Celebrated for compromise, Berliners are accepting their city's smoking ban because it is not total. Jonathan Hart listens to the debate in the rebuilt German capital The usually gruff faces adopted by Berliners mask a wry sense of humour and fiercely democratic spirit; inherent attributes facing a severe test with the introduction of a smoking ban in January. The prognosis for what is famously integral to local culture was not good. Widely viewed as inveterate smokers – drink in one hand, cigarette in the other – this formerly divided but reunited city’s proudly reactionary citizens were expected either to stubbornly ignore the ban or spark up a modern-day version of the Cold War. In the event, the ban inside the cafes, bars, clubs and restaurants at the heart of a usually wild, carefree and smoky social life has been accepted with surprising equanimity. Chiefly because Berliners have been given choice. To smoke indoors with fellow smokers where outlets can provide separate facilities. An added fillip is that the ban will not be strictly imposed until June; a period of grace that not only allows these rooms to be put in place but also further to ease the ban through the summer, when the majority of smokers will be outside anyway. Meanwhile, with a shrug of the shoulders and an understanding nod at such an infringement of liberties, the doormen at top hostelries like Rocco Forte’s Hotel de Rome – hangout for cigar-toting film stars, lawyers, politicians and well-heeled art dealers – politely provide highly polished ashtrays on a stand. Grateful, no doubt, to exchange more than passing pleasantries and put the world to rights in local fashion with their luminary guests. In the same vein, a solution to the ban likely will be found for the popular beer-swilling, smoke-filled Eckkneipen, or one-room corner bars, that have no space for separate sections. After all, the City on the Spree is principally a place of compromise, forced by history to change and change again; a city at the vortex of successive orders over the past century alone. Albert Speer's 1930’s visionary redesign of what was to become the futuristic world capital of Germania by 1950, came to nought because he was on the wrong side and the world decided otherwise. Then, divided by ideologies at the end of World War Two, two separate cities were imposed on bewildered locals. The badly bombed western sector was fashioned into a new capitalist showpiece with broad streets for a future that was to be the motorcar, while the lesser damaged eastern sector retained the finest of old buildings, along with a stifling and ultimately bankrupt regime. Change came again after the fall of the Wall and the costly process of German reunification through yet more construction or destruction: lauded, resented or argued over in equal measure. Today, with the car the new pariah, and multiple theatres, opera houses and capital status they arguably can’t afford, Berliners are still arguing the toss. Smoking ban included. Fast facts Currency: Euro (€1=US$1.45)
Tipping: optional as hotels and restaurants add a service charge; 5%-10% for taxi drivers or round-up the fare
Time: GMT + 1 (+2 summer)
Electricity: 220 volts (two-pin European-style plugs)
Public holidays 2008: March 21, 24; May 1, 11, 12; October 3; December 25, 26
Climate: winters can be bitterly cold – with temperatures often well below freezing – and damp, too. Summers tend to be mild, cloudy and often wet, but with the occasional heatwave. Spring and autumn are generally mild
Airport: Schonefeld (SXF) 18km/12 miles south east of Berlin. AirportExpress rail link (via shuttle bus to station) to the city centre, operating at 30-minute intervals, with a journey time of about 30 minutes. Taxis typically take around half an hour and cost €30-€35. Tegel (TXL), (8km/5miles) north west of the city, has an airport bus connections to Kurt-Schumacher-Platz or Jakob-Kaiser Platz underground stations. A JetExress airport shuttle bus takes around 30 minutes into central Berlin. Tempelhof (THF) is 3km/2 miles south of the city but is schduled for closure in October
Hotels: Adlon Kempinski, Alexander Plaza, Concorde, Crowne Plaza, Grand Esplanade, Grand Hyatt, Hilton, Hotel de Rome, InterContinental, Kempinski Bristol, Palace, Radisson SAS, Steigenberger, Swissôtel, Regent, Ritz-Carlton, Westin Grand
Business hours: 08.00/09.00-16.00/17.00
International dialling code: 00 49
In emergency: 110 (police), 112 (fire and ambulance) business do’s and don’ts
Do be prepared for a fairly formal approach to business
Do make appointments and be punctual – good time-keeping is important
Do remember a ban on smoking in public places was introduced in January, although it won't be enforced until this summer
Don’t suggest a breakfast meeting – lunch is generally a better option
Don’t be tempted to cross the street against a pedestrian light – in Germany you run the risk of an on-the-spot fine
Don’t attempt to get by in school-room German; cosmopolitan Berlin probably has more perfect English speakers than anywhere in Germany
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