I’m a Londoner and spent 3 months living in Berlin — here are 13 things that surprised me about day-to-day life

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August 3, 2017 1:45 PM

I moved to Berlin at the end of February and spent three months in the city.

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Moving to a new city is an experience I whole-heartedly recommend. It's one of the things everyone should do before they turn 30 — especially anyone living in Britain, as there are so many great European cities nearby that could soon become much harder to access.

The experience of moving to a new place will open your eyes and broaden your mind more than you can imagine.

I moved to Berlin at the end of February and spent three incredible months living in the German capital.

As you might expect, there were plenty of things I — a 28-year-old who has lived in London for the last six years — didn't know about life in Berlin and Germany.

Here are 13 things that surprised me when I moved to the city.

Just how prevalent and popular kebabs and currywurst are.

How much quieter Berlin is than London.

The prolific use of the word "super."

How much harder supermarkets are to find than they are in London.

The amount of bureaucracy you have to go through for basically everything.

How people take Class A drugs like they're Smarties.

The fact that you can get paid if you recycle your bottles.

How clubbing in Berlin really is as good as everyone says it is.

I never made it to Berghain, but I went to plenty of other techno clubs. There's one called Sisyphos in East Berlin that's the talk of the town at the moment. Some of the clubs are open all weekend, so hardcore clubbers can stay out from Saturday night until Monday morning, should they wish.

The extreme weather.

How bad the city’s airports are.

The fact that everything shuts down on Sundays.

How the culinary scene is slowly catching up with London.

The culinary scene in Berlin isn't bad, but it's not great either. As the city becomes more international there are an increasing number of restaurants opening up and catering to a plethora of cuisines, from Thai and Vietnamese to Lebanese and Italian. However, it's still got a way to go before it catches up with London.

How left wing it is.

Berliners tend to lean to the left, and politicians like Donald Trump don't get much love in the city. This sign was created on May Day, which also falls on

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