Germany: Before and After the Covid Pandemic

Before this year (2023), my last trip to Germany and Berlin was in March/April 2018. It was a true European journey that ranged from Budapest, Hungary to Rotterdam, Netherlands (a river cruise), and also passed through Germany and then a flight to Berlin from Amsterdam. This post will concentrate on Berlin, but much of it also applies to Germany overall.

A “cash and card payment” sign at a Berlin laundromat (Waschsalon). No coins needed for the washer or dryer. Germans are now really into contactless payment in shops and restaurants, even on ICE trains. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

The big trip in 2019 was Argentina, one of our best ever. Germany/Europe was on the calendar for 2020. We were used to a European trip every two years from the US. And then Covid-19 showed up. Most people have a similar story. Domestic and international travel soon ground to a halt. Air and cruise travel soon stopped.

Later the vaccines arrived, and people could travel to some places with testing and quarantines. Travel was not really an attractive prospect for a long time. So 2023 was the year we returned to Germany, following five years of involuntary isolation.

Seeing Germany after a five-year break invites comparisons. Some things have changed, some rather dramatically. Other things have either not changed much, or have gotten worse. Let’s start with the good things.

Credit Card and Digital Payment
This is perhaps the most dramatic change of them all. While card payment in Germany was already improving in 2018, it was still spotty and not as common as in the US or even in many other European countries. For years Germany took pride in being a cash economy and shunned card payment. Not ideal for non-EU visitors.

Then came Covid, or as the Germans prefer to call it, “Corona”. The Pandemie made Germans rethink their popular euro bills and their tendency to spread germs and viruses. German consumers have long had their Giro/EC bank cards, but when it came to Master Card, Visa or American Express, it was often difficult for non-Germans to use a credit card in Germany. Many stores only accepted German debit cards that can only be acquired via a German bank account. Now you see something I thought I’d never see in Germany: signs at the cashier stand or at the door reading “Card only”! In English.

Cash is still popular, but at a Berlin minimart the other day, there were two cashiers and two payment options: cash or card. The cashier on the left would only take cash payment, while the one on the right only accepted card payment (contactless/chip). At an outdoor self-serve restaurant in Berlin-Pankow, a sign stated “Card only”. At a restaurant near Breitscheidplatz, the waitress did not hesitate when I said “Karte” (card) to pay for a nice dinner with friends. The nearby Netto grocery store accepted my wife’s US debit card (contactless), and the charge went through in seconds.

I have told German friends how ironic it is that my US-issued contactless credit card works faster and better in Germany than it does in the US. I even bought a Berlin BVG transport ticket on a bus using my credit card. And when I use the BVG app on my iPhone, I can buy a 24-hour or four-trip ticket that displays a QR code that’s valid on the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, buses or trams – using Apple Pay. That is a real change.

My only complaint concerns the new 49-euro D-Ticket for local and regional transport. Because it is a subscription, it’s not available in Berlin via the app, and it needs to be canceled in time to avoid a charge for the next full month. It’s not practical for tourists who will only be in Germany for a few weeks or so. The old nine-euro ticket was better because it was not a subscription and anyone could buy it. But I still marvel at the convenience of buying a bus, tram, metro, or S-Bahn ticket on my “Handy” with an app in Berlin and elsewhere.

Now to the negative changes or lack of change.

Construction (Bauprojekte)
Compared to our last visit, the construction cranes seem to have sprouted up exponentially all over Berlin, reminiscent of the German capital during the early post-Wall years. Now you see cranes everywhere you look! And if it’s not high-rise buildings going up (the “Amazon tower” on Warschauer Straße being the tallest), it’s the roads or bridges, making parts of the city almost impassible. Even a ride on the tram in Berlin-Köpenick was delayed by traffic jams!

We were on the tram because the normal S-Bahn stop was closed for construction! Many S-Bahn lines are also under repair or renovation in spots, making regional train travel a pain. Riders have to get off and switch trains because the normal routes have been shortened or altered. Buses fill in on closed U-Bahn routes. The usually reliable S-Bahn is not very reliable these days, and you have to adjust for detours, delays, and route changes.

We were lucky enough to have Berlin friends who could tell us the latest tricks to maneuver through and around all the current obstacles. Berlin has always been “under construction” in some ways, but this time it is truly remarkable to see all the ways Berliners have to adapt to an altered transport landscape. Even having a car is of little help, when you’re likely to get stuck in traffic or have a problem finding parking.

A sign and cranes at Alexanderplatz. It’s hard to find a view in Berlin in 2023 without construction cranes. It’s almost like the post-Wall days of the early 1990s. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Accommodating People with Disabilities
When I lived in Berlin for almost a year in 2007/2008, and later for two months in 2011, I noticed how difficult it can be for people with disabilities to navigate the city and public transportation in particular. Even mothers with a pram can face unnecessary obstacles. Have things improved in the year 2023?

Yes and no. Can a person in a wheelchair board a public bus in Berlin? Yes, with driver assistance. But that same person would have serious problems transferring from the bus to the S- or U-Bahn, facing a myriad of obstacles. As an example, my wife, who experiences knee pain when climbing or descending stairs, had to do just that too often – when the elevator or escalator was not working, or was inconveniently located. We would come back days later to the same station where the escalator or elevator was defective, and it was still not functioning. And I can’t count how many women I saw struggling with a baby carriage just on one day.

Things have improved a bit in this area, but Berlin still gets low marks in accommodating disabled people. Even public spaces often have steps without a ramp, or a ramp that is hard to find. Germany in general has been slow to improve disabled access on its sidewalks, on public transport, and in public spaces.

Fewer EuroShops but More Spätis
This one isn’t a major problem, but my wife loves to bargain shop. Last time she enjoyed perusing the local EuroShop in our Berlin Kiez (neighborhood). It’s no longer around. At first we thought there were no more EuroShop outlets in Berlin at all, but according to their website, there are still four in the capital. But the iconic one-euro price tag is gone for many items. Some products now sell for as much as 1.30 or 1.50 euro, and a few items cost as much as 2 euros. Germany is not alone in dealing with inflation these days. The US dollar stores have also had to raise some prices, becoming the $1.25 or $1.50 store.

On the other hand, the Späti (mini “night store”) is alive and well in Berlin. Unlike most parts of Germany, Berlin inherited these always-open minimart shops from former East Berlin. They are open when most other German stores are closed, providing beverages, snacks, and cigarettes to people who haven’t planned ahead.

I certainly have not covered all the changes we’ve encountered in Berlin. I may write about some others later. We’re on our way to Munich and a visit with relatives in Bavaria. I’m sure there are more positive and negative surprises yet to come.

– HF

PS – Just arrived in Munich via ICE (on time!). Munich’s Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station) is totally under construction, with parts blocked off. Welcome to Germany!