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i don't understand how people think the city is safe. I've been attacked and mugged multiple times growing up here and put into terrifying situations. Yet everyone i know talks about how safe Berlin is compared to other cities, maybe i just had bad luck.
You know, I keep coming back to this site, even after having left Berlin almost one year ago. I felt so much lighter after getting rid of everything back there. I moved to another city for college, still in Germany, but a really really small town, where people are nicer in comparison. This may be a little off topic, since it isn't really about Berlin, so apologies beforehand. I simply don't know where else to share this, and I am really fond of this website. And before I say anything else, I want to add that I find myself more sensitive and initially light-hearted than the average of all the people I've met in Germany. Here's the deal: It *still* sucks here. What sucks isn't the place, it's absolutely pretty where I live now, but a realization I made a while ago: the whole "German mentality" is so backwards, I find it hard to grasp it. I've grown up in a mostly warm-hearted environment, and the amount of cynicism and snappiness of these people won't cease to shock me. That's right. I grew up in Berlin, of all places - you'd think I grew into the whole "fuck it" mentality, but I have never been able to wrap my head around how a people could be so miserable to the core. Granted, there are quite a bit of "Großstädter" in this city too, but even when you think you are somewhat well-acquainted with people, out-of-freaking-nowhere they toss at you something like "Why are you talking about this?" or "I do not care." or they flat-out tell you to stop talking. How tactless, emotionally unintelligent and unempathetic do you have to be? They call it "being honest," and I can follow that sentiment, but the virtue of all honesty in the world doesn't mean anything when you forget to be polite about it. Here's another shocker: These are *psychology* students that I've heard these phrases from. ... I've been sitting at home basically the entirety of my vacation, trying to understand the heavy mental malfunctioning that is present in this society. Not surprisingly, it's been impossible for me to make any "friends" at all (at which point I don't even think I want to be friends with these kinds of people that are just purely emotionally exhausting). Really, I feel like I've been withering away from lack of enjoyable social interaction for years by now. You just cannot be a cheerful, light-hearted person here without fearing to be eaten alive. This country, so far, has been nothing more than a giant fish tank full of piranhas and sharks, trimmed for efficiency. Where is the joy? Where are the people I can have fun with, without having to fear they'll turn my emotions into burdens? Everyone is just too cool for everything here. The hostility constantly lingering in the air is disturbing. I really have to say, I feel so delighted when I get the chance to travel, I feel like in just about any other country, you can dare to be yourself, with all its flaws and goofiness, all your childish hobbies and bizarre interests, people are a lot more accepting. That's just adding my two (or twenty) cents here. Thank you a lot if you read through all this, and I wish all of you the best - preferably out of this place. As for the admins: I cannot thank you enough for this website. It really is a blessing.
You are absolutely right, I feel the same exact way.
I keep trying to understand why they are like this, I'm pretty sure I will never be able to figure this out. They get so defensive when you try to have a conversation about the "german mentality" with them.
This place is doomed. I don't believe those people will ever change, they are only getting worse.
I get your point, before Berlin I used to live in Munich and most things said in this website can be related to Munich as well you only have to change "broke artists" to "pegida lunatics". Nothing really changes across Germany, I still have to find that beautiful German city full of culture, art and sophisticated people. I recently travelled to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. And both places feel like 40 years into the future when you compare it to German cities. There are great places in Europe, true, but I truly believe that none of them is in Germany.
Thanks a lot you guys. I can't even explain how it helps simply knowing people made similar experiences. I am literally only staying here to finish my degree and I will definitely get the hell out of here asap. If I'm grateful for one thing it's that, out of necessity, my English has become decent enough that it offers me international options, because I sure as hell won't intend to spend my next 30 years among these miserable people. Literally. That's currently my goal in life: To move out of Germany and avoid anything German like the plague.
Whoever keeps spreading the hype about Berlin should be jailed for fraud....
