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Henry Hübchen Calls Berlin Run-Down, Retreats to Baltic Coast

A new interview frames his critique through a lifelong Berlin perspective shaped by the DDR years.

Overview

  • He says Berlin is “overwhelmed with itself” and “run-down,” voicing the complaints in a Berliner Kurier interview reported on Nov. 29.
  • He cites daily multiplying problems in infrastructure, housing construction, integration, schools, and unreachable public offices.
  • He describes an aggressive mood in public spaces, especially where cyclists, scooter users, and drivers encounter one another.
  • He criticizes bike lanes marked by concrete curbs that he says invite crashes and broken car rims.
  • He now spends most of the year on the Baltic Sea with family, embracing idleness and occasional low-budget films with friends at SurfCenter Wustrow, a view informed by his roots in Berlin-Charlottenburg and upbringing in the Soviet sector through the DDR era.