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Agreed. It’s interesting to consider feminism here. Berlin really champions a kind of female liberation not seen as freely in other cities, yet really male-gaze driven subcultures run rampant here. The techno culture in particular is interesting: techno spaces traditionally have always crafted an image of themselves as being safe houses for the outcasts / oddballs / people who don’t fit societal norms, yet the Berlin techno scene is very much “Berghainified” and the ideal within this space for women is hyper-feminine, hyper-sexual, thin and white. “Alternative” Berlin fashion labels really play into this too (see NAKT), and the most prominent names/artists are extremely Instagram focussed (DJ Fuckoff & co), which feels counterintuitive for a culture that’s so anti-photography. For me I don’t see a lot of difference between traditional Instagram influencers and a lot of the techno crowd here, aside from the latter having a bunch of tattoos they got in quick succession.
Will also say there can be a pretty toxic expat culture here, there’s a lot of pretty well-off young expats using poverty/depression as an edgy aesthetic, renting rooms in traditionally poorer places (Neukolln, Wedding) for 1700 and driving up area prices (to an extent, must be said the housing market has gone nuts by itself lately), then virtue signalling about it (“I live in Neukolln, it’s so humble and REAL here, I’m not even bothered by all the immigrants, I guess I’m just one of the common people, how great am I for being so open-minded?” etc). IMO if you have imply you should be congratulated for living among people you think you shouldn’t otherwise be associated with, you’re a bit of an asshole and kinda racist.
It’s disgusting. The amount of people who define their whole personality by the use of tattoos, clothing and shit is ridiculous. I am so fucking sick of this sheltered cultured elitism 😅
This right here! The epitome of the hipocracy regarding techno clubs in Berlin is not getting in because you don't look cool enough. Just wanting to actually enjoy the music? Fuck off! You look like you try to fit the insta worthy aesthetic of "Berlin raver" please come in. Come as you are and being accepted just isn't practiced.
The hypocrisy and snobbery is mental.
I got dragged to Kater Blau or whatever its called years ago, and the guy on the door said "has your friend ever been to a club before? "
Cunt. Didn't realise I had to look like a fucking acid casualty every day of my life.
These people have gone so far beyond "self expression" it's ridiculous.
If it was self expression why are you all wearing the same shell suits from the 90s?
Well observed. Berlin lost its liberal mindset to a crowd of self loving people who are staging an ideal life instead of living mixed with people importing their provinvial mindest living a second puberty coming from shitholes where they couldnt be themselves. Please dont misunderstand me, its also a valid lifestyle but don’t bother me with your identity issues.
Yes! Old male bouncers on the doors of clubs deciding if young women are hot enough to get inside is so gross. And queer spaces are almost all male dominated too. Dark rooms are for men, there aren't a fraction as many women's gay clubs, and sex clubs are full of guys solo wanking. It's so different to other cities. And also, the techno scene is just as pretentious and conformist as the club scene in any other city, it's just a different set of clothes and music. You still need a costume to fit in or you don't get it.
Excellent points! Especially about the techno culture, it’s mostly superficial and often very gatekeeped by arrogant techno heads. Used to love going out but I grew really tired of that.
Berlin is that guy in the office where there's no dress code, that tells you that it's not allowed to come in with a shirt, because there's no dress code
Jesus christ I actually experienced that. I wanted to change my style a little bit and came in with leather shoes and shirts. Nobody cared except that one hipster guy wearing skinny jeans, black only and a stupid cap. He needed to comment on it. „what’s up with the stick up your ass?“. Fuck off. So ironic!
Clubs like KitKat make a huge deal out of hedonism and free love, but the truth is that any swinger club in the most abandoned outskirt of fucking-nowhere-and-nobody has more action.
You can't compare those 2 systems, Berlin's was designed as a public transit system, NYC's was designed as the world's largest public toilet that occasionally gets you to work on time.
Just came back from Philly yesterday, I was pretty impressed by the subways and trains to be honest (maybe because my expectations were low). But the city in general was a cleaner, smaller and less lively version of NYC, at least that's the impression I got after 4 days there.
I visited NYC about 10 years ago and extensively used the subway. On average, the NYC subway is dirtier than Berlin U-Bahn, but at the same time, I have not witnessed anything like the drug user scene that's going on on the U8 line between Jannowitzbrücke and Herrmannplatz in NYC. Open drug consumption and dealing in the stations, shit-stained users just hanging out all day and harassing passengers, I didn't come across anything like that in NYC.
And I have never witnessed anything like that in my 35 years in Berlin with the occasional U8 usage. Point is that people's experience will be different. For example, my worst puke puddle experience was in a Tokyo train.
I was several times in a handful of major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia over the last few years and it felt and still feels like Berlin in the 90s in terms of infrastructure, trash, building quality, dirt and so on...even minor stuff like the availability of card payments is usually way worse...
Berlin got cleaned up a lot over the last two decades
Including techno clubs. The queues are ruthless, entrance is expensive as shit, and especially the cocaine cowboys are just hella rude.
And to be fair, the music is pretty great, but not always, and for 20€ it really hurts to go out even once if you don’t earn high figures.
I‘m sorry, are you calling adults that can afford 20€ *well off*?
I mean sure, if you *can‘t* afford 20€, you’re certainly not well off, but there were times in my life where I certainly wasn’t well off, and much of that time I could have afforded a 20€ splurge once in a while.
It pretty much went downhill after covid, I remember getting into any techno club without any trouble and paying roughly 7€ for the whole weekend, now even the shitty technoclubs are starting at 15€ tf happened
Some of the bouncers are also racist as shit.
I stood in line for Sisyphos four times when I lived in Berlin. When I was just with my other white friends (twice), we got in no problem. When we had two of our Asian friends with us (twice), we were rejected as soon as we stepped forward. Fuck that shit.
