Life in Berlin: First Impressions as an Expat
Just one week ago today, my plane touched down at Berlin Tegel Airport. It was a sunny, pleasantly warm summer’s day and I was ready to make a home in my new city. As my plane made its final descent into Berlin, I looked out at the TV tower reaching high into the sky over the city and I smiled with a feeling of deep contentment. There I was, just minutes before creating my new love story with the capital city of Germany.
My initial flight out of Baltimore-Washington airport was delayed over three and a half hours. Before I had even checked my baggage, I was told, “Oh, you’ll definitely miss your connecting flight,” because at that point, we had all been standing in line at the ticketing counter for over two hours. You read that correctly. The system for my airline (Condor) had been down, causing our incoming plane from Frankfurt to arrive delayed and then causing us an even further delay just to get everyone checked in. It was madness yet somehow, there was no stress and everyone was calm. Upon taking off from BWI at midnight, I trusted that everything was going to be okay but I was not looking forward to what was ahead of me in Frankfurt.
Personally, the eight hour flight over the Atlantic went by rather swiftly. The food Condor served was decent and filling and it was a miracle I never got a headache because I almost always suffer from migraines on long travel days. Stella was restless the whole flight which is not common for her. I slept for about an hour or so and then once we landed in Frankfurt, we waited about an hour at Passport Control, had to go and collect all of my luggage from the baggage claim, go back to ticketing, re-check my luggage, check into my new flight, go through security all over again, and then finally board my last leg of the light from Frankfurt to Berlin.
By the time I got to Berlin, it had been a long, exhausting journey. Whenever I got down on myself as a college student, my mom always reminded me of one time at Chicago O’Hare airport when I was on my way back to university from work training and my flight was cancelled due to severe weather. I’ll spare you the details but it was a time when I learned my independence and resilience, especially when it comes to unexpected travel delays. I trusted that I’d handle everything this time just as well, even if I was on another continent. Somehow everything (including all of my luggage) ended up in one piece by the end.
Related Reading: I’m Moving to Germany!
I’ve gone into this experience completely open-minded while continuing to be deliberate which is a life motto I strive to live by. I’ve accepted that the journey will be arduous at times and that I won’t always have the answers or know what is going to happen. That said, please remember that everything I write is unique to my experience and please respect that. I am forever learning, about myself, and about the world. Every day is a new lesson in life. And if you’re new here and had no idea that I just moved to Berlin, you can read all about my decision to do so in this post.
First and foremost, I love living in Berlin. Just a few days in, I recognized that I feel more at home here than I’ve felt anywhere else before. Given the fact that this is a foreign-speaking country on a completely different continent, I think that says a lot. How you mesh with the energy of a city or town is such a unique thing. Something so natural that can’t be forced. And so to feel that tapped into a completely foreign city in such a short period of time is something that I don’t take for granted.
I decided during this first week that I was just going to go for it and put myself out there, say “yes” to new adventures, and see what happens. Which, as an introvert, isn’t exactly second nature. But I did it and I met new people and I felt included and challenged and confused and confident all at the same time.
One of the things I am seeing now that I am living in a foreign city is how it more or less forces you to re-learn yourself. There are parts of you you’ve never really realized were there that bubble to the surface as soon as you begin learning a new culture. Upon landing, you must find where it is that you fit within this place. You see stark differences but then realize you’re the same as each person passing by that you lock eyes with. We’re all the same. We’re all unique. We’re all human.
Berlin especially is a city where anything goes. Its openness is comforting, especially as you try to pave a new path of your own.
The Language Barrier
I start language school on Monday. Though I took German in high school, I have lost so much of it. People say you don’t need to know German to get by in Berlin, as it’s such an international city and often English is the universal language here. However, I’ve found not being fluent does keep me from interacting with people the way I’d want to on a normal day-to-day basis, such as in a grocery store or when someone comes up to me at the U-Bahn station saying, “Entschuldigung” and then proceeds to ask me for directions entirely in German. I think becoming fluent in German will help with the integration process.
Getting Around
Other than the language, it’s been somewhat effortless to get around. I find Berlin’s public transit system to actually be rather intuitive to navigate, clean, brightly lit, and very effective. This is my first time living anywhere without a car and though I didn’t doubt I’d be okay, I can confirm that getting around Berlin without a car is a piece of cake. However, I really enjoy walking to be honest! I always think walking is the best way to learn a new town and that’s exactly how I’ve been learning my local neighborhood or “Kiez.” Walking to one grocery store, walking a little further to a different one next time. I even walked two miles to Alexanderplatz (the city’s main central hub) and all the way back instead of taking the U-Bahn. I had sore feet after that but stopped at a local pub on the way back to watch the end of the final Germany World Cup match. (They lost.)
