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Berliners
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16-01-2013 3:03pm#1
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People from Berlin are not much different from other Germans, they just have a strange dialect
Anyway, of course, you can speak German with them, I can't see any problems there.
Looking for a decent place, I would say, there are e few coffee houses in the city centre, not too loud, but busy enough to find someone to talk to.
And the Turkish community is one of the largest non-national community in Germany, most of them are well integrated.0 -
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Lionel Messy wrote: »Vielen dank. I read the charter and I'm allowed talk about German culture.
1) tell me about the rivalry between hertha Berlin and union Berlin. I know it's east and west but is that it? Are hertha really hardcore like Dortmund or Schalke?
2) is there a concentration camp near Berlin and how can I visit it. I hate Nazis like you guys do.
3) is currywurst good? I hate ketchup but love sausage and curry.
1. Union was the most popular team in the East, Hertha in the West, that's enough for a rivalry. But the most hardcore fans you'll find with BFC Dynamo.
2. There is a link to the concentration camp Ploetzensee for you
http://www.gedenkstaette-ploetzensee.de/index_e.html
3. Currywurst is just yummy, but if you eat it for the first time, don't ask for 'extra scharf' (extra hot), you will get some cayenne pepper on it 0 -
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Don't be too freaked out when they stare at you on public transport. It's called the "todesblick" and it's basically an impromptu staring contest to kill time whilst commuting. It's nothing personal so just stare back and try to win!
I never heard about that, tbh
But if you go for it, don't stare at a football supporter, who just came from a match and saw his team loosing
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Lionel Messy wrote: »Can I try speaking German with them? Would the reaction be hot or cold? I want to try but not in a loud place, of course? What are the Turkish community like also and are they celebrated or resented?
You can try to speak German to Berliners or in any other language but they are famously grumpy. But if they find out that your native language is English, they will speak English with you, if you like it or not. That is, if they speak to you at all
The Turkish community is as diverse as the German community. They are certainly not celebrated, but then the German community isn't either. "Celebrated" is the Döner though (gosh, I miss them...), and the Baklava and the Turkish restaurants... love goes through the stomach as a German proverb says.
The most despised community, and not only recently, are the Suebians, though. So don't try to speak their dialect, otherwise you'll have Spätzle in your face http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/bild-877752-447921.html*
Currywurst is crap, but iconic nonetheless and part of the Berlin PR. It's just Bratwurst with ketchup and curry.
Plötzensee isn't a concentration camp but a memorial for the victims of the Nazis. It was a prison.
The next real concentration camp is Sachsenhausen near Oranienburg north of Berlin:
http://www.stiftung-bg.de/gums/en/index.htm
Staring in public transport in Berlin is unheard of. Everyone tries to look into the middle distance or pretends to read the paper or listens to music or whatever, just to avoid to be spoken to by some psychopath or, fate forbid, to start a conversation!
But since you seem to be Irish you'll be fine. Most Berliners love the Irish, why else would they sit in Irish pubs, sip crap Guinness and get all dreamy-eyed.
I'm a Berliner, I know what I'm talking about.;)
*ask the mod what Spätzle are
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You can try to speak German to Berliners or in any other language but they are famously grumpy. But if they find out that your native language is English, they will speak English with you, if you like it or not. That is, if they speak to you at all
The Turkish community is as diverse as the German community. They are certainly not celebrated, but then the German community isn't either. "Celebrated" is the Döner though (gosh, I miss them...), and the Baklava and the Turkish restaurants... love goes through the stomach as a German proverb says.
The most despised community, and not only recently, are the Suebians, though. So don't try to speak their dialect, otherwise you'll have Spätzle in your face http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/bild-877752-447921.html*
Currywurst is crap, but iconic nonetheless and part of the Berlin PR. It's just Bratwurst with ketchup and curry.
Plötzensee isn't a concentration camp but a memorial for the victims of the Nazis. It was a prison.
The next real concentration camp is Sachsenhausen near Oranienburg north of Berlin:
http://www.stiftung-bg.de/gums/en/index.htm
Staring in public transport in Berlin is unheard of. Everyone tries to look into the middle distance or pretends to read the paper or listens to music or whatever, just to avoid to be spoken to by some psychopath or, fate forbid, to start a conversation!
But since you seem to be Irish you'll be fine. Most Berliners love the Irish, why else would they sit in Irish pubs, sip crap Guinness and get all dreamy-eyed.
