January 2017
Berlin Guide
by
C l u b
G L O B A L S
edition 1
January 2017
Index
Welcome to Berlin
2
Register in Berlin
3
Language
5
Public transport
6
Museums of Berlin
7
Food in Berlin
8
Co-working spaces
10
Networking apps
11
Social media
12
Impression events 2016
13
Upcoming events
19
January 2017
Why did we write this city guide?
Simple reason, we want to help you, the newly arrived in Berlin! We want to be there for you, helping you to connect with our solutioners, organising events to meet new friends learning about this amazing city and help you to make yourself a new home.
So lean back and enjoy this first edition with loads of insiders. The GLOBALS Team wishes you loads of fun discovering Berlin.
We wish you a wonderful 2017.
1
January 2017
Welcome to Berlin! With its more than 3.5 million inhabitants, Berlin is not only Germany's biggest but also most controversial city. This cosmopolitan city is home to the biggest turkish community, outside Istanbul, biggest jewish neighbourhood outside Tel Aviv and of course Berlin is the biggest city of Europe with these amazing Techno DJs!
Berlin is a city to be proud of these days! A city with a long history, found in 1307 out of many little villages. It survived two world wars which left many scarfs, you can see them in a lot parts of the city.
City: Berlin (Germany) Inhabitants: 3,502 million Surface: almost 892 km2 Mayor: Michael MĂźller Districts: 12 Area code: +49 30
2
Register in Berlin January 2017
DIE
ANMELDUNG
When you are moving to Berlin and plan to stay longer than 6 months in the city you are obliged to register yourself in the city, the so called "Anmeldung". In some situations you might have to do it even if you stay less than 6 months, for example when you want to open a bank account or work here. ‘’Die Anmeldung’’ is an administrative burden, requiring loads of right papers and if it is not planned carefully it can be very time consuming. So how can you quickly go through this boring but necessary thing? First of all, you need to know that you can register in every "Bürgeramt" in all the different districts. You can make an appointment by phone (155) or you can make it online. Try to avoid going to the "Bürgeramt" without an appointment,
as there is a high risk you can not get an open slot or you might have to wait the
whole day! To be well prepared for your appointment make sure you bring your ID or Passport including Visas if required and your rental contract. If you have the right papers, this will be a quick one!
THE
CG
BOT
So now that you know how to get your appointment let's focus on the papers. Unfortunately the registration form is only available in German. To simplify your life and make your arrival a little more pleasant we at Club GLOBALS have an amazing idea. The CG Bot, a messenger bot on Facebook who helps you to create your own digital registration form that you will have to bring to the "Anmeldung" in Berlin. Just search in your messenger list
for Club GLOBALS and you will find the nice and friendly bot, who will help
you with all the questions. There is a possibility that you might not understand everything, but stop the worries! Just type ‘’help’’ and the bot will explain what you have to do!
ICH
SPRECHE
KEIN
DEUTSCH?
A smart thing you can do before you go to the Bürgeramt is learning some German sentences. For example ‘’ Ich spreche kein Deutsch, sprechen Sie Englisch?’’ For the smart guys ‘’ I do not speak German, do you speak English?’’ A lot of the young generation people in Berlin speaks well till fluently English. If the person in front of you does not speak English? Stop the worries again! The people in Berlin are very kind, and there will always be somebody to help you with translation.
We recommend to bring someone to the Bürgeramt who speaks
German, this is the best and easiest way to get everything done!
If you want to improve your German, you can go to German class! You can take a look at the Berlasco Language School. Berlasco is a very centrally located in Berlin. The school is very flexible and always listening to the problems of their students.
3
January 2017
MONEY If you want to facilitate your money transfers for.e.g. paying the rent, health insurance, phone, then you should open a bank account in Berlin. Also your employer will require a german bank account to pay your salary, because international transfers can be very expensive.
If you are looking for the right bank, you should check for the ''Deutsche Bank'' they are very concerned with you and also check for N26, an online bank that allows you to open an account in only 8 minutes.
HEALTH INSURANCE In Germany you can either go for public or private health insurance. Whatever you choose you have to know that it is required to be insured in Germany, just like a lot of other countries. When you are working in Germany and you are subject to social insurance contributions you need to select a health insurance provider , the so called "Krankenkasse". Your employer pays half of your health insurance, the total amount of your health insurance fee depends on your income.
Once you have your insurance you can go to any doctor you want and need. Take a look at ''Kassenartzliche vereinigung Berlin''. In their doctors’ directory, you will find almost all doctors treating patients in Berlin – including information about their professional qualification. You can also use the advanced search with more search keywords, e.g. foreign languages.
