I just spent a week in Berlin, had an amazing time. Only got turned down from one place once - and it was totally my fault, but got into it fine the next day. Got into several places that were notorious for difficult to get past door policy.

The landmarks / touristy things / etc were great. The parks were gorgeous, the food was good. I got into Berghain no problem - then again, I showed up at 10am on a Sunday in fetish gear, eventually stripping down to my boxers once inside (fuck that place gets hot).

In my week there, only twice did I have someone speak loudly at me in German that I couldn't really understand. One time I think I was trying to lock my bike up in a spot where I couldn't - he yelled at me, pointed at my bike then at a sign then at my bike again. I figured "Well, guess I can't lock it here". The other was "5 Euro, to little" when I got into a Taxi - which I figured my destination was too close and he didn't want to drive that short of a distance. Once I looked it up - it was only a 10 minute walk away.

tip for those trying to get into Berghain:

• Go Sunday, at 10am, or later - seriously, I was there from 10am-10pm, the place just got busier, and busier and was still going off the hook at 10pm once I finally called it quits. Don't fall into the tourist trap of trying to arrive at midnight/when the doors open. The headliners didn't start coming on until mid afternoon anyways.
• Show up in something fetishy or show up looking like you are ready to sweat - half the people inside end up stripping down to their underwear, or skimpy gym/sports clothing - not to look sexy, but out of comfort. The place gets hot
• Wear sturdy shoes - so much broken glass on the floor, I was wearing thick-soled doc martians, and the amount of glass embedded into the soles of them is insane.