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digitalmars.D - Directions to Ibis Hotel in Berlin from Tegel Airport

reply Walter Bright <newshound2 digitalmars.com> writes:
The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-) so I 
thought I'd share:

Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on the 
right is Jahnstraße.
On the left side you will find our hotel.
Apr 24 2016
next sibling parent reply Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> writes:
On 24 April 2016 at 10:44, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-) so
 I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on the
 right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.


Conveniently, also the directions to Berghain.  :-)
Apr 24 2016
parent reply Walter Bright <newshound2 digitalmars.com> writes:
On 4/24/2016 10:56 AM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On 24 April 2016 at 10:44, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
 <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-) so
 I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on the
 right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.


 Conveniently, also the directions to Berghain.  :-)


What's the best way to buy a ticket? On the bus itself, or is there a kiosk? 
Credit card?
Apr 24 2016
next sibling parent reply Jens Mueller via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> writes:
Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On 4/24/2016 10:56 AM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

On 24 April 2016 at 10:44, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-) so
I thought I'd share:

Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on the
right is Jahnstraße.
On the left side you will find our hotel.


Conveniently, also the directions to Berghain.  :-)


 
 What's the best way to buy a ticket? On the bus itself, or is there a kiosk?
 Credit card?


Buy an AB ticket from the driver or a ticket machine for 2.70 Euro in
cash. Don't forget to validate your ticket if you didn't buy it from a
bus driver.

Read on for more details.

When you enter the bus buy a ticket from the driver (only cash
preferably coins). See here
https://www.bvg.de/en/Tickets/Other-ways-to-buy/On-trams-and-buses
And keep your fingers crossed he speaks English. Say "AB ticket" see
below. These tickets are already validated.

If you use the metro it's usually convenient to use a ticket machine
(colored white and yellow with the letters BVG). They can be operated in
English.
https://www.bvg.de/en/Tickets/Other-ways-to-buy/At-ticket-machines
You have to punch these tickets yourself.

These are the single tickets
https://shop.bvg.de/index.php/group/73
You'll be fine with a "Single ticket Berlin AB" for 2.70 Euro from the
airport to you hotel. This is usually the ticket you buy for riding up
to two hours in the zones A and B. I'll guess you will never need a ABC
ticket.
https://shop.bvg.de/index.php/product/234/show/0/0/0/0/buy

You cannot pay by credit card. Only EC card which is like credit card
without credit.

You can buy four for 9.00 Euro but I believe not from a bus driver.

There are also day tickets. There are tourists tickets for up to 6 days.
Whether buying is makes sense depends on how often you are going to use
public transportation.
There are also short-trip tickets (up to 3 stations on the metro or
rail) - one for 1.70 Euro and four for 5.60 Euro. Might be convenient
for getting to the venue and back instead of a 20 minutes walk.

More questions?

Jens
Apr 25 2016
next sibling parent reply Mike Parker <aldacron gmail.com> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 08:43:34 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

 More questions?


I'll be getting out of the airport probably around 10:00 pm or 
so. I've seen online the subways run into the early am, but would 
I be better off grabbing a taxi at that time?
Apr 25 2016
next sibling parent Chris <wendlec tcd.ie> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 11:12:04 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 08:43:34 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

 More questions?


 I'll be getting out of the airport probably around 10:00 pm or 
 so. I've seen online the subways run into the early am, but 
 would I be better off grabbing a taxi at that time?


I don't know if this particular route includes any "hot spots", 
but I'd say you should take a taxi. Berlin is not exactly the 
safest city. If you're a foreigner who doesn't speak the language 
well, maybe it's safer (albeit more expensive) to take a taxi. 
Better safe than sorry.
Apr 25 2016
prev sibling next sibling parent reply Nemanja Boric <4burgos gmail.com> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 11:12:04 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 08:43:34 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

 More questions?


 I'll be getting out of the airport probably around 10:00 pm or 
 so. I've seen online the subways run into the early am, but 
 would I be better off grabbing a taxi at that time?


10:00PM is very early in the evening by Berlin standards, you 
should be fine :-).
Apr 25 2016
parent reply Chris <wendlec tcd.ie> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 12:03:12 UTC, Nemanja Boric wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 11:12:04 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:



Taxi shortest route (20.9km) ~26 minutes, cost: €38.53 [1]

Bus+U-Bahn 53 minutes (if you don't have to wait 20 minutes for 
the bus)

[Car/Taxi]
https://www.google.ie/maps/dir/Berlin+Tegel+Airport,+13405+Berlin,+Germany/Grenzallee,+Berlin,+Germany/ 52.5097971,13.2983842,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x47a853f955555555:0x64b97d7d67bf2aea!2m2!1d13.2884374!2d52.5588327!1m5!1m1!1s0x47a84f7228ea4427:0x28bf25b737756eb6!2m2!1d13.4555582!2d52.4655949!3e0

[Bus]
https://www.google.ie/maps/dir/Berlin+Tegel+Airport,+13405+Berlin,+Germany/Grenzallee,+Berlin,+Germany/ 52.5105974,13.3090241,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x47a853f955555555:0x64b97d7d67bf2aea!2m2!1d13.2884374!2d52.5588327!1m5!1m1!1s0x47a84f7228ea4427:0x28bf25b737756eb6!2m2!1d13.4555582!2d52.4655949!3e3

[1] http://preisrechner.taxi.de/cost
Apr 25 2016
next sibling parent Nemanja Boric <4burgos gmail.com> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:00:40 UTC, Chris wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 12:03:12 UTC, Nemanja Boric wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 11:12:04 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:



 Taxi shortest route (20.9km) ~26 minutes, cost: €38.53 [1]

 Bus+U-Bahn 53 minutes (if you don't have to wait 20 minutes for 
 the bus)


Speaking of which, X9 also drives from the airport to U 
Jakob-Keiser Platz IIRC (beware, it's an express line so it's the 
first stop, be ready to press `Stop` button in the bus :-) ). 109 
and X9 should depart from like 10 meters away, and where every 
bus stands there's a display that tells how much time to the next 
bus.

