Happy to be an Englishman in Berlin

“Shonen Fierabend!” The expression Germans use to greet each other is a “Have a nice evening” This indicates a good work-life balance and the care they take in protecting their leisure time Daily on the website telegram Briton Paul Sullivan has written several guides to Berlin, where he stayed fifteen years ago.

“As soon as ‘Fierabend’ is uttered, you are completely cut off from your work.” In Germany, “No late nights at the office, no aperitif after work, no answering emails on holidays or weekends.”

This clear separation between work and family life is one of the many advantages of living in Germany. “Germans do many things well [les Britanniques]”, He mentions. Starting with the cost of living, it’s lower than the UK – including the capital.

“Everything from restaurant meals to rent, groceries and even a pint of beer is cheap here.” This is despite wages being generally higher in Germany than in the UK. “It’s true that taxes are high in Germany – but they get you better healthcare and better public transport and free schools and universities.”

A British student pays an average of £9,000 (€10,390) per year (and foreign students two to three times more), “German students only pay registration fees”. For the German health system, this is clearly more so than the British National Health Service (NSH). “It’s been underfunded for quite a few decades.” “In Germany there are more individual doctors, it’s easier to get an appointment, the hospitals are of better quality, there are more beds and shorter hours for specialized treatment.”

A strong point: the quality of the trains

Another important area where Germany clearly shows its superiority over the United Kingdom: infrastructure and transportation. “Public transport in Germany is generally well-coordinated, well-maintained and much cheaper than in the UK, at least when it comes to long-distance journeys at peak times.”

Germany has invested heavily in making trains more attractive and faster, Paul Sullivan points out: “You can go from Berlin to Munich in under four hours. From Berlin, I can be in Prague in less than five hours, Warsaw or Amsterdam in about six hours, Paris in eight hours and Budapest in half a day. This is the advantage of living in the heart of Europe. “A godsend if you like to travel by train.”

“Of course life in Germany is not perfect”, admits the same author. Blackheads? bureaucracy, “As heavy as its reputation suggests”. A certain reluctance towards innovation in essential areas of life (“More than half of the population still pays in cash”) The number of rules and regulations to follow and customer service is often the same “irritating”.

Paul Sullivan forgets when he takes the train from Berlin to the south of the country and enjoys it. “Europe’s Most Beautiful Alpine Landscapes”.