Post-punk meets pink

When I arrive, reception staff are milling inside a fibreglass pod described by Rashid as a "huge blob". Beyond the lobby, floor-to-ceiling windows face the river beneath a ceiling bearing seemingly molten-liquid sculptures. To the rear, staff serve cocktails behind a gold-lacquered fibreglass bar. The menus are shaped like vinyl records. The pink palette is relentless. It continues in my room, festooned with pink sheets; and in the bathroom, stocked with pink towels and pink neon bathroom amenities.

Despite the candy hues, it's tempting to spend a night in with my room-service guitar and myriad cable music stations. But this would be unforgivable in such a city, so I set off to explore Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. There are countless galleries in this city and one of the most famous, the East Side Gallery, is a short walk away. A 1.3-kilometre stretch of the remaining Berlin Wall has been transformed into an outdoor gallery adorned with murals by more than 100 artists. I pause to watch a couple of tourists pose in front of Russian artist Dmitri Vrubel's painting. The notorious Brotherly Kiss depicts the former East German leader Erich Honecker locked in a passionate embrace with the former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

Berlin's musical expression blossomed after the fall of the wall, when squatters took over derelict warehouses and factories throughout Berlin's Mitte and the east; house and techno clubs were established, including UFO, held in a basement on Koepenicker Strasse. By the time the 1990s and the Love Parade rolled around, Berlin was established on the international techno scene.

Today, clubs such as Suicide Circus and Watergate draw thousands each weekend. The colossal Berghain/Panorama Bar, set inside a former power station, and with a reverberating sound system, was named the best in the world in 2011 by British magazine DJ Mag. The queues here are frighteningly long and the shenanigans of experimental clubbers are as legendary as the character of the DJs.

The city is changing, however, particularly around the Spree. Much to the chagrin of Berlin's artists and musicians, the derelict squats that once lined the riverbank have slowly made way for loft apartments. Change is also afoot in the trendy district of Prenzlauer Berg, where rents have skyrocketed and organic food markets, boutiques and young families have moved in. Noise complaints have forced several nightclubs to shut their doors and many more face the same fate. Clubbers have even coined a term for it, "clubsterben" (a play on the German word for "dying"), while some politicians are rallying for funds to protect the threatened industry and the city's future as Europe's party capital.

Nicholas, a Parisian-turned-Berliner, arrived just as people were taking sledgehammers to the wall. He says the best parties are word-of-mouth, spontaneous affairs held in abandoned warehouses and subway stations. "I remember going to a party underneath Potsdamer Platz when they were constructing the subway line," he says. "The station wasn't open at the time so we had a big black-light party in the tunnel."

Now working as a DJ, graphic designer and city guide ("Here we call it 'leiben kunstler', which means artist of life"), Nicholas is one of many Berliners who speak about the city's past with a tinge of nostalgia. "It was more freestyle back then," he says. "The parties didn't have anything to do with making money or being commercial - it was about experiencing new things."

This is not to say Berlin is lacking in new experiences; and music isn't limited to clubs and parties. The entrance to the ultra-hip bathhouse Liquidrom, off Moeckernstrasse, feels like a nightclub, with a minimalistic interior and mood lighting. Inside, a young, good-looking crowd bathes in saltwater pools and steams in Finnish saunas. While floating on my back with my ears submerged, I can hear downbeat electronica being played underwater by live DJs. The bathhouse stays open until midnight.

Back at the Nhow, I manage to glimpse its sound floor. Two studios are equipped with professional 5.1 digital suites and analog mixing, including a SSL duality mixing desk considered the best in the world. When the marketing manager, Jessica Emde, peers inside one of Nhow's studios, she gasps and shuts the door quickly. "I'm sorry," she says. "Someone is recording." Recent occupants include Skylar Grey, Tommy Emmanuel, Public Enemy and Shaggy but my hopes of eavesdropping on a live recording are dashed.

Emde does, however, allow me a peek into the €2500 ($3180) a night Nhow suite, spanning two levels and 258 square metres of lollipop hues, with a huge rooftop terrace and a desktop Korg micro-piano for when the Baldwin grand piano on the lower level of the suite is too far away.

Minutes after placing my order, a music manager delivers a white Gibson guitar, a Marshall amplifier and a guitar pick - pink, of course. In the fairy-floss surroundings I find it hard to channel my guitar hero (Slash from Guns N' Roses, since you asked) and it's hard to imagine grizzled old rockers and their groupies decamping here for an after party. Nhow is non-smoking and the minibar contains only little bottles of Absolut vodka, Evian face spray and an innocent assortment of wine gums. Undeterred, I open a Heineken and pick up the guitar. No need for inhibitions because no one else can hear - the amplifier, mercifully, comes with headphones.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Etihad has a fare to Berlin from Sydney and Melbourne for about $1980 low-season return including tax. Fly to Abu Dhabi (about 14hr), then on Air Berlin to Berlin (7hr); see etihadairways.com.

Staying there

Nhow Berlin is at Stralauer Allee 3. Double rooms cost from €170 ($216) a night. It's worth paying more for a room overlooking the river. See nhow-hotels.com.

While there

Liquidrom is a bathhouse open daily 10am-midnight and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. A two-hour pass costs €19.50. Mockernstrasse 10; see liquidrom-berlin.de.

Berlin's nightlife can be overwhelming. For solo travellers, Alternative Berlin has a nightly bar tour exploring most subcultures, costing €10; see alternativeberlin.com.