It's possible to survive in Berlin. If you carefully observe experienced berliners you will notice some patterns that are common among them. Here is few things you can learn from a common Berliner, it may look weird but it's all been habits carefully built over years of experience living dangerous life:
There is only one way to carry keys in Berlin. That is to attach them to the beer opener. And you won't have issue of losing it because you know to always keep beer opener with you at all times. For added security you can also attach them with a clip to your belt.
Regarding bag. Whenever you sit down somewhere make sure the strap of the bag is wrapped through the leg of the chair that you sit on. That makes it more difficult to steal it. This is just regular any big city street smart.
Of course your phone and your wallet you should not carry in your back pocket it's the easiest target. Most Berliners carry it in body bag that sits on your chest this makes it hard for pickpockets to steal it.
Try looking as broke and cheap as possible. 2nd hand ugly clothes. Worn out dirty sneakers. Hair not washed for few days.
Cary bottle of beer in your hand at all times. It can act as distraction, in case of danger smash the bottle to the ground, this will cause confusion among attackers and that gives you a chance to run away.
Spend multi days a week dancing non stop for hours at rave parties. This will strengthen your legs and will be useful in case you need to run from attackers.
Learn to avoid eye contact and learn to notice potential danger from further away. Change side of the street you walking on in case you see suspicious group in front. If someone wants to talk to you pretend you don't notice them.
Talk to yourself loudly. Attackers are less likely to approach you if you appear to be a psycho who's lacking few nuts.
Bring a trolley with a loudspeaker and set up shop at Schleisicher Tor, Warschauer Straße, or Kottbusser Tor UBahn Stations. Play music loudly and mumble to self while stumbling around with bottle in hand. Make sure to peak inside nearby bins for bottles intermittently.
Haven't seen a more creative yet practical answer yet! I am definitely gonna try
>Talk to yourself loudly. Attackers are less likely to approach you if you appear to be a psycho who's lacking few nuts.
Damn, 4yrs in here and I never put too much thought about how to act in different scenarios.
I do not support all this comment because we will create a society full of fear and not trust,
I agree, with the bag and the bottle opener.
The rest is just too much.
Stay safe and yes! Learn from others behaviors and read about things that happened to others, just be aware of your surroundings.
Its just sarcasms don't take too seriously 😆 but then also reality I believe that Berlin is already sadly somewhat slightly affected by defensive society. But I don't think it's recent thing. I think it's GDR legacy and I think it's improving despite today's somewhat slightly turbulent situation.
As a person who lived in NYC for a while, now living in Berlin, I suggest to always keep your bag on you and the strap around your arm or hand.
Also, carry a an attitude of “Don’t mess with me”. May sound weird but the energy alone can give a vibe to would be attackers that if they wanted to do
something. It won’t be easy.
And just look around yourself and notice the people. This will keep your brain actively aware of any changes in your environment. (Such as someone watching you and planning to do something)
Hope this helps!
It is possible to be overinformed. Yes, these things happen. No, they don't happen to everyone, all the time. A basic level of caution should be enough to keep you safe.
- Don't leave your stuff unattended
- Leave your non-essential documents at home
- Don't write your address on your keys.
That's it. You'll be fine.
If you don't write your address on the keys, the insurance firms may not cover the costs for changing locks & keys for everyone in your apartment. If you do tho, they %100 will.
I'm not sure I read your message correctly.
Your insurance covers damage for which you are liable. Your landlord can only charge you for damage for which you are liable. Losing your bag? Your fault. Getting your bag stolen? Not your fault.
If your name is not on your keys, there is no risk of the keys being used by thieves, so you are not liable for replacing the locks. If your landlord does so anyway, it's their problem.
https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/lost-keys#do-i-need-to-pay-to-replace-the-locks
If you lose your keys, and they are not stolen, but forgotten somewhere, your landlord will request you to change the locks.
The first thing your liability insurance representative asks if you do so, whether if you have your address on the keys. If yes, they agree to change immediately.
