Like a Local - Berlin - page 65

core may last even longer. Don't feel bad if you want to go home before 5am. Partying in
Berlin takes some practice…
Shopping Like a Local
Berliners pretty much fulfil all their shopping needs in their local Kiez (neighbourhood).
There will usually be three or four supermarkets within walking distance, and grocery shop-
ping is not done in one fell swoop but, rather, in several smaller trips spread over the course
of the week. The local farmers market is the preferred source of fresh produce and speciality
products like handmade noodles, artisanal cheese or Middle Eastern cheese spreads. Days
start with fresh Brötchen (rolls) bought from the bakery around the corner. Nonfood needs
are also met locally where possible, be it stationery, gifts, flowers, books, hardware, wine
and so on.
Clothing will come from a mix of places that may include the high-street chains, upmar-
ket boutiques, vintage stores and flea markets. When Berliners venture out of their neigh-
bourhoods to shop, it's usually to buy big-ticket items like furniture or vehicles or speciality
items not available locally. Malls are comparatively rare in Berlin and frequented as much
for recreational purposes as for large-scale shopping.
Living Like a Local
The typical Berlin dwelling is a spacious rented 1½-bedroom flat on at least the 1st floor of
a large early-20th-century apartment building (no one wants to live at street level), probably
facing onto a Hinterhof (back courtyard) full of bicycles and coloured recycling bins. The
apartment itself has very high ceilings, large windows and, as often as not, stripped wooden
plank floors. The kitchen will almost invariably be the smallest room in the house and used
mainly for stacking crates of beer and mineral water. A few flats still have the traditional
tiled heating stoves in place, though no one actually uses them.
Berlin flats are usually nicely turned-out, whatever the style favoured by the occupant,
and a lot of attention is paid to design, though comfort is also considered. At least one item
of furniture will come from a certain Swedish furniture chain. Depending on income, the
rest may come from the Stilwerk design centre, Polish crafters, a flea market or eBay - or
any combination thereof.