Reactions to Brexit: mixed views from Berlin

In the aftermath of Brexit I have witnessed three main types of reaction amongst Germans and other Europeans living here in the German capital.

1) Sadness: We like the UK and we don't want you to leave the EU. We believe in the dream of a united Europe. Please don't go!

2) Schadenfreude (a German word by the way): Ha ha... look what those fools have done. They deserve it: they have always caused problems in the EU. Let them leave if that's what they want. We are better off without them.

3) Enthusiasm: if they can do it, we can do it too. Let's leave the EU! Power to the people! We don't want those technocrats and bureaucrats dictating the shape and size of our sausages! Long live the Currywurst! (I just made that up, but I bet someone out there really thinks that).

However, there is one sentiment that unites everyone across Britain and the EU: Disbelief. How can UK politicians be so clueless and incompetent?
They campaigned for months about leaving the EU and now that the UK has voted in favour of leaving the EU, they don't have a clue about what to do next.

Are German parents more laid-back?

Sand + water = lots of fun

As a mother with a British/Italian background living in Berlin, I often find myself observing and comparing different parenting styles.  When I first started taking my child to the playgrounds in Berlin I was struck by how relaxed some German mothers (and fathers) appeared to be.  They let their children roam free through the playground, while they chatted at the edge of the sandpit and often did not even check on their little ones (or so it seemed at the time).

At the playground with Papa

Once when our son was about a year and a half, my husband* came home from the playground saying that some mothers had actually teased him for being too anxious and following our son wherever he went.  One mother claimed that she only looked up if her children were crying and/or covered in blood, otherwise she would simply let them get on with it.  Another mother also laughed at what she called “the anxious first-time father”.

So are German parents more laid-back? Fast-forward a year or so.  I am at the playground trying my best to adopt the “let your child get on with it” attitude, while chatting with one of these mothers. Suddenly her son starts crying and in a matter of seconds she is by his side, has picked him up and is soothing him.  This is not her first child by the way.  There is no blood in sight; in fact, the child does not seem to be hurt at all.  About 15 minutes later, the same situation is repeated.**

Last summer my child went away for two nights with his Italo-German nursery.  It was the first time my three-year-old had been away from home without his parents or grandparents. Obviously I was anxious and I regularly checked my phone in case of any missed calls or messages, but otherwise I just assumed that things were going well.  Guess who called the holiday resort to check if the children had arrived safely?  No, it was not an Italian mother or father; it was a German parent.  So in my experience German parents may have a more relaxed approach to parenting, but deep down they are just as worried about their kids as everyone else.

*   He has a German passport.

** I would have done the same thing, but I am not the one pretending to be cool and relaxed.

Growing up with three languages

"British Airways to London Heathrow on Saturday, ready to land."

"Aereo Alitalia in partenza per Roma."

"Lufthansa Flugzeug von Frankfurt nach Chicago."

The other day I was listening to my three-year-and-ten-month-old son while he was playing alone in his room. The way he could switch languages was absolutely fascinating. He was playing with his little planes and one minute he was speaking English, the next he was making an announcement in Italian and 30 seconds later he had moved on to German.... 

There are so many studies showing the positive effects of growing up with more than one language and yet I still hear a lot of doubt and prejudice on the subject. For example, people often tell me that children learning more than one language start to speak later. It might be true in some cases, but in my experience it's not the rule. 

How many times have I heard the story about when I said "pwetty twee" in front of the Christmas tree at eighteen months?
 

Multilingual playground in Berlin

I grew up in a bilingual (English/Italian) environment, my son goes to a bilingual (German/Italian) nursery and I know several children that are growing up with two or three languages (including German, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Bulgarian and Farsi). 

A friend of mine was recently telling me about her son's new German nursery, in Berlin Mitte, where the majority of children speak two or three languages.

I haven't noticed any significant difference in the way multilingual children speak compared with monolingual children. In fact, in some cases I would say that their skills can be more advanced.

Of course, sometimes they mix their languages ("Io voglio mangiare Vanille Eis!") and the Grammar is not always perfect ("Io sono finito" instead of "Io ho finito"), but surely that's no big deal.