(https://www.bvg.de/images/content/linienverlaeufe/LinienverlaufBusX9.pdf). I'm
going tomorrow night to the airport anyway, so I'll confirm.
Apr 25 2016
prev sibling parent Mike Parker <aldacron gmail.com> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:00:40 UTC, Chris wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 12:03:12 UTC, Nemanja Boric wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 11:12:04 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:



 Taxi shortest route (20.9km) ~26 minutes, cost: €38.53 [1]



Thanks!
Apr 25 2016
prev sibling parent reply Jens Mueller via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> writes:
Mike Parker via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 08:43:34 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

More questions?


 
 I'll be getting out of the airport probably around 10:00 pm or so. I've seen
 online the subways run into the early am, but would I be better off grabbing
 a taxi at that time?


I assume you arrive at Tegel. Then you go by bus 109 to U
Jakob-Kaiser-Platz. This should be safe. I never heard of much crime in
that area of the city. From U Jakob-Kaiser-Platz you take the U7 (light
blue on the BVG maps) for about half an hour to U Grenzallee. So you
never leave the metro in between. The less safer places of the ride are
actually towards its end. That's my impression. But I'd say it's safe.

Nothing ever happened to me. Even when I went to the Berlin D meetups
(third Friday of a month at 7p.m.) to U Kottbusser Tor and back around
10p.m. Though Kottbusser Tor has a reputation for being unsafe.

Try to not look like a rich tourist. It's fine to carry a bag. Berliners
also travel and need to get home, too. Be careful when strangers
approach you to avoid pick pocketing. Not that this ever happened to me.

Jens
Apr 25 2016
parent reply Chris <wendlec tcd.ie> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 17:54:24 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

 Mike Parker via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 08:43:34 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

More questions?


 
 I'll be getting out of the airport probably around 10:00 pm or 
 so. I've seen online the subways run into the early am, but 
 would I be better off grabbing a taxi at that time?


 I assume you arrive at Tegel. Then you go by bus 109 to U 
 Jakob-Kaiser-Platz. This should be safe. I never heard of much 
 crime in that area of the city. From U Jakob-Kaiser-Platz you 
 take the U7 (light blue on the BVG maps) for about half an hour 
 to U Grenzallee. So you never leave the metro in between. The 
 less safer places of the ride are actually towards its end. 
 That's my impression. But I'd say it's safe.

 Nothing ever happened to me. Even when I went to the Berlin D 
 meetups (third Friday of a month at 7p.m.) to U Kottbusser Tor 
 and back around 10p.m. Though Kottbusser Tor has a reputation 
 for being unsafe.

 Try to not look like a rich tourist. It's fine to carry a bag. 
 Berliners also travel and need to get home, too. Be careful 
 when strangers approach you to avoid pick pocketing. Not that 
 this ever happened to me.

 Jens


It's different when you're a tourist who doesn't speak the 
language well and cannot "read" the situation. I've heard it's 
quite common in public places now that someone approaches you and 
distracts you (by asking for directions or something) while his 
buddies try to steal your phone and wallet.

You'll probably be fine, as Jens said. My advice is to take a 
taxi, if you don't feel good about it, especially after a more or 
less long journey when all you wanna do is arrive. It'd be around 
€40, if it's true what they say on the internet.

There is of course the danger that the taxi driver will try to 
fleece you, but you know the shortest route now :)
Apr 25 2016
parent reply Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> writes:
On 25 April 2016 at 20:37, Chris via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 17:54:24 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

 Mike Parker via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 08:43:34 UTC, Jens Mueller wrote:

More questions?


 I'll be getting out of the airport probably around 10:00 pm or so. I've
 seen online the subways run into the early am, but would I be better off
 grabbing a taxi at that time?



 I assume you arrive at Tegel. Then you go by bus 109 to U
 Jakob-Kaiser-Platz. This should be safe. I never heard of much crime in that
 area of the city. From U Jakob-Kaiser-Platz you take the U7 (light blue on
 the BVG maps) for about half an hour to U Grenzallee. So you never leave the
 metro in between. The less safer places of the ride are actually towards its
 end. That's my impression. But I'd say it's safe.

 Nothing ever happened to me. Even when I went to the Berlin D meetups
 (third Friday of a month at 7p.m.) to U Kottbusser Tor and back around
 10p.m. Though Kottbusser Tor has a reputation for being unsafe.

 Try to not look like a rich tourist. It's fine to carry a bag. Berliners
 also travel and need to get home, too. Be careful when strangers approach
 you to avoid pick pocketing. Not that this ever happened to me.

 Jens



 It's different when you're a tourist who doesn't speak the language well and
 cannot "read" the situation. I've heard it's quite common in public places
 now that someone approaches you and distracts you (by asking for directions
 or something) while his buddies try to steal your phone and wallet.

 You'll probably be fine, as Jens said. My advice is to take a taxi, if you
 don't feel good about it, especially after a more or less long journey when
 all you wanna do is arrive. It'd be around €40, if it's true what they say
 on the internet.


