# Berlin here I come!



## flasher702

1 month. Oof, so much to get ready for. Trying to study more German (AnyMemo for android is a nice platform for flashcards btw). So excited! 6 month freiwilligenarbeiter is lined up, everything is paid for, work granted me a leave of absence so I might even still have a job when I come back, just trying to get all the loose ends tied up before I leave.

I don't really have to do plan much as most of the details are taken care of for me by ICJA or my g/f but if you have any good tips I'm all ears.

So yeah, volunteer worker programs are a pretty easy way to get visas.


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## James3214

Nice one Flasher! Berlin is a fantastic place to be. I am sure you will have a great time in one of the best cities in Europe. Come and share your experiences on this forum when you get here.


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## gerrit

I lived in Berlin for a year. Fantastic city, one of the best in the world. Extremely diverse, extremely tolerant, extremely cosmopolitan. You will meet people from all over the world, the arts scene is huge, there are events ongoing in every possible form of entertainment, the place breathes history but at the same time has a modern vibe 24/7. And on top of that it is one of the cheapest capitals of European countries to live in. It is a fantastic place to be really. I have great memories of my year in Berlin. I'm sure you'll love it, there's a bit of everything so no matter what form of recreation out of working hours you prefer, you will surely find it. Enjoy your time in Berlin! The only risk that you may have is that you may not want to return to the US again, because Berlin is highly addictive! When I lived there, I met expats from all over the world who came just to study for a year but then decided to stay long-term because they enjoyed it so much


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## flasher702

Anyone know about good places for indoor rock climbing or affordable gyms?


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## gerrit

Just out of interest: which Viertel (= quarter of the city) will you live in, or is this undecided yet?

Wedding is generally the cheapest, but the most vibrant ones are Neukölln and the extremely multicultural Kreuzberg. Those areas of the city never sleep. Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain are quite nice as well, although in F'hain prices can be a bit higher. Prenzlauer Berg is quite artistic and quite affordable as well. 
Anyways, with a truly excellent metro system you can get pretty much everywhere in no time. This only excludes Köpenick and Spandau, who are very far out of the center. But all other districts of the town are very well connected with an excellent metro system.


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## flasher702

I'll be working near Humbolt University. What neighborhood is that called?

Not sure where I'll be living yet.


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## gerrit

Googled a bit and seems they are located at Unter Den Linden avenue. One of the city center avenues with the most beautiful buildings of the city, but also a very expensive place because of 
a) being in the very heart of the city
b) a lot of embassies and the Reichstag (German parliament) being a stonethrow away

It is mainly a diplomatic zone and tourist hotspot. Very beautiful place, but unlike most of Berlin it is quite expensive. However, the metro is so well organised that from nearly every area of town you can get to the city center (and thus the university campus) very easily. The metro of Berlin is excellent.

Here's a map of the Berlin metro:
http://loestoyviendo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/berlin_de.jpg
Or an even better one:
http://www.viajejet.com/wp-content/viajes/Mapa-del-Metro-de-Berlin.jpg

You will find Unter den Linden right below the train station "Friedrichtstrasse" in the city center. As you can see it is really in the heart of the city, close to where metro lines going to all districts come together. Kreuzberg and Mitte are really walking distance but Prenzlauer Berg, Neukölln, Wedding, Charlottenburg etc have truly excellent metro connections to that area.

I advise to buy a Monatskarte (month's card). 70 euro only when I lived there, I assume the prices didn't drastically change. There is little control on the Berlin public transport, so a lot of people choose to go Schwarzfahren (= use the system without a ticket). This may work, I knew of people doing it for months without being caught. However, the fine for being caught just once is between 35 and 40 euro and repetitively being caught can lead to more serious fines. So the Monatskarte is a good deal, no worries about doing something illegal, you can use the metro, bus and tram as often as you want, and in the evenings and weekends a second person can travel with you for free when you own a monthly card.


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## theresoon

Good for you Flasher! I am sure you will have fun in Europe and find out that it's not as scary as the US media makes it out to be. I hope you also decided against taking your bullet proof vest. 
I was in Berlin in March and it's a really beautiful city. Take the time to see all the different neighborhoods, enjoy the food and the beer, meet as many people as possible and travel as much as you can. And keep a diary because this is going to be a great experience.


