Despite the week starting out so well with a day off and pretty much tropical weather, by Wednesday it was as if Berlin suddenly noticed it was October and switched to Autumn mode. This involves a lot of rain, so here are some rain related observations:
Rain in Berlin really brings out the smell of the drains. Berlin, you are an internationally renowned capital city- I know you were originally built on a bog, but really, is it really that hard to sort out your sewer system?!
When it rains you can see people cycling who are holding the handlebars with one hand and holding an umbrella in the other. Given that I have difficulty maintaining a straight line with both hands firmly gripping the handlebars, I am incredibly envious of their skills, even if it does make them look quite odd.
It is not bad luck to open an umbrella inside in Germany, which means that a little campsite of umbrellas appears in the centre of the office floor, making it fairly difficult to get anywhere without nearly tripping over them. Given their love for practicality, you'd think that they'd want to enforce this 'no open umbrellas inside' rule, as then the umbrellas could all be stacked neatly out of the way against a wall. Italians share the same superstition as the British, as they also believe it is bad luck to open umbrellas inside, so I wonder what other nationalities make of it.
And finally, my extensive research (noticing other people in the street, and looking at the umbrellas set up in the campsite at work) leads me to believe that the most common umbrella in Germany is the Rossman €2.95 navy umbrella, which is also the one that I have, alongside pretty much everyone else who sits near me. It's all about the little things to help you blend in with the locals!
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