For 40€ I would pick you up from the airport and guide you through the
public transport system myself. :-)
Apr 25 2016
parent Chris <wendlec tcd.ie> writes:
On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 18:48:21 UTC, Iain Buclaw wrote:



 For 40€ I would pick you up from the airport and guide you 
 through the public transport system myself. :-)


I look at it this way: It'd be bike-shedding when travelling [1]. 
You travel hundreds or thousands of miles, pay the flight, the 
conference fee, the hotel - and then you don't wanna pay €40 for 
a taxi ;-) It's these little conveniences that we have money for, 
not for blowing it on designer clothes.

But I agree that taxis in Germany are effin expensive. I wouldn't 
recommend you to take a taxi home every night.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling  parent reply Walter Bright <newshound2 digitalmars.com>  writes:


On 4/25/2016 1:43 AM, Jens Mueller via Digitalmars-d wrote:

Thanks!


 More questions?


Does the AB ticket cover the subway as well as the bus?



 Apr 25 2016



  parent  Jens Mueller via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On 4/25/2016 1:43 AM, Jens Mueller via Digitalmars-d wrote:
 
 Thanks!
 

More questions?


 
 Does the AB ticket cover the subway as well as the bus?


It covers everything (metro/subway, urban railway, bus, trolley, ferry)
inside zone A and B for two hours.

Jens



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent  Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Sunday, 24 April 2016 at 21:40:16 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:

 On 4/24/2016 10:56 AM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On 24 April 2016 at 10:44, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
 <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what 
 they're doing :-) so
 I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next 
 street on the
 right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.


 Conveniently, also the directions to Berghain.  :-)


 What's the best way to buy a ticket? On the bus itself, or is 
 there a kiosk? Credit card?


I don't know the system in Berlin (dicebot?). You might be able 
to buy a ticket on the bus (make sure you have coins), but I 
wouldn't bet on it. Usually tickets are sold at kiosks and/or at 
ticket vending machines at the airport, train station etc. 
Probably the ticket for the bus will be valid for the U-Bahn 
(subway) too, provided you buy one that covers all the way to 
Grenzallee.

Check out this link, it's the Berlin public transport's website: 
http://www.bvg.de/en/



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent reply Nemanja Boric <4burgos gmail.com>  writes:


On Sunday, 24 April 2016 at 21:40:16 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:

 On 4/24/2016 10:56 AM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On 24 April 2016 at 10:44, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
 <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what 
 they're doing :-) so
 I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next 
 street on the
 right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.


 Conveniently, also the directions to Berghain.  :-)


 What's the best way to buy a ticket? On the bus itself, or is 
 there a kiosk? Credit card?


You can buy it from driver, but I don't think buses accept credit 
cards (maybe I'm wrong), so you'll have to have some
euros by yourself. On TXL airport, just before you exit to the 
bus station there is a BVG (public transport) kiosk (see 
http://nanoparticles.org/Particles2011/TXL.gif) where you can buy 
tickets.

If you're adventurous, when you get out from the airport (from 
terminal A) to the bus stations, the bus stops are just in front 
of you and if you turn right you'll find ticket machines (looks 
like this 
https://www.bvg.de/en/Tickets/Other-ways-to-buy/At-ticket-machines) located by
the wall. You can switch to English and they accept credit cards.

I'm not aware of all options, but you can buy single ticket for 
2.70 euro (I think?), 4 tickets for 9 euros, or you can buy 
weekly ticket (de. 7-Tage-Karte) and it costs 30EUR. If you're 
landing on TXL you'll just need AB zone.

Btw, single ticket is valid for your entire journey, (both Bus 
109 and U7) and if you're not buying it from driver, you need to 
validate it when you enter the bus (just stick it into the 
stamping machine).

I hope I didn't get anything wrong!



 Apr 25 2016



  parent  Nemanja Boric <4burgos gmail.com>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 08:56:59 UTC, Nemanja Boric wrote:

 On Sunday, 24 April 2016 at 21:40:16 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:

 [...]


 You can buy it from driver, but I don't think buses accept 
 credit cards (maybe I'm wrong), so you'll have to have some
 euros by yourself. On TXL airport, just before you exit to the 
 bus station there is a BVG (public transport) kiosk (see 
 http://nanoparticles.org/Particles2011/TXL.gif) where you can 
 buy tickets.

 [...]


I got this part wrong:


 You can switch to English and they accept credit cards.


Correct answer is:


 You cannot pay by credit card. Only EC card which is like 
 credit card without credit.


They really look the same :-).



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent reply Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On 25 April 2016 at 10:43, Jens Mueller via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On 4/24/2016 10:56 AM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

On 24 April 2016 at 10:44, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-) so
I thought I'd share:

Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on the
right is Jahnstraße.
On the left side you will find our hotel.


Conveniently, also the directions to Berghain.  :-)


 What's the best way to buy a ticket? On the bus itself, or is there a kiosk?
 Credit card?


 Buy an AB ticket from the driver or a ticket machine for 2.70 Euro in
 cash. Don't forget to validate your ticket if you didn't buy it from a
 bus driver.


You don't need to validate your ticket if you pay for it on the bus.
Only if you get it from a ticket machine or ticket ofice.



 Apr 25 2016



  parent reply Dicebot <public dicebot.lv>  writes:


On 04/25/2016 12:15 PM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 You don't need to validate your ticket if you pay for it on the bus.
 Only if you get it from a ticket machine or ticket ofice.