I remember when I was expecting Leo, I told my midwife that I was hoping he would grow up speaking three languages. She seemed to think that Italian and German would suffice and that English could be a secret language between Mamma and Papa. Well she couldn't have been more wrong: Leo already understands practically every word we say in English and, if we need to speak in code, we either have to spell the words out ("P I Z Z A" or "I C E"  "C R E A M") or say them in French (il est fatigué; never mention that little one is "tired" in English, Italian or German!). 

That works, at least for now.

Are you raising a bilingual or trilingual child? What is your experience? Comments welcome!

Spargel and Kimchi?

Kimchi Princess

After the post on Spargel (white asparagus), I've decided to continue with the food theme, which makes sense considering the name of this blog.
When I started the blog almost five years ago, I decided to name it "Currywurst and Sushi", to give a flavour of Berlin: a city characterised by an ever-present history with an international flair.
At the time I decided that currywurst and sushi would do the job. However, if I were to rename the blog today, I would probably call it "Currywurst and Kimchi".

Bottom-right Bibimbap; second row in the middle Kimchi

Obviously Currywurst remains a staple and sushi is still pretty popular, but the trendiest dish on the Berlin menu at present has to be Kimchi, Korea's national dish.

Like Spargel, you might wonder: what is so special about Kimchi? After all, one may argue that it's a spicy  version of Sauerkraut. 
- Sauerkraut... isn't that a traditional German dish? (I hear you asking)
- Spicy? I thought Germans didn't like spicy food...
True, but this is not Germany, this is hipster capital Berlin.

Every few months or so a new trend emerges. Some of these trends survive (street food or gourmet burgers), while others are quickly forgotten (bubble tea). It will be interesting to see whether this new wave of Korean restaurants that have taken over the city will last. 
Personally I think it will, because Kimchi is actually really tasty and so is Korean food. So bring on the Kimchi and forget the Spargel! Or even better try combining Spargel with Kimchi. I think I might be on to a winner...

Where to eat Kimchi in Berlin
Kimchi Princess: very popular with hipsters
Skalizer Str. 36, 10999 Berlin Kreuzberg

Kochu Karu: Korean-Spanish fusion cuisine
Eberswalderstr. 35, 10437 Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

Omoni: very good sushi & Korean food including Kimchi
Kopenhagener Str. 14, 10437 Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

To bio or not to bio

When it comes to organic shopping, we Berliners are absolutely spoiled for choice. I have counted over 80 (yes eight zero) organic supermarkets in Berlin. In my neighbourhood alone there are more than a dozen different organic supermarkets, bakeries and grocery shops. This does not include the local weekly markets and the ever-growing organic selection offered by all the traditional supermarkets, as well as the low-cost chains. So you can imagine my bewilderment when this bio-monster (see picture on the right-hand side) recently emerged, complete with white and green balloons.  Do we really need ANOTHER organic supermarket?!?

It seems that the answer is a loud and clear yes.
Berliners' appetite for organic products (be it vegetables, dairy products, soaps and detergents, water or toilet paper) keeps getting bigger and bigger.  Given the composition of the typical Prenzlauer Berg residents: families with small children, young professionals, ecofreaks, health fanatics, vegans, earth conscious dog owners... the emergence of yet another organic supermarket is not entirely unexpected. What I found more surprising was the appearance of a large organic supermarket on Sonnennallee in Neukölln - it definitely stands out amid the Turkish grocery shops, bakeries, doner kebabs, shisha cafés and shops selling colourful bridal wear. More recently I was even more astonished to witness the dramatic change of Antonplatz in Weissensee, where two large organic supermarket chains have opened shiny local branches and another one is opening just down the road. The word "expansion" features prominently on the websites of all the big organic supermarket chains and some even ask for suggestions as to where to expand next. So Marzahn watch this space!

Is organic booming where you live as well?  

A BBQ on the runway

While the rest of the world is busy building new airports and adding runways to existing airports, Berlin has decided that one airport is more than sufficient. Unfortunately things haven't quite turned out as planned and two years after the official closing of Tegel, the airport is alive and busier than ever. (More on the subject of airports another time...) 

However, Berlin did manage to close down one airport and to turn it into a giant park with picnic/BBQ areas, rollerblading and cycling paths, basketball courts and dog exercise areas.... welcome to the Tempelhofer park!

