"Berliner Schnauze" doesn't mean that berliner are arrogant, it means they will speak their mind wether you like it or not. they might come across as rude, but they are just too honest to be overly polite. ( all of that is way too simplified, but you get the idea) being the daughter of a Berliner, i really loved the video
I was in Berlin for a week and I think it is FANTASTIQUE!!!!! The city has an unruly and vibrant feel! There were so many places to explore. I was told time and again about how ugly the city would be. Such nonsense. It's not beautiful like Paris, but the new buildings are still not as UGLY as the ones coming up all over 'merica (the ones that seem like the contractors designed them, not an architect). The Turkish immigrants were even cool and their food is delicious. The Germans themselves were the nicest people! Everyone spoke English and all were so willing to help if you needed something. TWO different people went into their phones for almost 25 minutes to help me, respectively. I LOVE BERLIN and Berliners!
i was in Mannheim and i experienced the same kindness a young man searched in his phone for a long time to help me find the gate in the train station .
When I visited Europe back in 1987 Berlin was one of my favorite cities to visit! Wonderful museums and wide open parks with a vibe that was different from any other city in Europe. A lot has changed since I was last here but it must be more amazing now that the wall has come down. Greetings from Atlantic City New Jersey U S A
woltersworld I'm travelling now for 2 Years all over the world, but i was born and raised in Berlin and lived there 20 Years of my life. And now after 2 Years travelling i watched your Video and heared you talking about my City. I nearly cried when i heared what you say, you're damn right. Now everything i wanna do is go back. Maybe i will see then back in Berlin.
I love your enthusiasm for this city! I'm heading to Berlin myself for the first time in the summer and you're video has really got me looking forward to it! :)
thanks carson. I have a new camera (and mic) but I have not done all the videos on it as it is rather big and when I visit some places wehre I worry about getting robbed I use a smaller/less nice camera. but I am trying to use the nice camera more and more. thanks for noticing! all the best!
woltersworld I totally understand. I'm really crazy about my camera in places like that too. Your other camera isn't terrible, so don't worry about it! Like I say, as long as I'm making videos... any camera works :)
I'm from Berlin and I lived in Hamburg for 8 years and I feel like people in Hamburg are the ones with their noses up and Berliners are very open and direct. It's not that we're arrogant or unfriendly, we're just true. You have to react just as rough and you will earn a smile and maybe we'll be friends. That's part of our humor and it's also useful for testing if people are cool (And it keeps annoying tourists away, cause we don't like tourists). Of course you will meet people who are just unfriendly or have a bad, stressful day, but these people are everywhere you go in the world. I actually like about Berlin that it is very multicultural, bc there's anything everywhere and that is very useful if you live here. Btw, Berliner Schnauze is just the name for our dialect.
It's funny, my dad went on business to Germany and told me that exact experience. He said when he went to Hamburg that the airport was gross and old but the people were stuck up and thought it was amazing.
+vom Mond Als Engländer in Berlin fand ick die Mundart und die 'Unhöfflichkeit' am Anfang schwierig, weil die Engländer so höfflich sind. Aber du hast recht, dass die Berliner eigentlich nur echter sind. Sie sagen was sie denken, und man musst sich so reagieren. Echt und kein Bullshit. Dann ist allet jut, weeste?
Berlin is one of the most interesting cities I have been to. Such history and yet so modern. I walked and walked and walked thus exploring the city by foot and imbibing its electrifying ambience.
I'll be studying there next semester, so Wolter's World popped up on my sidebar and now I can't stop watching his videos! But he does have some great information to help me get ready to live there for a few months next year. From America, by the way.
Hey Walter, the Berliner schnauze is not because Berliner are arrogant or selfish. Its our normal behaviour. I know that people think its unfriendly and make them feel like an idiot but dont worry most of us are very friendly. ;)
I was in Berlin this summer and loved it. Lots of different vibes in the different parts of the city. I thought the people had a pretty relaxed attitude about life in general. I'm definitely going back. I can to relate to the "Berliner Schnauze", as the rest of Canada seems to feel the same about Toronto, even though Toronto is very friendly and most Canadians have never been here.