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## fido

theresoon said:


> Good for you Flasher! I am sure you will have fun in Europe and find out that it's not as scary as the US media makes it out to be. I hope you also decided against taking your bullet proof vest.
> I was in Berlin in March and it's a really beautiful city. Take the time to see all the different neighborhoods, enjoy the food and the beer, meet as many people as possible and travel as much as you can. And keep a diary because this is going to be a great experience.


I think they take a dim view of flashers though:
Flasher tripped by trousers | Metro.co.uk


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## flasher702

@fido I'll keep that in mind!

@thereason
I think I have decided to just put one panel into my backpack. It hardly takes up any space that way and I'll have it whenever I'm traveling. Also, it looks totally innocuous; even if someone were to search my bag they probably wouldn't even notice it tucked against the back. I was running out of space in our suitcase xD My girlfriend has already filled the entire suitcase and there is almost nothing of mine even in it :/


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## gerrit

A bullet proof vest will cause suspicion more than anything else in Europe, and certainly in a city as openminded and tolerant as Berlin. Again, Europeans have a very different attitude towards guns. We don't trust people carrying and owning guns. The vast majority of Europeans will find it scary or at least suspicious if someone would walk around with a bulletproof vest. And if there is any city in Europe openminded, then it is Berlin. You won't need that vest at all! The chances of ending up in a gunfight are smaller than the chance of your plane to Germany crashing down (not that it's likely your plane will crash down, I am just saying that taking a bulletproof vest to a city like Berlin is as pointless as taking a beach outfit to Antarctica)


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## James3214

Flasher, I totally agree with gerrits advice. You will cause more problems and attention to yourself if you bring it and in addition leave yourself open to ridicule. Berlin takes great pride in being a friendly, multi-cultural and open minded city and after a few months there you will laugh at yourself for having such a thought. Mind you, you will probably get the same sort of reaction by wearing lederhose!


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## theresoon

I would save the room to bring chocolate back to the US!
I don't think anyone can say anything more to convince you and I just hope it doesn't get you into trouble.


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## flasher702

for the umpteenth time: no one will even know I have it... At the moment it is indistinguishable from any other travel backpack. I am now well aware that Europeans are in denial about the frequency their public transportation infrastructures are bombed as well as the severity of recent terror warnings from their own governments and would likely be unnerved by someone taking them seriously. Thank you for your advice.

My lederhose, however, I will wear with pride! "Wo ist mein Lederhosen?!" was one of my first German sentences, taught to me by my 6yo cousin. Oof, I need to study more german. Vocabulary memorization is coming along nicely but convenient grammar and context training is harder to come by.


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## flasher702

gerrit said:


> However, the metro is so well organised that from nearly every area of town you can get to the city center (and thus the university campus) very easily. The metro of Berlin is excellent.
> 
> Here's a map of the Berlin metro:
> 
> http://www.viajejet.com/wp-content/viajes/Mapa-del-Metro-de-Berlin.jpg
> 
> You will find Unter den Linden right below the train station "Friedrichtstrasse" in the city center. As you can see it is really in the heart of the city, close to where metro lines going to all districts come together. Kreuzberg and Mitte are really walking distance but Prenzlauer Berg, Neukölln, Wedding, Charlottenburg etc have truly excellent metro connections to that area.


Ok, perhaps I'm just being dense but how would I get from Friedrich Strasse station to... oh, now I see. That looks like the main campus of Humboldt. I'm waaaaaaay over by Weiser See. 52.558446,13.474663 - Google Maps What neighborhood is that called?

Hah! I wish I was working right near Postdamer Platz xD


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## flasher702

Oh, and what's up with google maps no longer offering public transportation directions? They were available last time I was in Berlin (2008 I think) but not anymore :/ Does anyone have a favorite app for android to get public transit directions? Looks like I have to take the "H" rather than the U or S lines. What is that and how do I get a map of it?


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## James3214

Flasher, I have never used google maps for travelling on public transport but another suggestion would be to take a look at the Berlin transport company website:
BVG.de - Timetables, Routes & Maps - Network Map - Network Maps

Maps, journey planners and even web apps for your android.


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## flashman2708

Been here for 2 years now and I'm only really starting to get the whole thing sorted out. I travel quite a bot out to Prague and Italy for work but it is starting to feel like home when I come back.