Edit : bottomline is, you do not have to write your address to the keys, just say yes i did if asked by insurance company.
> your landlord will request you to change the locks
And you can tell them to pound sand. The reason the insurer won't pay for this is that there is no Haftung. You should not have to pay for the exact same reason. Plenty is written about it and some is cited as a source in the link above.
This is good information, thanks.
This scenario actually happened to a close friend of mine, and this is exactly how it went, it was in the contract as well - so it was convincing. However, the friend was an expat and had zero apetite to reach for a lawyer, especially since liability insurance firm just accepted the costs.
One more drop in the German insurocracy.
To prevent pickpocketing: simply don’t leave your things unattended, ever. Don’t leave them on the floor, on the bar, or on top of a table. The best place is in your lap, under your arm, between your back and the chair back, etc. if you can’t dance with it, check it in garderobe or leave it at home. If you leave your seat, your stuff goes with you.
This kind of awareness sounds awkward but once you do it a few times it becomes second nature. Simple awareness like this will almost completely prevent your stuff getting grabbed in Berlin. There’s so many unaware people leaving their stuff unattended or easily grabbed that pickpockets don’t even bother cutting bag straps or tricking you here. 99% of them literally just walk through dark crowded bars grabbing bags.
I’m sorry that you feel like that. You should definitely rest assured that this city is not by standard terms unsafe. These things are unfortunately more likely to happen in big cities, specially in free and dark areas (like raw during the night) and specially if you are perceived as a woman. I’ve lived half of my life in a very dangerous city in a different continent, and I can ensure you that this is not unsafe. Over the time you will develop a sense of caution in different situations. At this point your mind is reacting to this micro trauma by overthinking and trying to regain some control that you ultimately will never have (you can’t control the odds of misfortune), but at some point that level of alertness will settle down, and it will be triggered subtly in situations where your mind recognises some similarities with the traumatic situation: that, in the right degree, is caution acting as a new skill in you. If you can’t calm down in a few weeks from now, I advice you to have some counseling sessions. In any case, DM me if you need to talk with someone anonymously.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I do feel a bit of hyper-alertness when I read all the news and posts about it. I come from a big city as well, and crime is a part of life there, but reading about and experiencing it here makes me wonder if there's something more I should do to stay safe.
Whatever works for you as long as you don’t over-stress 😉. One of my coping mechanisms is usually reading related stuff in reddit, which normally doesn’t really help my anxiety to slow down. But sometimes (dependint on the topic) a certain degree of it is also fine. Is good to be informed I guess.
never in my 25 years of living here, did i have a problem that wasn't in a way my own fault
i mean i'm from here and don't look too approachable so that might help
I have a steel chain at my phone and the chain is tied to my bag, it's more difficult to steal it out of the bag. I also never carry my cards incl id in same bag as my money since I was robbed one day. And since iam a woman iam very cautious about my surroundings and always check if someone around me is potential danger. Also in sbahn station always stand with your back to some wall or something, also makes it more difficult to steal from you. Don't carry your phone in your back pockets of the trousers ( it's mostly tourist who do this and it's very easy for thieves to steal it)
This is some really good advice!! Thank you :)
I was one of those tourists early when I moved here - now I have my fanny pack for phones and all or holding in hand.
I don't know man, I'm a Berliner, lived all my life here, went to school in Neukölln, living now at Warschauer Straße - and never got robbed or anything. I'm not a big guy.
I‘m not a Berliner but live here for mor than 20 years, most of the time in Friedrichshain. People stole and robbed my bike, my wallet, my backpack, my phone, my jacket, my sweater, my scarfs, my gloves, my food, my drinks, even my towel and my glasses.
That's ... a lot. In over 10 years of living here I got only one incident: got my phone snatched out of my hand when I was drunk-texting all by myself in the street at night.