Just spent a weekend there. I love it and want to go back there as soon as I can. The public transport was new and exciting to me since I live in the countryside so it wasn't a problem. There are so many things to see and experience. 10/10
Next semester, I'll be studying there and I can't wait! I stumbled upon Wolter's World on my sidebar and now I can't stop watching! I'm so glad I did, because he's had so much great information to prepare me for moving there and what to expect!
What I love about Berlin is that it is two cities in one. You have the west side and east side. Two different style of architecture and feel. Berlin zoo is interesting. It's like time traveling back to the 50's when animals were displayed in cages. It was sad to see a Bald Eagle stuck on a small perch. Almost made me cry.
So I lived in Germany for half a year (Northwest), so whenever I visited Berlin I found that Berliners are the friendliest and most open-minded people in Germany. I love the city, not because of its appereance since it's not that special compared to other German cities, but the culture there is so inspiring since the place is filled with art and creativity, also, you really get that feeling that you are like at home since its very international, and, believe me, feeling included as an Ausländer in Germany is a big deal, specially since Germans, polite and nice as they are, are very hermetical people so it's pretty difficult to enter their society even when you speak German decently. However, in Berlin, that's super different, Berlin is all about peace and acceptance and freedom. So, give Berlin a shot, sure, there's a lot of drugs, beggars and pollution and some parts in Berlin are genuinely ugly, but you won't regret your visit.
Thank you for this video. You were spot on. I personally found that bicycles are the way to go instead of public transport (although I see from your video it was winter there and that may not have been the best option at the time). Well done! :)
I was born in Berlin, now moved to Singapore and will go back to the southern part of germany to see my family again in June. Berlin is still my favourite city and I'm so incredible happy that you also like it. Great video. Thank you very much! All the best, JOJO
The currywurst is the best thing ever I'm from Northern Ireland a town called Armagh and the amount of people have said that Berlin is the place to be there correct , Berlin is my favourite place in the world !
OMG you are AMAZING. Best summary of all by far about Berlin. Very easy to catch and makes me excited to experience that city even before i get there. Thank you so much. I am in frankfurt.
Berliner Schnauze means the dialect, directness and some time coarse humor all loosely connected into a way of being a Berliner. I've never had the feeling Berliners look at other people down their noses, I'd say the Bavarians are more likely to look at the other Bundesländer down their noses. Then again I'm half Berliner so.
I first started watching your channel many years ago. Somehow it fell off my radar (life gets busy) but I am very glad I found your videos again. My favorite of all travel videos on YT.
I am planning a trip to Europe in winter with some friends and i decided to add Berlin, there is something that i like of this city and i am not sure what is
Found that the Germans in Berlin was much less arrogant than the French , better food than the British , and a great city to be a tourist in . Just had a great experience , the angry ones came from Iran ...Great Doener kebabs at Max and Moritz ( Recommended ) , good people.I say some people will help you , but not all , and that you will find anywhere as a tourist , wanna see something special ? Go to Berlin.
I was in Berlin in time of East and West Germany, and all I can say that i have all good memories about that time, although the difference was enormous. I'm from Zagreb, Croatia, and in that time it was Yugoslavia, which had somewhat remembrance ti East Berlin. Museums, U-ban, restaurants, Under den Linden avenue, Brandenburg door...Most memorable thing about E.B. was Russian guard change at Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism. I remember W.B. for all the lights, shopping malls, Charlie check point, all-round difference with E.B. After reunion of Germany i was few times in Frankfurt, and all i can say is that i like Berlin more. Ich bin ein Berliner :)
Have you ever been in Hamburg, Bremen or Köln? These are some amazing german cities too, there you can learn pretty much about history and the people there will be nice to you :-) !
I love watching your videos and now this time I get to really benefit from them as I am going to Berlin in September, I have always wanted to go to Germany so I can't wait!
