Berlin - my first impressions

It is, perhaps, is too soon to say much. However, I have been here for a month now, and it's as a good a time as any for first impressions!

The first word that the place brings up for me is 'urban'. Well, it is a no brainer since it is a capital city! It's somehow much more urban than any other European city I have visited. Probably because  my experience is limited to tourist destinations (Paris, Rome, London, Venice, Prague, Brussels). Anyway, so Berlin feels like an  urban city. With organised roads and buildings, and under construction sites everywhere. There are people everywhere, though it rarely feels crowded.

Getting around is a breeze, thanks to the very efficient public transportation (and Google maps). The train and underground stations have ticket vending machines which are fairly straightforward to use. (Quick tip: There is an option to change language to English - click on the icon with flags).

Even though people speak English, the preferred language is German. I do feel quite out of place not knowing the language. So, even though you can get around even if you don't speak Deutsch, it would make life much simpler if you did. Or so I would like to believe!

Grocery shopping is way more challenging than I had anticipated. Again, my expectations are biased by my experience of Tesco and Sainsbury and Morrisons! (Major disappointment: Every European city does not sell Angel cake!!! Not even a close equivalent?!) So far, it has been a lot of trial and error - specially when it comes to buying condiments and cosmetics and cleaning stuff. The google translate app - with the option to translate using the camera - is a handy tool, though not always accurate. It chooses to leave untranslated that one word you do not know the meaning for!

Everything is closed on Sundays. So if you forgot to buy milk or eggs - too bad :P I am guessing there are a very limited number of stores in the city that open for a few hours on Sundays - but they are hard to come by. So if in Berlin, make sure you stock up for Sundays in advance.

The most easily available food on the go is sandwiches and croissants. There's a variety of these available all over. Another thing that seems to be common is Turkish food joints - especially the one with doner kababs.

People - mostly women - seem to be walking dogs or children at all times of the day! Beautiful, well mannered dogs - such a delight to watch!

There's lots and lots of "Apotheke" or chemist stores here. They seem to outnumber the grocery stores in Berlin.

Non-white people are a rarity here. In my four weeks here, I have only 'overheard' Hindi once. I haven't seen many African or Asian people, though there seem to be Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants everywhere! It feels much less cosmopolitan than London or even Manchester.

When I visited as a tourist last year, the city seemed to be steeped in World War 2 history. Not so much this time around. So, if you are away from the central, touristy places, it is easy to forget all that the city has been through and come up from. The museum island is, so far, my favourite place here.