Trip Report: Canberra to Berlin - with a few stops along the way!

[jastel]

Just been re reading my diary...didn't keep the name of the tour company.
I have forgotten a lot in 6 years...lucky I write stuff down.
I saw a Bugatti Veyron in the VW dealer (they were pretty new back then), and the coughpy fibreglass Trabi...that's West vs East!!
Knut the famous Polar Bear cub was just new at the zoo and why I didn't go.
The Adlon Hotel was more famous for Wacko Jacko dangling his kid from the balcony than the Film Festival, which I saw the end of apparently, but no one famous.
I was impressed with the Taxis being Mercedes, but thinking about now it they are made down the road so its like a Falcon.
Tegel Airport with no departure lounge, just 10ft behind the desk and on the plane.
Also Ampleman on the crosswalks...is he still around?

 

[timster]

I don't think that they had seen a QF member flying AB wanting to use a BA lounge before. They referred it upstairs and a senior staff member came and found the relevant section of a folder under the desk to see if we could access the lounge.

As I said, I was very patient.

Ah yes I remember that folder in a number of small BA euro lounges ! Pre-EK I was in the small STR lounge several times, but can't recall if it was one where I had to explain the difference between my red Qantas Club card and the rather similar bronze QFF card. One got you in, the other got you nowhere.

 

[Mattg]

Just been re reading my diary...didn't keep the name of the tour company.
I have forgotten a lot in 6 years...lucky I write stuff down.
I saw a Bugatti Veyron in the VW dealer (they were pretty new back then), and the coughpy fibreglass Trabi...that's West vs East!!
Knut the famous Polar Bear cub was just new at the zoo and why I didn't go.
The Adlon Hotel was more famous for Wacko Jacko dangling his kid from the balcony than the Film Festival, which I saw the end of apparently, but no one famous.

I'm afraid the Adlon Hotel is still quite well-known for this... I think around 50% of the tour guides in Berlin take great pleasure in telling people the story of Michael Jackson's stay at the Adlon, well the other 50% cringe whenever someone asks about it.

I was impressed with the Taxis being Mercedes, but thinking about now it they are made down the road so its like a Falcon.
Tegel Airport with no departure lounge, just 10ft behind the desk and on the plane.
Also Ampleman on the crosswalks...is he still around?

Yes, the taxis are still mostly Mercedes-Benz, made in Stuttgart, although I have seen a few Toyota hybrids I think.

As far as I'm aware, the intention with Tegel was that it was to be a temporary airport which would close as soon as the brand new Brandenburg Airport opens, so it definitely has that makeshift building feel about it. If only they knew that BER wouldn't actually be ready in 2012, as they originally planned...

And Ampelmann is definitely still around - in fact his popularity has only increased. They wanted to replace the Ampelmänner a while back with regular Western traffic light figures, but after people protested they decided to leave it as is. They're now doing the opposite of removing them - in fact they are installing brand new Ampelmänner in some places and you can now see him in some parts of former West Berlin, and even in a couple of other west German cities, such as Heidelberg. He even has a sidekick, Ampelfrau.

 

[Major]

I was lucky enough to visit Berlin in 1970 and the difference between East and West Berlin was amazing. West Berlin was alive, vibrant and they were re building as fast as they could.
East Berlin had hardly been touched with massive war damage and piles of rubble everywhere.

I haven't been back but imagine the contrast would be quite radical

 

[OATEK]

I'm afraid the Adlon Hotel is still quite well-known for this... I think around 50% of the tour guides in Berlin take great pleasure in telling people the story of Michael Jackson's stay at the Adlon, well the other 50% cringe whenever someone asks about it.

Our interest in the Adlon came from my wife's Brandenburg background, and reading about Berlin, and coming across the Adlons (she was American).

Then we got into the Kerr novels starring Bernie Gunther, who's fictional character was the house detective. SWMBO even has the 3 part TV series about the Adlon, all in German with no subtitles, so a bit of a challenge but quite interesting. We had to get my sister in law who hails from Hannover to do a bit of interpreting here and there.

So I guess you could say our (expensive) obsession with the Adlon has to do with everything except Wacko Jacko.

P.S. I tried to get a window open for a night shot of the Tor, without much success. I guess they learnt a lesson.

 

[jastel]

That's good about Ampleman, I think when I was there was probably about the protest time. There was a whole shop selling souvenirs of them and they had petitions etc, the guide took time to tell the story...and he mentioned Amplefrau too. Though I didn't see her.