Around me there are various cafes and restaurants where people are sitting outside at nearly every hour of the day. Berliners love to be outside! People sit along the park benches in front of my flat with a book in hand, or perhaps a beer (because having alcoholic beverages outside… in a glass bottle (!) is completely legal and normal here.) There are endless parks to walk, jog, people watch, or sunbathe.
Is Berlin dirty?
One thing I’ve yet to see is how “dirty” people say Berlin is. Personally, I think New York City is far dirtier. That just goes to show you how high the European standard of “clean” really is :) I don’t see it being a problem for me. And in terms of living spaces, my flat is nicer and cleaner than most apartments in San Diego I had ever been in. For a Soviet building built in the 1950s during the Cold War, it’s nearly impeccable. Clean, brand new windows which still astounds me, beautiful hardwood floors and the highest ceilings I’ve ever seen.
I find the architecture beautiful. It fascinates me every day. The old, the new. Just walking along my street, I see iconic buildings that leave me in awe, knowing their stories.
The People
I’ve had the chance to meet quite a few new people already (so very un-introvertlike of me!) though I’ve yet to meet any other Americans. That said, I’ve passed by many people speaking English with a ‘North American’ accent. Is that a thing? I don’t want to group you Canadians in with those of us from the U.S. because I know how you feel about that ;) Anyway, I’ve met mostly Germans that aren’t originally from Berlin and plenty of people mostly from other European nations. I’m only a week in and the topic of conversation when someone finds out I’m from the U.S. almost always turns political. Yikes. It’s also been very interesting to hear what people assumed I’d be like because I’m an American. (Hint: It’s not good.) Luckily, I think they see I’m not quite so bad after all.
The Cultural Differences
There have been many cultural differences and norms that will take some getting used to. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to how stressful a trip to the grocery store here can be. And for those who don’t know, it goes a little something like this: You must insert a coin in order to use a shopping cart and then once you’re ready to check out, they don’t bag any of your items. They will scan everything as quickly as humanly possible and then you have to hurriedly throw everything into your shopping cart, pay, quickly exit before the person behind you starts giving you nasty looks, and then proceed to go through everything in your cart and load it into your reusable bags. And then you have to take your cart back, correctly connect the chain to your cart in order to get your coin back. The first time I did this, I failed. The second time, I got it! But what an experience just to get some groceries or go to the drugtore!
There are other things like the pfand (basically a deposit you pay on bottles and then later get back when you take them back to a machine or to the counter), having to press a button to open the doors on the trains, putting your surname on your doorbell/mailbox/door, etc. that if nobody had told me, or I didn’t ask about, I wouldn’t understand or know about.
Within Berlin, there are many different vibes and people and sub-cultures. Another thing I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to is how late things run within the city. Bars and some restaurants stay open until the last people leave. Which means, the sun could very well be coming up and places are still open and people are still out enjoying themselves. As a lover of early mornings, I don’t think I’ll be one of those folks but that’s okay. That’s the great thing about this city. I feel there’s truly a community for everyone.
So that’s it for now. My first impressions after one week in Berlin as an expat. I haven’t cried or felt lonely or homesick and I certainly haven’t doubted my decision to move here. Not everything has been easy but it certainly hasn’t been hard. For now, I’m trying to remind myself that this is a big adjustment I’m making entirely on my own. I don’t have to have everything figured out by now or next week or even next month.
And at the end of the day, whether it was one of the many beautiful days or one of the harder ones, I remind myself that it’s about the journey and not the destination. That life is a series of events, to continue to be deliberate and never left life pass me by. Whenever I get overwhelmed or confused by all the intricacies of life abroad and the daunting pressures of the bureaucracy, I remember how very simple it all really is in the end. Life is precious. What matters most is that we LIVE it. As fully, as intentionally, and as deliberately as possible.
Berlin, I’m excited for our many adventures ahead.
Stay tuned for more here of my ‘Life in Berlin’ series and follow my daily adventures abroad over on Instagram @ChelseaDinen #chelseagoestoeurope
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