I am pretty sure you have to validate in both cases. Those tickets are
absolutely identical (and there are validation machines inside buses).



 Apr 25 2016



  parent reply Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On 25 April 2016 at 15:27, Dicebot via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 On 04/25/2016 12:15 PM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 You don't need to validate your ticket if you pay for it on the bus.
 Only if you get it from a ticket machine or ticket ofice.


 I am pretty sure you have to validate in both cases. Those tickets are
 absolutely identical (and there are validation machines inside buses).


No, they are not.  Bus tickets are flimsy pieces of paper too wide to
fit in the stamp machine. ;-)

You can tell the difference because tickets that need validation say
so explicitly.  Look for "Bitte hier entweten" or "Please validate
your ticket". at the top of your ticket.  :-)

http://www.berlin1.de/sites/default/files/styles/giant_teaser/public/images/image/2015/07/03/bvg-schwarzfahren-berlin-54744284.jpg?itok=8GqD_m9Q



 Apr 25 2016



  parent  Dicebot <public dicebot.lv>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:59:18 UTC, Iain Buclaw wrote:

 No, they are not.  Bus tickets are flimsy pieces of paper too 
 wide to fit in the stamp machine. ;-)

 You can tell the difference because tickets that need 
 validation say so explicitly.  Look for "Bitte hier entweten" 
 or "Please validate your ticket". at the top of your ticket.  
 :-)

 http://www.berlin1.de/sites/default/files/styles/giant_teaser/public/images/image/2015/07/03/bvg-schwarzfahren-berlin-54744284.jpg?itok=8GqD_m9Q


Oh you mean ones bought from a bus driver? I think I have never 
seen those, my bad.



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent reply Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On 24 April 2016 at 23:40, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 On 4/24/2016 10:56 AM, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 On 24 April 2016 at 10:44, Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d
 <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-)
 so
 I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on
 the
 right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.



 Conveniently, also the directions to Berghain.  :-)


 What's the best way to buy a ticket? On the bus itself, or is there a kiosk?
 Credit card?


Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected in most
places that I've tried.



 Apr 25 2016



 next sibling parent  Benjamin Thaut <code benjamin-thaut.de>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 09:16:11 UTC, Iain Buclaw wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected 
 in most places that I've tried.


Yes, I highly recommend having cash on you. Also ensure that its 
not the big bank notes (e.g. 50€ 100€) most ticket machines only 
take 10€ and 20€ notes, some of them might be out of change and 
require you to put in the amount percisely using coins.



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling  parent reply Kagamin <spam here.lot>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 09:16:11 UTC, Iain Buclaw wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected 
 in most places that I've tried.


You mean debit cards are accepted? Anyway why credit cards? 
Aren't credit money more expensive than debit? The overdraft 
limit is just a fixed offset from zero and you pay extra 
interest, one could just imagine zero balance at his preferred 
offset and keep it there.



 Apr 26 2016



  parent reply Johannes Pfau <nospam example.com>  writes:


Am Tue, 26 Apr 2016 12:25:41 +0000
schrieb Kagamin <spam here.lot>:


 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 09:16:11 UTC, Iain Buclaw wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected 
 in most places that I've tried.  


 
 You mean debit cards are accepted? Anyway why credit cards? 
 Aren't credit money more expensive than debit? The overdraft 
 limit is just a fixed offset from zero and you pay extra 
 interest, one could just imagine zero balance at his preferred 
 offset and keep it there.


The girocard (sometimes called EC card) debit card system is accepted at
most places: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girocard IIRC you need a
german bank account though to own such a card ;-)



 Apr 26 2016



  parent reply Andrej Mitrovic via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


It's really not so bad anymore as it used to be. Credit cards are
accepted in most stores or supermarkets, even "Netto" which is a
discount-store and which started accepting Visa just last year. Other
stores like "Real" and "Kaisers" will accept Visa, even many small
shops will accept it.

Then again the Burger King at Alexanderplatz will for some reason
*not* accept any credit card, while the McDonalds which is ~50 meters
away will.

This is assuming you want to eat at those places while you're in
Berlin, obviously there's great food here that you could try rather
than go to the familiar fast-food chains.. If you're going to go for a
döner kebab prepare some cash!

In some cases they might ask you for your ID (e.g. passport).

On 4/26/16, Johannes Pfau via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 Am Tue, 26 Apr 2016 12:25:41 +0000
 schrieb Kagamin <spam here.lot>:


 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 09:16:11 UTC, Iain Buclaw wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected
 in most places that I've tried.


 You mean debit cards are accepted? Anyway why credit cards?
 Aren't credit money more expensive than debit? The overdraft
 limit is just a fixed offset from zero and you pay extra
 interest, one could just imagine zero balance at his preferred
 offset and keep it there.


 The girocard (sometimes called EC card) debit card system is accepted at
 most places: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girocard IIRC you need a
 german bank account though to own such a card ;-)





 Apr 26 2016



 next sibling parent  Nemanja Boric <4burgos gmail.com>  writes:


On Tuesday, 26 April 2016 at 19:21:13 UTC, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:

 It's really not so bad anymore as it used to be. Credit cards 
 are accepted in most stores or supermarkets, even "Netto" which 
 is a discount-store and which started accepting Visa just last 
 year. Other stores like "Real" and "Kaisers" will accept Visa, 
 even many small shops will accept it.

 Then again the Burger King at Alexanderplatz will for some 
 reason *not* accept any credit card, while the McDonalds which 
 is ~50 meters away will.

