I was in Berlin 21 years ago (I was 17), and I thought it was pretty awesome. Maybe you were in East Berlin? I had just been on a bus trip through East Germany with my grandparents for the previous few days, and in comparison West Berlin seemed like a riot of color and sound and modern civilization and a 24/7 party. I imagine it's mellowed a bit since then, but I'm sure a lot of that atmosphere has stuck around.