Berlin has the second most interesting traffic lights in the world I think.

 

[JessicaTam]

That's good about Ampleman, I think when I was there was probably about the protest time. There was a whole shop selling souvenirs of them and they had petitions etc, the guide took time to tell the story...and he mentioned Amplefrau too. Though I didn't see her.

Berlin has the second most interesting traffic lights in the world I think.

I was in Berlin about the same time and was sad to hear of the pending demise of the Ampelmann. Glad it was premature.

Here is a link for those who have no idea what we are talking about.

 

[ogs70]

Really enjoying following this. I visited Berlin earlier this year and disappointed that I didn't know about Tempelhof Airport being an open space now, fantastic idea... I wonder how long that will last with it being such prime real estate.

 

[Mattg]

Really enjoying following this. I visited Berlin earlier this year and disappointed that I didn't know about Tempelhof Airport being an open space now, fantastic idea... I wonder how long that will last with it being such prime real estate.

Actually, and perhaps astonishingly, it will remain as is for the foreseeable future. There was a vote in Berlin two months ago, and 64.3% of Berliners voted to keep the space as a public park.

Here is a link but it's in German: Volksentscheid Tempelhofer Feld: Die Abstimmungs-Ergebnisse der Bezirke | Tempelhofer Feld - Berliner Zeitung

 

[rogerkambah]

I was impressed with the Taxis being Mercedes, but thinking about now it they are made down the road so its like a Falcon.

Aren't they all C180D though? Not a real MB.

 

[Mattg]

The German football team arrived back in Berlin on Tuesday and their arrival certainly didn't go unnoticed! The day began with rolling, live TV coverage of their Lufthansa flight (a 747-8 named the "Sieger Flieger" or victory flyer) landing at Tegel Airport, followed by their parade through the streets of Berlin.

Their bus actually went right past my hotel near the Hauptbahnhof, so I got a pretty good view, not only from the street but also from the bar on top of my hotel, where only a couple of other people thought to watch from.

They reckon about half a million people turned out to cheer on the winning team!





And from the roof of my hotel:

 

[Mattg]

Good news! I have found a place to live in Berlin and I've moved in in the past few days. I'm in a nice shared flat in the neighbourhood of Friedrichshain, which is quite a trendy part of former East Berlin.

It's certainly an interesting area - somewhat rundown as it was a part of East Germany until 1989, but at the same time quite liveable. Even though some parts of Friedrichshain still haven't been rebuilt properly after being destroyed in WWII to this day, it's a pretty cool place to be. Unlike in Mitte (the city centre), you won't find McDonalds or Starbucks in this part of the city; rather countless small, independently run businesses. Within one block of my street (in all four directions), there are no less than 38 bars, cafes & restaurants, as well as 19 clothing stores, 5 bakeries and 4 hairdressers. In fact, there is an excellent micro-brewery listed in Time Out Berlin & Lonely Planet just across the road. I will never, ever get bored or go hungry here!

My nearest S/U-Bahn station is Warschauer Straße and the East Side Gallery is not too far away either. Unfortunately Warschauer Straße happens to be my least favourite S-Bahn station in Berlin (it's frankly a bit of a dump!) but never mind.

I haven't secured a job over here yet but I'm working on it. I'll let you all know how that goes.

All in all I'm pretty happy here at the moment. I feel like I made the right decision to come to Berlin. Life is good!

 

[kevrosmith]

Good news! I have found a place to live in Berlin and I've moved in in the past few days. I'm in a nice shared flat in the neighbourhood of Friedrichshain, which is quite a trendy part of former East Berlin.

It's certainly an interesting area - somewhat rundown as it was a part of East Germany until 1989, but at the same time quite liveable. Even though some parts of Friedrichshain still haven't been rebuilt properly after being destroyed in WWII to this day, it's a pretty cool place to be. Unlike in Mitte (the city centre), you won't find McDonalds or Starbucks in this part of the city; rather countless small, independently run businesses. Within one block of my street (in all four directions), there are no less than 38 bars, cafes & restaurants, as well as 19 clothing stores, 5 bakeries and 4 hairdressers. In fact, there is an excellent micro-brewery listed in Time Out Berlin & Lonely Planet just across the road. I will never, ever get bored or go hungry here!

