r/askberliners

I went to a ramen place earlier this week (Cocolo btw, I hadn’t been in years and it’s gone down in terms of quality substantially) and they refused to provide water. This also happened recently at other Asian places. This had never been an issue before. I started noticing some restaurants are refusing this. Is it a new normal?

Just in case: We always order a drinks.

Me and my wife have the first week in August off and this is the only chance of having a "change of scenery" in the next few months. We both hate too much sun/going out in summer time sun and we hate too much crowds. In the first week of August, it seems like the case with most of the destinations in Europe. We don't drink alcohol and my wife doesn't eat meat - that knocks out a lot of ideas for a relaxing get aways as well.

We have travel a lot of major destinations in Europe and some of them were during summer. It is pretty much clear that we absolutely do not enjoy sitting/hiking/walking around when the sun is too sharp and honestly, making the efforts to go someplace only to come out during late evening seems like a waste.

Any advice for a place around Berlin that is:

- Not too far. Maximum 4-5 hours train journey. We are not planning to drive.

- Budget friendly. I will be booking things now which is too late and it is peak holiday season.

- Not too crowded. It is fine if there are not too many things to do. We just wish to relax.

Some friends suggested trying to find a deal for 4 or 5 star hotel within Poland that has indoor pools and stuff and maybe just chill. They seem to be expensive or unavailable in August. I like this idea of trying to find a nice hotel with indoor pools that would be within budget. Any recommendations for such a resolt/hotel in Poland around Berlin ?

I'm looking for nice restaurants that are a 1 or 2 hour drive/train ride away from Berlin. Somewhere in the countryside, maybe with accommodation on site/nearby. Do those places exist at all? There's loads in the UK, but I have really found anything exceptional in the nearby countryside yet. Doesn't have to be super fine dining, just a nice place to visit, go for a walk, see a small town, have some great food and stay the night.

I recently got offered a quite central flat in wedding and since my current flatmate was still unsure of moving from where we live now, I wanted to see whether it would be easy to find a flatmate in case he decides against. I posted the offer for a room on wg-gesucht and excpected to be swamped but only got a few messages after a day. Before, when i was looking for a room myself, i already noticed that there are a lot less rooms offered than there used to be. But still, its only a few minutes from the ring and a decent room with an average price. It's close to gesundbrunnen and I understand it's not the prettiest area, but still.. So is WG-Gesucht just dead in that regard or have you made completely different experiences recently?

Hello Berliners.

I'm traveling in Berlin I am looking for somewhere to watch the England vs Mexico game, it's on at 2am which makes it a bit more challenging.

I'm based on the edge of Charlottenburg, so the closer really the better. Also, if anyone wants to watch it, more than welcome to join me!

​Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice from anyone who might have been in a similar situation or knows how this works from a bureaucratic/medical standpoint.

​I asked my primary care physician (family doctor) if she could provide me with a document or medical report summarizing my various health conditions—both physical and mental. I don't need it for a specific institution right now, nor is it an emergency, but I simply want to have this documentation in my personal medical files for my own future protection and peace of mind.

​My doctor’s response was a flat "no." She dismissed the request by saying that for the mental health side of things, a psychiatrist has to do it (completely ignoring the fact that I asked for a general overview that includes physical conditions as well) and that she doesn't have the time due to having too many urgent patients.

​Since these medical issues and vulnerabilities are real and have already been diagnosed over time, I want to figure out my next steps.

​Has anyone here managed to get a similar summary document from their family doctor? Are they required to provide it, or can they legitimately refuse due to "lack of time"? ​If the primary doctor refuses, who should I go to in order to get an official clinical overview? Do I absolutely have to pay for private visits with individual specialists, or are there other ways?

​Thanks in advance to anyone who can share their experience or advice.

Is there any website from which I could purchase tickets for Saturday's The Cure show?
I checkout out official retailers but nothing is available. I am unaware about alternative German market though. Facebook perhaps?

I never understand this postal system - DHL delivered my package to someone random (I was even home). I can see on tracking that there's a signature and name ("Jupiter").

But here's where it loses me -- there's nothing in my mailbox that says who this "Jupiter" is or their location (I checked my building as well as the immediate neighbors).