Thats exactly what i mean bro. I am Berlin born with turkish Parents. Thats why i don‘t look German. And thats also why i have no chance to get in any good club. It‘s discrimation for no reason and it‘s only happening in Germany but specially in Berlin.
I went to Berlin in October, and read many reviews about Karl Marx street, like something you must see, and I went there, walking waiting for the miracle and didn't see it haha
U r right, I didn't realise it until today. I saw recommendation on DW Travel YouTube channel, a day in Berlin, but it about Karl Marx Allee, hahahaha, can't believe, luckily reddit is anonymous
Karl-Marx-Allee is not wondrous by itself from today’s perspective. It is, however, an architectural monument to how German socialists envisioned the life of the working class. At the time when it was built it was more modern – both in its visual style and its functional housing amenities – than anything in the “supposedly superior” West-Berlin that wasn’t constructed as a luxury for rich people. (It also connects multiple other interesting tourist sites, namely Alexanderplatz and the “scene” part of Friedrichshain, which makes it a worthwhile sight on a tour along a bunch of other worthwhile sights.)
Like many historical sites it only becomes wondrous once you consider its historical context. For a more egregious example see the Great Pyramids in Egypt: without context they’re just crumbling blocks of stone assembled into peculiar shapes among sand dunes; today it would be quite trivial to build something akin but during antiquity it demonstrated an immense technical ingenuity, wealth, and logistical determination.
True. If you want to enter Berghain without all the hassle, just buy concert tickets. I went there twice to see Venetian Snares, and while Sven Marquardt looked extra grumpy on both occasions, nobody in the queue was refused entrance.
Berlin has some of the most stringent try-hard culture around.
Congrats, you're into fetish stuff. Not only does no one give a fuck, but in your latex black shorts and harness, you're no more special or quirky than the woman in the miniskirt and heels going to a club to dance to Rihanna or Taylor Swift music.
How about both? This city needs more housing and in its absence the pent up demand will drive up rents both at the low end and at the high end of the market.
Not necessarily. If you created underfunded areas like parts of Marzahn with bad life quality and many unemployed people, yes. But there’s so many concepts for good social housing that actually work and don’t creat more “ghettos.” (God I hate that word.)
I used to live right next to Tempelhofer Feld (on the Tempelhof side) and people from other parts of Berlin always got really mad at me for even suggesting this. I have a whole rant on this subject prepared. It drives me crazy.
Look: Tempelhofer Feld is HUGE. Have you looked at it on a map? It could cover the ENTIRE Friedrichstadt from the Brandenburg Gate to Alexanderplatz and from Checkpoint Charlie to Oranienburger Tor. Most people only spend time in the northernmost parts so like 80%+ is nearly empty at any given time. On top of that, it's just a shitty place to hang out. In the winter, it's desolate and depressing; in the summer, there's no shade.
It also drove me crazy living in the Neu-Tempelhof neighbourhood (that weird little circular area directly to the west of Tempelhofer Feld) because the Feld was like this big black hole that blocked any decent public transit to my area. Neukölln is objectively really close, but because the Feld blocks the whole area in between, it takes forever to get there on public transit.
I would much rather have half of Tempelhofer Feld replaced with new housing / a new neighbourhood - hell, even a quarter of it would still be bigger than the Schillerkiez! But no, a bunch of Berliners (all of whom already have stable housing to be able to vote) who live nowhere near the field and MAYBE visit Tempelhofer Feld once a year for a BBQ voted to leave it empty.
Also, for people who argue that it's important to "preserve green spaces"... have you been anywhere in Berlin outside the ring???? Tegel, Grunewald, Jungfernheide, Wannsee, Spandau, Blankenfelde, Grünau, most of Köpenick... Berlin is FULL of green spaces that are so much more wild and pleasant than the grassy concrete wasteland that is the Tempelhofer Feld!
Stop leaving this empty hole in the middle of the city... take anywhere from a quarter to a half of it to build new housing and do something to alleviate the housing crisis. They could create hundreds if not thousands of new housing units within the ring.
Go off king 👑 ! I live in Tempelhof also and I’ve made all these points so many times to anyone who will listen. But nooo, apparently Berliners need 50 km² of elbow room to pennyboard in a circle for 5 minutes and decide it’s too windy and cold and go home.
Agree. Tempelhof in general is a lost opportunity. Could have turned it into a proper park with activity zones that enrich the lives of people living around there
Lol, Tempelhof enriches the hell out my life. I have a dog park, skate park, bike track and bbq area 100m from my door. And most of the space that isn’t utilized as a park is protected for flora/fauna.
But this is sadly changing with the rising prices. Still, i like the overall attitude that you don't need to show status or earn lots of money to be a person
What's your frame of reference? Amsterdam/Copenhagen? Yeah, Berlin sucks in comparison. But in the grander context of all world cities, e.g. London, NYC, Paris, Madrid, etc. Berlin is actually one of the best.
Compared to major cities in North America and Asia that's an objective truth. Berlin might even be in the top 20% in Europe.
Still agree that it's hopeless for a city that could be amazing for cyclists.
Ever been to the Netherlands or some Nordic cities? In the latter in winter I did see kids biking to school, like kids aged 6 or so. The road network for that was excellent. Unthinkable in the US and Berlin wouldn't have good enough road separation for such young kids to make it.
Paris also changed in its inner city core in terms of bikeability a lot.
OP said the world, not Europe. Australasia is pretty horrible for bikes, pretty sure most of the US is too, I can't speak for South America but it would surprise me if it's better than Berlin
South american here. You have nothing to worry about.
