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I've lived in several countries throughout my life, yet I have never encountered people as harsh, cold, rude and tactless as the Germans. If you're a foreigner from Scandinavia or the USA/Canada (the only countries they seem to respect) you will be treated in a fair way. God forbid, however, that your skin has the wrong hue or that your country of origin has an image tarnished by biased media reports. The first thing a German will ask you soon after you disclose your nationality is something related to stereotypes related to your country, and I don't mean the "positive" stereotypes.
Can you imagine meeting a German for the first time at a party or at any social gathering and asking him if he's killed his daily dose of Jews, or has started a war (to lose it afterwards) already? Well, that's what Germans seem to enjoy doing with foreigners. It's like they are so frustrated and miserable inside that the only way they can have is making fun of other people in a cruel way. If you're Syrian you're automatically a refugee and a criminal, if you're Turkish you're automatically a primitive person with no manners or education. The list goes on.
What I dislike the most is the fact that even those who call themselves "links" (leftist/greens) are the most common culprits of such a distasteful behaviour. They probably think that buying fair-trade coffee and donating 10 years every year to some organization in Africa (they think Africa is a country where only poor people live) gives them the right to poke fun at foreigners.
They will truly never get over their Nazi past.
Great longform read right here: www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/15/neo-nazi-murders-revealing-germanys-darkest-secrets
In short, it's pretty acceptable to harbor nazi views, especially the one about superiority towards other nations. Doesn't matter if you're just a regular citizen or if you're a decorated police officer. It's just the way it is, no one cares, so if you're a foreigner, be prepared to be looked down upon.
Oh, also, this applies to Americans as well. Germans fear and are jealous of Americans, but there is no respect. As soon as a German figures out you're american, it's all about "trump, why arent you fat, are you gonna shoot me with a gun, your health care system is soooo bad, trump, do you really only eat hamburgers, trump".
It's true. The anti-Americanism here is really obvious everywhere.But I feel like over the past 8 years it has shifted from phony altruistic, pseudo-political cynicism against American foreign policy to superficial and laughably short-sighted insults. I'm really not sensitive about this at all anymore, just bored with listening to criticism of America crafted with the sole purpose of helping the speaker deal with his own insecurities.
I understand the frustration with the US as a whole. They have too much power over the world, both by force and soft power (media, entertainment, multinational chains and products). It's just ignorant as fornicate to treat someone from America like poop just because of where they are from. If they live up to the worst stereotypes, sure, but odds are they won't. The worst type of American likely to move to Berlin are social media addict rich hipsters who just want to score cool points by living there and only want to associate with who they think are the coolest, but there are those types from other countries as well, including Germany (and they also move to cool US cities to do the same). Not just an American thing. The Americans who vote in people like Trump are likely never going to move to Berlin, very few can likely afford to move there. Much of the US also doesn't like the US' foreign policy, but the US isn't a direct democracy. A lot of crap goes on that the population can't control and all sorts of propaganda is used to confuse and divide Americans so they're not able to unite against those things. Also, it's worth noting the US is quite influenced by Germans and German culture. The largest common ethnic background is German in the US and German was once the second most spoken language in the US until WWII, that's also when Americans with German ancestry began to disassociate from it and why you no longer see "German American" used like "Italian American", "Irish American", etc.
Its not easy to be happy here except you are drunk or on drugs, it is just a soulless and pointless city.
Information survey: What's the most surprising place you've seen dudes in Berlin pissing? Here are a few of mine:
- Into the Christmas trees lined up next to the entrance of the Christmas market at the Alexa shopping center
- Into a concrete bench behind the entrance to U-Bahnhof Alexanderplatz in broad daylight
- Into the window of Galeria Kaufhof at Alexanderplatz in the evening while there were hundreds of people all around
- Into the corner next to the stairs leading out of U-Bahnhof Alexanderplatz in the middle of the day
- Right off of the Oberbaumbrücke bridge in broad daylight (this bridge has been completely taken over by homeless 20-somethings who are incapable of growing up)
At the entrance to the goverment building just north of alexander platz. It's like7:30am, people are going in to work and there's a guy standingin the corner of the entrance and pissing. Nobody is reacting. I dont know if he worked there or was just passing by.
I think I win this one, I've got two. 1) At the s-bahn while it was approaching and stopping. Then he got on the same train he pissed on. 2)At a random street in Charlottenburg. But the guy just unzipped his pants pull his weiner out, pointed up and started pissing on himself. The guy wasn't crazy, just very high. Such is life in Berlin.
