Berlin, Germany

What to expect in... Berlin

16. Vacation
Whereas Americans measure vacations in days, Germans measure them in weeks. Popular vacation destinations include the beaches of Turkey, Spain, Italy, and the rest of the world.



15. Modernity
Lots of construction has been going on since the reunification of East and West Germany.



14. Soccer
Germans rarely wave their flag, but for soccer they will.



13. Efficient public transportation
The Germans know how to do efficient, fast, and reliable.



12. Environmentalism
About a third of Germany's electricity comes from renewables. Also, the Green Party is actually taken seriously in this country.

11. Clubs
The nightlife is a big deal. Germans start drinking and partying at a young age (this is Europe.)
House/electronic music is much more popular here than in the US.

10. Atheism
This is sometimes called Europe's atheist capital.



9. Ritter Sport, Milka, and Kinder
Chocolate is a food staple in the German diet.






8. Benzes and Beamers
German car brands like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Opel, and Volkswagen are everywhere.



7. Doener
Doener is Berlin's fast food. Doeners are Turkish kebabs.
Besides the kebab connection, the Germans don't interact a lot with the large Turkish population.



6. Scars
The 20th century was rough on Berlin. Today, the younger people try extremely hard to shy away from old stereotypes and are very open minded.



5. Growing power
Germany is now the economic and political leader of Europe and Berlin is the center of it all. The rest of Europe isn't happy with Germany right now because the Germans are forcing them to stay on budget.

4. Unfriendliness (on the outside)
People don't want to be bothered in the public sphere.
Many Germans think Americans are superficial.

3. Music and art
Germany was the world's powerhouse for classical music, producing an endless list of stars like Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. There are plenty of venues to enjoy the classics.
Some of the newer art gets wild.



2. East vs. West
The West Germans complain that they're subsidizing the East Germans.
On the East side, there's nostalgia for older days, and they have made the old Communist-era streetlights a hip symbol for Berlin.

1. Coolness factor
The city has a very unique culture, history, attitude, vibe, appearance.... it's just cool.

----- The End. Click on the archive at the top right to view more cities.