I tried to reach out to DHL and they said that it's the sender's responsibility to follow up and investigate. I assume DHL is now only caring about liability and insurance.

But why such a bad system? At least drop a card and tell me where to go. I'll probably get my money back eventually (a month?) but the item, which is irreplaceable, is likely lost. Perhaps someone is enjoying their free stolen package.

Hello,

I have lived in Berlin since the start of the year. I moved here with some medical conditions that require monitoring, some require ongoing simple medication. I’ve been to a Hausarzt, dentist, orthopedic surgeon/specialist, had a mammogram screening, gynecology appt, and finally had a rheumatology appointment last week. (I had to wait several months since scheduling it, of course)

The other doctors I have visited were pretty normal and professional. The gynecologist was quite rough but I don’t think she was overly careless. This rheumatologist that I saw last week, I’m having a hard time processing what happened.

I had been referred to rheumatology before I moved, there had been a lot of testing done and two of my specialists wanted me to see rheumatology. Unfortunately the soonest appointment available would have been after my move to Germany. So my Hausarzt submitted the referral.

The front desk staff was great, and then when I went into the doctor’s office the mood shifted. He interrupted repeatedly, before I finished brief answers, responded to a text on his Handy, and repeated questions including “what is bothering you” after I handed him a typed list and described them.

The most troubling part was his yelling. He would ask for example, do you have headaches, and I would say “often, I get them…” intending to describe the frequency but he would bellow “OFTEN, WHAT IS OFTEN, EVERY DAY, FIVE DAYS A WEEK…?!” along with the most condescending facial expressions and eye rolling I’ve ever seen outside of teenagers. It must just be the way I was taught to verbally communicate, to summarize in one general word then give a more detailed answer. For example “often, at least five days per week” or “occasionally, 3-4 times per month” etc.

But he became very angry and raised his voice, waving his arms wildly sometimes. Very unprofessional. When I described my heart rate and blood pressure changes when standing from sitting (a sign of autonomic dysfunction) he said “lose weight, exercise more” without asking how much I exercise and ignoring that my medical history includes a restrictive eating disorder since age 8 (anorexia nervosa). He was very dismissive of it, even when I pointed out I’d been treated in medical facilities multiple times for it and as recently as three years ago. He told me to remove my shirt and pants, looked at me, shook his head, then told me to get dressed. I know the reputation of German doctors is that they are abrupt and serious, but this experience has been very jarring.

Thankfully, he ordered some blood tests, but told me I wouldn’t hear from him with results for “a long time.” Lab staff was nice, at least.

I need help from this type of doctor, and I had to wait several months for this one visit. So I do not want to alienate anyone who has power over my medical care. My husband urged me to file a complaint, but I’m scared of all the stories I hear about getting sued even when you tell the accurate truth. What, if anything, do you think I should do after experiencing this?

And if anyone has a lead on a knowledgeable, professional rheumatologist, especially one who understands hypermobile Ehler’s Danlos and all the issues that it brings with it, please let me know! 💕 I am willing to go to a private doctor (we have TK though).

TL;DR- Rheumatologist yelled at me during appointment, offered dangerous advice, but I need rheumatology care. What do I do?

I found a fully furnished studio in Berlin on HousingAnywhere last September. The landlord then contacted me off the platform and we signed a one-year lease. The apartment is heated by gas, so electricity only covers lights, standard appliances (fridge, microwave), and hot water in the bathroom.

Overall, everything has been great — she's been responsive and chill, and I haven't had much to bother her about. But she recently received the yearly electricity bill from Vattenfall and claims the meter reading was far higher than normal usage, leaving her to pay close to €1,000 extra over what she pays normally.

Here's what I've done so far:

• Let her inspect the apartment to see if she could figure out what's going on
• Recorded the meter readings every 15 days for the past two months — my usage has been in the normal range. Nothing about my usage patterns has changed from the period the bill - I havent added any new appliances.

I told her I'm not willing to cover the extra charges without clear evidence that my usage caused them. I also said that if a clear pattern of excess usage emerges over the rest of my lease and it's down to me, I'll cover it. Since neither of us can explain it, I offered to pay 30% of the excess as a courtesy if it's still unclear at the end of the lease.

