Babyland Berlin

This Blog was supposed to be about Berlin, but is turning out to be more about babies, toddlers and baby sleep. In fact the two things are more closely related than some might think, as Berlin is one of the cities in Europe with the highest concentration of babies. Prenzlauer Berg, where I used to live (I've now moved slightly north into Pankow) has long been famous for its prams and buggies. Everywhere you look there is a Mum or a Dad pushing a pram, carrying a baby in a sling or holding a screaming baby in their arms (that would have been us!). However, this baby craze is not just confined to Prenzlauer Berg. Whether you're out shopping in trendy Mitte or you're in a bar on Schlesiche Strasse in Kreuzberg or you're on the U Bahn heading to Charlottenburg, or even worse chilling in hipster's paradise (Neukoelln) you are bound to see at least one baby, if not more.

Babies are everywhere in Berlin, there is no way of escaping them. You could attempt to leave the house only during the hours of darkness, to go out exclusively to smoky bars or Kneipen or to the few cafes with the no pram sign. But whatever you do, keep away from playgrounds, parks, family-friendly cafes, cinema matinees (they might have a special mama with baby screening) and ice cream parlours. 

With the surge in the number of babies born each year there is obviously a growing need for nurseries (or Kitas as they are called in Germany). Despite the fact that there seems to be a new Kita opening every other month (I haven't counted them, but there will soon be more Kitas than Spaeties*, and that is saying something), there is still a shortage of Kitas in some areas, which means that women have to enrol their babies (technically still foetuses) onto waiting lists, before they are even born! 

I was told that there was a shortage of gynaecologists and paediatricians in Prenzlauer Berg, but that didn't turn out to be true (at least not for pregnant women or newborn babies). However, the Kita shortage is real. Being offered a Kitaplatz without being on at least 10 waiting lists is close to a miracle. And don't even bother turning up at the Kita Sprechstunde once your baby is over six months old. They'll just shrug their shoulders and look at you as if you were an alien. One way of getting a place in some Kitas is to turn up every week with a home baked cake. Luckily I didn't have to go down that path, but I've heard it works.

*A Spaetie is a Berlin institution: Spaetie stands for Spaetkauf and is a shop selling mainly drinks (hundreds of varieties of beers) and snacks that is open 24/7. The 24/7 part is extremely rare in Germany. The more entrepreneurial Spaeties now also have bikes for hire.