Wait why do Berliners feel unsafe at night – except for those exceeding rare days with black ice in the bike lanes? I think there is quite a disinformation / hybrid war out about the EU and Germany in particular. Can we get someone competent to look at why Berlin has fewer hotel nights these days?
The EM was last year so it inflated the figures. The Berlin hype also had to subside at some point. If the younger generations aren't as into drinking and partxing then it makes sense that Berlin would suffer.
what, the crappy dirty & poor has to do with why it's dangerous, or Russians and/or MAGA paying to make us look bad has to do with Instagram, which anyway Trump just pwned Meta today?
I was thinking more that those videos could be scaring away some tourists. When it comes to safety - while there hasn't been a rise in crime in general there has been an increase in stuff like knife attacks.
I think Berlin is generally safe, but I can tell you why I personally feel frequently unsafe whether it’s day or night.
I’ve lived here since 2011. I live in a fear simply because I am female.
On at least three separate occasions, I’ve had strange men follow me off the train and to my home. There are a few train stations where people have tried to pick pocket me numerous times. I’ve had taxi drivers act super inappropriately when I should be able to expect a safe ride - like not taking me to my destination, asking me on a date, making innuendos, etc. Many of these issues are commonly reported by women in local Facebook groups.
At the moment, we also have homeless people using our building’s stairwell as a place to live and do drugs. They are quite aggressive with the residents. And no matter how many times we call the police, they keep coming back. They have broken into some of the apartments too. They sometimes sleep in front of the door and you can’t enter the building without engaging. While I feel for their plight, it should not be that access to my home is blocked or I need to fear using the stairwell.
A friend of mine was using a bank machine in the middle of the day when he was punched in the face by someone who also hurled racist slurs at him. Think about the numerous foreigners who have been assaulted by police or even the authorities roaming the BVG to hand out fines.
Yes, there are social media posts that are purposely trying to paint Berlin as unsafe and it’s usually centered around racist lies that meet the far right agenda, but there are legit reasons one can feel unsafe here.
I have to admit I mostly bike, and though female, seldom dress femme. And I lived in Chicago for 9 years in the 1980s. One of my students got beaten up once doing something I would never have done, but that was in Scotland, not here. But it may also be because I am not on the subways very much and then mostly between Prenzlauerberg (Danzigerstr so not THAT nice of Pberg) & Mitte that I seldom feel unsafe, and I had years of experience in Chicago deciding which subway cars to avoid. Our hof did have problems with homeless people breaking into our courtyard for a short while (and from there our stairwells), but then they broke the way they broke in (broke the thing they'd been climbing over the wall on) and we haven't had trouble since. Our hof is super friendly and almost all in contact on a whatsapp group, so that helps with security.
Wait why do Berliners feel unsafe at night – except for those exceeding rare days with black ice in the bike lanes? I think there is quite a disinformation / hybrid war out about the EU and Germany in particular. Can we get someone competent to look at why Berlin has fewer hotel nights these days?
The EM was last year so it inflated the figures. The Berlin hype also had to subside at some point. If the younger generations aren't as into drinking and partxing then it makes sense that Berlin would suffer.
Interesting point. My Instagram feed, is full of video about how crap, dirty, poor and dangerous Berlin has become. Maybe something to do with it.
what, the crappy dirty & poor has to do with why it's dangerous, or Russians and/or MAGA paying to make us look bad has to do with Instagram, which anyway Trump just pwned Meta today?
I was thinking more that those videos could be scaring away some tourists. When it comes to safety - while there hasn't been a rise in crime in general there has been an increase in stuff like knife attacks.
I think Berlin is generally safe, but I can tell you why I personally feel frequently unsafe whether it’s day or night.
I’ve lived here since 2011. I live in a fear simply because I am female.
On at least three separate occasions, I’ve had strange men follow me off the train and to my home. There are a few train stations where people have tried to pick pocket me numerous times. I’ve had taxi drivers act super inappropriately when I should be able to expect a safe ride - like not taking me to my destination, asking me on a date, making innuendos, etc. Many of these issues are commonly reported by women in local Facebook groups.
At the moment, we also have homeless people using our building’s stairwell as a place to live and do drugs. They are quite aggressive with the residents. And no matter how many times we call the police, they keep coming back. They have broken into some of the apartments too. They sometimes sleep in front of the door and you can’t enter the building without engaging. While I feel for their plight, it should not be that access to my home is blocked or I need to fear using the stairwell.
A friend of mine was using a bank machine in the middle of the day when he was punched in the face by someone who also hurled racist slurs at him. Think about the numerous foreigners who have been assaulted by police or even the authorities roaming the BVG to hand out fines.
Yes, there are social media posts that are purposely trying to paint Berlin as unsafe and it’s usually centered around racist lies that meet the far right agenda, but there are legit reasons one can feel unsafe here.
I have to admit I mostly bike, and though female, seldom dress femme. And I lived in Chicago for 9 years in the 1980s. One of my students got beaten up once doing something I would never have done, but that was in Scotland, not here. But it may also be because I am not on the subways very much and then mostly between Prenzlauerberg (Danzigerstr so not THAT nice of Pberg) & Mitte that I seldom feel unsafe, and I had years of experience in Chicago deciding which subway cars to avoid. Our hof did have problems with homeless people breaking into our courtyard for a short while (and from there our stairwells), but then they broke the way they broke in (broke the thing they'd been climbing over the wall on) and we haven't had trouble since. Our hof is super friendly and almost all in contact on a whatsapp group, so that helps with security.