Now I'm worried she'll simply deduct the charges from my deposit at the end of the lease. What are my options? I don't want to fork over €1000 without clear evidence of what caused the usage.

EDIT: The contract I signed includes all charges including internet, gas, water and electrcity.

I lived in a sublet for one year. Now the main tenant is back and she’s telling me that she will keep some money from the deposit to settle some utilities (which I’m ok with) and then she added that she will keep some money as well because some plants died during my stay and she needs to buy new plants.

I took care of the plants obviously but some of them (small plants as well, the big ones are doing well) died. One of them specifically had pests already when she left the apartment to me.
In the contract we agreed that I would pay for possible damage to the property structure and furniture, plants are not mentioned anywhere.

Is this something I can argue?
She wants to keep the deposit money until she buys new plants even tho the term to give me back the deposit is pretty close now.
What shall I do?

idk if this is the right sub for this but thought i'd ask.

i'm 20, moved to berlin from india almost a year ago for uni. life rn is basically uni, work, gym, meal prep, study, sleep and repeat. on paper i'm doing everything "right". i'm working towards becoming an ml engineer (hopefully the job market recovers :-)), trying to stay fit, earn some money, survive as an international student etc.

but lately it just feels like i'm existing instead of actually living.

i got rejected by a girl i really liked about a week ago. it sucked, and if has done wonders to me in a really negative way. if anything, it just made me realise that i don't really have much outside my routine.

i've got movies downloaded, games installed, books i wanted to read... but i don't feel like doing any of it. even travelling doesn't sound exciting anymore, which is weird considering i live in europe now and always wanted to explore. studying feels more like a chore than something i actually enjoy.

i'm not suicidal or anything like that, so pls don't get the wrong idea. i'm just genuinely confused. feels like i'm 20 and already living on autopilot.

i also don't really have much of a social life here. i know a few people from uni but no real friend group where u randomly make plans, grab food, play sports, explore the city or just hang out.

has anyone else been in a similar position? what actually helped?

did u just wait it out? force yourself to go out? join a club? find ppl through reddit? are there any groups that regularly hang out, play badminton, grab coffee, explore berlin or just do random fun stuff together?

and yeah, this post is kinda random lol. i'm not desperate or looking for ppl to fix my life or anything. i just genuinely don't know what else to do at this point. i don't wanna wake up one day at 25 and realise the last few years just disappeared into the same routine without making any meaningful memories.

I lived in a sublet for one year. Now the main tenant is back and she’s telling me that she will keep some money from the deposit to settle some utilities (which I’m ok with) and then she added that she will keep some money as well because some plants died during my stay and she needs to buy new plants.

I took care of the plants obviously but some of them (small plants as well, the big ones are doing well) died. One of them specifically had pests already when she left the apartment to me.
In the contract we agreed that I would pay for possible damage to the property structure and furniture, plants are not mentioned anywhere.

Is this something I can argue?
She wants to keep the deposit money until she buys new plants even tho the term to give me back the deposit is pretty close now.
What shall I do?

Hey all. I'm currently doing a summer filmmaking course here in Berlin. For the film I'm working on we were planning on doing an overnight shoot during a weekday from 1-4am.

The location we had planned is the U-Bahn platforms underneath Potsdamer Platz.

However I've heard from a friend that most of the U-Bahn stations are closed at night from Sunday to Thursday. As in the doors are gates and you can't even get on to the platform.

Since P-Platz is a major network hub, I was thinking that maybe this is one of the stations that stays open all night.

Can anyone confirm if it does close/stay open? We are planning on shooting in the new few days and I don't want to turn up with a whole crew & equipment only to discover that it's closed!

Thanks for the help!

Hi everyone, I’ll be traveling to Berlin for a work trip for about 10 days, arriving on July 5th. What are some attractions or places that might suit me best or are “must-visits,” especially for someone who lives in Southeast Asia? That said, I can only travel long distances during the weekends. Also, is there anything I should take note of while in Germany, perhaps the weather and certain ethics?

Any help is appreciated :)

P.S I’m coming from Singapore 🇸🇬