To be fair, this isn't limited only to German men. I have also seen women do this, just not as common. Once at the Tierpark station I saw a ~50 year old woman pulling up her pants after pissing next to the bikes there (basically directly in front of the entrance to the station, not in any way covered). Another time I saw some ~20 year old girl just pull down her pants and start pissing at a busy intersection (but of course it's okay, there was grass and probably some trees and bushes within 20 feet of her).
I hate the Airports, they suck!
The one in Gatow is pretty cool
www.aviationmuseum.eu/World/Europe/Germany/Berlin-Gatow/Luftwaffe_Museum.htm
I arrived in Berlin with the spirit of Peter Pan. And I left Berlin with the soul of Captain Hook.
Berlin is inhabited by people who think they're the teenage version of Peter Pan. Sadly, this version is far inferior to the child version. Instead of cuteness we get 'individuals' totally lacking in any skills who believe they're the shit. Tonnes of defeatist art and general fridge syndrome work.
Avoid like the plague.
You only need one scent to capture the fragrance of Berlin.
www.atlasobscura.com/articles/this-artist-used-over-6500-scents-to-recreate-the-smell-of-35-world-cities
Pretentiousness upon pretentiousness.
"Tolaas’ SmellScape of Berlin was created between 2002 and 2004, and she mourns the smell of that city: “Back in 2002 Berlin smelled more interesting than today. It was more diverse then.”"
Ah, yes, I've seen graffiti that says the same thing, except more directly: "fuck yuppies", "tourists go home", "fuck tourists".
Ah, the warm welcome!
Berlin in abstract German
www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.540146.php
Basically some shitlord teens molested a young girl, her father noticed and prevented them from getting away until the police arrived. They attacked the father, he defended himself. The girl insulted the attackers.
Good ole' men in green arrive and arrest everyone. Father facing charges for defending himself. Girl facing charges for insulting them (yes, Germans have laws written by three-year-olds) and the molester, well, also. But he'll probably have his case dismissed because he's a minor.
I figured it out.. IT'S THE WATER
I was always told by native Berliners that they had the best water in the world.. straight oout of the tap but my experience was always negative due to the horrible Calcium levels. Shower valves caked with it, scrubbing the tea water heater, ruined coffee makers, stains on all sinks and tubs... and the hardness of the water for washing hair and body parts... horrible dryness and knotting.
NOW high levels of calcium are being linked to depression and moodiness...
"Stability, hardness and physicality are qualities of calcium. When deficient, one becomes weak and fragile. When calcium is in excess one becomes rigid and immobile. "
All this time I thought it was the culture and weather but NO, IT'S THE WATER
They are victims of a lax water supply company... not their fault at all.
Sorry, but I am not buying this theory. I've been living in Berlin for a long while, taking showers everyday (yes, Germans, a normal human being should shower everyday), drinking tap water all the time and I haven't felt moody nor been "depressed" (I can't afford to be depressed, I must work to survive).
Maybe that's the difference: Your subconscious loves you and has ways of dealing with stress. Depression is a luxury and, in terms of structural security, Germans are probably the most privileged people on earth. When they know they can stay up until 3am drinking case after case of Oettinger, paid for by the average taxpayer, and yelling at each other (e.g. my old neighbor) and sleep until 1pm then they have no problems falling into this kind of stupor.
That said, I think the mental illness in this city is caused by a lot more than just the water.
Is this guy a pretentious clown or am I just 'jealous and negative'?
Berlin in a nutshell
teamcoco.com/video/conan-rejected-from-berghain
OH no! How dare you go with cameras to a club door, we're sooooo cool, too cool to be captured by cameras, we might throw you in jail for even thinking about it!.You might even get to capture the horrible place Berhgain actually is! Imo Berghain is the most successful social engeneering experiment I've ever seen. Nothing more.
I used to live in Berlin...hated it and escaped....why don't you all do the same?
I also escaped, partially... Ten years I was there, left three years ago, my child is still there and I am forever torn.
Financially it will take me probably one more year to recover from Berlin, emotionally, I don't know if I ever will but at least now I am surrounded by smiling happy people.
I'm doing it now. Already got my plane tickets sorted out. Handed my landlord my notice (imagine a grumpy Berliner...), talked with the insurance people, going to unregister at the burgeramt next month.
Pretty much all I got left to do is pack and wait for my time.