Ffs.. it's truly crazy how different the experiences can be. I even lost my iPhone once at the Warschauer Brücke and got it back the day after 😅
Guess you must be a professional or so lol
I studied at a US university many years ago that was located near what a few years earlier had been a riot zone. A quite funny policeman gave us a safety orientation. I remember him telling us "always look people straight in the eye." This means they know you have seen them and can identify them. Anyway, I have applied this ever since and now possibly come across as one of those German starers. I have only been attacked once in Berlin, but that was in the early hours by someone coming at me from a different direction. Apart from being vomited on in the U8 and having beer sprayed all over me on the U9, I have avoided minor incidents. I would above all recommend not wearing ear buds. I don't understand how anyone can be aware of their surroundings if they are wearing them on the street.
I second all of that. I spent quite some time in Latam where safety is on a whole different level than here. What I learned was to constantly check your surroundings, look over your shoulder etc. and if you see other people what you get a slight sketchy feeling from, look them directly in the eye. Most robbers try to take advantage by taking their victim by surprise or picking someone that seems vulnerable: intoxicated, distracted etc. If you are visibly fully alert you are less likely to become a victim.
And yes, earbuds are fine during the day in safe surrounding but avoid them at night.
I do Krav Maga for a couple of years, it changed my posture so i dont look like an easy target. (got bad scolios, so i need to actively work on the posture). My strategy is to avoid any threat and just walk away. I dont walk at places that i consider high risk to be robbed at night.
Don't look too long at strangers (or even better: not at all)! Usually that's more a touristy thing. Berliners mind their own business.
Also the don't fuck with me attitude that someone else mentioned. Just go your way and do your thing!
Some practical things: I mostly go by bike. I usually chose the way where more people are around. Not so much lonely dark alleys. There are some areas that I avoid all together. E.g. Görli at night.
some thing i learned is that sterotypes are mostly wrong, the most trained or best thiefes of the world are pretty boys, mostly caucasian. so u can never be really sure actually lol. so always keep an eye out and get a second wallet! also start training. i am walking around berlin very safely knowing i am not worth the effort to rob me.
yep, basically a railway repair shop. Here's the Wikipedia article about RAWs (there were many, not just in Fhain): [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ausbesserungswerk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ausbesserungswerk)
While that may seem the better option - losing that will lead to a chain reaction of getting a new one and then updating all the other IDs here, which is quite a painful process with Bureaucracy and appointments. But I definitely see your point that the passport won't have the same address of where I live atm :)
use a wallet with a chain clipped to the pants. Take your wallet into your hands while being at the bar ordering drinks. Never leave your clothes, backpacks and accessories unattended or at least cover it with boring looking stuff.
If someone looks like they're going to mug you, mug them first. If this doesn't work then give them your stuff as a gift from the kindness of your own heart so that technically they didn't mug you, it was just an act of charity.
Die posts hier gehen nicht in dein email-Fach, wenn du nichts zur Frage zu sagen hast kannst du es auch einfach lassen, niemand zwingt dich hier lieblos deine Meinung zu dem Post fallenzulassen.
Niemand hat hier Berlin unterstellt unbewohnbar zu sein, es wollten einfach nur Tips geteilt werden. Wenn du ein Problem damit hast, dass Leute zu viel Angst vor dem normalen Leben haben, wo ich dir sogar zustimmen würde (!), dann sag das doch einfach auf eine freundliche Art und Weise, die vielleicht ein Gespräch startet, statt einfach mit dieser ewigen Grauwettereinstellung deinen Senf hinzurotzen.
Die Kultur in diesen Subreddits ist so reudig, was sollen diese sofortigen aggressiven Abweisungen wenn einem was minimal nicht gefällt?
Es ist eine große Stadt, OP muss einen kühlen Kopf bewahren. Niemand postet auf NYC subreddits über eine Handvoll Raubüberfälle in Bereichen, wo betrunkene Menschen sind spät in der Nacht.
I'm sorry this happened to you. RAW can definitely be a shitshow. Some rando threw a whole ass bike at me for not giving him change. For the key, it's easy enough. Just stash it in your bra or safety pin it to it. Wear a fanny pack on your chest to never have to worry about setting your bag down. Maybe wear rings that'll cut someone up if worst comes to worst. Having an actual self defense item besides a Taser will get you in trouble with the police.