 This is assuming you want to eat at those places while you're 
 in Berlin, obviously there's great food here that you could try 
 rather than go to the familiar fast-food chains.. If you're 
 going to go for a döner kebab prepare some cash!

 In some cases they might ask you for your ID (e.g. passport).

 On 4/26/16, Johannes Pfau via Digitalmars-d 
 <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 Am Tue, 26 Apr 2016 12:25:41 +0000
 schrieb Kagamin <spam here.lot>:


 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 09:16:11 UTC, Iain Buclaw wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are 
 rejected in most places that I've tried.


 You mean debit cards are accepted? Anyway why credit cards? 
 Aren't credit money more expensive than debit? The overdraft 
 limit is just a fixed offset from zero and you pay extra 
 interest, one could just imagine zero balance at his 
 preferred offset and keep it there.


 The girocard (sometimes called EC card) debit card system is 
 accepted at most places: 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girocard IIRC you need a german 
 bank account though to own such a card ;-)




I was today to TXL, so I took some pictures while riding home (I 
was sitting on a passenger side).

First, here are the routes for 109 and U7:

https://www.bvg.de/images/content/linienverlaeufe/LinienverlaufBus109.pdf
https://www.bvg.de/images/content/linienverlaeufe/LinienverlaufU7.pdf

This is the U-Bahnhof Jakob-Keiser-Platz:

http://imgur.com/nCBxOho

This is the pink-orange building just before it (I took a picture 
when I passed it):

http://imgur.com/zrQw6Fn

In the bus, there's a display showing next station and a voice 
(in German, but even I can recognize the name of the station) 
telling the name of the next station. It's needed to indicate 
that you're going off the bus (this caught me when I was a new 
one) which needs to be pressed *before* the bus arrive to the 
station (if somebody has pressed it, you'll see red STOP on the 
right corner of the display) by pressing one of the green tasters 
on the yellow bars. Sorry for the potato quality:

http://imgur.com/gTzEtxh

And *bonus level*. If you didn't get off at U-Bahnhof 
Jakob-Keiser-Platz, 15 minutes after, 109 will get to U Bahnhof 
Adenauerplatz where you can catch U7 again (just after it turns 
right after S-Bahnhof Charlottenburg):

http://imgur.com/0TZWI7P



 Apr 26 2016



prev sibling  parent reply Walter Bright <newshound2 digitalmars.com>  writes:


On 4/26/2016 12:21 PM, Andrej Mitrovic via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 This is assuming you want to eat at those places while you're in
 Berlin,


I'm looking forward to a bratwurst with some good senf!



 Apr 26 2016



 next sibling parent  Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Wednesday, 27 April 2016 at 02:19:14 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:

 On 4/26/2016 12:21 PM, Andrej Mitrovic via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 This is assuming you want to eat at those places while you're 
 in
 Berlin,


 I'm looking forward to a bratwurst with some good senf!


I think the classic is Currywurst:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currywurst

A proper well-made Döner kebab should also be good (but ask the 
locals where to get a proper one, so you avoid being served 
gone-off meat mash):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab



 Apr 27 2016



prev sibling  parent reply Walter Bright <newshound2 digitalmars.com>  writes:


On 4/26/2016 7:19 PM, Walter Bright wrote:

 I'm looking forward to a bratwurst with some good senf!


I got a bratwurst yesterday from a street vendor in front of the 
Brandenburger Tor. Awesome! Made me want to get some lederhosen.

P.S. Also got some Apfel Struedel at the Einstein Cafe on the Unter den 
Linden.



 May 02 2016



 next sibling parent reply yawniek <dlang srtnwz.com>  writes:


On Tuesday, 3 May 2016 at 03:33:53 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:

 On 4/26/2016 7:19 PM, Walter Bright wrote:

 I'm looking forward to a bratwurst with some good senf!


 I got a bratwurst yesterday from a street vendor in front of 
 the Brandenburger Tor. Awesome! Made me want to get some 
 lederhosen.

 P.S. Also got some Apfel Struedel at the Einstein Cafe on the 
 Unter den Linden.


if you want to do more sightseeing i can recommend 
http://www.ddr-museum.de/en
i was there last year and its very weird to see how people lift 
not long ago.



 May 02 2016



  parent  Walter Bright <newshound2 digitalmars.com>  writes:


On 5/2/2016 11:04 PM, yawniek wrote:

 if you want to do more sightseeing i can recommend
 http://www.ddr-museum.de/en
 i was there last year and its very weird to see how people lift not long
 ago.


I did visit the Technical Museum and the History Museum. I especially 
enjoyed the locomotives at the former - it's quite a collection, and it 
all has a wonderful smell of engine oil!

There's just too much to see in Berlin, I could be fully occupied for a 
month.



 May 03 2016



prev sibling  parent  Stefan Koch <uplink.coder googlemail.com>  writes:


On Tuesday, 3 May 2016 at 03:33:53 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:

 On 4/26/2016 7:19 PM, Walter Bright wrote:

 I'm looking forward to a bratwurst with some good senf!


 I got a bratwurst yesterday from a street vendor in front of 
 the Brandenburger Tor. Awesome! Made me want to get some 
 lederhosen.

 P.S. Also got some Apfel Struedel at the Einstein Cafe on the 
 Unter den Linden.


For a Lederhose you have to be in a diffrent part of Germany.



 May 03 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent  Andrej Mitrovic via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On 4/25/16, Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected in most
 places that I've tried.