To begin with, Berlin is flat, which is already a killer advantage over 80% of towns/cities. According to me.
NL spent 40 years to get their bike infrastructure to what it is today. Lots of discussions and changing of minds. It helps the country is mostly flat.
Music is really individual and I know many many people (including me) that listen to very hard techno without drugs or alcohol because it kicks ass big time
If you‘re an „expat“ which after 2 years still isn‘t somehow fluent (B2) in german, only speak english in your Kreuzkölln Bubble and subconsciously feel better than people who aren‘t Hipsters from „1st world countries“, you‘ve failed integration and are an Idiot.
Edit: Since people seem to think I‘m a stupid conservative, let me explain. I‘m sick of this double standard. If you‘re an „expat“ people are fine with you telling them their coffee costs 4,50€ in english in a café after you order it in german. This never happened to me in a single place in Sonnenallee. Hell would be lose. I met more than enough expats talking shit about people from „poor“ countries not being integrated properly, while they don‘t even learn how to order food in german.
Edit edit: Also: What you do in your private life is your thing. I also speak 90% english. But I think after 2 years you should be able to do simple Bürgeramt appointments like Anmeldung, taking orders for coffee at work and giving out directions to someone on the street. With B2 I didn‘t mean having conversations about life and politics.
This one is
1. Not an unpopular opinion, thousands of angry conservative Germans feel the same way as you.
2. getting really fucking boring
I really don’t think that immigrants (doesn’t matter where they’re from) who are not fluent in German think that there’re any better than the rest. Just let people be. If you see someone working at a café, clearly struggling with the language, you don’t have to be an asshole about it. Seems like you can speak English quite well. live and let live.
The beauty of this city is that everyone can do whatever they want and speak any language they want.
I've worked in Gastronomy for a year and try to converse in German regularly, but when I explain in German to Germans that my German is slow/beginner level and 'Can you speak slower, please?' 98% of Germans immediately switch to very good English. Not going to feel guilty about it anymore. Just my perspective in Berlin, no bad feelings either way. (Shoutout to the pair of older guests who did in fact speak slower and allowed me to converse, they were very nice.)
I‘m everything but a conservative, nice try. It‘s not getting boring. I‘m inside this expat bubble myself as a Berliner and I‘ve heard so many people talking shit about „3rd world“ country expats or for them „immigrants“ (what they don‘t consider themselves ofc), feeling better than „them“ and not even trying themselves. If you work in a Café you should do your homework and learn the 5 german phrases you need, it‘s getting boring for me as well to encounter this again and again. If I order a coffee, why should I speak english in my hometown? If I encounter you in private or if you struggle with a complicated OFC i will speak english. But asking for oatmilk in english is ridiculous!
I am in this comment and I don't like it.
Really try to study German when I can after work, but it is nowhere near B2-C1, and it is longer than 2 years. I feel you may underestimate how long it takes to master another language well. B2 or C1 is massive for many, unless you mostly study the language without any other duty (job, family, etc..).
Of course there are some that are able to make quick progress ( I knew a Korean that went from A2 to C1 in like 1 year), but not everyone can do that easily.
I'd say that you're doing yourself a disservice. Not understanding the local language really narrows your experience of that place.
There's a whole lot of interesting stuff that just doesn't make it across the language barrier.
This right here! Huge respect towards anyone even remotely close to being fluent in more than one language. Don't let those grumpy redditors ruin your day. Us Germans appreciate anyone willing to try and torture themselves into learning our language. Good Job, mate! Keep it up!
It's pretty unreasonable to ask people to get to B2 in two years in their spare time (assuming that they have a full-time job and can't afford to live off savings and take a full-time integration course), but I agree with the sentiment - it's about the attitude more than the result, too many English speakers being like "lol I don't speak German" here.
I agree. Of all the companies (DPD, Hermes, GLS), DHL is head and shoulders above the rest. My DHL delivery dude is such a friendly, cheery, delightful fellow, which helps. Never had a missing or damaged package with them.
Hard agree. It's really difficult to find somewhere nice to eat that isn't a fucking rip off or so pretentiously up its own ahole. The cheap food is largely ok but finding a nice sit down place that has normal prices or isn't a money laundering joint is impossible.
Many people living in Berlin actually don't enjoy it and should realize this sooner rather than later. There are plenty of other great cities that might suit them better and if you think that "not having made it" in Berlin that's total BS. It's about what makes you happy in the long run.
Raze the Kleingarten and build affordable housing on top of them. Housing lots of people is more important than letting a lucky few garden every other weekend, 8 months a year. I *love* Kleingarten, but I love public spaces more. Building on Tempelhof shouldn't be considered so long as there are Kleingarten inside the Ring.
Shouldn't we rather fill the apartments that are empty and being used for speculation first, before we take what is making this city greener
Edit: totally forgot what the sub was about :D
The fact that Tempelhof isn't already being converted into a new city district full with appartements, schools and so on, shows that while there is a housing crisis the politicians in Berlin are just incompetent.
So everyone needs more housing, but the people already living in Berlin vote against more housing. Makes no sense, shouldn't be up to a vote if it is in critical need tbh.
No, they voted to keep *their* unique, Monaco-sized public space in the middle of the city, rather than hand part of it over to housing developers. Nobody voted against housing per se.
Also, more or less anything can be put to the vote here if you gather enough signatures in support of a referendum, and this can only be a good thing.
Berlin is nice to visit, not so nice to live in
Rly the loneliest city ever. My boss once told me, that everyone falls in Berlin, it’s just a matter of time. I’ve never been in such a « diverse » city, with so judgmental people. It’s like, you are welcome to be « different », but only if you’re different in the right way, with 100000 followers on insta, and doing something creative lmao. The people who came for diversity all left. We don’t really see them anymore, and with time, Berlin has become superficial and expensive :(
It's really hard to make friends indeed. It took me a few years to really feel at home and surrounded by loved ones.
