Hi Deutschland!: Frohes neues Jahr! Happy New Year!

So, apparently Berliners really love NYE. Ever since Christmas people have been setting off a few fireworks, but nothing like yesterday. Starting early in the morning, the booming that echoed around the city never stopped. I felt like I was living in a war zone. "Berlin or Baghdad?" joked my roommate.

Obviously, I've known that New Year's was coming up for quite some time, but I couldn't get motivated enough to really plan anything. I knew for sure that I didn't want to buy a ticket for a party in a club. You pay 10x the normal admission for the same club, only decorated with some silver streamers and balloons. You better hope the crowd and music are good, because you just forked over $70 (drinks not included) to be trapped in the same space for the next 6 hours. I made this mistake in 2013 and it sucked.

It was starting to look like the same sad story as Christmas Eve -- everyone was invited somewhere else, and I was not about to invite myself along to a stranger's party as a +1..But then I got a text from Andy, my ex-coworker who spent Christmas with me. He's also a recent transplant to Berlin and was in the same boat. Suddenly New Year's was looking better!

We were thinking of going to Brandenburger Tor, which is Germany's version of the Times Square NYE. Literally about a million people gather for almost a mile in front of the Brandenburger Tor to party and ring in the new year together. A huge stage is set up and bands, DJs, or singers perform (this year was Trans Siberian Orchestra). News anchors wander around with a mic and it's broadcasted across Germany. At midnight they have an amazing fireworks display. I have a sneaking suspicion it's mostly a tourist thing to do, or maybe one of those "Do it once just to say you did it" things, because I asked a few Berliners about it and not only have they never been there, but they expressed absolutely no interest in ever going.

I don't blame them -- you are outside in the freezing cold, trying to keep your holiday buzz going, then using port-a-potties that 100,000 people used before you, waiting in never-ending lines for beer, and it's dangerous! It's got a bad reputation for crazy people shooting fireworks into the crowd. Why deal with that when you can have a house party in a warm flat with your best friends (and be protected from flaming, exploding projectiles)?

With Brandenburger Tor out of the picture, we decided on an Irish pub near Oranienburger Tor. There are lots of bars around, so it would be easy for us to hop from one to the next. Oscar Wilde is a typical Irish pub -- lots of wood and leather, booth seating, and good beer on tap. All in all a solid place. They've got a second room in the back with an additional bar plus a stage, where a guy was playing and singing traditional songs plus Mumford and Sons-type covers.

The crowd was some Germans and (unsurprisingly) a few groups of Brits. It was fun! The singer started the countdown to midnight and then led us in Auld Lang Syne. And then.. The bar was literally deserted in a matter of minutes as everyone rushed outside to see the fireworks. They were EVERYWHERE. In the street, on the sidewalk, shooting from apartment windows.. People had been shooting them off literally all day but this was incredible. We found a big intersection overlooking a canal and watched the fireworks as party boats floated by, crowded with people waving at us.

Afterwards we hit up die Berliner Republik, a restaurant/bar nearby with a dance floor and boogied down for a couple of hours. The DJ was playing a really huge mix of music.. Martin Garrix - Animals, Eiffel 65 - Blue, David Guetta - Sexy Chick, Culture Beat - Mr. Vain, and even.. Will Smith's Fresh Prince rap. The Germans really liked that one for some reason--everyone was singing it. There was a huge mix of people, too. Some 20-somethings, 40-somethings, even a few 60+-somethings were getting their dance on. There was this hilarious couple dancing next to us. They had to be in their 50s but they were having so much fun and were so into each other, taking silly pictures, dancing, flirting.. It was really heartwarming to see them together. I want something like that someday.

Afterwards I headed over to Mir's apartment. The Ubahn stopped at Seestr so I had to walk a ways..The streets were mostly empty in our neighborhood, but the party-goers had left the streets looking like the set of a zombie movie. The hike was worth it, though -- he had a Berliner (a fluffy donut filled with jelly and glazed to perfection), a bottle of champagne, and a New Year's kiss waiting for me. A perfect ending to a fun night and a rollercoaster year.