The greatest irony is that you can't buy tickets in an S-Bahn shop
with a credit card (e.g. in Gesundbrunnen), but you can in a U-Bahn
shop (e.g. in Alexanderplatz). The tickets are valid for both the
S-Bahn and the U-Bahn regardless of where you buy it, it's so stupid!
Lol.



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent reply Jonathan M Davis via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On Monday, April 25, 2016 11:16:11 Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected in most
 places that I've tried.


LOL. I don't even remember the last time that I paid for anything with cash.
I normally only have cash for emergencies. Oh well. I figured that I was
going to have to exchange for some Euros just in case, but it sounds like my
credit card is going to be pretty much useless.

- Jonathan M Davis



 Apr 25 2016



 next sibling parent  Dicebot <public dicebot.lv>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:51:58 UTC, Jonathan M Davis wrote:

 On Monday, April 25, 2016 11:16:11 Iain Buclaw via 
 Digitalmars-d wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected 
 in most places that I've tried.


 LOL. I don't even remember the last time that I paid for 
 anything with cash. I normally only have cash for emergencies. 
 Oh well. I figured that I was going to have to exchange for 
 some Euros just in case, but it sounds like my credit card is 
 going to be pretty much useless.

 - Jonathan M Davis


It is slowly getting better but overall I'd call Germany one of 
the least credit card friendly countries in the whole Europe. 
Historical reasons :)



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling  parent reply Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:51:58 UTC, Jonathan M Davis wrote:

 On Monday, April 25, 2016 11:16:11 Iain Buclaw via 
 Digitalmars-d wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected 
 in most places that I've tried.


 LOL. I don't even remember the last time that I paid for 
 anything with cash. I normally only have cash for emergencies. 
 Oh well. I figured that I was going to have to exchange for 
 some Euros just in case, but it sounds like my credit card is 
 going to be pretty much useless.

 - Jonathan M Davis


You should be fine in hotels, restaurants and bigger bars, 
though. But _always_ ask beforehand, and in some places there 
might be restrictions regarding the minimum amount of money you 
have to spend in order to be able to pay with card (roughly 
around €10). Since the owner has to pay a fee for credit card 
transactions, it doesn't pay to accept cards below a certain 
threshold.

Kiosks, small shops and bars might not accept credit cards, which 
is true of Europe in general. If a bottle of beer costs €1 at a 
kiosk, you will certainly not be able to pay by card. If you 
insist, you'll end up being the laughing stock.



 Apr 25 2016



  parent reply Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 14:25:39 UTC, Chris wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:51:58 UTC, Jonathan M Davis


Be aware that in Germany pedestrians actually do stop at red 
traffic lights, even if there is no car in sight. The police 
might fine you and / or other pedestrians, who sheepishly wait at 
the traffic light, might start to scold you for being a bad role 
model for children (even if it's 2am and there are no children 
around). As a comedian once pointed out, why did they build the 
Berlin wall, a red traffic light would have done the trick :-)



 Apr 25 2016



 next sibling parent reply Andrej Mitrovic via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On 4/25/16, Chris via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 14:25:39 UTC, Chris wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:51:58 UTC, Jonathan M Davis


 Be aware that in Germany pedestrians actually do stop at red
 traffic lights, even if there is no car in sight.


Berlin is the least German city, you'll find plenty of red-light offenders. :)



 Apr 25 2016



  parent  Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 14:54:53 UTC, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:

 On 4/25/16, Chris via Digitalmars-d 
 <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 14:25:39 UTC, Chris wrote:

 On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 13:51:58 UTC, Jonathan M Davis


 Be aware that in Germany pedestrians actually do stop at red 
 traffic lights, even if there is no car in sight.


 Berlin is the least German city, you'll find plenty of 
 red-light offenders. :)


Maybe, but people should still be aware of this phenomenon. I 
suppose it also depends on where you are. There will be loads of 
red light offenders in party areas on a Saturday night. In a 
middle class suburb, people might be more priggish about it. Best 
do as the Romans do, if nobody crosses the red light, don't cross 
either.



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling  parent reply Mike Parker <aldacron gmail.com>  writes:


On Monday, 25 April 2016 at 14:43:47 UTC, Chris wrote:

 Be aware that in Germany pedestrians actually do stop at red 
 traffic lights, even if there is no car in sight. The police 
 might fine you and / or other pedestrians, who sheepishly wait 
 at the traffic light, might start to scold you for being a bad 
 role model for children (even if it's 2am and there are no 
 children around). As a comedian once pointed out, why did they 
 build the Berlin wall, a red traffic light would have done the 
 trick :-)


Just stumbled on this Washington Post article today:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/25/this-city-embedded-traffic-lights-in-the-sidewalks-so-that-smartphone-users-dont-have-to-look-up/?tid=sm_fb



 Apr 26 2016



  parent  Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Tuesday, 26 April 2016 at 09:56:32 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:


 Just stumbled on this Washington Post article today:

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/25/this-city-embedded-traffic-lights-in-the-sidewalks-so-that-smartphone-users-dont-have-to-look-up/?tid=sm_fb


QED :) Funny and sad. If uploading a selfie to your Facebook 
profile is more important than your own safety, I'd call it 
natural selection.



 Apr 26 2016



prev sibling  parent  Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On 25 April 2016 at 15:51, Jonathan M Davis via Digitalmars-d
<digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:

 On Monday, April 25, 2016 11:16:11 Iain Buclaw via Digitalmars-d wrote:

 Germany is a cash-in-hand country.  Credit cards are rejected in most
 places that I've tried.


