A multicultural night out

Last night was the second of the major nights out in beautiful Berlin. One of the project leaders, another girl on the project and me went to the Stadtsoper in Charlottenburg and saw a performance of "Un ballo in maschera" by Verdi. The show was sold out and packed with yuppies and American tourists, but the all-star cast gave a spectacular performance. After we went for dinner at a vegetarian Indian restaurant close by (one of the project leader's favourite haunts) and chatted about previous years he had worked on the project, job opportunities and alcohol-induced accidents. At about quarter to midnight me and my friend got on the U-Bahn - she was headed for home, and I was headed for Kreuzberg.
The originally large group who had said they would accompany me on my two-club-review night had dwindled to four: two other girls from the project (die-hards from last weekend's KaterHolzig outing) and two young Turkish men (neighbours of one of the girls in their apartment block). The guys' English was incredibly basic; after a few beers the language barrier had been raised further, but we all struggled on regardless.
Our first search was for Club de Visionaere, an open-air bar by the river. After an unsuccessful hunt, a pit-stop on a giant bench on the riverfront and a chat with some guys from England who had been bounced from a club up the road, we decided to move on to the next planned location: Chalet.
Having heard about this club from friends who've been out in Berlin, I was really excited to see what all the fuss was about. The building itself is three stories of utilitarian washed-out-red brick, with a cobbled patio at the back and thumping techno inside. Since the others had beers to finish before they could go in, I went on ahead, aware of how dreadfully embarrassing it would be if I didn't get in. I positioned myself in the thankfully short queue behind a group of German teenagers, apparently having an altercation with the bouncers. After I'd been standing for a couple of minutes looking bored, one of the bouncers looked over at me and asked in German if I was alone. I replied that I was, and he beckoned me inside. Result.
Chalet was everything I'd hoped it would be. I took advantage of being on my own for a few minutes to get a drink and have a look around. The others luckily got in too, so I didn't have to wander round looking awkward and lonely all night.
The multicultural experiences of the night included: a chat with a couple of gay German men on the patio; a conversation with a young German guy outside the toilets; meeting a girl and a guy from London, in Berlin for the weekend to party; encountering a large group of Australians in the garden; and being propositioned by a Frenchman. We were dancing enthusiastically to techno until around 5am, then decided to head home. Having crawled into bed at 6, I was not up at 8 to get ready for German class. It fell by the wayside this morning - but I was technically working last night.
In St Oberholz after a much-needed shower and a healthy lunch of open Gouda and tomato sandwiches. Have actually managed to be pretty productive despite the hangover. Oh, and the anticipation for the boyfriend's arrival this evening. I really can't wait to see him and show him this wonderful city; a weekend just isn't going to be enough for everything I want him to see.