Tuesday, January 29, 2008 8:43 PM
January 29, 2008
This, believe it or not, is an internet café in Berlin. Well, actually it's a normal café / bar theoretically specialising in Arabic food which has found a niche in a very crowded market as an internet café, offering both PC terminals and free wifi as well as its normal menu.
As I currently work mainly from home, it's useful to get out once or twice a day - stops me going crazy - and since the start of the year, when a comprehensive smoking ban came into effect, my radius of action has vastly increased. Now, don't get me wrong: I wouldn't want to stop anyone from enjoying a cigarrette, but I would greatly appreciate it if they'd do it somewhere where I am not, as I would like to enjoy my time with a nice coffee, beer and / or meal without their contribution in the form of an unavoidable layer of stink coating my clothing, hair etc.
Unfortunately the law as it stands in Berlin allows establishments with a separate room to provide a smoking area, and this place - the Al Hamra (warning: Flash-only website) - has a basement for smokers, and while I didn't notice anything at the time, coming home my clothes have still managed to gain a certain stale, tarry smell which they didn't have before. Still, the situation is vastly better than it was before.
Which brings me to Japan, where the situation is also improving - recently taxis in Tokyo instituted an almost complete ban - but has quite a way to go, especially where restaurants and cafes not belonging to major chains are concerned. By total coincidence I came across a website called "Kinen Style" (禁煙スタイル, Smoke-Free Style), a very useful website with user-supplied data listing businesses throughout Japan with no-smoking policies. There's also an English version, but with hardly any entries.
I wonder how long it will be before smoke-free businesses in Japan are the rule, not the exception?
That looks like such a cool cafe. I've been wondering where I should go next - I fear my days in Japan are numbered.
I do like the look of Berlin and even more so given the smoking ban - bliss! Japan is a nightmare for non-smokers - and vegetarians - as it's so cheap and easy and there are next to no restrictions where to do it.
Is there a call for artists-come-English teachers your neck of the woods, do you know?
There's not much of an eikaiwa industry in Berlin, but there are quite a few proper language schools; I imagine as a qualified, experienced teacher you'd be able to find something fairly easily. I don't know much about the art scene, but there are a lot of galleries'n'stuff, and all sorts of events going on.
For a major European capital, Berlin is definitely on the cheap side (though the strong Euro and the influx of people looking for somewhere cheap to live are eating into this advantage). On the other hand the city's economy is not the most vibrant, its GDP is below the national average (whereas a typical capital city is usually way above that).
It's a great place to live though, all the advantages of a big city without the stress. Feel free to send me an email if you have any specific questions!
Otherwise, I'd agree with everything The Penguin writes above. And before you come (if you do), leave your ideas of what is "cheap" and "expensive" at home, ("the influx of people looking for somewhere cheap to live are eating into this advantage)"), as so many people think cheap in London (Munich, Stuttgart, Paris) is cheap in Berlin, when it isn't. Also: please (please please please please) don't buy a flat. People rent here, that's why it's still affordable!