 LOL. I don't even remember the last time that I paid for anything with cash.
 I normally only have cash for emergencies. Oh well. I figured that I was
 going to have to exchange for some Euros just in case, but it sounds like my
 credit card is going to be pretty much useless.

 - Jonathan M Davis


A little news context. ;-)

http://www.thelocal.de/20150528/germans-still-stuck-on-cash



 Apr 25 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent  Jonathan M Davis via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 01:44:07 -0700
Walter Bright via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com> wrote:


 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're
 doing :-) so I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street
 on the right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.


Word of warning. Go to the _right_ when exiting the train at Grenzallee.
There are two exits, both of which pop out near a street light. I made the
mistake of going to the left (since that's where other folks exiting the
train were going), and while that's just down the street from the other
exit, if you try and follow the directions from there, you're not going to
find the hotel.

- Jonathan M Davis



 May 01 2016



prev sibling  parent reply Walter Bright <newshound2 digitalmars.com>  writes:


On 4/24/2016 1:44 AM, Walter Bright wrote:

 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-)
 so I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on
 the right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.



I made it to the hotel yesterday, thanks everyone for the help! The only 
issue was trying to find the 3 day bus pass on the ticket machine with 
impatient locals tapping their toes behind me and telling me there was 
no such ticket!

Just had to click around on the options until I found it.



 May 01 2016



  parent reply Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org>  writes:


On 5/2/16 4:55 AM, Walter Bright wrote:

 On 4/24/2016 1:44 AM, Walter Bright wrote:

 The hotel emailed them to me, I presume they know what they're doing :-)
 so I thought I'd share:

 Bus 109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz
 Subway U 7 in the direction of Rudow to Grenzallee
 Cross the street at the traffic light and turn left. The next street on
 the right is Jahnstraße.
 On the left side you will find our hotel.



 I made it to the hotel yesterday, thanks everyone for the help! The only
 issue was trying to find the 3 day bus pass on the ticket machine with
 impatient locals tapping their toes behind me and telling me there was
 no such ticket!

 Just had to click around on the options until I found it.


I arrived as well. I foolishly chose to ignore this thread and assumed 
taking the taxi from the airport to the hotel is a proper choice. So I 
hop on the taxi and ask if he takes credit. He says no taxi at the 
airport does. So I walk to an ATM and get some Euros, then hop back in 
the cab. There's no driver/car identification displayed inside and I see 
no meter. I ask where the meter is, he says it's on the left (where I 
can't see what it shows).

We get to the hotel, he says it's 76 Euros. I'm like, Jesus this is 
high. He goes, yeah Tegel is far away from this hotel, next time try to 
book the other airport. I ask for a receipt, he handwrites me one on a 
standard form with no stamp and no identification.

As I walk to the reception I ask the receptionist what's the usual taxi 
price to the airport and sure enough I paid twice the usual. I mention 
what I paid and to her credit she makes an effort to call the number on 
the receipt and tries to figure out what happened. They say they can't 
do anything without a stamp on the receipt so she suggests I call the 
police and try to get his plates off of some security cameras. I figure 
life is too short to press on, but this is quite the bummer - Germany 
was really the last place where I assumed this kind of stuff cannot 
happen. In fact it was the reason for which I didn't heed the 
non-visible meter warning; something similar did happen to me in 
Romania, in a very different era.


Andrei



 May 03 2016



 next sibling parent  Stefan Koch <uplink.coder googlemail.com>  writes:


On Tuesday, 3 May 2016 at 11:14:07 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

 On 5/2/16 4:55 AM, Walter Bright wrote:

 [...]


 I arrived as well. I foolishly chose to ignore this thread and 
 assumed taking the taxi from the airport to the hotel is a 
 proper choice. So I hop on the taxi and ask if he takes credit. 
 He says no taxi at the airport does. So I walk to an ATM and 
 get some Euros, then hop back in the cab. There's no driver/car 
 identification displayed inside and I see no meter. I ask where 
 the meter is, he says it's on the left (where I can't see what 
 it shows).

 [...]



I would expect that of Romania :)

But in Berlin ? You had bad luck indeed.

P.S. I am just touching up on a CTFE transcompiler.
I figured sqlite and lz4 are too boring topics.



 May 03 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent  Dicebot <public dicebot.lv>  writes:


On 05/03/2016 01:14 PM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

 I arrived as well. I foolishly chose to ignore this thread and assumed
 taking the taxi from the airport to the hotel is a proper choice. So I
 hop on the taxi and ask if he takes credit. He says no taxi at the
 airport does. So I walk to an ATM and get some Euros, then hop back in
 the cab. There's no driver/car identification displayed inside and I see
 no meter. I ask where the meter is, he says it's on the left (where I
 can't see what it shows).
 
 We get to the hotel, he says it's 76 Euros. I'm like, Jesus this is
 high. He goes, yeah Tegel is far away from this hotel, next time try to
 book the other airport. I ask for a receipt, he handwrites me one on a
 standard form with no stamp and no identification.
 
 As I walk to the reception I ask the receptionist what's the usual taxi
 price to the airport and sure enough I paid twice the usual. I mention
 what I paid and to her credit she makes an effort to call the number on
 the receipt and tries to figure out what happened. They say they can't
 do anything without a stamp on the receipt so she suggests I call the
 police and try to get his plates off of some security cameras. I figure
 life is too short to press on, but this is quite the bummer - Germany
 was really the last place where I assumed this kind of stuff cannot
 happen. In fact it was the reason for which I didn't heed the
 non-visible meter warning; something similar did happen to me in
 Romania, in a very different era.
 
