berlin life

I created the Berlin Life section of the website not knowing what I was going to do with it.  I knew I wanted to highlight some aspect of living in Berlin that wasn’t covered in my Journal section, and so finally after a moment of sheer genius, I’ve decided to use this section of the website to highlight some of the differences in culture between Germany and the States.

apartment  |  beer

My Apartment

So living in Berlin is a little different than living in Vermont or Massachusetts to say the least.  Without getting into too much detail into the history and geography of Berlin, I am going to try and explain where I live, what’s around me, and where there is to go.  I am living in a shared apartment with a local artist and another Lexia student in Schöneberg, a borough in the Western part of the city.  Berlin is one of Germany’s 16 states, which makes Berlin a city-state.  Berlin today is currently comprised of 12 different boroughs.  Schöneberg is located almost in the center of the city.  I am about a 15 minute U-Bahn ride away from Zoologischer Garten and Alexander Platz, which are two of the main public transportation hubs.  I am less than a 10 minute bus ride away from the Potsdamer Platz, and about a 20 minute U-Bahn ride away from the Unter den Linden, which is gets you to Museum Island as well as the Reichstag and the Brandonburg Gate.

My apartment itself is located in between two different U-Bahn stops, Bülowstraβe (U2) and Kurfürstenstraβe (U1).  I don’t know when my apartment building was constructed, but I believe it was built shortly after the war.  I am located on the third floor in Germany, which means I'm really on the forth floor.  In Germany, the bottom level of a building is called the ground floor, not the first floor.  The entire building has really high ceilings, which gives it a nice feeling when you’re inside, except that they’re three flights of stairs with 24 stairs in each flight.  Needless to say, it makes for a long walk at the end of a long night. 

In the apartment, we share a full bathroom and a half bath between the three of us as well as the kitchen space.  My roommate Barry, who's also here through Lexia International, and I have our own separate bedrooms.  I have a massive window in my room, but unfortunately no curtain.  Our host, Matthias (pronounced ma-TEE-us), has his bedroom and a second guestroom. He has a daughter that is absolutely adorable. I can’t wait to see her again, because first time I met her I didn’t know any German.  At least next time I might be able to carry on somewhat of a conversation with a two year old! 

I guess the hardest thing to get used to showering.  We do not have a shower curtain, and the shower head is not fixed to the wall.  We have a nice large bath tub with a hand-held showerhead.  Needless to say it makes for quick showers.  There is one other thing that is taking some time to get used to.  The entire city shuts down on Sundays, except for bars, restaurants and café’s.  Stores are not open, not even supermarkets.  It means that you just need to plan ahead.  As much as it may be in inconvenience at times, it is also nice.  It just forces you to plan ahead a little, which never hurt anybody.

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Beer

Instead of beating around the bush on this one, I decided to make this my first write up on German Culture.  German beer is arguably the best beer in the world, depending on who you ask.  Although Germany doesn’t have the most breweries in the world (the US holds that record), the quality of Germany beer is unsurpassed.  This is due in part to the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or purity law for beer.  The original law states that there are only three ingredients that can go into beer; water, hops, and barley-malt.  Yeast was added in the late 20th century as the forth and final ingredient.  The long and short of it, in order for it to be labeled as beer, it could only contain these ingredients.  It was first enacted in 1516 in Bavaria as a means of standardizing the sale and composition of beer.  Although it is no longer a law in Germany, many breweries still abide by these strict regulations and they often use it as part of their marketing campains.

Alright, enough of the history; it’s time for the good stuff, which would be my favorite beers thus far.  But, before I can get into that, I feel the need to educate all of you a bit more with the different styles/types of beer.  All beer can be lumped into two broad styles; Ales and Lagers.  What separates the two different styles are the yeasts used in the fermenting process.  (Click here if you want to know more about the brewing process)  The yeast is what converts the sugar in unfermented beer to alcohol.  The main difference between ales and lagers are the temperatures at which they are fermented.  Ale yeasts ferment at warmer temperatures and are known as top-fermenting yeasts because of the thick foam that accumulates on the surface of the fermenting beer.  Lager yeast ferments at a cooler temperature and are stored near the freezing point for a period of at least 30 days.  This causes the beer to mellow out and become smoother. 

I am currently working with Bobby to get the official beer list on the website.  He’s been keeping track of all the beers that we’ve had since we’ve been here.  For now, I’ll list a couple of my favorites.  My favorite pilsners so far have been Flensburger Pilsner and Warsteiner Premium Verum.  As I’ve already said, they are both pilsners, which is a pale lager.  It’s pretty highly carbonated, and it is full of hops in both flavor and smell.  Another favorite of mine has been the Tegernseer Hell, which is a helles style lager, which is short for hellbier (pale lager).  This distinguishes it from dunkelbier, or dark beer.  I am a huge fan of heffewiezens (wheat beer) and my favorite thus far has been Erdinger Weisbier.  They have several different types including a Weisbier Dunkel, or a dark heffewiezen.  It is smooth, sweet and full of flavor.  The good thing is, Warsteiner is available in the US, so if you’re looking for a good German beer, give it a try.  You won’t be disappointed.

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