Tag: new normal

  • Black Friday Shopping 2021

    Black Friday Shopping 2021

    To do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome is insanity. Einstein For the second Christmas in Berlin the city has been placed on Covid restrictions. Did it work last year? It’s according who you ask. Back to where we started from in 2021. The difference from 2020: 2G and…

  • The Pain & The Pleasure

    The Pain & The Pleasure

    AGAIN! Another reopening, in time for the summer. We have been through this before. A part of me thinks these lockdowns are a trail run for a societal behaviormodification program. But, a least the city opened again. Life is sort of normal. Whatever that means in 2021.  I decided to meet a good friend at the…

  • Failure into Failure

    The systemic failure of many European leaders is not glaring. Last year this time Chancellor Merkel with a her scientist background basked in the glow of keeping Germany safe during the initial stages of the Covid-19 outbreak. Whereas Donald Trump chose to deny, then bluster his way through the crisis. The German leaders calm path…

  • Black Mirror is REAL!

    Walking down the Berlin’s most commercial Boulevard on Saturday during the midday. After three months in lockdowns, this is the surreal result. In the old times the side walks would be bustling with shoppers, people hanging out, restaurants teeming. This year, no! As the New Normal grips the world, this once prominent location feels abandoned.…

  • Click and Meet Berlin

    Click and Meet Berlin

    Today I got a message from the KaDeWe regarding my Click and Meet experience. How do I out it? Horrible. If I ever wanted to feel what it was like to live in the U.S.S.R circa 1972. I had a taste of it on Saturday at 1:00, standing outside in the cold wet weather waiting…

  • 7 Days 7 Restaurants

    I think the one occasion many of us during the lockdowns is the ability to go out for dinner. Let’s keep hope alive. When this is all over start the celebrations. Everyone should plan today for the day of the liftings. Make a list of seven restaurants, then go a different one every night.

  • Empty on Christmas

    Empty on Christmas

    Normally, the last weekend before Christmas stores bustle. During this season retailers earn as much as 50% of their yearly income. Not this year, all is closed because of the latest lock down. I visited a neighborhood mall. Three more stores have permanently closed. Brick and mortar retail will have fewer and fewer locales after…

  • Not So Outrageous Now,,

    I received a press release of the product ViraShield by tech start up Pictar. If I had gotten this mail 18 months ago I would have laughed. Or thought to myself, “an EasyJet Safety Bag”. For those moments during budget traveling when you need to have a tight happy zone. Outrageous! 2020 has made me…

  • Black Friday in 2020

    Black Friday in 2020

    I ventured out on Saturday to check on the stores on Black Friday. In Alexander Platz the normal Christmas hustle and bustle was there but not overwhelming. Covid 19 worries kept many people away from the stores.

  • Partial,, Lockdown PT2

    Berlin, like the rest Europe, entered another lockdown today. Will this work? The air of growing uncertainty cannot be ignored.  Supposedly for only 30 days, then the curve will be under control.   Bars, restaurants and gyms have closed.  Citizens are understandably a bit  frustrated by the backward step handling of the Corona Virus.  Once…