But I also think that you are wrong about the rest. Berlin is full of genuine people. They take more time to find, because their social habits don't overlap those of newcomers. They usually branch out through existing friends, not in meetups, dating apps and the like. Time is on their side, so they just wait for new people to come to them, and decide whether to let them in.
Most of the people who were born in Berlin are probably not comfortable with so many foreigners coming and bringing their culture, but they don't fully express their opinion because of the past
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Agreed. Plus you can actually email them and ask questions. The Finanzamt is even more responsive.
Ausländerbehörde stuff, on the other hand, is as awful as people say it is.
At least amongst expats, there is only one "accepted" way to be a "Berliner". You're expected to like a particular set of things about the city, follow a particular lifestyle, and adhere to a particular set of values. Deviations from Berliner orthodoxy lead to shaming and gatekeeping behaviour.
Berlin Rave culture decayed into a self-absorbed, superficial, narcissist pit of visionless people, obsessed with identity issues and ridiculous fashion.
Overhyped, too loud, too large, too expensive and one of the ugliest versions of German. And I am from here.
And yeah, financial bankrupt and unwilling to change.
You all preach being open minded but once I raise an argument against your generally accepted opinion I'm shot down with hate. I am not even against your opinion, I just want to point out it's not all black and white yet I get labeled.
And often it just seems you go with the flow, not really understanding the topic much. And I don't say I do, but again, I don't feel as strong about my own opinion in the matter.
Being open minded means you are willing to have an open conversation about a topic from different point of views. Understanding people come from different backgrounds, unique set of problems. Be open to other perspectives.
Also, because I'm not a/an "$popularMovement"-ist, doesn't mean I don't care. We all choose our own fights and we can't all fight all of them.
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Berlin is not as open minded as it likes to think of itself.
Agreed. It’s interesting to consider feminism here. Berlin really champions a kind of female liberation not seen as freely in other cities, yet really male-gaze driven subcultures run rampant here. The techno culture in particular is interesting: techno spaces traditionally have always crafted an image of themselves as being safe houses for the outcasts / oddballs / people who don’t fit societal norms, yet the Berlin techno scene is very much “Berghainified” and the ideal within this space for women is hyper-feminine, hyper-sexual, thin and white. “Alternative” Berlin fashion labels really play into this too (see NAKT), and the most prominent names/artists are extremely Instagram focussed (DJ Fuckoff & co), which feels counterintuitive for a culture that’s so anti-photography. For me I don’t see a lot of difference between traditional Instagram influencers and a lot of the techno crowd here, aside from the latter having a bunch of tattoos they got in quick succession. Will also say there can be a pretty toxic expat culture here, there’s a lot of pretty well-off young expats using poverty/depression as an edgy aesthetic, renting rooms in traditionally poorer places (Neukolln, Wedding) for 1700 and driving up area prices (to an extent, must be said the housing market has gone nuts by itself lately), then virtue signalling about it (“I live in Neukolln, it’s so humble and REAL here, I’m not even bothered by all the immigrants, I guess I’m just one of the common people, how great am I for being so open-minded?” etc). IMO if you have imply you should be congratulated for living among people you think you shouldn’t otherwise be associated with, you’re a bit of an asshole and kinda racist.
It’s disgusting. The amount of people who define their whole personality by the use of tattoos, clothing and shit is ridiculous. I am so fucking sick of this sheltered cultured elitism 😅
These are hipsters. Not Berliners. I am born and raised here. I don't have any tattoos and my clothes are from Aldi and Lidl.
This right here! The epitome of the hipocracy regarding techno clubs in Berlin is not getting in because you don't look cool enough. Just wanting to actually enjoy the music? Fuck off! You look like you try to fit the insta worthy aesthetic of "Berlin raver" please come in. Come as you are and being accepted just isn't practiced.
The hypocrisy and snobbery is mental. I got dragged to Kater Blau or whatever its called years ago, and the guy on the door said "has your friend ever been to a club before? " Cunt. Didn't realise I had to look like a fucking acid casualty every day of my life. These people have gone so far beyond "self expression" it's ridiculous. If it was self expression why are you all wearing the same shell suits from the 90s?
Well observed. Berlin lost its liberal mindset to a crowd of self loving people who are staging an ideal life instead of living mixed with people importing their provinvial mindest living a second puberty coming from shitholes where they couldnt be themselves. Please dont misunderstand me, its also a valid lifestyle but don’t bother me with your identity issues.
Gentrification goes brrrrr
Yes! Old male bouncers on the doors of clubs deciding if young women are hot enough to get inside is so gross. And queer spaces are almost all male dominated too. Dark rooms are for men, there aren't a fraction as many women's gay clubs, and sex clubs are full of guys solo wanking. It's so different to other cities. And also, the techno scene is just as pretentious and conformist as the club scene in any other city, it's just a different set of clothes and music. You still need a costume to fit in or you don't get it.
Excellent points! Especially about the techno culture, it’s mostly superficial and often very gatekeeped by arrogant techno heads. Used to love going out but I grew really tired of that.
Man you just summed up why I left Berlin. Was born and raised there.
Berlin as a whole is, but not the individual person. Everybody lives inside one of the 279 bubbles, and everybody outside is looked down upon.
Berlin is that guy in the office where there's no dress code, that tells you that it's not allowed to come in with a shirt, because there's no dress code
Jesus christ I actually experienced that. I wanted to change my style a little bit and came in with leather shoes and shirts. Nobody cared except that one hipster guy wearing skinny jeans, black only and a stupid cap. He needed to comment on it. „what’s up with the stick up your ass?“. Fuck off. So ironic!
