The Shameless Delight Of Berlin Spätis

Berlin does convenience stores a little differently to the places I’m used to.

Spätis, short for Spätkauf which means late night purchase in German, are independently owned convenience stores where you can get all manner of beverages, tobacco and junk food at all hours and sometimes even 24/7.

Wofli taking us to one of his favourite spätis.

Most retail streets in Berlin feature at least one späti and why shouldn’t they?

Their drink fridges feature heart pumping energy drinks, session ciders and an array of legacy beers that put an Aussie bottleo to shame, most of them under €3. Run out of beer at a party and a späti has you covered.

Wolfi with a fraction of what was on offer.

They have more nicotine products than a high school teacher’s confiscation collection, an array of ciggies, tobacco, vapes and maybe the odd smoking apparatus for that bag of dried herbs you bought in the park.

Those Sistema sized tubs on the far right are full of rolling tobacco that Deutschlanders seem to love.

And if you’re so inclined to have the munchies, spätis are prepared with an array of chips, choccies and those weird German in-between snacks that defy categorisation. Far out, even the magazines are complete trash.

Oh yeah, there's wine too!

Simply, Berlin spätis are a little Las Vegas filled with all the dirty pleasures afforded to a recklessly incomed adult.

I never found out if those ships and pistols were for sale. Something for next time.

All these vices are not only conveniently placed together but all spätis have a bottle opener to crack that beer right away and milkcrate seating out the front where you can enjoy all your guilty pleasures as you watch Berlin go about it’s weird-as-shit day. Walking past groups of friends, expats and work colleagues drinking, munching and toking out the front of a späti is a frequent occurrence. At some spätis, the person who served you might even pop out the front for a vape and a yarn, making you feel like you’re at the gronkiest low-budget bar you’ve ever had the privilege of experiencing.

Wolfi and me who is still a little suspicious that this is all legal.

As someone from a country with some seriously strict, convict era drinking laws, I found Berlin spätis to be a deeply liberating experience. Part teenage rebellion and part being treated like the adult you dreamed of becoming, a drink at a späti is an essential Berliner experience and manages to sum up the complicated counter-culture of this raw and expressive city.

This article was originally published on plannedvsrogue.com, where you can read more about our episode of Planned vs Rogue in Berlin.