This is worth watching news.vice.com/video/flight-to-the-holy-land-europes-jewish-exodus-part-1
Artist city - my butt - all the "artists" are unemployed or drunkards...the only notable artists to come out of Berlin (peaches and bowie) are not even from Berlin and both were a LONG time ago! Berliners think they are all so smart and intelligent when they are the dumbest people around...they hate auslaender (foreigners) despite the fact their city is dependent on tourism to stay afloat! Can yo imagine what Berlin would be without the tourism industry? Comments below appreciated
What Berlin would be without the tourists: a shi.t hole full of racist inbreds who have been depressed since the day they were born, hating on every single foreigner they can find (if any), luring themselves thinking they got it all figured out (the german way is uncontestably the best you know) and probably plotting to start WW3 to release their inherent bitterness and frustration on the rest of the world.
This city would be even poorer than it is now, with no light nor joy whatsoever.
Ah fu.ck I had forgotten that this city already is joyless anyways...
crooksandliars.com/files/imagecache/node_primary/primary_image/16/03/heil_lady.jpg
The lady doing the Nazi salute at a Trump rally, you will never guess where she was from. You guessed it right Ber-fucking-lin
www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/12/trump-supporter-who-made-nazi-salute-explains-why-she-made-the-gesture
I can laugh about it now,but my stopover at Dubai airport was more culturally enriching,friendly and sophisticated than all my years spent in Berlin put together...and thats a pretty sad indication of how backwards Berlin is.
Its not enough to just complain about Berlin -- its best to LEAVE - it had a moment in the 90s when it was cool and there were mostly opportunities (based around partying) - now its just an alcohol soaked hellhole, with fake artists, aggressive miserable STUPID people and no prospects - some of my worstdays were in that city....get out while you can - I know I will NEVER return.
I feel the same way! Im so happy that I went with my gut and left. The city isnt worth the struggle. Ive never met so many people with fake jobs, although I did admire the ones that were TRUE Entrepreneurs. But they paid decades to make their businesses happen.
Germany is no longer racist they said. Right wing parties and xenophobia are things of the past they said. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/2015-07-04_AfD_Bundesparteitag_Essen_by_Olaf_Kosinsky-232.jpg
Berlin taught me how to stay calm and patient.. with all these unrespectful subhumans i would have probably ended up in jail long time ago. The thought of beating the poop out of them is firm, so for all those who are forced to stay here for some moths more (like me) keep your cool and stay strong, this nightmare will end soon.
CON ARTIST: a person who cheats or tricks others by persuading them to believe something that is not true. Berlin is a con artist city - any hype you hear about it (cool, progressive, artistic mecca, loads of successful people, multicultural, opportunities, open) are NOT TRUE. its one big CON.
Left berlin 1 year ago - was tired of the miserable inbred population, no job opportunities, aggressive bums who attack you, poop bars and losers who think buying you a beer or doener will equate to sex and general malaise of that craphole - reading the posts it seems to have gotten even worse ....NEVER AGAIN!
My friend and I travelled to Berlin after backpacking and spending some weeks in Spain. We heard all the hype about Berlin and how's the party capital of Europe. So we had to go to Berlin right. So the first stop was Berghain, we couldn't get in, that's ok, we heard that it was difficult to get inside and kind of makes sense just by looking at the length of the line. Tiny place without room for all that people. So we went and explored lame bars in Friedrichshain until it was 12 - 1AM so we tried our luck in another club and we were denied entrance once again. That was weird. We tried our luck next in some awful looking places near suicide circus. There were some hot chicks we tried to get in and guess what, denied again. I asked him what was the problem? in a calm manner to what he replied: "NO DARK PEOPLE HERE". WTF! We just tried out luck once again and nothing so we went back to our hotel room because it was almost 5AM and we had just wandered the streets trying to get inside a club. So I guess we had enough for the night. But still we tried our luck another night. We did all the day tour, we visited the landmarks (all boring btw) and we thought, well these people at clubs are weird let's go to a lap dance, fornicate it! let's do it like Vegas. So we asked our cabbie to show us a place where can we get a lap dance and he took us to some big and shiny place. We stayed in line for a little while when suddenly a bouncer approaches us in a super aggressive way and yelled at us something in German which we couldn't understand. So we ask him in English: "what was the problem" cuz we had done nothing and the guy replied yelling again: "Fuck off, you no welcome here, los! los!" he kept repeating that and shoving us to the other side of the street and when I said all angry: "Fuck it I'm leaving" the dude threw a punch and knocked me down and then the dude left. There was a police officer nearby whom we told our story (and who also saw what was happening) after hearing what we told him he just said "sorry, no english" and left. We returned to our hotel and booked a flight asap to our next destination. Because we just wanted to leave that awful segregated city, I know Berliners would love to have water fountains labeled "white" and "colored" on the streets. fornicate Berlin, fornicate Germany. I'm copying and pasting this outrage in all forums I can find. So if you read the same post in some other website that was me.