I'm a Berliner, I know what I'm talking about.;)
*ask the mod what Spätzle are
I think, someone from Berlin invented the Currywurst but it is well loved all over the country. And it's not only curry, which gives the distinct flavour, it needs about 3-4 different spices, one of them is cayenne pepper, but most chippers use a secret mix, which is passed from generation to generation, like Mr. Krab's secret formula in Spongebob 0 -
Currywurst is crap, but iconic nonetheless and part of the Berlin PR. It's just Bratwurst with ketchup and curry.
Blasphemy :eek:I think, someone from Berlin invented the Currywurst but it is well loved all over the country. And it's not only curry, which gives the distinct flavour, it needs about 3-4 different spices, one of them is cayenne pepper, but most chippers use a secret mix, which is passed from generation to generation, like Mr. Krab's secret formula in Spongebob
If you ask someone from Hamburg they will tell you it was invented there There is even a book based around it, Die Entdeckung der Currywurst, and a movie to go along with it. Very enjoyable movie and worth a watch.
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Blasphemy :eek:
Ah go one! You know that Berliners are as self-deprecating and miserable as your average Irish person?
Currywurst is for tourists not for any self-respecting Berliner! We even created for them a Currywurst Museum, just to make a point (or a business): http://www.currywurstmuseum.de/
True Berliners love international cuisine and adopted the Turkish Döner as their very own - as they did with Buletten (burgers for the English-speaking world). Not that these dishes are any more sophisticated...:D0 -
The city must have undergone another Wende then! My daily commute was generally on the S-Bahn complete with deafening silence and staring competitions. Whilst mentioning this to Germans who were either from Berlin or had been living there for some time, they said that it was completely normal and referred to it as the "Berliner Todesblick". Whenever I head back over I still notice it.
I think that is a myth, probably invented by visitors or blow-ins. It might be possible they just stood (or sat) in the way of the "middle-distance-stare".
Berliner Todesblick, my a**e.
The "Todesblick" (never heard of this expression) might hit you though, if you are male and staring at a girl/woman. Female Berliners can be fierce alright... 0 -
Don't be too freaked out when they stare at you on public transport. It's called the "todesblick" and it's basically an impromptu staring contest to kill time whilst commuting. It's nothing personal so just stare back and try to win!
Hahahaha, so true, it freaked me out at first, now I'm just used to it, every now and then I smile back at the starer, it makes them so uneasyStaring in public transport in Berlin is unheard of.I think that is a myth, probably invented by visitors or blow-ins.
Unheard of?
No, Cool_CM is right - they really do stare - A LOT!!!! I think it's some kind of "Volkssport"
As far as concentration camps go, Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg is well worth visiting, make sure you have plenty of time, there is so much to see and read, it's a frightful place, but well recommended0 -
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In fairness, there's a huge difference between a blank stare into space and a concentrated one that seems like somebody is boring holes into you with their eyes.
Hmm, I actually never noticed this stare, not as described by you and others (death stare?). But that might be because looking at people in public transport usually means looking through them. You can very well stare at people without seeing them (cultural differences, eh?).
...And I was wondering being here in Irish pubs focusing on faces without noticing them that the odd farmer saw it as come-on ...Sometimes it takes "visitors" and "blow-ins" to notice these things, I'm sure you've probably made a few observations since coming to Ireland.
You are right there. The outsider always sees things the locals don't even notice. Indeed, I - and a lot of foreigners - made very strange observations in Ireland. Don't get me started... 0 -
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People from Berlin are not much different from other Germans, they just have a strange dialect
Well, maybe not the STRANGEST dialect in whole Germany, but at first I wondered what my FIL meant when he kept said he "was in the cherry"...
...he pronounces Kirche (church) and Kirsche (cherry) the the same
My MIL got weird looks when she was living in Saxony and said she bought her meat "vom guten Schlachter" (from the good butcher), but with her Berlin accent, it sounded to them like she was saying vom "Judenschlachter" (Jew butcher ) 0 -
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Was just talking to someone, who was born and bred in Berlin, and still lives there.
The 'Todesblick' is just a myth, nobody died so far
Maybe a bit of superstitious thinking, like in 'if a gypsy looks into your eyes, you will die' :P0 -
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From what I've heard from otherss, it's not just a Berlin thing, seems to be widespread throughout Germany
Maybe, you are right there. Let's say, people on the bus, they are just deep in their thoughts, somehow on another planet. They don't want to be disturbed, and if someone does, there might be an odd look 0 -
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