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## James3214

I was nearly caught out between flasher and flashman! Flashman, I always enjoyed my trips to Berlin but is there anything you don't like about living there?
Incidentally, I normally head to the bike track for the annual 6 day event which is at the end of this month. Not going this year but check it out, it is a real good (or even 6) night out, even for non bike racing fans: Berliner Sechstagerennen - Die offizielle Internetseite zum Berliner 6-Tage-Rennen


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## gerrit

flasher702 said:


> for the umpteenth time: no one will even know I have it... At the moment it is indistinguishable from any other travel backpack. I am now well aware that Europeans are in denial about the frequency their public transportation infrastructures are bombed as well as the severity of recent terror warnings from their own governments and would likely be unnerved by someone taking them seriously. Thank you for your advice.
> 
> My lederhose, however, I will wear with pride! "Wo ist mein Lederhosen?!" was one of my first German sentences, taught to me by my 6yo cousin. Oof, I need to study more german. Vocabulary memorization is coming along nicely but convenient grammar and context training is harder to come by.


Sorry for going on about this one, but this just has to be responded to. We, the Europeans, are NOT in denial about any security risks. We however
1. prefer to not let ourselves get scared and not to get paranoid. There have been explosions or threats thereof in public transport networks in Europe about 4 or 5 times in a decade? Hardly something you can all a constant danger.
2. we don't consider wearing guns or a bulletproof vest as a way to protect us against crime. If anything, most Europeans will feel unsafe when every person with no training in using arms whatsoever, can just hold a gun. Most Europeans are very sceptic about the US gun laws and would never want similar laws in Europe.
3. I can only recall 2 or 3 successful terrorist attacks and the other few were all unsuccesful thanks to the good work of security services. Most Europeans prefer that those people, who are trained for it, take care of security rather than people walking on the streets with arms.
4. If terrorism is the thing you are afraid of: it is extremely unlikely to happen, even more unlikely to happen in Berlin of all places, and if it would happen a bulletproof vest won't protect you against a serious bomb.


If you take something like that vest with you, it will only make those who know suspicious or die of laughter. This has nothing to do with us Europeans being ignorant about security, it has to do with the fact that we trust the services who control security in doing a decent job. Firearms have made more victims than they could ever prevent. Europeans in general don't want to see weapons in the streets of our cities.


If you do choose to take that vest with you, I can only say it is a waste of space in your luggage, and it will only make people think you're totally paranoid. I have lived and travelled all over Europe and never ever encountered anyone with special protection against crime, a pepperspray was the closest to protection I've ever seen.


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## gerrit

flasher702 said:


> Ok, perhaps I'm just being dense but how would I get from Friedrich Strasse station to... oh, now I see. That looks like the main campus of Humboldt. I'm waaaaaaay over by Weiser See. 52.558446,13.474663 - Google Maps What neighborhood is that called?
> 
> Hah! I wish I was working right near Postdamer Platz xD


You seem to be in the outskirts of Berlin there, if that map is showing your street of residency. Pankow isn't too far away, and neither is Prenzlauer Berg. That latter is good news, because Prenzlauer Berg is very bohemian and classy at the same time. It is a place where you have lot of artists, a lot of alternative venues, but also a lot of trendy shops and pubs, and a quite diverse population. It is one of the more vibrant areas of town. Also, you are close to both Prenzlauer Berg and Gesundbrunnen stations, from Prenzlauer Berg you have excellent connections to the city center and from Gesundbrunnen you have good train connections to other cities not too far from Berlin (excellent for a day trip)


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## fido

Yes, I can understand Americans wanting to come to Europe to get away from the gun culture but there always seem to be some who want to bring it with them.


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## flasher702

Made it! So happy to be here.

Yeah, it's not *my* gun culture that caused me to bring kevlar. It's *your* cultural integration and geographic problems  Your own governments issued the warnings and the US warning was in response to information from European counter-terrorism activities. But yeah, my bag got searched at security at Gatwick and they didn't even notice it. BTW, Gatwick has horrible signage. Couldn't find anything and almost missed my flight.

Anyone know a good cellphone service with data? I'll start a new thread on that.


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## James3214

Glad to hear you arrived Flasher. UK customs didn't take my tip off seriously enough, so I had to remove the signs instead!
No seriously...welcome!