So sorry about your awful experience. I wish I could say that it was bad luck but the truth is that it wasn't... It's ok for germans to treat foreigners (especially darker skinned ones) like fuck.ing crap. For some crap reason I'll never comprehend, they think that they are entitled to it.
You are darker skinned so you gotta be a trouble maker, a dirty foreigner and so one.
I am a mixed raced young woman, I have been victim of racism at least 20 times during my 2 years in Berlin, and still counting... And guess what? Nobody gives a damn, the police won't give a darn because u don't speak grrman and even if you did; they'd diminish you saying that your german isn't good enough. Can't wait for the day I leave this hell.
German see themselves as an elite, that's why they aren't remotely interesting in mixing with other people. They havent evolved nor better themselves for shi.t sincee ww2; they have just changed target...
I have never encountered a people that can take the most simple of lifes pleasures and turn it into a deformed mangle of retarded meanness in ten seconds flat. It gets so bad you cant even venture out to do a simple thing like food shopping because you know someone will vomit their hate on you. Its such a relentless soul crushing experience..every single god darn minute of every single cursed god darn day.Dantes inferno is a kindergarden compared to this hell.AWFUL.
I thought it was just me, and after living in Berlin/traveling throughout this Country for one year, I can honestly say…these people are the WORST. Everything that it said in this forum is true to a fault. There's a reason that no one likes the Germans…even the more Well Traveled and 'Cultured' of the lot can't stand their own. To the point that I will now only associate with Germans that live in Germany Seasonally. These "Part Time" Germans are the ones that: have a real Education, speak Multiple Languages (including Business English), have rewarding Creative careers, and are Sophisticated enough to hold real conversations and are capable of Critical Thought. Then there are the "Full Time" Germans. These sorry pieces of White Trash are the ones that; have never left their little Dorfs until University, think Berlin is the center of the Universe, have never had more than ONE type of employment or none, think EVERYTHING German is better, have the Social Skills and Charm of Mayonnaise, speak only one language…and expects even Tourist to know it FLUENTLY. These are the type of Germans that are giving the Country a bad name. As far as the History…WHO CARES?!!!!! There's a Starbucks within walking distance from almost every Jewish/German Memorial…our friend 'History'…she aint present. Can we just freaking get over it and join this Century?! Nope. Because Change, Progression, Motivation are abstract concepts to Automatons. The mere thought of these tangible Ideals would mean that maybe…just maybe…the current Mentality is wrong. And we ALL know that these fuckers HATE being Wrong. This is why they won't ever change, this is why they fear Modernization, Gentrification, Globalization and Multiculturalism. It's because they have become so darn marginalized to the point that they cannot ADAPT. They are a dying Breed…just look at the numbers Birth/Suicide/Depression/Obesity/Mobility/Wages, all indicative of a people that are skating on the edge of annihilation. (Karma is a female dog no?) I've seen more protest for Refugees in Berlin than I have seen for Fair Wages. How in the world do these people exist in this Century?! They are annoying, whiny, miserable, complacent, FAT, obsessed, uncouth, classless, and HORRIBLY unimaginative. For a place that prides itself on Order & Organization…these people are either slobs or Hoarders. I have YET to have been into a Full Time Germans' home and felt at ease. And I honestly believe that 'Furniture' is a bourgeois concept in Berlin, along with Style, Grace, and Cadence. Nothing these people do make sense. From their horrid lifestyles and Tastes, to their Values and Priorities. EVERYTHING is a Contradiction with Germans. They want Privacy…yet keep their noses in other peoples business. They want Freedom…yet everyone should think the "German Way". They are Over-educated to the point of Stupidity. Even the most destitute from the poorest Countries have enough sense to know how to milk this Country for what it's worth…then LEAVE. And I cant think of a more deserving group of people. Germany SUCKS.