Context: I am an Indian who lived till the age of 23 in India. Now I live in Berlin, Germany. The views represented below are only mine. (Obviously, since it is a blog)
Cycles
I havent seen these many cycles before! Its a good sign for the environment. No wonder Europeans are so thin and in general live longer than the average Indian. All these cycles also mean that there are luxury cycles that cost up to 1000-3000 EUR ( ₹ 80,000 - ₹ 2,40,000). Doesn’t make any sense to me, but whatever helps you reach point B from point A, I guess?
Subconscious speed limits
Residential areas should have slow traffic. A speed limit cannot really do much if the driver does not notice it, so how do you slow the traffic down? You make the roads really rough. So rough that it is impossible to drive on them fast! Sometimes, they just act as a subconscious speed limit that you can feel if you are speeding
Meat, bread and cheese.
Yeah, I know, there are shops that have other options too. But my local Aldi, has a large and a complex collection of Meats, such as sausages, minced meat, salami, dried sausages, schnitzel, sea food and so on. Cheese like Entmentaler, Mozerella, Brie and so on and the million varieties of German bread. But what about things like spices and vegan options? Don’t get me wrong, I love the meat, cheese and bread, but people need to eat other things too, right?
Bike lanes!!
The bike lanes here are convenient for short trips of ~4km while can also be used to travel long distances. There are even places with protected bike lanes where there is a parking lane between the bike lane and high speed traffic. This is something that India should seriously start thinking about, instead of just making roads bigger.
Women about late at night
This is a real achievement, to be honest. Whenever I returned from work late at night back in India, I have only seen men roaming around at night. It almost felt like the men rule the night. However, here in Berlin, it has been the opposite experience. The women rule the night. Regardless of the type of transport, many times, I have found myself to be the alone man in the vehicle, with perhaps 4-5 women returning from work or something. (I dont have a picture for this, because I dont want to look like a creep?)
Environmental and LGBTQ activism
These are almost non-issue in India, we do not worry about climate change and LGBTQ issues. We do know that the air is basically pure dust during summers in Delhi, or pure minute carbon particles during non monsoon seasons in India, but are we really to do something about this? What about LGBTQ demands? It is never on any political agenda and whenver some incident happens, it is hushed down.
Black is the theme!
Being from India, I have always loved my vibrant Kurtas. In Berlin, they are a statement that you are probably a hippie or something, because here, everyone wears different versions of Black.
Houses are attached together
Most of the houses are attached together. This is European architecture, so not exactly specific to Berlin. I suspect it is to save energy during the winters? Meanwhile, this is a rare site in India, we do not like our houses touching each other.
They will not let you forget History
We all know a little bit about the History of Germany, right? What we learn in textbooks is just surface-level knowledge. But, say if you are walking around in Berlin, would you know what historic event happened in the place? Germans do not want you to forget the history and significance of even small places. They mark the spot with a poster, with some details about the significance of the place. Here is a photo of a poster I found near the bus stop near my university. It describes the story of a Peter Hauptmann, a seaman who was shot by guards at the border guard. Zoom in to read the story yourself.