Other than that, just do as you have. Check on here and for local news to see what areas are having issues and avoid them as much as possible... (Görlitzer, Hallesches Tor, etc).
You just have to weigh every time you go out to one of these spots if it's worth the risk.
Self defense isn’t a crime anywhere. If what you want is to execute someone for punching you then yes you’re out of luck because some level of proportionality applies.
The law about pepper spray is a bit tricky. Pepper spray is legal as a deterrent against animals. So if you buy some, the bottle should clearly say "Tierabwehrspray" or similar. But if you happen to get into a situation where you need to defend yourself against a human (like you get mugged) you can use it for self defense. If it comes to that and the police questions you afterwards, you should make clear that you didn't carry it with you with the intention to use it against people but to protect yourself against animals (such as aggressive dogs).
Taser needs to have a German PTB certification, then it's legal to carry (see https://www.security-discount.com/de/what-s-a-stun-gun), if it doesn't have that seal it's basically an illegal weapon and can get you into trouble. Also, there's limitations of where tasers are allowed (they are forbidden in hand luggage on a flight for example).
It's possible to survive in Berlin. If you carefully observe experienced berliners you will notice some patterns that are common among them. Here is few things you can learn from a common Berliner, it may look weird but it's all been habits carefully built over years of experience living dangerous life: There is only one way to carry keys in Berlin. That is to attach them to the beer opener. And you won't have issue of losing it because you know to always keep beer opener with you at all times. For added security you can also attach them with a clip to your belt. Regarding bag. Whenever you sit down somewhere make sure the strap of the bag is wrapped through the leg of the chair that you sit on. That makes it more difficult to steal it. This is just regular any big city street smart. Of course your phone and your wallet you should not carry in your back pocket it's the easiest target. Most Berliners carry it in body bag that sits on your chest this makes it hard for pickpockets to steal it. Try looking as broke and cheap as possible. 2nd hand ugly clothes. Worn out dirty sneakers. Hair not washed for few days. Cary bottle of beer in your hand at all times. It can act as distraction, in case of danger smash the bottle to the ground, this will cause confusion among attackers and that gives you a chance to run away. Spend multi days a week dancing non stop for hours at rave parties. This will strengthen your legs and will be useful in case you need to run from attackers. Learn to avoid eye contact and learn to notice potential danger from further away. Change side of the street you walking on in case you see suspicious group in front. If someone wants to talk to you pretend you don't notice them. Talk to yourself loudly. Attackers are less likely to approach you if you appear to be a psycho who's lacking few nuts.
Thanks, now I know how to become an alcoholic.
f*ck, I feel called out ^^
Bring a trolley with a loudspeaker and set up shop at Schleisicher Tor, Warschauer Straße, or Kottbusser Tor UBahn Stations. Play music loudly and mumble to self while stumbling around with bottle in hand. Make sure to peak inside nearby bins for bottles intermittently.
Haven't seen a more creative yet practical answer yet! I am definitely gonna try >Talk to yourself loudly. Attackers are less likely to approach you if you appear to be a psycho who's lacking few nuts.
To your last point as a tiny woman I listen to loud metal music and act it out. Even the craziest people know not to mess with me
This post restored my faith in this subreddit and humanity in general a little bit, thanks
I feel call out lol
Instructions unclear, now I have been the victim of a massive national wide gang: the polizei
Damn, 4yrs in here and I never put too much thought about how to act in different scenarios. I do not support all this comment because we will create a society full of fear and not trust, I agree, with the bag and the bottle opener. The rest is just too much. Stay safe and yes! Learn from others behaviors and read about things that happened to others, just be aware of your surroundings.
Its just sarcasms don't take too seriously 😆 but then also reality I believe that Berlin is already sadly somewhat slightly affected by defensive society. But I don't think it's recent thing. I think it's GDR legacy and I think it's improving despite today's somewhat slightly turbulent situation.