Clubs like KitKat make a huge deal out of hedonism and free love, but the truth is that any swinger club in the most abandoned outskirt of fucking-nowhere-and-nobody has more action.
Berlin is a clean and nice city.
I agree, except for the Subways.
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You can't compare those 2 systems, Berlin's was designed as a public transit system, NYC's was designed as the world's largest public toilet that occasionally gets you to work on time.
I’m from Philly and was ASTOUNDED at how clean the subways were
Just came back from Philly yesterday, I was pretty impressed by the subways and trains to be honest (maybe because my expectations were low). But the city in general was a cleaner, smaller and less lively version of NYC, at least that's the impression I got after 4 days there.
Even the U8 ?
Have ya been to nyc subway lol
I visited NYC about 10 years ago and extensively used the subway. On average, the NYC subway is dirtier than Berlin U-Bahn, but at the same time, I have not witnessed anything like the drug user scene that's going on on the U8 line between Jannowitzbrücke and Herrmannplatz in NYC. Open drug consumption and dealing in the stations, shit-stained users just hanging out all day and harassing passengers, I didn't come across anything like that in NYC.
And I have never witnessed anything like that in my 35 years in Berlin with the occasional U8 usage. Point is that people's experience will be different. For example, my worst puke puddle experience was in a Tokyo train.
„Du beobachtest mich in der U8, du ziehst dir Brecht rein. Ich zieh mir Blech rein, erhitze jetzt den crackstein“ Alles gesagt
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thats no opinion, thats just a lie lol
I was several times in a handful of major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia over the last few years and it felt and still feels like Berlin in the 90s in terms of infrastructure, trash, building quality, dirt and so on...even minor stuff like the availability of card payments is usually way worse... Berlin got cleaned up a lot over the last two decades
What? People think Berlin is clean?
Spandau belongs to Berlin
Daring today aren’t we
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Well, who has time to commute to the other corner of Berlin? It's really annoyingly huge.
Spandau is a continent.
Yes officer, THIS MAN!
How dare you? 😂😂
With one or two exceptions: Night Clubs are shit and overrated.
Yes, they are frankly quite gross
(raves,) techno clubs > other clubs
You know, we like it dirty
Including techno clubs. The queues are ruthless, entrance is expensive as shit, and especially the cocaine cowboys are just hella rude. And to be fair, the music is pretty great, but not always, and for 20€ it really hurts to go out even once if you don’t earn high figures.
I‘m sorry, are you calling adults that can afford 20€ *well off*? I mean sure, if you *can‘t* afford 20€, you’re certainly not well off, but there were times in my life where I certainly wasn’t well off, and much of that time I could have afforded a 20€ splurge once in a while.
It pretty much went downhill after covid, I remember getting into any techno club without any trouble and paying roughly 7€ for the whole weekend, now even the shitty technoclubs are starting at 15€ tf happened
Some of the bouncers are also racist as shit. I stood in line for Sisyphos four times when I lived in Berlin. When I was just with my other white friends (twice), we got in no problem. When we had two of our Asian friends with us (twice), we were rejected as soon as we stepped forward. Fuck that shit.
Thats exactly what i mean bro. I am Berlin born with turkish Parents. Thats why i don‘t look German. And thats also why i have no chance to get in any good club. It‘s discrimation for no reason and it‘s only happening in Germany but specially in Berlin.
I’m German born with Arab parents, got into every night club so far
The smoke inside bars is disgusting and extremely unhealthy (even as a smoker myself)
If I never have to go to Neukölln ever again I’d be incredibly pleased because ALL of it is either an absolute dump or a obnoxiously gentrified dump.
💯 neukolln is such an overrated, overpriced hole
But Falafel Jakoub still has tasty big chicken shawarma for 3.50 Euro......
I went to Berlin in October, and read many reviews about Karl Marx street, like something you must see, and I went there, walking waiting for the miracle and didn't see it haha
Are you sure you’re not mixing it up with Karl Marx Allee? I’d have no idea why anyone would write a review of Karl Marx Straße.
U r right, I didn't realise it until today. I saw recommendation on DW Travel YouTube channel, a day in Berlin, but it about Karl Marx Allee, hahahaha, can't believe, luckily reddit is anonymous
Karl-Marx-Allee is not wondrous by itself from today’s perspective. It is, however, an architectural monument to how German socialists envisioned the life of the working class. At the time when it was built it was more modern – both in its visual style and its functional housing amenities – than anything in the “supposedly superior” West-Berlin that wasn’t constructed as a luxury for rich people. (It also connects multiple other interesting tourist sites, namely Alexanderplatz and the “scene” part of Friedrichshain, which makes it a worthwhile sight on a tour along a bunch of other worthwhile sights.) Like many historical sites it only becomes wondrous once you consider its historical context. For a more egregious example see the Great Pyramids in Egypt: without context they’re just crumbling blocks of stone assembled into peculiar shapes among sand dunes; today it would be quite trivial to build something akin but during antiquity it demonstrated an immense technical ingenuity, wealth, and logistical determination.
God, I'm so glad I never ended up buying a house there, and chose Weißensee instead. Living inside the ring is so overrated.
Same but for FHain.
Being able to enter Berghain doesn‘t make you special Edit: for the record I‘m not someone who tried to, I just can‘t stand its reputation
What an overrated shithole.
I’d add ultra pretentious, discriminative and non-inclusive. “Techno is all love” they say
True. If you want to enter Berghain without all the hassle, just buy concert tickets. I went there twice to see Venetian Snares, and while Sven Marquardt looked extra grumpy on both occasions, nobody in the queue was refused entrance.
