On any given night, Berlin plays host to ten or fifteen VoKü across the city, often in what are known as "Project Houses": former squats that have been transformed by the squatters into communal living centers. Some are theme houses (for women, gays and lesbians, etc.), but most of their events are open to everyone. In keeping with their anarchist underpinnings, many offer cheap places to live, free meeting space, courtyard festivals, concerts, and, of course, VoKü

Every VoKü I have attended has been an adventure, part culinary, part social. For one or two euros, you get - well, whatever the people cooking that night decide to make. In general, the food is vegetarian, though some VoKü do include meat (with vegetarian and vegan options as well), and you can expect at least an attempt at all the real food groups. The execution, however, varies. One of my favorite meals featured homemade spanikopita, spicy fried soy nuggets, and a house salad. Usually, though, the food tends toward one-pot recipes: curries, stir-fries, couscous, and pasta. The only problem with these meals is that late-comers can find themselves with just a bowl of starch, the sauces having already been ladled out. Of course, late-comer is a relative term I've never seen a VoKü start on time. Luckily, most VoKü have a small bar on the premises, so you can indulge in one of most the common German pastimes: drinking vast quantities of beer.

Aside from the bar, VoKü have other standard fixtures: dogs, boots, beers, punks with dreadlocks, punks with mohawks, cigarette smoke, and b.o. Optionals include: a foosball table, a passedout drunk, a spirited political debate, a hoffest (coutyard festival), and a police raid. One thing you'll never have to worry about: food that's too spicy. The dishes aren't necessarily bland, but Germany seems to be operating in a Medieval mindset, where spices are worth their weight in gold, and therefore used very sparingly. If you want your tongue pricked by something other than an overly pierced Teutonic goth, bring a bottle of chili sauce.