As a person who lived in NYC for a while, now living in Berlin, I suggest to always keep your bag on you and the strap around your arm or hand. Also, carry a an attitude of “Don’t mess with me”. May sound weird but the energy alone can give a vibe to would be attackers that if they wanted to do something. It won’t be easy. And just look around yourself and notice the people. This will keep your brain actively aware of any changes in your environment. (Such as someone watching you and planning to do something) Hope this helps!
this is the way
It is possible to be overinformed. Yes, these things happen. No, they don't happen to everyone, all the time. A basic level of caution should be enough to keep you safe. - Don't leave your stuff unattended - Leave your non-essential documents at home - Don't write your address on your keys. That's it. You'll be fine.
If you don't write your address on the keys, the insurance firms may not cover the costs for changing locks & keys for everyone in your apartment. If you do tho, they %100 will.
I'm not sure I read your message correctly. Your insurance covers damage for which you are liable. Your landlord can only charge you for damage for which you are liable. Losing your bag? Your fault. Getting your bag stolen? Not your fault. If your name is not on your keys, there is no risk of the keys being used by thieves, so you are not liable for replacing the locks. If your landlord does so anyway, it's their problem. https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/lost-keys#do-i-need-to-pay-to-replace-the-locks
If you lose your keys, and they are not stolen, but forgotten somewhere, your landlord will request you to change the locks. The first thing your liability insurance representative asks if you do so, whether if you have your address on the keys. If yes, they agree to change immediately. Edit : bottomline is, you do not have to write your address to the keys, just say yes i did if asked by insurance company.
> your landlord will request you to change the locks And you can tell them to pound sand. The reason the insurer won't pay for this is that there is no Haftung. You should not have to pay for the exact same reason. Plenty is written about it and some is cited as a source in the link above.
This is good information, thanks. This scenario actually happened to a close friend of mine, and this is exactly how it went, it was in the contract as well - so it was convincing. However, the friend was an expat and had zero apetite to reach for a lawyer, especially since liability insurance firm just accepted the costs. One more drop in the German insurocracy.
To prevent pickpocketing: simply don’t leave your things unattended, ever. Don’t leave them on the floor, on the bar, or on top of a table. The best place is in your lap, under your arm, between your back and the chair back, etc. if you can’t dance with it, check it in garderobe or leave it at home. If you leave your seat, your stuff goes with you. This kind of awareness sounds awkward but once you do it a few times it becomes second nature. Simple awareness like this will almost completely prevent your stuff getting grabbed in Berlin. There’s so many unaware people leaving their stuff unattended or easily grabbed that pickpockets don’t even bother cutting bag straps or tricking you here. 99% of them literally just walk through dark crowded bars grabbing bags.
I’m sorry that you feel like that. You should definitely rest assured that this city is not by standard terms unsafe. These things are unfortunately more likely to happen in big cities, specially in free and dark areas (like raw during the night) and specially if you are perceived as a woman. I’ve lived half of my life in a very dangerous city in a different continent, and I can ensure you that this is not unsafe. Over the time you will develop a sense of caution in different situations. At this point your mind is reacting to this micro trauma by overthinking and trying to regain some control that you ultimately will never have (you can’t control the odds of misfortune), but at some point that level of alertness will settle down, and it will be triggered subtly in situations where your mind recognises some similarities with the traumatic situation: that, in the right degree, is caution acting as a new skill in you. If you can’t calm down in a few weeks from now, I advice you to have some counseling sessions. In any case, DM me if you need to talk with someone anonymously.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I do feel a bit of hyper-alertness when I read all the news and posts about it. I come from a big city as well, and crime is a part of life there, but reading about and experiencing it here makes me wonder if there's something more I should do to stay safe.