My nearest S/U-Bahn station is Warschauer Straße and the East Side Gallery is not too far away either. Unfortunately Warschauer Straße happens to be my least favourite S-Bahn station in Berlin (it's frankly a bit of a dump!) but never mind.

I haven't secured a job over here yet but I'm working on it. I'll let you all know how that goes.

All in all I'm pretty happy here at the moment. I feel like I made the right decision to come to Berlin. Life is good!

Great to hear Mattg. Hope it all works out on the work front. How is the employment market in Germany at the moment? Are things picking up in the economy over there or still depressed?

 

[Mattg]

Great to hear Mattg. Hope it all works out on the work front. How is the employment market in Germany at the moment? Are things picking up in the economy over there or still depressed?

I think things are generally improving at the moment. There are certainly jobs available as I keep seeing "Mitarbeiter gesucht" (staff wanted) ads in shop windows. Time will tell though how easy getting a job will actually be. It could well be like the housing situation - there are plenty of places available, but also lots of people interested, so just because they're available doesn't necessarily mean you can have it.

It may also be a disadvantage for me that I only speak German as a second language, although at the same time speaking fluent English might work in my favour. Of course, this is irrelevant in the job I want (English-speaking tour guide).

 

[drron]

All the best Matt.Hope everything works out better than you expect.and thanks for the report.

 

[Mattg]

As some of you have already discovered, I have begun writing a destination guide about Berlin, which you can read here: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ion-guide/destination-guide-berlin-61818.html

Although I don't have any news yet regarding a job, I have found that my German has improved considerably over the last few weeks (not that it was that bad to start with!). I'd say that I'm 90% fluent now.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Thanks for your wonderful insights into Berlin. Might have to put Berlin on my 'to do' list along with Santorini after reading Pushka's trip report.

When & where did you initially acquire your German language skills & how long did it take you to acquire?

Keep up the great work - I look forward to reading more of your adventures on this thread & your Berlin destination guide.

 

[Mattg]

When & where did you initially acquire your German language skills & how long did it take you to acquire?

I began learning German when I started high school in Australia, and found that I enjoyed it and was good at it, so stuck with it throughout high school. After around 4 years I knew most of the grammar and could have a simple conversation, but it wasn't until I began travelling to Germany last year that I really began to perfect my language skills. I'm now in my seventh year of learning German and I'm hoping that after a few more months here in Germany I will be completely fluent.

 

[Mattg]

I said I would update this thread once I had found a job here and I'm pleased to say that I now finally have.

It's been a very, very interesting 2 and a half months since I arrived in Berlin. Firstly, I would like to make it clear that I have at no point regretted my decision to come here - it's been so much fun and I've learnt so much already! Every day I have to pinch myself and remind myself just how lucky I am to be here.

The road to finding a job based in Berlin wasn't as easy as I was hoping, however. As I mentioned in the very first post of this thread, my dream job was to become a tour guide here. I spent my first month or so here sightseeing, visiting museums, going on tours, learning more about Berlin's history and doing lots of reading. I did this for two reasons - firstly, to train myself to be a tour guide here, and secondly, for my own interest. The tour guiding never worked out, but I did learn a lot of interesting things and now know Berlin very well, so all is not lost!

Many of the tour companies here require applicants to have a university degree, and/or many require that you have already lived in the city for a certain amount of time - often a year. With that in mind, I was restricted to applying for work in a small selection of companies. None of them even invited me to a job interview.

I did take a few people on tours around the city during the first couple of months and enjoyed it very much. This included friends and even people I met on websites like Couchsurfing. The only trouble was, I got no permanent source of income doing this and although most people would at least shout me a beer at the end of the tour, beer won't pay my rent (which is almost €500 per month).

Around mid-August I gave up completely on the tour guiding thing and started applying for jobs at cafés and restaurants. This time I had a little more success. On the first day that I sent out CVs, I got two job interview offers. The first one went really well and I was offered a trial shift, which also went really well. It went so well, in fact, that I cancelled the other job interview - a decision I came to regret. After the trial shift at this particular café the store manager told me that she was happy with me and I would hear back from them in the next few days. It took nearly a week before I heard anything. When I finally got an email from them, it basically just said "sorry, we can't hire you for such a short period of time." (I'm here until January 2015.) Strangely, the email was in English too. This caught me by surprise as I had been upfront in the job interview about this. Whether that was the real reason, I'll never know.