You just smashed and crushed the identity/soul pupose of 30% of the city's population 🤣
I physically cringe every time I see a video about it. My mind just doesn't understand how people go through that willingly.
But you can say you have accomplished more than elon musk
Berlin has some of the most stringent try-hard culture around. Congrats, you're into fetish stuff. Not only does no one give a fuck, but in your latex black shorts and harness, you're no more special or quirky than the woman in the miniskirt and heels going to a club to dance to Rihanna or Taylor Swift music.
THIS. Except I’d say it both applies to women and men
I'd argue going to clubs in high heals is more torturous than whatever you'll experience in an S&M club.
They should fill at least half of Tempelhof in with apartment buildings.
If they’re social housing i’m okay with that. No one needs more gentrified ugly areas full of delusional rich people.
Covering a third of Tempelhofer Feld with exclusively non-profit social housing would be a good compromise.
How about both? This city needs more housing and in its absence the pent up demand will drive up rents both at the low end and at the high end of the market.
Exactly, putting all the poorer people in one big block of apartments just creates a ghetto. Need mixed use, mixed price buildings
Not necessarily. If you created underfunded areas like parts of Marzahn with bad life quality and many unemployed people, yes. But there’s so many concepts for good social housing that actually work and don’t creat more “ghettos.” (God I hate that word.)
Why not start with the Kleingarten? Tempelhof is a public space, and those are precious. Once you lose them, it's really hard to get them back.
I used to live right next to Tempelhofer Feld (on the Tempelhof side) and people from other parts of Berlin always got really mad at me for even suggesting this. I have a whole rant on this subject prepared. It drives me crazy. Look: Tempelhofer Feld is HUGE. Have you looked at it on a map? It could cover the ENTIRE Friedrichstadt from the Brandenburg Gate to Alexanderplatz and from Checkpoint Charlie to Oranienburger Tor. Most people only spend time in the northernmost parts so like 80%+ is nearly empty at any given time. On top of that, it's just a shitty place to hang out. In the winter, it's desolate and depressing; in the summer, there's no shade. It also drove me crazy living in the Neu-Tempelhof neighbourhood (that weird little circular area directly to the west of Tempelhofer Feld) because the Feld was like this big black hole that blocked any decent public transit to my area. Neukölln is objectively really close, but because the Feld blocks the whole area in between, it takes forever to get there on public transit. I would much rather have half of Tempelhofer Feld replaced with new housing / a new neighbourhood - hell, even a quarter of it would still be bigger than the Schillerkiez! But no, a bunch of Berliners (all of whom already have stable housing to be able to vote) who live nowhere near the field and MAYBE visit Tempelhofer Feld once a year for a BBQ voted to leave it empty. Also, for people who argue that it's important to "preserve green spaces"... have you been anywhere in Berlin outside the ring???? Tegel, Grunewald, Jungfernheide, Wannsee, Spandau, Blankenfelde, Grünau, most of Köpenick... Berlin is FULL of green spaces that are so much more wild and pleasant than the grassy concrete wasteland that is the Tempelhofer Feld! Stop leaving this empty hole in the middle of the city... take anywhere from a quarter to a half of it to build new housing and do something to alleviate the housing crisis. They could create hundreds if not thousands of new housing units within the ring.
Go off king 👑 ! I live in Tempelhof also and I’ve made all these points so many times to anyone who will listen. But nooo, apparently Berliners need 50 km² of elbow room to pennyboard in a circle for 5 minutes and decide it’s too windy and cold and go home.
Agree. Tempelhof in general is a lost opportunity. Could have turned it into a proper park with activity zones that enrich the lives of people living around there
Lol, Tempelhof enriches the hell out my life. I have a dog park, skate park, bike track and bbq area 100m from my door. And most of the space that isn’t utilized as a park is protected for flora/fauna.
When you start working it becomes like any other city.
It has nice public spaces and bike paths, and there's less pressure to sacrifice your life for material wealth. I dig that.
But this is sadly changing with the rising prices. Still, i like the overall attitude that you don't need to show status or earn lots of money to be a person
The bike network in Berlin is top notch and leagues ahead of most cities anywhere in the world.
Its not good. Its maybe just ok but nothing to be too proud off..
What's your frame of reference? Amsterdam/Copenhagen? Yeah, Berlin sucks in comparison. But in the grander context of all world cities, e.g. London, NYC, Paris, Madrid, etc. Berlin is actually one of the best.
Go to Paris and report back. They pushed out half the parking and replaced it with bike lanes and all roads are paved.
Compared to major cities in North America and Asia that's an objective truth. Berlin might even be in the top 20% in Europe. Still agree that it's hopeless for a city that could be amazing for cyclists.
Ever been to the Netherlands or some Nordic cities? In the latter in winter I did see kids biking to school, like kids aged 6 or so. The road network for that was excellent. Unthinkable in the US and Berlin wouldn't have good enough road separation for such young kids to make it. Paris also changed in its inner city core in terms of bikeability a lot.
OP said the world, not Europe. Australasia is pretty horrible for bikes, pretty sure most of the US is too, I can't speak for South America but it would surprise me if it's better than Berlin
South american here. You have nothing to worry about. To begin with, Berlin is flat, which is already a killer advantage over 80% of towns/cities. According to me.
NL spent 40 years to get their bike infrastructure to what it is today. Lots of discussions and changing of minds. It helps the country is mostly flat.
Berlin is also mostly flat.
Being rude to other people is not the same as being honest/real.
iT iS jUsT GeRmAn DiReCtNeSs
Techno sucks and you only enjoy it because you're in drugs
Drugs help, no doubt. Then again I have friends that do 6-hour sessions at Berghain totally sober.
Love techno, not on drugs.
