lolFinland: February 2010

So I spent 3 days in Berlin on business.

I think I would find the price of living in that country ridiculous, if it didn't piss me off so much.

I mean, I do admit that Berlin wasn't such a hot place to live in just couple of decades ago (landmines don't count), but it's plenty modern today, and with more than 3 million people living there, there are more services and things to do than one could shake a stick at. Based on what I saw during my short visit, I think I could easily find my niche there and be as happy in it as I am with my current life in Finland. I just wish learning German wasn't such a Schmerz im Arsch.

So why is it that in Berlin I could maintain my current living standards with something like 67% of the money I need in Finland? Or even less, if I was living in Helsinki instead of Oulu.

New Zealand would be another example, of course, having stayed there for quite a while. Fantastic place to live, love it to bits - and again so bloody cheap compared to Finland.

In New Zealand the average income level is somewhat lower than in Finland, of course, but not so in Germany. Compare, for example average monthly salary for an engineer in Germany: 4200 euros vs. Finland: 3700 euros.

Okay, so Berlin is one of the cheaper places in Germany, I'm aware of that, too. I guess cities like Munich would be much closer to Finnish price levels, but I'm not talking about Munich, I'm talking about Berlin. It vexes me so.

Anyway, I got some time to do a little sightseeing, though as usually happens, a snow storm blew in right when I finally got out from my meetings. I actually almost missed my plane back home, because I postponed visiting the Berlin Wall to the final morning, when the weather cleared up. Three hurrahs to the efficiency of German trains, taxis and airports!

The Reichstag. The snow started coming in thicker and thicker, when I reached it.

Using flash - not such a grand idea.

Without flash, no worries other than the diminishing daylight. Dem Deutscher Volke.

Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate.

In front of the Reichstag, there is a park. In the park, I found tree houses. Later I found out that they are a part of some modern art display by a Japanese artist. -_-'

The river flowing through Berlin was frozen. Sorta. The blocks of ice were still moving along - at a near-glacial speed.

One of Berlin's many bears. I saw literally dozens of these statues, more or less identical to each other, scattered all over the city, covered in all sorts of paintings.