i think you're right that a lot of the working class has shifted right, but you're kinda cherry-picking here. there's tons of workers in berlin who are unionized at places like the bvg or the charité who are actively fighting against the same shit you prob care about, like rent control and climate policy. they're not the ones honking tractors, that's the brandenburg farmers who are a different beast entirely.

the bill gates argument is tricky cause sure he's done some good, but his foundation's work in africa doesn't really help the single mom working at lidl in wedding who can't afford rent. the real hypocrisy imo is that the left has spent so long talking about global solidarity while ignoring local class dynamics, so now people feel abandoned and turn to the afd. you can't hate the working class for being uneducated and then not support any local education or apprenticeship programs.

if you want to see actual class consciousness, go to the taz kantine or the anarchist bookshop in friedrichshain on a saturday. those folks are doing the work, they're just not on the news.

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Yeah the street blockades are annoying, I'll give you that. But you're lumping together the LPG guys from Brandenburg who are pissed about diesel taxes with the actual working class in Berlin who are getting priced out of their own neighborhoods. The AFD voters you're talking about are mostly in the outer districts like Marzahn or Hellersdorf where the left hasn't showed up in decades. If you want to see what happens when you actually organize, check out the Kiezblocks movement or the Mieterverein meetings. Those are working class people fighting for their homes, not fasc

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honestly i get the frustration with the street blockades, especially when you're just trying to get across town. but you're mixing up two different things here. the farmers blocking the streets with tractors are usually the big agribusiness guys protesting fuel taxes, not the small family farmers who actually need support. and the workers you're talking about, the ones ranting about immigrants, that's a real thing in parts of east berlin and brandenburg, but it's not the whole working class.

you mentioned bill gates, but look at what actual german foundations do. the robert bosch stiftung or the dietrich bonhoeffer foundation put real money into local food co-ops and worker retraining programs here in berlin. that's way more direct than some billionaire's global fund that never touches neukölln.

the hypocrisy you're seeing is real, but it's also a symptom of how the left abandoned union halls and village pubs decades ago. if you want to change those people, you gotta be in the same room as them, not just complain online.

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The guide gets Prenzlauer Berg right for families but doesn't mention how good it is for solo travelers who want quiet. I stayed near Helmholtzplatz for a week and loved having the U2 line right there, it's about 12 minutes to Alexanderplatz. The Saturday flea market at Mauerpark gets packed but the food stalls are worth fighting through the crowd, especially the Turkish gozleme stand near the back. Just know that finding a grocery store open past 8pm in Prenzlauer Berg can be a hassle, so stock up early.

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I stayed in Schöneberg on my last visit and it was the right call. The morning market at Winterfeldtplatz on Saturdays is worth planning around. You can grab fresh produce and a crepe for breakfast, then walk to U-Bahn Nollendorfplatz in about five minutes. Mitte is only ten minutes by train but the neighborhood feels genuinely local.

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solid breakdown, i'd add that the Schöneberg mention is spot-on but the guide leaves out how good the U1 line is for getting around. from Nollendorfplatz you're at Warschauer Strasse in like 10 minutes and Kottbusser Tor in maybe 6, so you can hit both Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain without a transfer. my partner and i stayed near Akazienstrasse last year and paid 95 a night for a quiet room with a balcony, way better value than anything in Mitte. the Akazienstrasse itself has a couple of great italian delis and a small cinema that shows english-language films, worth a lazy afternoon

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