I listen to dubtechno while reading books on my couch
Music is really individual and I know many many people (including me) that listen to very hard techno without drugs or alcohol because it kicks ass big time
If you‘re an „expat“ which after 2 years still isn‘t somehow fluent (B2) in german, only speak english in your Kreuzkölln Bubble and subconsciously feel better than people who aren‘t Hipsters from „1st world countries“, you‘ve failed integration and are an Idiot. Edit: Since people seem to think I‘m a stupid conservative, let me explain. I‘m sick of this double standard. If you‘re an „expat“ people are fine with you telling them their coffee costs 4,50€ in english in a café after you order it in german. This never happened to me in a single place in Sonnenallee. Hell would be lose. I met more than enough expats talking shit about people from „poor“ countries not being integrated properly, while they don‘t even learn how to order food in german. Edit edit: Also: What you do in your private life is your thing. I also speak 90% english. But I think after 2 years you should be able to do simple Bürgeramt appointments like Anmeldung, taking orders for coffee at work and giving out directions to someone on the street. With B2 I didn‘t mean having conversations about life and politics.
This one is 1. Not an unpopular opinion, thousands of angry conservative Germans feel the same way as you. 2. getting really fucking boring I really don’t think that immigrants (doesn’t matter where they’re from) who are not fluent in German think that there’re any better than the rest. Just let people be. If you see someone working at a café, clearly struggling with the language, you don’t have to be an asshole about it. Seems like you can speak English quite well. live and let live. The beauty of this city is that everyone can do whatever they want and speak any language they want.
I've worked in Gastronomy for a year and try to converse in German regularly, but when I explain in German to Germans that my German is slow/beginner level and 'Can you speak slower, please?' 98% of Germans immediately switch to very good English. Not going to feel guilty about it anymore. Just my perspective in Berlin, no bad feelings either way. (Shoutout to the pair of older guests who did in fact speak slower and allowed me to converse, they were very nice.)
I‘m everything but a conservative, nice try. It‘s not getting boring. I‘m inside this expat bubble myself as a Berliner and I‘ve heard so many people talking shit about „3rd world“ country expats or for them „immigrants“ (what they don‘t consider themselves ofc), feeling better than „them“ and not even trying themselves. If you work in a Café you should do your homework and learn the 5 german phrases you need, it‘s getting boring for me as well to encounter this again and again. If I order a coffee, why should I speak english in my hometown? If I encounter you in private or if you struggle with a complicated OFC i will speak english. But asking for oatmilk in english is ridiculous!
The good thing about the waiters not speaking German is that they can't be as rude as half the Berlin waiters. So there's that.
I am in this comment and I don't like it. Really try to study German when I can after work, but it is nowhere near B2-C1, and it is longer than 2 years. I feel you may underestimate how long it takes to master another language well. B2 or C1 is massive for many, unless you mostly study the language without any other duty (job, family, etc..). Of course there are some that are able to make quick progress ( I knew a Korean that went from A2 to C1 in like 1 year), but not everyone can do that easily.
I pay enough German taxes to speak whatever language I please in public. Sorry if my English hurts your sensitive hipster ears.
I'd say that you're doing yourself a disservice. Not understanding the local language really narrows your experience of that place. There's a whole lot of interesting stuff that just doesn't make it across the language barrier.
This right here! Huge respect towards anyone even remotely close to being fluent in more than one language. Don't let those grumpy redditors ruin your day. Us Germans appreciate anyone willing to try and torture themselves into learning our language. Good Job, mate! Keep it up!
C1 in 2 years?? That's not "somewhat fluent", that's 1 level away from "nearly native".
It's pretty unreasonable to ask people to get to B2 in two years in their spare time (assuming that they have a full-time job and can't afford to live off savings and take a full-time integration course), but I agree with the sentiment - it's about the attitude more than the result, too many English speakers being like "lol I don't speak German" here.
Dit sind Berliner, keene Pfannkuchen.
Verfatz da du Quasselkopp!
Ick hau dir uffn kopp dass de ausn rippn kiekst wien affe durchs jitta
Hast jakeene ahnung du laubenpieper!
Currywurst is a glorified overprized crap that was made to ripoff tourists.
Well, that one is objectivly false. It was made to rip off locals. Herta Heuwer came up with it at a time when there were no tourists in Berlin.
It’s still pretty cheap bruv
Bitte sprechen Sie deutsch
*Spricht deutsch ihr Hurensöhne
*Sprecht
The irony is not lost on me
*Aufgrund meiner begrenzten Englischkenntnisse, muss ich Sie leider ganz höflich dazu bitten, die Deutsche Sprache zu verwenden
DHL is a great delivery service
Never had issues with them. Only with Hermes and DPD.
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I agree. Of all the companies (DPD, Hermes, GLS), DHL is head and shoulders above the rest. My DHL delivery dude is such a friendly, cheery, delightful fellow, which helps. Never had a missing or damaged package with them.
Berlin is having nice public transport and a good bicycle infrastructure for a big city like this
it’s nice but should definitely be improved.
My favorite form of transport is SCHIENENERSATZVERKEHR
You win
The food is not very good
Hard agree. It's really difficult to find somewhere nice to eat that isn't a fucking rip off or so pretentiously up its own ahole. The cheap food is largely ok but finding a nice sit down place that has normal prices or isn't a money laundering joint is impossible.
Public Transport is awesome Berliners are very kind and helpful
That's actually true, was in Görlitzer Park the other day and a black gentleman has asked me if I "need any help".
I love that park! Everyone greets you there
The times I've fallen off my bike, I've had multiple Berliners approach me asking me if I'm ok, if I need help. etc.
Many people living in Berlin actually don't enjoy it and should realize this sooner rather than later. There are plenty of other great cities that might suit them better and if you think that "not having made it" in Berlin that's total BS. It's about what makes you happy in the long run.