You forgot to mention excellent public transport in Berlin. Especially if you are from the US you will notice the difference. Most U-Bahn lines run every 5 mins throughout the day and even more often in rushhour. Nothing more to say, U-Bahn will work at any time. S-Bahn is known to be very unreliable but it will bring you to the target most of the time. But waiting times from one train to the next can be VERY different. So sometimes you only have to wait 2 minutes from one train to the next and another time it's more like 15 minutes. (I'm talking about 7:30 am through the week on Berlin's "S-Bahn-Ring" (circle line) here. Other lines going far out to the suburbs are more reliable.) The buses will take you everywhere, where U-Bahn and S-Bahn do not go. "M" (metro) buses run every 5 mins in the center and every 10 mins if you are far out. "X" (express) buses will be quicker if you have a long distance to cover as they only stop at the important stops. Normal bus lines without a letter infront of them will run every 10-20 minutes depending on how important they are (This does not apply to line numbers over 300, these will be rare to see as they only run every 40 mins or even more infrequent) The tram is the equivalent to the bus in the east of Berlin (and on one or two lines in the "Wedding" district). These will also have an "M" if they are important and run more frequently. If you need a toilet and have a train ticket the easiest way is to just ride one station in a "Regionalbahn" these are indicated with "RE" or "RB" infront of the number and will 95% have a toilet on board. All the regional trains are included in the "VBB-Tarif". That means if you have any train ticket for the Berlin zones (Berlin AB) you can use ALL public transport except for long distance trains like ICE. You can also get these tickets everywhere in Berlin and Brandenburg. Even the bus drivers on the countryside could print a month ticket for Berlin (I wouldn't recommend this though, Brandenburg bus drivers are generally not that friendly to foreign people ... and they are not that capable in general) But just stay in Berlin, you wont find anything of interest in Brandenburg anyway. There actually are a few ferry lines in Berlin, but I don't remember using them. (They are included in "VBB-Tarif") There are 3 Berlin zones for public transport. A, B and C. You can only get tickets for them as AB, BC or ABC. A is everything in the center of Berlin, like the Alexanderplatz, Ku'damm or Potsdamer Platz. Everything thats outside of the S-Bahn circle line but still inside the city borders of Berlin is zone B. The Olympiastadium, the Wannsee, Tegel airport or idk maybe the Tierpark are in that zone. (Tierpark translates into animal park, but this is not the same as the more popular zoo from Zoologischer Garten - that one would be in the A zone near Ku'damm. So there is two zoos in Berlin, keep that in mind) Then outside of Berlin starts the C zone. Here is the Schönefeld airport. the city of Potsdam is also Berlin zone C. Be careful as Potsdam has its own ABC zones, so look sharp when buying your tickets. C zone is just a small ring around berlin. It does not allow you to travel in whole Brandenburg. That would be an extra ticket then. Remember to validate your ticket if it says so. There will be "Entwerter" for that purpose in every bus, every U-Bahnhof and every other train station. For information on route planning visit www.bvg.de/ or install the app "Öffi" on your phone and select BVG in the beginning if you have a mobile internet connection here. I hope this will help you with visiting Berlin. Have a nice time here!
Ive always wanted to visit Berlin, Germany is currently the only foreign country ive been to, and im currently trying to persuade my family to go on holiday to Deutschland :P
Thanks Wolter...I love your videos b/c I want to go to europe soon and I was trying to figure out the best cities to go to b/c there are so many! Your videos are great...
I have visited Berlin in July, and we absolutely loved it !! From your experience, would you recommend visiting Berlin in the Winter ? ( January maybe? ) Love your videos
As a local resident, I highly recommend to visit the city during the festive season with all the beautiful Christmas markets scattered around the whole city. I'd rather not come here in January because it's dull, VERY cold and grey :/
Berlin is just soooo delicious..that a revisit is scheduled at the end of our trip in 2019......we first came to Berlin as 3 travelers with separate agendas....2017 is when we first hit German soil......2019s revisit.....is going to be about my partners love of museums and gardens and my love for beer and learning about the wall...... Berlin is the center of all Europe......xxoo
An excellent summary of meine Leiblingsstadt for first timers. Me? I've been 13 times in the last 8 years and I adore the place. I even felt assured by my treatment by the police (I was robbed of my wallet last year) and the hospital system (I collapsed through heat exhaustion this year)! Even despite the few bad times I've had, they have been way more than made up for by the fantastic times I've had.