TAXES Germany is infamous for the giant tax law collection that can cause for obstacles not only for foreigners. So let us give you some basics: the taxes you have to pay will be automatically deducted from your paycheque every month. Once you are employed you will receive you tax ID from fiscal authorities, the "Finanzamt". At the end of the year yo will be able to declare your personal income situation and you might be able to recover some of the earlier paid taxes. Check out our solutioner page for tax declaration services. These businesses are very qualified to help you with your tax declaration, the so-called "Steuererklärung".
4
Language January 2017
How to speak German
Club GLOBALS
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Or do you prefer English? What language do they speak in Germany? It is German! As you could read in the chapter ‘’Register in Berlin’’, German is a Germanic language. The German languages has some similarities with Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch and with the English language.
English Hello
German Hallo
Goodmorning
Guten Morgen
How are you?
Wie geht es Ihnen / Wie geht’s
I’m doing well
Mir geht’s gut / es geht gut
What is your name? My name is…. Do you speak English? Thank you I am sorry (excuse me) I do not speak German How much is it? May I have the bill please? Where are the toilets? Where is the Hospital? I’m allergic to…. I have been robbed I do not understand? Cheers
Was ist Ihr Name? Mein Name ist…... Sprechen Sie Englisch? Danke Entschuldigung Ich spreche kein Deutsch Wie viel kostet es? Darf ich die Rechnung haben? Wo sind die Toiletten Wo ist das Krankenhaus Ich bin allergisch….. Ich wurde ausgeraubt Ich verstehe nicht Prost
Bless you
Gesundheit
I love you
Ich liebe dich
5
Public transport January 2017
Take the train! Living and working in a big city means public transport, and public transport means; rush hours, a lot of people, waiting and the worst of all time lag. But in Berlin the PT is a-ma-zing! A lot of seats, at least every 10 minutes or less, and after walking and cycling the cheapest way to get on that one special place!
In Berlin you can use the S- or U-Bahn to go to every place you want. There are also many buses and trams. Berlin is divided into three zones, A, B and C. Zone A is the middle and the center of Berlin, zone B is around the center and C is a little out of town, for example, Potsdam is in Zone C. Here you can find the complete route network of Berlin
Traveling with the public transport in Berlin is a good way to move around. You can buy tickets, for a whole month, a week, one day, 4 trips, a single trip or short trips. Find prices for all tickets here
Get help to move around by downloading one of the travel apps in Berlin, for example, BVG FahrInfo or Google Maps will also do it.
6
O F
nnamlepm
M U S E U M S
B E R L I N
January 2017
Checkpoint Charlie and Mauermuseum Checkpoint Charlie is the most popular of 3 border posts separating the Americanand Russian sector. It is located at the Friedrichstrasse between Zimmerstrasse and Kochstrasse, today you will see a replication of the former post and meet the "Grenzsoldaten". Just next to the checkpoint you will see the Mauermuseum where you will get more intersting facts about the wall and the cold war.
Jewish Museum
A
Everything about the Jewish culture. A lot of video’s, documents and interactivity. A lot about WW 2.
T H E
S T O R Y
O F
B E R L I N
In this museum you can find the real truth about Berlin. Everything you want to know about the history of Berlin you will find here. You can find the museum in an old bunker that was used in WW 2
Museminsel 5 different art museums, you can feel the peace on the island surrounding by some noises of the big city. (Alte Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Bode-Museum, Neues Museum, Pergamonmuseum)
7
January 2017
Foooooood! We love food, especially here. We all know it, food is good. But food in Berlin is better than the best. Why? In every street you will find it. Kebab, pizza, sweets, Currywurst, sandwiches and so many other stuff! Berlin loves food!
Villa Kreuzberg Amazing Bagels for breakfast Kreuzbergstraße 62
KAFFEEBAR Wonderful Australian coffee and delicious vegan food! Graefestrasse 8
Zeit für Brot
Breakfast
Give yourself a treat and try the REAL German bread from a proper backery. Because it is worth! Alte Schönhauserstraße 4.
8
January 2017
Dinner in Berlin Restaurant Bieberbau
Horvarth
A very chic restaurant in
This restaurant has one Michelin
Wilmersdorf. A good place for a
star! A very chic place with a
chic dinner with your business
good recommendation of wine!
partners! Durlacherstraße 15.
You can find them at Paul-LinckeUfer 44A.
Amrit restaurant
Fernsehturm
An Indian restaurant on seven
Have you ever eat a fantastic
locations in Berlin. A big
meal in the Sky? Never? Than you
restaurant for two or for 22. The
have to try the ‘’Fernsehturm’’ a
brothers Bans run the restaurant,
wonderful place above Berlin!
together with their families.