 
 Andrei


As it was already mentioned, Berlin is the least german city in the
whole Germany - but this sounds like some very bad luck even for Berlin :(



 May 03 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent  Jonathan M Davis via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>  writes:


On Tue, 3 May 2016 13:14:07 +0200
Andrei Alexandrescu via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d puremagic.com>
wrote:

 I arrived as well. I foolishly chose to ignore this thread and
 assumed taking the taxi from the airport to the hotel is a proper
 choice. So I hop on the taxi and ask if he takes credit. He says no
 taxi at the airport does. So I walk to an ATM and get some Euros,
 then hop back in the cab. There's no driver/car identification
 displayed inside and I see no meter. I ask where the meter is, he
 says it's on the left (where I can't see what it shows).

 We get to the hotel, he says it's 76 Euros. I'm like, Jesus this is
 high. He goes, yeah Tegel is far away from this hotel, next time try
 to book the other airport. I ask for a receipt, he handwrites me one
 on a standard form with no stamp and no identification.

 As I walk to the reception I ask the receptionist what's the usual
 taxi price to the airport and sure enough I paid twice the usual. I
 mention what I paid and to her credit she makes an effort to call the
 number on the receipt and tries to figure out what happened. They say
 they can't do anything without a stamp on the receipt so she suggests
 I call the police and try to get his plates off of some security
 cameras. I figure life is too short to press on, but this is quite
 the bummer - Germany was really the last place where I assumed this
 kind of stuff cannot happen. In fact it was the reason for which I
 didn't heed the non-visible meter warning; something similar did
 happen to me in Romania, in a very different era.


I had originally thought that I might take a taxi to avoid having to deal
with public transit, but when it was mentioned in this thread that it was
something like 40 Euros, I gave up on that idea fast. So, having to pay
nearly double that is extremely painful. :(

Public transit turned out to be surprisingly straightforward. Google maps
gave the correct info (including listing all of the subway stops that you
pass on the way, which was helpful), but the info in this thread was
definitely useful. And I still got lost when I got off the subway, because I
chose the wrong exit. :)

- Jonathan M Davis



 May 03 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent  Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Tuesday, 3 May 2016 at 11:14:07 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

 I arrived as well. I foolishly chose to ignore this thread and 
 assumed taking the taxi from the airport to the hotel is a 
 proper choice. So I hop on the taxi and ask if he takes credit. 
 He says no taxi at the airport does. So I walk to an ATM and 
 get some Euros, then hop back in the cab. There's no driver/car 
 identification displayed inside and I see no meter. I ask where 
 the meter is, he says it's on the left (where I can't see what 
 it shows).

 We get to the hotel, he says it's 76 Euros. I'm like, Jesus 
 this is high. He goes, yeah Tegel is far away from this hotel, 
 next time try to book the other airport. I ask for a receipt, 
 he handwrites me one on a standard form with no stamp and no 
 identification.

 As I walk to the reception I ask the receptionist what's the 
 usual taxi price to the airport and sure enough I paid twice 
 the usual. I mention what I paid and to her credit she makes an 
 effort to call the number on the receipt and tries to figure 
 out what happened. They say they can't do anything without a 
 stamp on the receipt so she suggests I call the police and try 
 to get his plates off of some security cameras. I figure life 
 is too short to press on, but this is quite the bummer - 
 Germany was really the last place where I assumed this kind of 
 stuff cannot happen. In fact it was the reason for which I 
 didn't heed the non-visible meter warning; something similar 
 did happen to me in Romania, in a very different era.


 Andrei


Sorry to hear that. The taxi fare calculator said it would be 
around €40, if you take the shortest route. If the guy took the 
route through the city, I suppose it took much longer.

Berlin is not Germany and it is not even representative of 
Germany. Like all capital cities, it's the least representative 
city of the country. Also, Berlin is Prussian, not "German". 
German culture doesn't really exist. Germany is made up of many 
different regional cultures that have different histories, 
different traditions and mentalities (and dialects). Like most 
European, so called, "nations".

But never mind, my grandpa got also fleeced by a taxi driver when 
he went to Berlin a long time ago. He was even taken to some 
dubious hotel and he had to threaten to call the police. So I see 
Berlin hasn't really changed in this respect, except the guy took 
you to the right hotel :-)



 May 03 2016



prev sibling next sibling parent  Fool <fool dlang.org>  writes:


On Tuesday, 3 May 2016 at 11:14:07 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

 [...] They say they can't do anything without a stamp on the 
 receipt so she suggests I call the police and try to get his 
 plates off of some security cameras. I figure life is too short 
 to press on, but this is quite the bummer [...]


Sad to hear. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be that rare if 
you are recognized as a foreigner:

https://translate.google.de/translate?hl=de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.berliner-kurier.de%2Fberlin%2Fpolizei-und-justiz%2Ftouristen-abzocke-fuer-diese-taxi-quittung-schaemt-sich-berlin-22528862&sandbox=1

http://www.berliner-kurier.de/berlin/polizei-und-justiz/touristen-abzocke-fuer-diese-taxi-quittung-schaemt-sich-berlin-22528862



 May 03 2016



prev sibling  parent  Chris <wendlec tcd.ie>  writes:


On Tuesday, 3 May 2016 at 11:14:07 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

 I figure life is too short to press on


You could still try and report him to the police, if you have his 
number plates, so that the fecker doesn't get away with it this 
time.



 May 03 2016