Last May Berliners (unfortunately the non-German residents were excluded) were called to vote in a referendum to decide whether the Templehofer park should stay as it is or to give way to a large-scale property development, including a public library. Non surprisingly (in a city constantly battling between modernisation plans and staying true to itself) around 65 percent of voters rejected the development plans and decided to keep Tempelhofer Feld as a public park. 

So if you're looking for somewhere to go on a Sunday, possibly without crowds of tourists or hipsters, Tempelhof is the place to go. Oh and don't forget your kite!

Where do hipsters go on Sundays?

A colleague recently asked where he could find hipsters in London. My other colleague and I answered in unison: "Hackney".
If you're wondering where the Berlin hipsters hang out on Sundays the answer is Neue Heimat.
NH is on Revaler Strasse in Friedrichshain, on the RAW grounds (or Gelände in German).
It calls itself a village market, which appears to be the latest Berlin trend. (Unfortunately these days I'm probably the last Berliner to spot a new trend given my almost non-existent social life, but I did briefly visit another street food market in the summer: Bite Club Mitte). 
NH consists of several large and spacious halls filled with stalls offering a variety of gourmet street food: from Korean tacos with kimchi to gourmet burgers, South American arepas and vegan cheesecake. There is plenty of choice when it comes to food and of course drink. The portions are rather small and the food is not cheap, but then again hipsters are not know for stuffing their faces.
So if you want to spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon savouring exotic snacks from around the world with Berlin's hippest crowd make sure to head to NH. They also have live music in the evenings.
P.S. Sadly there was no currywurst or sushi in sight.

All roads lead to East Berlin

I found my flat in Prenzlauer Berg on 3 October 2009.  This is a symbolic date for Germany and in particular for Berlin: the 3rd of October is the Tag der Deutschen Einheit or Day of German Unity, a public holiday commemorating German Reunification; 2009 was a memorable year as it marked the 20^th anniversary of the fall of the Wall.  

The Day of German Unity is celebrated each year in a different German city.  Somewhat ironically, the designated city for 2009 was Saarbrücken, where I was living at the time.  As I spent that particular weekend in Berlin, I missed one of biggest events the city of Saarbrücken had seen years. (It is fair to say that Saarbrücken at the best of times is not the most exciting place on earth, but more about that later).

Before moving to Berlin, I had lived in several German cities and Bundesländer, but my knowledge of the East was limited. It included a short visit to Berlin in the summer of 2001, three days at a rock festival close to Erfurt - where I was first introduced to the East German accent - and a couple of enjoyable days wandering around Dresden, which immediately became my favourite city in Germany.

I had never seriously considered moving to Berlin.  I always imagined it as being very cold in winter (it wasn't just my imagination!). Moreover, I thought that if I was to live in a large European capital that could only be London. As often in life, circumstances took an unexpected turn and so did my opinions. Things changed when I naively moved with my partner from London to Saarland or, as I once read in a travel guide, “The least rewarding of the German Länder in terms of tourist attractions”. I soon found out why.

Once the novelty and excitement of being in a new place had worn off and after numerous trips to nearby French towns and supermarkets – one of the relatively few advantages of living in Saarbrücken – my partner and I soon realised that our only salvation (at least in my case) was escape. So once we devised the solution, the next question was: “Escape, but where to?”

Because of my partner’s job - the reason we ended up in Saarland in the first place - our choice of cities was restricted to Germany.  We agreed that after the Saarbrücken experience, we would not make the same mistake, i.e. we would not take a gamble when making such an important decision as choosing where to live. Thus we began a methodical process of elimination to eventually end up with the perfect place to live in Germany (if such a place exists).

We initially considered Cologne, as we had heard favourable comments about the city but we soon rejected the idea after a weekend in Cologne (too ugly!) and Düsseldorf (too West German! Also the nightlife in the city centre seemed like a cross between Mallorca and the Oktoberfest). We briefly toyed with the idea of Munich, but this was soon dismissed on similar grounds, but mostly due to its Bavarian nature and conservative image.

That left us with two last candidates: Hamburg and Berlin. Everything else was too small and provincial. We had planned to spend a weekend in each city to help us make up our minds and to get a real feel for both places. However, a weekend in Berlin at the end of July 2009 was enough to persuade us that there was no need to look any further: we had found the right place. So we never actually made it to Hamburg until some months later when we visited some friends who were about to leave Europe for the US with their two young daughters. Although we liked Hamburg, we did not regret our choice.