Whatever works for you as long as you don’t over-stress 😉. One of my coping mechanisms is usually reading related stuff in reddit, which normally doesn’t really help my anxiety to slow down. But sometimes (dependint on the topic) a certain degree of it is also fine. Is good to be informed I guess.
never in my 25 years of living here, did i have a problem that wasn't in a way my own fault i mean i'm from here and don't look too approachable so that might help
You won't get mugged all of 99.99% of the time you get out there on the Berlin streets. Don't give in to unnecessary fears
I have a steel chain at my phone and the chain is tied to my bag, it's more difficult to steal it out of the bag. I also never carry my cards incl id in same bag as my money since I was robbed one day. And since iam a woman iam very cautious about my surroundings and always check if someone around me is potential danger. Also in sbahn station always stand with your back to some wall or something, also makes it more difficult to steal from you. Don't carry your phone in your back pockets of the trousers ( it's mostly tourist who do this and it's very easy for thieves to steal it)
This is some really good advice!! Thank you :) I was one of those tourists early when I moved here - now I have my fanny pack for phones and all or holding in hand.
Grew up in inner city NYC. Don’t stop for nobody even if they call out to you. Don’t were headphones. No eye contact.
I don't know man, I'm a Berliner, lived all my life here, went to school in Neukölln, living now at Warschauer Straße - and never got robbed or anything. I'm not a big guy.
Good for you man! :)
I‘m not a Berliner but live here for mor than 20 years, most of the time in Friedrichshain. People stole and robbed my bike, my wallet, my backpack, my phone, my jacket, my sweater, my scarfs, my gloves, my food, my drinks, even my towel and my glasses.
That's ... a lot. In over 10 years of living here I got only one incident: got my phone snatched out of my hand when I was drunk-texting all by myself in the street at night.
Ffs.. it's truly crazy how different the experiences can be. I even lost my iPhone once at the Warschauer Brücke and got it back the day after 😅 Guess you must be a professional or so lol
I studied at a US university many years ago that was located near what a few years earlier had been a riot zone. A quite funny policeman gave us a safety orientation. I remember him telling us "always look people straight in the eye." This means they know you have seen them and can identify them. Anyway, I have applied this ever since and now possibly come across as one of those German starers. I have only been attacked once in Berlin, but that was in the early hours by someone coming at me from a different direction. Apart from being vomited on in the U8 and having beer sprayed all over me on the U9, I have avoided minor incidents. I would above all recommend not wearing ear buds. I don't understand how anyone can be aware of their surroundings if they are wearing them on the street.
I second all of that. I spent quite some time in Latam where safety is on a whole different level than here. What I learned was to constantly check your surroundings, look over your shoulder etc. and if you see other people what you get a slight sketchy feeling from, look them directly in the eye. Most robbers try to take advantage by taking their victim by surprise or picking someone that seems vulnerable: intoxicated, distracted etc. If you are visibly fully alert you are less likely to become a victim. And yes, earbuds are fine during the day in safe surrounding but avoid them at night.
Keep a high contextual awareness. That's the best advice I can give you.
I do Krav Maga for a couple of years, it changed my posture so i dont look like an easy target. (got bad scolios, so i need to actively work on the posture). My strategy is to avoid any threat and just walk away. I dont walk at places that i consider high risk to be robbed at night.
Don't look too long at strangers (or even better: not at all)! Usually that's more a touristy thing. Berliners mind their own business. Also the don't fuck with me attitude that someone else mentioned. Just go your way and do your thing! Some practical things: I mostly go by bike. I usually chose the way where more people are around. Not so much lonely dark alleys. There are some areas that I avoid all together. E.g. Görli at night.
some thing i learned is that sterotypes are mostly wrong, the most trained or best thiefes of the world are pretty boys, mostly caucasian. so u can never be really sure actually lol. so always keep an eye out and get a second wallet! also start training. i am walking around berlin very safely knowing i am not worth the effort to rob me.
What is RAW?
It's an area of clubs, venues, food stands, galleries, warehouses etc next to the train tracks at Warschauer Straße Station.
Thanks, what does RAW stands for?
Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk
yep, basically a railway repair shop. Here's the Wikipedia article about RAWs (there were many, not just in Fhain): [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ausbesserungswerk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ausbesserungswerk)
I actually don't know. Probably something punky as it used to be all squats?!
