I am not cool enough for this city.

In LA, it’s cool to know people.

In London, it’s cool if you’re not cool.

In Paris, it’s cool to be skinny, drink wine, smoke cigarettes and pretend to be an expert on art.

In Berlin, though, cool is such an extreme.

When I arrived today, I passed two girls wearing fur coats with skirts and ankle boots (I immediately felt self-conscious in my Banana Republic coat and J.Crew scarf…you can picture it, can’t you??).

The bartenders at my hotel are wearing Indiana Jones hats.

The DJ is bow tie-clad and is spinning on turn tables set up on a baby grand piano.

There’s a grit and an “I don’t give a damn” attitude about this city that I haven’t experienced in any other city in Europe.

This weekend, I’m staying at the Michelberger Hotel, just east of the Eastside Gallery, the famous graffiti-covered remnants of the Berlin wall.

I picked this hotel because of its proximity, price and the great reviews online (I guess that’s what the 4 P’s of marketing are all about!)

It reminds me of the Ace and the Hoxton hotels, both of which I stayed in in Shoreditch, London.

The details of which hotel questions are answered are so well thought through.

I ate at the restaurant for dinner: arugula salad with truffle oil and pear, deer with beets, kohlrabi, roast pumpkin and cabbage.

There’s a DJ in the lobby, which is less of a lobby and more of a bar/hangout with couches and books, and from where I’m currently blogging.

Vegan cakes and cocount water.

It makes me believe that Frankfurt can also be organic, healthy, all things green (and that maybe I won’t need to use the kale powder I packed in my suitcase).

After I arrived today, I walked around Kreuzberg and Neukölln, both considered more hipster neighborhoods of Berlin.

Let’s just address the elephant in the room.

It’s cold.

This is the Landwehrcanal. Not much could convince me to stop, take off my gloves, get my camera and snap a pic today…except for the iceburgs floating on the river.

It’s snowing.

The DJ in the hotel lobby is a relief.

I am not leaving.

I have my book set in 1950s Berlin, a glass of wine, and I’m joining the hipsters.

I have my Gap outfit, KMS-coiffed hair, and hope they’re accepting of me.