After many long years, once again I am back in Germany. Thinking about it, it's been almost twenty years since the last time I lived here, and just over a decade since I last visited. And though on the surface I assumed I was quite familiar with the subtleties of Germans culture (after all, I grew up here, went to school, and over seventeen years got pretty much acculturated as a German), I can't deny that certain things still struck me shocking, even though I should be well acquainted with them. Here are a few examples:
Right on my arrival at the (finally completed) BER airport, my first interaction with a stranger had a huge Welcome to Germany written all over it. My friend came to pick me up, but not wanting to pay for the overpriced parking fee, he asked me to come out to the short-term parking outside the terminal. No problem. I saw a guy wearing a jacket that made him look like he worked there, so I quickly asked him where the short-term parking was. "Why don't you go to the information desk?" he responded. O-kay then! But sure, obviously he was getting paid for moving luggage or whatever, and not for pointing in a direction, or saying "Over there." to random travelers.
"It's Berlin if it is said tougher than how it is meant."
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A few days later I had a similar experience at the sauna I visited to get out of the bitter cold that was still holding Berlin in its icy grip. After a couple of sweating sessions I walked up to the bar and said "I'd like to order something to drink," as I was still deciding what it was going to be. To my surprise, the response that followed was not the expected "What would you like to have?" or something along those lines, but a simple "Well then, go ahead and order." And all with a straight face, no smirk, no laugh, or any other tongue-in-cheek sign of I-just-cracked-a-joke-aint-I-funny. 😉 🤣 😜 🤡 😆 But I took no offense, remembering the so called Berliner Schnauze or Berlin Snout, meaning the way Berliners say things that could be seen offensive, though should not, since there usually is a heart somewhere behind the snout.
Another thing that surprised me quite positively, is how much space there is inside of the city. Space for everyone: The sidewalks are wide enough to dance on, or simply leave your electric scooters anywhere. There is still enough room for people walking dogs or pushing strollers around. Also, no competition with bicycles, as they tend to have their own lane on the street, along with the regular two-way motorist traffic, plus a parking lane on each side. And that's not even the major avenues, where there are two car lanes going both ways, plus a tram running in the middle, along a park-like green area. After Mexico City this is something I'm still amazed at.
Okay, this is something I remember enjoying quite a lot the last time I was here: in Berlin it's perfectly fine to walk around the city while sipping on a beer. Or drink it while riding the train. Or simply hang out on a park bench. This is such a common practice here that I almost wrote everyone does it, which of course is not true. Little kids (of which there are quite a lot in these parts), and car drivers are excluded. Also, since riding a bike makes it a bit inconvenient to hold a bottle, cyclists tend not do it either, at least not at the same time. Otherwise, however, it's hard to take a five minute walk outside without seeing someone pass by holding a bottle of beer, especially on a Saturday afternoon. And given the fact that every newsstand or kebab shop sells them, this is hardly surprising.
Coming back to a place after many years you may be confronted with the realization that things have gotten more expensive. That's just natural. More amazing is to see how the prices for certain things did NOT rise in the same way. For me the trusty meter for rising prices was Berlin's favorite street food, the Döner Kebab. The standard price for a döner that I remember from back in the day was €2. Incidentally that was also the price for a single ticket on the public transport system. In comparison, today the same ride on the public transport costs €3, but the döner is sold for €6 in most places. Okay, that can be explained with the subsidized and government run infrastructure. However, one thing that doesn't seem to have changed at all, is the price for beer! Clearly, it all depends on where you get it, but on average I seem to be paying less then €2 for a 0.5 l of Berliner Pilsener, the overall most typical beer for strolling around the city with. The one I am holding in the photo was a bit more than €2, but then again this is a superior delicious (and also powerful) brew, plus c'mon, it's got my name on it! - Another thing that didn't exist last time I was here.
So these were my immediate first impressions that struck me over my first week in the German capital. So far, not so bad. But is that it? Most likely not. After all, I will probably stay until August, and I'm sure during that time something is going to seem odd, to say the least, even if I should know it well enough. But I'm going to leave that for the next cultural post, which I bet will happen sooner than I may think.