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## theresoon

flasher702 said:


> Made it! So happy to be here.
> 
> Yeah, it's not *my* gun culture that caused me to bring kevlar. It's *your* cultural integration and geographic problems  Your own governments issued the warnings and the US warning was in response to information from European counter-terrorism activities. But yeah, my bag got searched at security at Gatwick and they didn't even notice it. BTW, Gatwick has horrible signage. Couldn't find anything and almost missed my flight.
> 
> Anyone know a good cellphone service with data? I'll start a new thread on that.


:clap2:So how do you like it so far?


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## miss_rose

flasher702 said:


> 1 month. Oof, so much to get ready for. Trying to study more German (AnyMemo for android is a nice platform for flashcards btw). So excited! 6 month freiwilligenarbeiter is lined up, everything is paid for, work granted me a leave of absence so I might even still have a job when I come back, just trying to get all the loose ends tied up before I leave.
> 
> I don't really have to do plan much as most of the details are taken care of for me by ICJA or my g/f but if you have any good tips I'm all ears.
> 
> So yeah, volunteer worker programs are a pretty easy way to get visas.


berlin is fab place to live Zehlendorf & its lakes
I hope you enjoy itlane:


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## miss_rose

miss_rose said:


> berlin is fab place to live Zehlendorf & its lakes
> I hope you enjoy itlane:


it is so fabulous


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## James3214

How you are settling in Berlin 'Flasher702'?


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## flasher702

Pretty good. The fares for the public transit have recently been made very confusing but I have an ABC monats kard now so I don't have to worry about fares anymore. It's too cold! I had nosebleeds every morning for the first month and my hands started cracking and bleeding. I had to put cups of water on the heater and buy some hand lotion. On the bright side at least there isn't any mold...

I miss cheddar cheese and good peanut butter  Anyone know where I can get them? Maybe someone with access to the army base store could help me out?


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## Bevdeforges

flasher702 said:


> I miss cheddar cheese and good peanut butter  Anyone know where I can get them? Maybe someone with access to the army base store could help me out?


For cheddar cheese, try and find a store selling imported items from either Britain or France. The British "cheddar" isn't quite the same as US cheddar, but if they have "chesire" cheese it might do the trick. If you can find someplace selling French cheeses, see if they have something called "mimolette," especially "vielle mimolette" (old or aged mimolette). It's bright orange, but has something of the sharp taste of cheddar and it works for grated cheddar if you're making Mexican food (tacos, for example). It's considerably harder than cheddar.

They make peanut butter in Belgium and the Netherlands, but it's not the best - usually sold under the store house brand. Skippy and sometimes Jif are actually imported to Europe. (Skippy is pretty common here in France.) Check some of the larger supermarkets to see if they have an "exotic foods" or "foreign foods" shelf somewhere. 

Be careful about hitting up those with access to the PX on base. They can get in big trouble if it's found out that they're buying for friends.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Expat_US

flasher702 your University is in Mitte which you can see from a map. The cheapest gyms in Europe which are found across Berlin are McFits. This is a 35€ joining and a 15€ a month rolling cost. Surprisingly the gym etiquette here is lacking and weights are everywhere but the gyms have everything you need. Just don't expect friendly people there offering to spot you. You will have to reach out to these horrible introvert robot people. Take out a year contract at the gym and then prove to them when you leave with air ticket and they will cancel it. 

Yea Berlin is much safer than the US. Even if you are living in Neukolln. Complacency can get you mugged anywhere but it's a very safe city.


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## Jessiejames

What is ICJA? SOrry new to this forum and site. Thank you.


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## fishooX

Expat_US said:


> flasher702 your University is in Mitte which you can see from a map. The cheapest gyms in Europe which are found across Berlin are McFits. This is a 35€ joining and a 15€ a month rolling cost. Surprisingly the gym etiquette here is lacking and weights are everywhere but the gyms have everything you need. Just don't expect friendly people there offering to spot you. You will have to reach out to these horrible introvert robot people. Take out a year contract at the gym and then prove to them when you leave with air ticket and they will cancel it.
> 
> Yea Berlin is much safer than the US. Even if you are living in Neukolln. Complacency can get you mugged anywhere but it's a very safe city.



Indeed true. And way cheaper.....also great night life !!


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