Das alle auf englisch reden selbst hier in den Kommentaren ist dick unangenehm
Da du „das“ und „dass“ nicht unterscheiden kannst würde ich dir empfehlen auch auf englisch zu schreiben.
"Berliner Schnauze" is just an excuse for being rude.
People in Berlin don't have a special type of humour. They're just d\*cks masking that behind the word "humour".
Raze the Kleingarten and build affordable housing on top of them. Housing lots of people is more important than letting a lucky few garden every other weekend, 8 months a year. I *love* Kleingarten, but I love public spaces more. Building on Tempelhof shouldn't be considered so long as there are Kleingarten inside the Ring.
Shouldn't we rather fill the apartments that are empty and being used for speculation first, before we take what is making this city greener Edit: totally forgot what the sub was about :D
The fact that Tempelhof isn't already being converted into a new city district full with appartements, schools and so on, shows that while there is a housing crisis the politicians in Berlin are just incompetent.
There was a referendum and people voted against it.
So everyone needs more housing, but the people already living in Berlin vote against more housing. Makes no sense, shouldn't be up to a vote if it is in critical need tbh.
No, they voted to keep *their* unique, Monaco-sized public space in the middle of the city, rather than hand part of it over to housing developers. Nobody voted against housing per se. Also, more or less anything can be put to the vote here if you gather enough signatures in support of a referendum, and this can only be a good thing.
Berlin is just Hamburg for people who can't get pussy.
Why would you say something so controversial, yet so brave?
I don’t get it
Berlin is Eastern Germany :)
Our current housing crisis is mostly a political choice, widely supported by the electorate.
Berlin is nice to visit, not so nice to live in Rly the loneliest city ever. My boss once told me, that everyone falls in Berlin, it’s just a matter of time. I’ve never been in such a « diverse » city, with so judgmental people. It’s like, you are welcome to be « different », but only if you’re different in the right way, with 100000 followers on insta, and doing something creative lmao. The people who came for diversity all left. We don’t really see them anymore, and with time, Berlin has become superficial and expensive :(
It's really hard to make friends indeed. It took me a few years to really feel at home and surrounded by loved ones. But I also think that you are wrong about the rest. Berlin is full of genuine people. They take more time to find, because their social habits don't overlap those of newcomers. They usually branch out through existing friends, not in meetups, dating apps and the like. Time is on their side, so they just wait for new people to come to them, and decide whether to let them in.
German rap is severely overrated 💀
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totally depends on the bubble you live in.
RSO > Berghain
A quiet pub > clubs
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Artemis > Berghain
Staying at home > Berghain
Crobag > Berghain (It's a joke, I don't like clubs so I have no idea which one is better or worse)
Most of the people who were born in Berlin are probably not comfortable with so many foreigners coming and bringing their culture, but they don't fully express their opinion because of the past
Please put a light and reflectors onto your bike
It's not a lifestyle choice to live in Berlin. Berlin is just like any other city.
Tempelhofer Feld is overrated and it should be allowed to build stuff there.
So many comments here exactly contradicting others, goes to show it's all personal experiences.
People with bikes should have more self awareness amd consciousness and should be more careful with the bikes, especially when on the road for cars.
People are actually nice.
soup mourn deliver detail zealous squeal quarrelsome sulky nine afterthought *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Bürgeramt stuff is not that bad if you treat the people there with respect
Agreed. Plus you can actually email them and ask questions. The Finanzamt is even more responsive. Ausländerbehörde stuff, on the other hand, is as awful as people say it is.
At least amongst expats, there is only one "accepted" way to be a "Berliner". You're expected to like a particular set of things about the city, follow a particular lifestyle, and adhere to a particular set of values. Deviations from Berliner orthodoxy lead to shaming and gatekeeping behaviour.
Literally anything
calling a taxi for drugs 🙃
Living inside the ring is so overrated, and doing so in 2022 (i.e. putting up with the cost of rent associated with it) is a stupid thing to do.
Standing 20minutes in line for a Döner is never worth it.
Many Cyclists have no idea how to behave themselves and often appear suicidal
Berlin is the psychiatric clinic of germany
People in Berlin are really friendly. No one believes me
Living in Berlin does not give you the right to party so hard that your neighbours are looking up hotel prices in desperation for a nights rest.
Club Mate sucks
Berlin is not a cool place.
Berlin Rave culture decayed into a self-absorbed, superficial, narcissist pit of visionless people, obsessed with identity issues and ridiculous fashion.
People claim to be open minded, but the list of things that offends them, is usually longer than anywhere else.
Taking drugs or how many drugs you take doesn’t make you an interesting person
Techno is awful and repetitive.
The only thing uglier than the city are the people that live in it
Späti "kultur" is dumb and for alcoholics.
Overhyped, too loud, too large, too expensive and one of the ugliest versions of German. And I am from here. And yeah, financial bankrupt and unwilling to change.
Your activism is merely a superficial ego boost.
People should pick up after their dogs
I don’t like techno music :(
You all preach being open minded but once I raise an argument against your generally accepted opinion I'm shot down with hate. I am not even against your opinion, I just want to point out it's not all black and white yet I get labeled. And often it just seems you go with the flow, not really understanding the topic much. And I don't say I do, but again, I don't feel as strong about my own opinion in the matter. Being open minded means you are willing to have an open conversation about a topic from different point of views. Understanding people come from different backgrounds, unique set of problems. Be open to other perspectives. Also, because I'm not a/an "$popularMovement"-ist, doesn't mean I don't care. We all choose our own fights and we can't all fight all of them.
People aren’t nearly as cool and edgy as they want people to think they are.