Alcohol has a long tradition. Even in ancient Egypt, wages were defined in beer units. Our relationship to alcohol as a stimulant and “reward” has hardly changed since then. After a hard day, we often “treat” ourselves to a glass of wine. The word “drink” alone is usually associated with alcohol. When people ask: “Shall we go for a drink?”, most people think of alcohol.

Despite the omnipresence of alcohol, the statistics are surprising: according to the Federal Ministry of Health, alcohol consumption in Germany is declining. This is due to several factors. A study by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) shows that some millennials find it embarrassing to get drunk at parties. In addition, many people are trying to make healthier lifestyle choices. The wellness industry is booming, and mindfulness has established itself as a lifestyle, further reducing alcohol consumption.

In recent years, the word “sober” has become an established term: sober lifestyle, sober Sunday, sober October. In the USA, the trend “sober and curious” aims to eliminate alcohol as a habit. The focus is instead on health, sleep and well-being. Ruby Warrington, author of “Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol” writes: “After all, we do yoga, drink green smoothies and meditate. But at the end of a long day at work and the start of the weekend, in a social situation, we drink. Given how we take care of ourselves otherwise, it’s hard to avoid the fact that alcohol just makes us… feel terrible.”

The non-alcoholic lifestyle is also celebrated in Europe: The “Sober Sensation” festival has been held in Berlin since 2016. The event’s website states: “This alternative party concept works without alcohol or other drugs. We want to inspire people and create awareness for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.”

I wonder what going to a non-alcoholic party could look like in Berlin. Gideon, the organizer of “Sober Sensation”, says that through his experience in the underground rave scene in Berlin, he noticed that the freshest, most energetic, and most socially active guests were usually sober.

It’s a Sunday morning when I arrive at the Berlin Sober Festival. In front of me is a huge field made of patches of grass and soil with a small, bouncy castle. Only far from the entrance, I discover two stalls selling non-alcoholic drinks and vegan street food. Where festival visitors normally wait in queues, there is a yawning emptiness.

I write to the festival’s social media manager and ask her to pick me up on “floor one”. Her greeting amazes me: “Too bad, you’ve just missed the service.” Nope, not a joke: A few hours before my arrival, there must have been a priest on stage. Now a singer is telling how he gave up cigarettes thanks to his faith in God. I’m confused—this is supposed to be about health and a sober party culture. The organizer Gideon explains to me in an interview that many of the visitors are Christians, which is why there are church services. I don’t ask why Jesus turned water into wine.

I make my way to the second floor. The closer I get, the louder the electronic music gets. The dance area has a sandy surface. I try to join the 20 people who are dancing and having fun. The awareness of being in a sober environment inhibits me. But the longer I dance, the freer I feel. I’m also holding a lemonade in my hands; it gives me the impression that I’m drinking a vodka lemon, like as usual at a party.

The dancefloor empties out at lunchtime. The DJs continue to play, and I dance a little more. I don’t miss the alcohol, but the amount of people and the human contact that make a festival or a party what it is. Floors “three” and “four” (deep techno and silent disco) are deserted.

In the evening, I don’t feel like I’ve been at a music festival all day. The experiment has shown me that I don’t need religion to know that less alcohol can be good for us. But I also don’t necessarily have to go to a “sober” event to not drink. Because without alcohol, I still had fun dancing. A drink in our hands is, like everything else, a matter of habit anyway, and the taste of alcohol even more so.