	Once a month.
Web	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=68417145861
Attracts	Young crowd 20s-30s, some ladies
Quantity	300
Darkroom	No
Dance	Yes

CLUB CULTURE HOUZE REVISITED

Well we haven't written about Club Culture Houze for over three years. It's still there and it's more queer with three gay only nights per week.  In the intervening years we have visited this intimate sex club and not had a bad experience and sometimes very good. Probably best visited with friends, gay nights are Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays and it's a sex party all those nights. Club Culture Houze is at Görlitzer Str. 71 Berlin-Kreuzberg.

GEGEN – DD REVIEW

The discodamaged crew went down to Gegen at MIKZ in Revaler Str last Saturday. It opened at midnight and we arrived at 1am. There was no queue and we were searched quite carefully by the doorman. But he was forgiving and friendly. It was pretty empty when we got in so we could take our time and have a look around. There were two large rooms downstairs: a dance floor and a bar and another room upstairs which had the performance art.

By 2am the place was full and the 'Queer Techno' [slow techno to me] was getting everybody going on the dance floor. Loved it. And so did everybody else - and some of them were dressed well enough for Kitkat. We were less impressed by the performance room upstairs, but then we're not arty types, and there were plenty of people up there when we looked, watching a drum performance. Some of us left early just after 3am. By then the queue outside was huge. One of our party Peter, who normally stands about in a club being miserable, also had a great time - so much so that he stayed on until the bitter end.

Bottom line: It was big, good and just like the old gay Berlin underground. We'll go back.

Gegen moved to Kitkat in 2012. It's as good as ever.

Facts 

Where	now at at Kitkat Brückenstr. 1 Mitte
When	Once every second month.
Web	http://www.gegenberlin.org/
Attracts	Berlin underground dance crowd.
Quantity	600
Darkroom	No
Dance	Dance and Performance

Pic from http://www.talkinass.tumblr.com/

SÜDBLOCK – DD REVIEW

Club / bar Südblock opened in Kreuzberg at Kotbusser Tor in December and has got off to be a roaring success. They have irregular openings at the moment, so if you go their randomly it might be closed or a private party. But they say they will be open daily from March onwards. It's right in the full grimness that is Kotbusser Tor just on Admiralstrasse which leads down to the lovely bridge and more charming parts of the Kiez. It's a bit of a fish bowl with huge glass windows, a bar, a stage, some seats and a small dance floor. It's a party place, they often have bands and it can get very crowded with a small entrance fee.

Where	Admiralstrasse 1-2, Berlin-Kreuzberg
When	Slightly irregular for now. Check calendar.
Web	http://www.suedblock.org/
Attracts	All ages, all sorts inc. lesbians
Quantity	200+
Darkroom	No
Dance	Often and bands