May 2025
In which Adam & Eve go to Berlin, feast like the French, discover some divine leatherwear, get Insomnia and visit Helmut Newton!
Well, the short answer is that we took the 12:33 train from Prague to Berlin on a Friday afternoon. The longer answer is that our trip began one kinky evening in February 2019, not that we knew it at the time. But our back-story is for another day, if at all. For now, dear reader, let’s focus and stay in the present.
Berlin began calling in the spring, when love cast its spell. We sought a get-away to explore our connections, to pursue our fantasies, to test boundaries and to get deeper into ourselves, into our ‘us’. Berlin seemed like the perfect arena: urban, autonomous, innately powerful, forward looking despite, or because of, the past darkness that still haunts it. Germany’s capital has great places to eat, plenty of art and culture, embraces sexual freedom, hedonism and, of course, kink. What’s not to like?
Lux 11 on Rosa-Luxemburg straße is a perfect nesting spot. Our room had plenty of light from windows that look out and up at the marvelous sci-fi phallus of Fersehturm, the television tower built in what was then East Berlin in 1965-69. Double-glazing ensures peace and quiet from the world outside. The large bed is comfortable and welcoming. It would have been handy if there was a full-length mirror, but never mind, that photo session will have to wait for another time and place. The room did have what we took to be a spanking bench, and armchairs that would serve a purpose when entering from behind. Alas no bathtub for additional pampering, but the walk-in shower did get the steam rising
The place to start is the Michelin Guide, which lists 75 quality Berlin eateries of just about every conceivable type. Given our current predilection for hot French kissing – explorative tongues, wet lips, eyes wide open – we took a punt and went French at Irma La Douce on Potsdamer Straße. It did not disappoint.
Petra dos Santos was surprised to find us on her doorstep. Visitors are received by appointment, a fact we’d overlooked because we were too busy drooling over the LookBook on her website. She was all set to close for the day when we turned up, but was kind enough to invite us in… and the universe proceeded to smile on all three of us.
The Dos Santos showroom is a kinkster’s delight. Red-painted floorboards, high ceilings, white walls and a large bay window that allows light to flood in combine to create the perfect space for the mind-blowing display of exquisite leather clothing and kinky accessories. Leather skirts, shirts, waistcoats, bras, suspenders and corsets mingle with just about every conceivable restraint, leash, collar, harness, cuff, mask, cane, whip, flogger, blindfold and gag. Where to start?
One of the joys of visiting Dos Santos is the large open workshop adjoining the showroom. The work table is scattered with the tools and accoutrements of her craft, and there’s always work in progress. One wall is hung with a range of fine skins and leathers, sourced within Europe and finished in German tanneries; a slight aroma of leather lingers in the air. A sewing machine sits in one corner of the room, and a large St. Andrew’s cross dominates the far end of the workshop! “Is that for problematic customers?” asked Adam. “No, that’s for my nice customers,” replied Petra, beaming from ear to ear as we all burst into laughter.
We had come to Berlin to push ourselves a bit, build on our connection and to get kinky in a club where we could explore each other and play in an open and safe environment. Berlin has plenty of options, and our research produced a shortlist of clubs, headed by Insomnia. When we were in town, Insomnia’s Saturday night event was ‘Colours of the Night’, described as a ‘sex positive play and dance party’, which sounded promising given our desire to play in public. We booked the VIP package, which included champagne and our own play area on the upper floor of the club, giving us a birds-eye view of the dance floor, and much more besides.
Insomnia sets a dress code for each event, and for Colours it was ‘Black Glamour, Kinky, Fetish, Naked’. And by the time we left in the early hours of Sunday, we had worked our way through the entire code.