Berlin rocks I’ve always felt it’s a home away from home. The hospitality and transport is second to none. I’ve stayed in hotels , hostels , apartments ranging from sublime to ridiculous . There is something for everybody and yes I agree the museums this city has to offer are fantastic.
The Berliner schnautze is not about arrogance... We are just honestly with many things and we are a very friendly city. You just have to get used to it. Its really really cool
Thanks for the video. It helped me decide to study abroad in Berlin rather than Salzburg. Only downside is I would like to improve my German more while I'm there, but it sounds like I'll be hearing a lot of English :D
It's really not that "extrem". Mostly you will hear german. Well, the berlin-dialect, at least, which often is not on the correct side of german grammar.. But Berlin is very multi-cultural, so you are able to learn a whole lot of languages, if you want to. ;)
Love Berlin but its almost a draw with Hamburg ;) Which brings me to the fact, Walter, when are you doing a video about Hamburg?? Do one please!!!! :))
I know... I know... I need to get there. I have been about 10 times to Hamburg in my life, but for some reason since I started making these videos I have not... which is really weird. But I will get there... don't worry! I just don't know when :)
My grandpa is from East Berlin, he was born in 1943 i believe, so he had a rough childhood. Their family were all in West Berlin, so he his mom and his sister would sneak their possessions under the wall to their family. I guess my grandpa had become friends with a bunch of guards and would tell them jokes and give them food i think. But once they sent enough stuff over they put on as many clothes as they could and filled their pockets with as much stuff as they could, and they crossed over and never went home. They had to abandon most of their stuff. Pretty crazy, and im so excited to go and see the Berlin wall, and im going to try and find my grandpas house!
You make me miss Berlin for all the reasons you are mentioning in your video, it's soooo true! But i disagree with #4 for the beggers and scams ...i'm quite surprised to hear (if you compare to Montreal, here it is happening everyday lol). If we can add a point, as a woman i've felt very safe walking alone in Berlin.
You know, one of your five hates actually struck me for the opposite reason. I actually think compared to many big cities in Europe such as London or Vienna or Budapest there are LESS multinational fast food places around. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of McDonald's and KFC's there and instead there are tons and tons of excellent independent places. Still, there are more than there used to be and number will only go in one direction but yeah old school Berlin is still alive and kicking for the most part.
You should mention that everything you talk about, is about the inner Berlin, if you visit Mariendorf or Rudow, you can also see many old houses and there are also no starbucks and no beggars
Hate #1 : With such efficient public transport, I don't mind it much, if at all. Hate #2 : Agree 100%. This is the exact reason why I enjoyed Bavaria and Austria more, it felt more "local". Hate #3 : Agreed again. Hate #4 : Indeed, "for a German city". There ARE a few beggars/scammers in Berlin, but still FAR LESS than in Paris, Rome or Barcelona. Hate #5 : This happens all over the world, not just in Berlin. About the loves, I agree with all of them except #1. Germanic history is not just about WW2 and the East/West times, which is mostly what you get to see in Berlin.
berliner schnautze is something else. it's about being direct. it's about the dialect in berlin. it's about being rude and honest, but in a cosy way. making jokes that are typical for berliner. it's not about snobs and newly rich people.
that is what I meant. I guess it came across wrong in the video. sorry
10 лет назад
Hey Wolter! I just want to say you're videos are great and my decisions to tour Europe are definitely influenced by your tips! I do have a couple of questions, though. Which one do you love more between Berlin and Paris? I ask because you’ve shown a noticeably similar enthusiasm when speaking about both cities. One more question: Which city, in general, do you believe is the most open to diversity? Thanks in advance and keep uploading great stuff like this. You've earned yourself a long term fan. I'm even using the videos in my English conversation classes and students just love them! :)
I went to Germany for 9 days and only stood one day in Berlin but from that alone I can Tell you Berlin is very interesting, There is so much culture, languages spoken, and the city has a unique vibe to it. The Bars and Clubs, while they are cool, were hard to get into. We had to go to three before one finally let us in. The bars were interesting though they had a darker lighting to them but were nice . Its very international and i would love to go there longer.
