Berlin

A few random notes about Berlin, as we visited the city earlier this year:

• Berlin is a very green city, which can already be appreciated from the plane when you’re arriving

• It is, no doubt, a very lively and very interesting city with a lot of different characters and even more things to discover. “I have to admit that I was always a bit biassed against Berlin. It may have something to do with the fact that I’m a Münchner (I’m from Munich) and, rather curiously, I love Hamburg. So in comparison, Berlin is undoubtably exciting, but not quite my kettle of fish.” says Christian Leyk.

• Our impression after 4 days was that there is no Berlin and that nobody lives in Berlin. There are a lot of neighbourhoods and people are really passionate about their neighbourhood. But everything outside is a little bit like travelling abroad…

• Like in all the other cities in Germany we know people use the bicycle as a means of transportation. That means they don’t dress up for the Tour De France and they don’t engage in battles with car drivers and pedestrians. The simply get on the bike to get from A to B and they enjoy it.

• We really should keep this our secret, but Berlin is an amazing place to find anything 20th century, from furniture to lights and everything else household and industrial. Here in the UK these become more and more items for wealthy collectors, but in Berlin it’s still easy to find cool stuff.

• There is still a lot of space in Berlin, including areas in the very centre, and a lot of abandoned buildings and factories. One can only dream of converting them into super cool loft spaces and design studios. This also means that there is a thriving art scene, as artists usually have more space requirements as they have money..

• Avoid flying out from Berlin Tegel (not sure if that’s possible). In Tegel there is no area between security and the individual gates, which virtually no option of shopping or eating. Spending more than 30 minutes waiting for your flight is almost torture. But then we guess mentioning the word ‘Flughafen’ (airport) to the people of Berlin might not be a good topic either.

• Forget everything you think you know about kebab. Go to Berlin and find out that you can eat it without a hangover. In fact, it is delicious!

• Last but not least, do enjoy a curry wurst. It’s a little bit odd, but has a lot of character.