Bouldering in Berlin

I boulder on the team at my home university, and have always found it to be a great way to meet new people and stay active. Because I’m on a team, though, I have never had to find my own gym or make my own climbing community. Since I knew that I wanted to keep climbing while abroad, I decided to do some research in advance. Using Google Maps, a couple of Reddit threads, and the VisitBerlin site for inspiration, I looked into some of the gyms in the area to get a sense of what my options would be. It was hard to tell from internet searches alone, though, so I decided to spend the first few weeks of my time in Berlin going to different gyms and seeing what felt best.

That ended up being a fantastic plan. Though I certainly kept busy during orientation week and the beginning of classes, I didn’t have much work to do, I hadn’t yet made many friends, and I was entirely unfamiliar with the city of Berlin. Going to different climbing gyms throughout the city helped to fill some of my free time, and it exposed me to new neighborhoods where I wouldn’t otherwise have found myself. I also met new people at each gym, most of whom were really enthusiastic about hanging out and working on climbs together, despite my very elementary German skills.

Bouncing from gym to gym was not so sustainable, though, since it took much more money and planning than just picking one gym and getting a monthly membership. Luckily, one gym immediately stood out to me as the place where I wanted to stay: Boulderklub Kreuzberg, or “BK”. It’s less than twenty minutes from my residence, the climbs tend to be really creative and fun to project (see some of the photos in the gallery below!), and it is filled with incredibly friendly people. I ended up getting a student membership there, and it has become one of my favorite places in Berlin.

Over the past few months, I’ve made some great friends at BK who I climb with at least once per week. Between climbs, we catch up on our weeks, exchange climbing-related tips, and share stories about our various cities of origin. BK is filled with people from all over, and so far I’ve spent the most time with people from Germany, Spain, and the U.S.. We mostly speak together in English, but I’ve also had plenty of opportunities to practice my German, as well.

Even as I have gotten busier with classwork and travel, and as I have started spending more of my free time with my friends within the IES Abroad program, the climbing gym has remained an important part of my Berlin experience. It’s been really important to me to have this outlet to always keep myself busy, moving, social, and exploring. I am looking forward to returning to my team at school this winter, but for now, I am quite happy at Boulderklub Kreuzberg :)