Been here 23 months. Posted a bit on this very site. I can't believe this is finally over. I already feel the positive energy and vigor returning. Who knew that life could be great? I'm going to a place where there's lots of sun, lots of fun people, lots of parks (without dog and human piss and shit), lots of interesting companies to work for, where the guy that sells you coffee every morning greets you by name after a week, where you become friends with your neighbors, people NOT blocking your way everywhere you walk, etc. Yeah, I know, this sounds like crazy talk after living here for close to 2 years. I keep quiet about it because I'm afraid these sad people will throw me into an institution as soon as they get a whiff that I'm leaving - and taking my dirty foreigner money with me.
This definitely put a spring into my step, which is pissing of the locals even more - "Zat auslander, vhy is he smiling? Das ist verbotten, smiling ist only allowed betveen ze hours of 10:00 and 10:30AM, call zee polizei!".
Sure. Yeah. Whatever.
This was definitely a life lesson. Made me appreciate my country a lot more. Made me appreciate people a lot more (real humans, not these berliner-robots). I know it sounds like Stockholm syndrome, but living through this hell has been a positive experience at the end - it made me stronger, gave me a thicker skin, definitely matured me.
So good luck y'all. Make the best of this place while you're here, don't let the negative folks steal your soul, but get out at the first opportunity you get. Life is too short to suffer. Unless you're a masochist like the locals.
Did anyone happen to see the video of a young woman being kicked from behind on the stairs of the UBahn? This sums up Berlin in attitude and action..Sadist cowards rein as kings in Berlin.As usual nothing will be done about justice for the innocent woman.Business as usual in the rectum of the world.BERLIN.
Actually, a native German business man and a celebrity body guard offered 10k euros to help the victim and to find these entitled and amoral scumbags.
These guys give bad reputation to their harf workinf parents and middle easterners in general. Now far right germans will have another reason to say see we told you that these migrants are entitled and dangerous.
"Native German business man and celebrity body guard" Bahahahaha. Typical retarded Berlin response to a real problem. Celebrity body guard to the rescue.Captain master race to the rescue...Able to leap piles of immigrants in a single bound and save damsels in distress. WANKER.
What if your mother was treated this way by some punks?
At least, the mean and cold hearted germans helped this lady instead of ranting online about Germans.
This site has some mean people on here. Sure, this city sucks but don't let your depression kill your compassion and humanity.
I don't understand the criticism. Literally no one is defending the perpetrator. And what exactly did the Germans do about it? Let the police actually do their jobs? Or jump at the opportunity to turn this into another high-profile manhunt for someone who obviously isn't your run-of-the-mill blond-haired, blue-eyed Hans? Check the recent list at Polizeimeldungen Berlin and review how long they normally wait to release footage of criminals. Hint: It's normally months. For attempted murders and rapes. But somehow the police have been able to find the manpower to process this case, and the one where the seven youths tried to set a homeless guy on fire, within days? And, in contrast to the cases that are pending for months, in both of these cases the perps are not Germans?
"This is not a country where good manners and civilized behaviour are rewarded."
This is just simply wrong. I sincerely feel bad for those who view Germany this way. You don't deserve your visa. I hope life will bring you to an actual poop hole with mean and opportunistic people.
I made an argument that Germans are civilized enough to offer help to a complete stranger. I get it that this incident was politically exploited.
Enough with the politics and extreme hateful over generalizations.
Berlin is like an abusive partner who uses emotional/mental abuse to make you have stockholm syndrome. When you first arrive you don't think it is abuse because it is insidious, slow and it plays mind games with you where you believe something is wrong with you instead. The longer you stay here the more this "sickness" grows and you become someone who cannot live outside of Berlin. You are addicted to it like a junkie is addicted to heroin..
Don’t fall for it’s hipster disneyland “poor but sexy” BS. It’s a rancid apocalyptic metropolis where there is this fog of psychopathy in the air, lobotomized brain dead zombies everywhere with grim expressions on their face like they are waiting for their turn to be executed
Either lobotomize yourself before coming to Berlin, or stay here for enough years to eventually become lobotomized yourself. Expect those years in between to be filled with confusion, depression, loneliness etc.. but over time you’ll become a “real Berliner” and become a brain dead tosser dancing to ambient techno drinking club mate being a pu**sy thinking it’s cool to be 32 years old and being an emotional cripple who cannot have more than casual/superficial friendships and relationships, doesn’t know the difference between being socially awkward and being truthful (Germans) , doesn’t know the difference between irony and bad attempts at being sarcastic as a guise for just being cruel (Germans again).. ONE day, if you live in Berlin long enough, you will be as much of a passive aggressive turd as the “true Berliners”.