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Der Berliner Winter ist gleich nach unserem Hausmeister Eugen F. der wohl unfreundlichste Zeitgenosse, der uns jemals begegnet ist.

#berlin #winter #berlin winter #zeit #kalt #weihnachten #begegnung #geschenke

Berlin Winter by RickMaschke

#Berlin #Winter #Berlin Winter

Zoe Verses the U-Bahn

A couple days ago I landed in Berlin at the wrong airport, holding directions on how to get home that didn't apply anymore. Instead of touching down in the little airport by the house I was across town with no knowledge of the language or transit system. The entire time I'm walking about trying to figure out how to get to the house before I lose the light I'm dragging along my little bag trying to make the best of it. After all that what did I learn? Communicate more, recheck details and never operate a subway system on little to no sleep.

Overall I found Germany to be one of the most well organized countries when it comes to public transportation. If a train says it'll be there in five minutes then it is. The doors open only when someone is entering/exiting the car. Tickets are based on a sort of honor system, with random checks. Train cars are a surprisingly palatable yellow.

Still it isn't perfect system.

Pros

bus driver gave me a free ride

cleanest system I've ever seen

the ticket teller didn't mind speaking english

fast trains/schedules

maps on the ceiling

motion detector escalators

Cons

train only kind connects to the airport

ticket machines don't accept bills

overlapping above and underground trains make for an interesting map

over-priced food that is so tempting on an empty stomach

all the stations I've been to so far are COLD as fuck

multiple track maps in a car that only runs one track which lead me to briefly believe I was on the wrong train

Edit: Some of the ticket machines do take bills (well the smaller ones at least), its just out at the literal end of the line they don't award such luxuries

#Berlin Winter #I miss the Metro #I miss the Tube #Still trains are the best

IF WINTER IS ON ITS WAY, BERLIN IS READY…..AND MORE

If you were stuck in Berlin anywhere last winter, especially at Christmastime, be pleased to hear that the city has taken great strides in improving winter services, starting at airports. After the chaos of ice, snow and delays in deliveries of de-icing chemicals with up to 4,000 suitcases stranded at Tegel alone, Leif Erichsen, spokesman for the Berlin airports, has assured us that this is history. Since October 1st, 200 employees and 100 various specialized machines have been ready to guarantee clear and open runways as well as de-iced plane wings. The de-icer manufacturer Clariant came up short Europe-wide but has stocked up and additionally, has a new depot north of the “Fichtelgebirge” (below), the (actually very beautiful) area which when snowy, became a plug for truck transport going north.

Nevertheless, airport officials are wishing for a mild winter, if only for cost reasons: keeping one runway free and open can run up to EUR 6000.

Meanwhile, the chamber of commerce as well as the association of winter snow removal services are still upset about the new law decreeing just how much snow must be removed from commercial areas: businesses along lively streets such as the Kurfürstendamm, Tauentziehenstrasse (home of KaDeWe, among others) and Unter den Linden must clear a three-meter wide stretch after each fresh snowfall: a sharp contrast to past years where vague wording demanded they be “more widely cleared”. The chamber claims this recently announced law puts both in a bind and taxes removal services who had planned their routes and timing months earlier. While they criticize the city government for waiting until late October to announce the new laws (springtime would have given them adequate time to react), the Senate countered with “they should have known this”.

Additionally, drivers are challenged by construction projects everywhere, it seems. A local newspaper recently published “the new construction atlas” for Berlin, listing the 70 largest building projects and prompting the ADAC (AAA equivalent) to criticize lack of coordination. Autumn projects are nothing new, given that each district must spend allocated monies, and last year’s potholes are still being repaired, subway lines are being extended, etc..

No one knows what to expect of the Berlin S-Bahn should winter get tough, but even without ice and snow it recorded a new low for punctuality in October, threatening the subsidies it receives (a train is statistically late if it diverges from schedule by four or more minutes). The latest delays, however, are not due as much to mismanagement or aging cars or weather, but by arson attacks attributed to left-extremist groups and construction projects. Infrastructure problems still abound, however, and lack of good, timely information for riders is missing. One local radio station took the lovely traditional Christmas song, “Alle Jahre Wieder Kommt das Christuskind” (every year comes the Christ Child) and turned it into “Alle Jahre Wieder Steht die S-Bahn Still” (each year, the S-Bahn stops running). Riders are hoping this does not come true.

S-Bahn riders have another major problem confronting them: pickpockets abound and the number of crimes is up with 9,356 recorded in the past 9 months, a 17.5% increase over last year. One big reason the police mention are the major events such as the papal visit, countless Oktoberfest celebrations, or throngs of Berliners and visitors alike now headed for the Christmas markets and shopping sprees. At the end of 2010, 13,191 cases had been recorded; this year’s total will be much higher. Close proximity to potential victims, thick clothing preventing the sensation of anyone reaching into pockets, etc: a pickpocket’s dream. Some train stations will have announcements warning riders; additional words of advice will appear on electronic message boards. Theoretically, the thieves work in groups of three: one diverts the victim’s attention, the second grabs or reaches, the third receives the booty immediately, making immediate identification difficult.

Berlin police direct everyone to their website www.berlin.de/polizei (click on the British flag for English), scroll down to “pickpockets” where they list various tricks. And while many seem obvious, prompting us to think “well, that could never happen to ME!”, the perpetrators are very, very fast. Criminal superintendent Thomas Neuendorf (an expert since he worked the 2006 Soccer World Cup games in Germany and founded the group “Tasche” or “pocket”, which evolved into the team of specialists known as “LKA 711” - “LKA” = “Landeskriminalamt”), points to various non-German groups who compromise the main violators (67.8% of pickpockets do not have German nationality) adding that some have even stolen enough to finance homes in their respective countries.

Last but not least, Berliners take pride in their Christmas trees which are publicly displayed at prominent points in the city but don’t hesitate to criticize openly anything they feel isn’t quite right. And thus the song “Oh, Tannenbaum” turned into “Oh, Pannenbaum” to head an article on everything citizens feel is wrong this season (a “Panne” is anything which fails or goes wrong). The “traffic tree” on the Breitscheidplatz (a metal frame adorned with what looks like second-hand thrift store inventory) causes scolding, arguing and gaping. The three 17.5 artificial trees alongside it (due to construction on the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Church, a real tree is prohibited due to fire danger for the second year) are decorated according to European, American and Russian tradition – “we wish to offer something crazy” say the organizers. After all, Berlin is a crazy city and this particular place is frequented by tourists who come to take photos.

The Gendarmenmarkt shows off a 24 meter fir from Zehlendorf, the second one intended for the location after a couple who had offered their own tree (from Lankwitz) decided against cutting it down. It’s from Berlin, say citizens; better than the one from Bavaria in 2000 which was ridiculed and subsequently fed to elephants. This year, however, the 20 meter high Douglas fir in front of the Reichtag is from Bavaria (Franken), and everyone is happy with it.

Finally, the fir on Pariser Platz is a traditional gift from the Norwegian embassy, this year from Drobak on the Oslo fjord. When the mayor of Drobak advertised to ask who would consider donating a tree, one property owner offered his 70 meter tree which had always blocked his view of the fjord. Transport, however, did damage to the tree, which lost lower branches which were bent and had to have others sawed off. Thankfully, strings of lights have filled the gaps.