Reserve on time, places are limited! You can find the Fernsehturm in the sky at the
Zur Letzten Instanz
Panoramastraße 1A.
Typical German restaurant, with a big historie. You can find Zur letzten Instanz in the Waisenstraße 14-16.
9
Co-working spaces in Berlin Working in Berlin is such a great experience, as a freelancer you can find much co-working spaces where you can concentrate completely on your work Mindspace Friedrichstraße 68, 10117, Berlin (Mitte) U-bahn; Stadtmitte Mindspace is a workspace for everybody. Starters and small businesses everybody is welcome! Great meeting rooms and a lot of extras like benefits for a gym membership. Take a look at www.mindspace.me/berlin Mail: info@mindspace.me
Regus 10 locations all over Berlin. S-bahn, U-bahn, Tram, Bus Regus has a lot of different co-working spaces in Berlin. They have private offices, lounges and meeting rooms. Everything you need to create new ideas and projects. Take a look at www.regus.com
WeWork 2 locations in Berlin (Mitte) An inspiaring workspace on an inspiring place Take a loot at: wework.com/l/berlin
Ahoy Berlin Wattstraße 11, 13355 Berlin (Mitte) U-bahn; U8 nach Hermannstraße At Ahoy you can work in a very nice and cozy atmosphere! As you can read on their website ‘’ Berlin is a space for coworking and innovation’’ You can find more information about Ahoy at www.ahoyberlin.com Mail: info@ahoyberlin.com
Betahaus Berlin Prinzessinnenstraße 19-20, 10969 Berlin (Kreuzberg) U-bahn, Bus Let’s work together! You can do a lot of work at Betahaus, work alone or share! A great place to work, create and explore! Check the website www.betahaus.com/berlin/ Mail: contact@bethaus.de
Phone: 0800-646377-223Phone: +49 18554003575Phone: +493020849740Phone: +49 03060980827
10
Apps for networking
January 2017
Finally you arrived in Berlin! Are you going to explore on your own, or are you looking for some soulmates? Maybe you will go to some events to meet new people! There is an app for everything!
eTing
Networkapp
Shapr
eTing is an event networking and
This is a great app for
You can login by LinkedIn
matching app. You have to login
networking! You can use it
our by using your email.
with your LinkedIn account. Now
every day around the event.
After login you have to click
you can see all the people who
It looks a little like the eTing
on your 10 biggest interests.
are coming to the next planned
app. You can make
By all the data you give to
event you are going to. You get
appointments with your
Shapr they make some
an view of everybody who will be
customers and you can give
connections. You can swipe
there and what they do. If you
them the right information by
to the right if you want to
are interested in this person you
using this app. The
meet the person and you
can swipe right, now you have to
difference between eTing
can swipe to left if you are
wait on your matches. If you
and Networkapp is that you
not sure about the person.
have a match with a person you
can make your own
The next day they will come
were interested in you can start a
dashboard. You can make
back as a suggestion.
chat, and you can see each other
your own content and use
Maybe did you make a
on the next event. You can also
your own corporate identity
mistake or do you really
use the app as an event guide
so people can find you the
want to meet this person. It
for your customers.
day before and the day after
is a provisionally rejection
the event.
that you can change a day later.
But obviously do not forget Facebook, LinkedIN and Meetup. These are also very good for networking and the most popular ones!
11
19
January 2017
Social Media Instagram accounts Groups - +Expats in Berlin+ @berlinstagram - ExpatBabies Berlin (if you have children) @berlinfoodstories - Expats Club Berlin @berlin - Berlin Expat Performers Network @berlinpage - ~~~Expat in Berlin ~~~ @berlinstyle Pages @berlingraphie - Expats Berlin @berlinerpost - Expats Berlin (for internationals living in Berlin) @berlin_gram - Expats club Berlin @berlin_bigcity - Berlin Expat Network @clubglobals - Berlin Tips for Expats Newsletters you should join - Savoteur Berlin - Berlin international (intmig) - Startup Digest Berlin - Tagesspiegel Checkpoint - Tech Berlin - Berlin Valley - Berlin business news (berlinpartner) 12
New year's reception
13
Future of mobility
14
Summer recepetion
15
HR Innovation Berlin
HR Innovation Barcelona
16
The future of Urban living
17
Christmas
18
Upcoming events 2017
Startup Connect Berlin - 7 March ITB - 8-12 March Startup Camp - 7-8 April Noah - 22-23 June Tech Open Air - 12-14 July IFA - 1-6 September Zukunft Personal - 19-21 September HUB - 28 November
19
First Edition Copyright by G1OBALS GmbH
Written by:
Disclaimer: Even careful checking is done, G1OBALS GmbH is not responsible for the content accuracy and external links