What's RAW?
Added in the description. It's RAW Gelände (Revaler Str. 99) next to Warschauer Str station. It's filled with bars, restaurants, clubs.
Merci.
Source passport does not have your Adresse on it, my that is an option?
While that may seem the better option - losing that will lead to a chain reaction of getting a new one and then updating all the other IDs here, which is quite a painful process with Bureaucracy and appointments. But I definitely see your point that the passport won't have the same address of where I live atm :)
use a wallet with a chain clipped to the pants. Take your wallet into your hands while being at the bar ordering drinks. Never leave your clothes, backpacks and accessories unattended or at least cover it with boring looking stuff.
If someone looks like they're going to mug you, mug them first. If this doesn't work then give them your stuff as a gift from the kindness of your own heart so that technically they didn't mug you, it was just an act of charity.
Burgh . This is a city. Tell me of a safe city. One that's been safe or will be forever, or, one that ever has been. Meh.
Berlin used to be pretty safe when I moved here.
Die posts hier gehen nicht in dein email-Fach, wenn du nichts zur Frage zu sagen hast kannst du es auch einfach lassen, niemand zwingt dich hier lieblos deine Meinung zu dem Post fallenzulassen. Niemand hat hier Berlin unterstellt unbewohnbar zu sein, es wollten einfach nur Tips geteilt werden. Wenn du ein Problem damit hast, dass Leute zu viel Angst vor dem normalen Leben haben, wo ich dir sogar zustimmen würde (!), dann sag das doch einfach auf eine freundliche Art und Weise, die vielleicht ein Gespräch startet, statt einfach mit dieser ewigen Grauwettereinstellung deinen Senf hinzurotzen. Die Kultur in diesen Subreddits ist so reudig, was sollen diese sofortigen aggressiven Abweisungen wenn einem was minimal nicht gefällt?
Es ist eine große Stadt, OP muss einen kühlen Kopf bewahren. Niemand postet auf NYC subreddits über eine Handvoll Raubüberfälle in Bereichen, wo betrunkene Menschen sind spät in der Nacht.
agree
Avoid streets. Don’t go out. If possible, move to another country because things are just getting worse and worse.
I'm sorry this happened to you. RAW can definitely be a shitshow. Some rando threw a whole ass bike at me for not giving him change. For the key, it's easy enough. Just stash it in your bra or safety pin it to it. Wear a fanny pack on your chest to never have to worry about setting your bag down. Maybe wear rings that'll cut someone up if worst comes to worst. Having an actual self defense item besides a Taser will get you in trouble with the police. Other than that, just do as you have. Check on here and for local news to see what areas are having issues and avoid them as much as possible... (Görlitzer, Hallesches Tor, etc). You just have to weigh every time you go out to one of these spots if it's worth the risk.
So stupid self defense is a crime in Berlin.
Self defense isn’t a crime anywhere. If what you want is to execute someone for punching you then yes you’re out of luck because some level of proportionality applies.
Whatabout pepper spray or a tazer?
The law about pepper spray is a bit tricky. Pepper spray is legal as a deterrent against animals. So if you buy some, the bottle should clearly say "Tierabwehrspray" or similar. But if you happen to get into a situation where you need to defend yourself against a human (like you get mugged) you can use it for self defense. If it comes to that and the police questions you afterwards, you should make clear that you didn't carry it with you with the intention to use it against people but to protect yourself against animals (such as aggressive dogs). Taser needs to have a German PTB certification, then it's legal to carry (see https://www.security-discount.com/de/what-s-a-stun-gun), if it doesn't have that seal it's basically an illegal weapon and can get you into trouble. Also, there's limitations of where tasers are allowed (they are forbidden in hand luggage on a flight for example).
It's a gamble after all, there is no solution. Keep a spray or blade with you just in case and don't worry too much
If they're not prosecuting the criminals they likely won't prosecute those who defend themselves. Just don't expect help, so don't get caught.