Advertisement

13 (even more) thrilling facts you must know about Berlin

The Local Germany
The Local Germany - [email protected]
13 (even more) thrilling facts you must know about Berlin
Berlin, du bist so wunderbar. Photo: DPA.

Berlin is just so gosh darn interesting, we couldn't fit it all into the first list on our website of infinite virtual space.

Advertisement

We previously brought you the ten most fascinating facts about Germany's beloved capital city, but there are just too many things to know about our home base that we decided to bring you even more factoids from online holiday rental company Wimdu.
 
Watch out, these just might blow your mind.
 
1. You can get gold out of a vending machine on Friedrichstrasse
 
The 'gold ATM' at Galeries Lafayette. Photo: DPA.
 
At the Galeries Lafayette in Berlin's posh shopping district off of Friedrichstrasse, you can actually receive gold right out of a "gold ATM".
 
The precious metal comes in bars weighing up to 250 grams.
 
And if you ever find yourself shoeless on one of those typically endless Berlin nights out, have no fear! A vending machine in Fritzclub by Postbahnhof sells ballet flat shoes for €9 from a vending machine of their own.
 
2. Berliners eat 60 tonnes of döner meat a day
 
Photo: DPA.
 
On an average day 950 döner spits are eaten in the city, and with each spit holding 63 kg, that’s 60 tonnes of meat a day.
 
They also scarf down 70 million currywursts a year.
 
It’s a miracle that Berliners seem to look so gaunt!
 
3. Berlin hosts the longest beer garden in the world
 
Just a glimpse of the brew-guzzling at Berlin's annual beer festival. Photo: DPA.
 
The longest beer garden in the world is actually not in Bavaria, but in the northern capital city. The annual International Berlin Beer Festival runs 2.2 kilometres, making it the longest worldwide.
 
Take that, Munich!
 
4. Half a million foreigners from 185 countries.
 
Berlin is certainly as 'Multikulti' as people say: there are just under 500,000 foreigners in the city who hail from 185 countries.
 
That means roughly 14 percent are from somewhere other than Germany, so no need to feel alone.
 
5. Only one in four Berliners are ‘real’ Berliners
 
Photo: DPA.
 
If you think that's a lot of Ausländer, it probably doesn't surprise you to hear older folks grumbling about Scheiße Amis when you're speaking English.
 
But you might actually raise your eyebrows to hear that only one in four Berliners are actually considered "real" Berliners, meaning born and bred in the capital city.
 
Sorry, but John F. Kennedy just didn't cut it, no matter what he said.
 
6. BVG vehicles travel 8.7 times around the Earth every day
 
Photo: DPA/Nasa.
 
Berlin's public transit system (BVG) actually travels the equivalent distance of 8.7 times around the Earth each day, including all the U-Bahn and buses together - even though you might sometimes doubt the existence of buses as they always seem to run a bothersome five minutes late.
 
But then again this isn't like normal Germany. This is Berlin.
 
7. One in three prisoners face charges of fare-dodging
 
It might not seem like it because of the strange sort of 'honesty policy' Berlin (and most of Germany) has about checking tickets, but the capital actually does take fare-dodging quite seriously.
 
You'll know what we mean if you've ever encountered a particularly gruff Berliner Schnauze of a controller who has absolutely no sympathy for you trying to get by with an AB ticket one station into the C zone.
 
So is it really that surprising that one-third of those sitting in a Berlin jail are there for not buying a ticket?
 
8. Eleven night bus lines will take you straight to your door
 
But even if you're a notorious fare-dodger yourself, you might consider changing your habits to take advantage of the 11 BVG night bus lines that will literally take you right to your door.
 
The buses that offer this are: N35, N39, N53, N60, N62, N64, N68, N69, N91, N95 and N97.
 
9. The Ringbahn is the shape of a basset hound
 
Photo: Robert Aehnelt/Wikimedia Commons.
 
There's really not much more to say here, other than once you see it, you can never un-see it. 
 
Image: Wimdu.
 
10. One in five underground station escalators don't work because: idiots
 
Berlin isn't exactly the best city in terms of accessibility for disabled people, so it might irk you just a bit to know that one in five of those annoying times when the U-Bahn escalators are broken, it's because some jerk decided to push the emergency stop button for funnsies.
 
Yea, real clever prank. The little girl in crutches really laughed at that one.
 
11. 100 more people move into the city than leave it each day
 
Every day, 435 people move into Berlin while 327 leave, so it's no surprise why you've been having trouble scoring an apartment here: not enough people want to get the hell out.
 
12. Berliners invented modern computers - and condom vending machines
 
Left: Konrad Zuse with one of his first computers (DPA). Right: A condom vending machine (Stefan Kühn/Wikimedia Commons).
 
Berlin-born tinkerer Konrad Zuse invented the world's first programmable computer in 1941, making him the father of the modern computer.
 
And while Zuse's work controversially was supported by the Nazis, Jewish Berliner and inventor Julius Fromm basically had his work taken over by Adolf Hitler's cronies.
 
Fromm was the inventor of modern, seamless condoms in 1916, and his company even set up the first condom vending machines. The name Fromms was at one point a synonym for condom in Germany.
 
In 1938, the Nazis forced the inventor to sell his company to the aristocratic godmother of Hitler's right-hand man, Hermann Göring. Fromm left his hometown for London not long after.
 
13. You can rent out a Berlin museum for €8,000
 
Berlin's Bode Museum on Museum Island. Photo: DPA.
 
If Berlin's existing party halls don't quite suit your tastes, you actually have the option of renting out an entire museum for an epic night of debauchery - just for a mere €8,000-€20,000.
 
The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin promise an "unforgettable evening in an utterly unique atmosphere" that will be certain to "enchant and amaze your guests". Find out more here.
 
And if you 'Deutsch lesen kannst', check out the rest of the list by Wimdu here.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also