Berlin Germany/ Food Fun Facts
Learn About World Cuisine
This episode explores a variety of fascinating fun facts about Berlin, Germany, ranging from its historical significance to its unique urban
Key takeaways
- Berlin has more bridges than Venice, Italy.
- The Currywurst, a popular street food, is estimated to have 800 million servings eaten annually in Berlin.
Main topics
- Berlin Landmarks and History
- German Street Food
Notable quotes
The city of Berlin, Germany is actually older than the country of Germany.
Conclusion
A highly informative guide for travelers seeking to understand the cul
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:00) Welcome, everyone, to a brand new edition of the Learn About World Cuisine podcast. Today, we're going to be talking fun facts about Berlin, Germany. Then I'm going to talk about the cuisine in Berlin, Germany, and I'm going to give you an idea of what it's like to eat at a restaurant in Berlin, Germany. If you're only interested in the food, you can fast forward to the end. Also, if you're a new listener, I will teach everyone how to listen to the show at the end of the show. My regular listeners do not need to know anything but the fun facts, so we're not stopping. We're going to get started right now, and we're going to keep going without any interruptions. The population of Berlin, Germany is between 3.7 and 3.9 million people. Berlin, Germany is located in northeastern Germany. Berlin, Germany had 12.4 million tourists visit last year. A flight from New York JFK Airport to Berlin, Germany is going to take you about eight hours directly. Berlin is the capital and largest city in all of Germany. In terms of total area, Berlin is about nine times larger than the city of Paris. Now keep in mind, Berlin is a city and so is Paris. Berlin is nine times larger. Berlin is the most populated city in the European Union. Over 60 % of the people that live in Berlin, Germany are under the age of 35. There are 180 different nationalities in Berlin, Germany. Berlin is older than the unified country of Germany itself. Now I'm going to hop off script here. Speaker 1 (1:55) So the city of Berlin, Germany, is actually older than the country of Germany. How about that? It's been around longer than the country. A bear has been the official symbol on the German coat of arms for centuries. The tallest structure in all of Germany is located in Berlin, and it is the TV Tower. And at the top of the TV Tower, for my world travelers that actually go to these places that I talk about, the top of the TV Tower has a restaurant that rotates as you eat. And that's every half hour to an hour. The very first traffic light installed in Europe was in Berlin, Germany in 1924. There's a place in Berlin, Germany where there's still an American spy station set up. So there's an American spy station still there in Berlin, Germany. There are more bridges in Berlin, Germany than there are in Venice. Berlin is a great place for green spaces, and it is said that one-third of Berlin, Germany is green space. There are about 3,000 lakes and ponds in Berlin, Germany. Berlin, Germany is considered one of the greenest metropolises in all of Germany. One of the major attractions in Berlin, Germany is their annual International Film Festival. There are 21 Michelin-starred restaurants in Berlin, Germany. And we're going to talk about the food in a few minutes. You're going to learn more about that. Berlin has a lot of underground escape tunnels that have been there since World War II. So if anyone has watched Hogan's Heroes, you are fully aware. Bikes are used as a major part of transportation, and Berlin, Germany has many bike lanes. Also, the ferry is integrated into the regular public transportation system. Now, we're not going to dive into history. There's so much history in Berlin. We're only going to tap on it. We're not going to dive deep. But when the Berlin Wall was up, there used to be a little area that was grassy. It was a grassy field in between the Berlin Wall. And there used to be hundreds of rabbits that lived in that area. So I thought that was just a cool fun fact. If I see a historic fun fact, I'll put it in there. But this is a food and travel show, so I try to focus on food and travel. The oldest zoo in Germany has been there since 1844, and that is located in Berlin. Now, this is why people love to travel to Berlin. There are no laws. As far as closing down a nightclub or the overnight space. So a lot of places in Berlin stay open all night. There's no law regulating what time they have to close. In the late 1970s, David Bowie recorded one of his albums in West Berlin. And he lived right near the studio there. Also, U2. The rock band U2 has also recorded an album in Berlin, Germany. So you got David Bowie and you got U2 recording albums in Berlin, Germany. There's an ATM in the upper echelon retail market where you buy the fancy clothes and fancy jewelries. They have an ATM where you can actually buy gold. And the gold comes out of the ATM. Berlin is a very popular startup place in Europe for many tech companies. So many tech companies have their startups in Berlin. The second largest department store in all of Europe is in Berlin, Germany. And on the top floor of that department store, they have a cafeteria section that has many international dining options. Speaker 1 (6:48) If anybody has a Christmas village in their city, Philadelphia has one. Berlin is very popular for those. And they have several. There are about 80 of them throughout the city. So if you like shopping in your local Christmas village, you're going to find about 80 of them just in the city of Berlin. I know Philadelphia has one. I've been to it several times. The world's largest public transportation system is found in Berlin, Germany. The public transportation system is so big that it can circle the earth 8.7 times a day. For my world travelers that actually go to the places, most of us are enthusiasts, like I am. But I do have world travelers who communicate with me through my website. And they actually go to the places I talk about. So in Berlin, Germany, there are a lot of hop-on and hop-off buses that will take you to the must-see tourist sites. So look out for those. There are about 190 museums just in Berlin. Speaker 1 (8:13) Now, keep in mind, this is a food and travel show. I only talk about history if I think it's cool. In 1865, the postcard was invented in Berlin, Germany. Now, what's interesting about the story of the postcard is that the guy who invented the postcard was denied. to sell the postcard in Berlin, Germany. They didn't like that your private messages were on display. So Austria loved the idea, and Austria, once the postcard became popular in Austria, the Berlin postal master decided to allow it in 1870. So a little bit of a fun story behind the postcard. So basically, the guy invented the postcard in Berlin, Germany. Speaker 1 (9:11) Unfortunately, Berlin decided not to sell the postcard, and then Austria started selling the postcard, and once it became popular in Austria, Berlin decided in 1870 to start selling the postcard. But the guy who invented it was from Berlin. Another interesting fun fact is that the city of Berlin is actually older than the country of Germany. So the city of Berlin, Germany is actually older than the country of Germany. Another thing that Berlin is famous for is that they have supermarket kiosks. Now you're probably asking yourself, what does that mean? So basically there are kiosks that you can order from and they will fill your order 24 hours a day. So that's why I talked about this earlier. A lot of people travel to Berlin for the nightlife, but they also travel to Berlin because it never closes. You can get all your goods any time of day. You can buy anything you need. And that's because there are about a thousand kiosks set up throughout the city. And they're open 24 hours a day. And you can get all your food. You can get your needs that you need for your household items. Anything you need is available 24 hours a day at a thousand different stores that use kiosks. So you can pretty much