Hi Wolter, It's a shame you haven't done a video of Hamburg, as I will be travelling to both Berlin and Hamburg this week for the first time! Keep up the good work!!
i guess it might be not important (and maybe even appalling to some) but in Berlin in many bars (up to a certain size) you can still smoke inside - it is up to the owner of the bar if it's a smokers bar or not - they usually have a sign outside. you can't smoke in restaurants - which i think is great (unless they have a separated area for smokers) and you're not trouble if drink alcohol in public - i know it's different in the states.
i just loved Berlin 2017.....i just didnt spend to much time here...just a taste tester.......2019 i plan to spend a week in Berlin....i love everything Berlin....xxooo
It never crossed my mind to visit Berlin despite living only 300km away but your excitement and description of the city really surprised me and makes me want to go. The fact that it's an international city is appealling, I'm not however a fan of fastfood chains and Starbucks.
oh there is ahuge choice of restaurants other than Starbucks, Mc Donalds etc. Don't worry. Go to Cafe Einstein for example and have a real coffee and home made cake instead of frozen muffins. There are thousands of good restaurants where you can eat at reasonable prices. And you can even dine in Michelin rated restaurants, of course for a higher price. I have lived there for 30 years and I have never been to Starbucks, KFC and I never had a Dunkin Donut. The real "Berliner Pfannkuchen" (a donut without a hole) is faaaaar more delicious and you get it in every bakery on the corner. Why buying an american donut in a German city where the german version of donuts was invented and even named after the city.
I like how in this one you mention the international, cosmopolitan feel and not just the traditional stuff. I know you mentioned it in the hates section instead of the loves, but I've always thought too many people travel to see the old and never the new. The new cosmopolitan feel is not necessarily the same in every city IMO, even with all those mcdonalds. Every international city has its own patchwork of communities of immigrants (though even some globalized places, like Tokyo, are far more homogenous), and different international cities are known for different "localized" takes on international cuisines (London with its Indian food for example).
Sorry to go on a rant, but I especially don't like when I hear about tourists going to Asian countries expecting everything to feel like shogun era Japan, and being surprised when they find that it's mostly modernized (Not necessarily the same as westernized). That's like going to America and expecting everything to feel like colonial times or cowboy times. Countries change.
GreatJoFo I totally agree with you about using the term 'modernised' over 'westernised'. One of the biggest blunders of western media. I'm sure it must be aggravating to many of those not in the West who want to modernise but do not wish to be 'westernised'. Great vid, BTW. Thanks.
I visited Munich as an exchange student, it is definitely more expensive then say Wiemar or something. I loved it, plenty of great rustic places to eat and drink,cool architecture and museums, the people are quite friendly and i actually met a lot of Americans around town (Probably because americans think of lederhosen and oktoberfest when we think of germany). They put butter on like everything. I know a good amount of german however some people speak bayerische. For the most part younger people do speak english and it is always appreciated to attempt to speak to people in their native tongue (especially when YOU are the foreigner). The beer is amazing, definitely visit the hofbräuhaus. Grüß Gott!
I love the five things of Berlin, I also wanted to add, the city offers free tours and also in different languages. search online or where you are staying..
you are definitely not to old to go clubbing in Berlin. In the most nice clubs, like Ritter Butzke, Sisyphos, Wilde Renate, Mensch Meier etc., people of all ages are having fun. I often dance next to people who are older than 60 and still raving like 20.
just returned from about 10 days in Berlin over Christmas and New Years and agree with all of your comments! Although several of the "negatives" i might count as positives! Two negatives I would mention are the graffiti on every vertical surface and the weather this time of year. Looking forward to our next visit this Summer!