That was quite a disappointment and meant I had to start looking for jobs all over again. The job market in Berlin isn't that red hot and the fact that I'm not German and am only staying for a short time certainly haven't worked in my favour. It took a week of applying for jobs every day before I even got another response, this time from a well-known fast food chain.

Two weeks ago I had an interview there, which went well. The first question in both job interviews was identical: "So, du kommst aus Australien, oder?!" I was given a list of documents to get, and told to come back once I had them. I've had the privilege of experiencing my fair share of German bureaucracy over the past few months, but in my opinion the list was quite ridiculous. Among the documents required:

• Anmeldebestätigung (registration confirmation - a document received when registering your address with the Bürgeramt)
• Lohnsteueridentifikationsnummer (tax number)
• Sozialversicherungsausweis (social security number)
• Ausweißkopie (passport copy)
• Belehrungsbescheinigung ("red card" permitting you to work with food - to get it you have to go to the Gesundheitsamt, pay €20 and watch a video)
• Mitgliedsbescheinigung Krankenkasse (health insurance membership certificate)
• Bankverbindung (bank account)
• Aufenthaltserlaubnis (permit to stay in Germany)
• Arbeitsgenehmigung (work visa)

Dont even get me started with the ridiculousness of German bureaucracy. I needed all of that just to work in fast food. But that's not even the worst of it - I recently received a letter from the German government asking me to pay the equivalent of a TV & radio service tax, even though I have neither a TV, nor a radio here! (The official response of the government when I asked about this was that I still have to pay because I can access the content online - not that I ever have or will.)

So anyway, I finally had everything I needed last week and was able to sign the employment contract. I started working there about a week ago now. I have asked to work part-time, so will work an average of 3-4 shifts per week, leaving plenty of time for other commitments, and of course, more travel!!

I'm enjoying my new job a lot. The work is not exactly what I had in mind when I came to Berlin, however I will be forced to speak German all day and will be able to pay for my rent & groceries etc. I don't think I'll be able to save much money over the course of the rest of this year, but that doesn't really matter for the moment. I came here to take myself out of my comfort zone, improve my German, learn a lot and enjoy life! And I'm doing all of those things every day!

In this job I have direct contact with customers all day. As much as I enjoy speaking German, I will admit that my favourite type of customers are the English-speakers. And there are quite a few, considering that the store is located in a semi-major railway station. I always feel so clever when I am able to astound English speakers with my perfect English. Nobody expects to be served by a native English speaker, let alone an Aussie here! It is obvious to just about everyone - German customers because of my accent and foreigners because of my perfect English - that I'm not German, but so far not a single person has guessed my nationality correctly! Most Germans and Brits think I'm American, and all the Americans think I'm British. It's quite funny actually. So many customers have asked where I'm from and most seem genuinely surprised by the answer. It's the second most common question I get after "where are the toilets?".

Many of my new colleagues know me as the "Australier".

To my pleasant surprise, I haven't heard any major problems in my work with the German language yet. In fact, many customers have actually complimented my German. I'd say I'm 95-98% fluent now and in time I will only get better! Before I arrived in Berlin, I would have said ~80-90%.

So, that's my work situation here for the moment but I'll fill you in on a few other details while I'm at it.

I'm living in a WG (a German acronym which translates to shared flat) with 3 other people. I'm good friends with 2 of my flatmates, however unfortunately I can't say the same about the third one. His severe case of OCD only scratches the surface of the problems we are having with him. He was unemployed for even longer than I was and I think this caused him to go crazy. He talks to himself, constantly leaves ridiculous angry notes and hasn't spoken to me in over a month, other than to tell me off for the way I cleaned something.

Of course, I've been taking advantage of my close proximity to the rest of Europe and done plenty of travelling over the past months - and I will continue to do so for the rest of my time here. So far I've been to Hamburg, Dresden, Prague, Cologne, Luxembourg, Vienna, Bratislava and back to Munich. In the coming months I have trips to Munich (for Oktoberfest), Venice, Istanbul, Athens, Marrakech (Morocco) & Bracelona planned. No doubt more trips will come up at short notice!

So, there you have it: the (kind of) short version of my situation and what I've been up to for the past couple of months here in the amazing city of Berlin!

 

[rogerkambah]

I'm glad things are working out for you Matt. Moving out of one's comfort zone is quite an experience.