Impressions from a trip to a country once leading in Europe.
Impressions from a trip to a country once leading in Europe.
I first went to Germany in the summer of 1989. My last visit was in 2016. In 2016, I went to many cities and towns, giving numerous conferences in different regions. In total, I might have travelled close to 20 times to this country. Earlier this month, after a decade-long break, I was back in Germany again for two conferences in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main.
We spent as much time at Brandenburg Airport as we did on the plane
Our plane landed at Brandenburg Airport right on time and stopped at the designated spot. We began waiting for them to open the doors. The stairs didn’t arrive for another 45 minutes. “Now the luggage will probably take forever too, we’ll be waiting ages at baggage claim,” we thought. But this was “unfounded,” because instead, we spent an hour and a half waiting in the passport line.
While we stood in a queue that stretched from the main hall into the side corridors, a large group of American tourists asked the airport staff, “Do we have to wait in line too?” was a “nice touch”.
After spending nearly as much time inside Brandenburg Airport as we had on the flight, we met our friends waiting outside and headed to where we’d be staying. When we grumbled about the airport, they replied, “That’s nothing, it took more than ten years to build the airport itself.” Then they went on to tell us a few jokes that had circulated among locals about Berlin’s eternally unfinished main airport.
Germans aren’t reproducing
After resting a bit at home, we went out for a walk. Right across from the home was an elementary school. It was dismissal time. I watched the kids coming out. They were of all backgrounds, yet I couldn’t spot a single blond-haired one.
The same scene repeated itself on the subway. No, I’m not trying to make a point about a “foreign invasion” of Germany. What I find striking is that ethnic Germans simply aren’t reproducing.
Israel, Ukraine, and İmamoğlu
To make good use of our free time, we headed to Alexanderplatz. One of Berlin’s major squares. On our way, we passed the Rote Rathaus that houses Berlin’s Senate. In front of the historic building, eight flags were flying, four on the left, four on the right.
As usual, the ones on the left were the flags of the European Union, Germany, and the state of Berlin. Right next to them was the Israeli flag at a time when the genocide in Gaza was in full speed. On the right side, all four flags were Ukrainian. Later, we learned from Turkish media that the next day they even placed a mock-up of Ekrem İmamoğlu’s prison cell there to show solidarity with him. The SPD, which governs Berlin, had completed the team.
Neighborhoods Berlin’s taxi drivers can’t enter
After visiting the DDR Museum near Alexanderplatz, we took a taxi. The driver was Turkish. While I was on the phone with İsmail Özçelik, a veteran journalist from the Turkish press, talking about my impressions of Germany, the driver couldn’t help but listen in. When I hung up, he joined the conversation:
“I’ve been in Germany for 50 years. It’s not the same Germany anymore. Things have gotten much worse especially since the war in Ukraine. If I had the opportunity I’d go there, but everyone I know is here now. There are neighborhoods in Berlin I just don’t enter anymore. Too dangerous. And you wouldn’t believe how many people get in saying, ‘I forgot my keys or wallet, I’ll be right back.’ They’re delivering drugs to homes! Germany has really changed. A lot.”
Deutsche Bahn, too, let us down
The day after the Berlin conference, we went to the Hauptbahnhof, Berlin’s central train station, to catch our train to Frankfurt. I thought to myself, “At least we won’t have the same trouble here that we did at the airport.” I had full faith in Deutsche Bahn. From my past experience, I knew it ran like clockwork.
We were a little late, so we rushed to the platform. “Phew, made it,” I said. But guess what! The train was delayed by 53 minutes. While we were staring at the display board, an elderly German couple next to us joked, “Well, at least it’s less than an hour. That’s an achievement these days.” But half an hour later, even that “achievement” was gone, the train was delayed another 45 minutes.
Thankfully, the Frankfurt conference wasn’t until the next day. But if the delay got any worse, we were going to miss the Galatasaray–Beşiktaş match.
The man collecting bottles at the leaky train station
Since we had plenty of time to pass, we decided to grab a drink. We went back toward the main entrance of the Hauptbahnhof. The roof was leaking from the rain. We looked around for a dry spot to sit. With our drinks in hand, we finally found a bench. A man carrying a bundle stopped and stood right next to us.
My friend from Berlin explained what was going on. There are a lot of people who make a living collecting glass and aluminum bottles. He was waiting for us to finish our drinks. My friend said people no longer throw empty bottles in the trash, they just leave them where they are so that someone comes by to collect them.
Car number 6 doesn’t exist!
We chatted away and time flew. The train hadn’t been delayed again. We headed back to the platform. “Great, the train’s here. We’ll make it to the match!” we said. But… our car wasn’t there!
We checked the tickets again: Car number 6. Yet the train ended at car number 5. More people started looking around for “number 6.” At least we aren’t alone. We found a staff member. “Just a minute,” she said and walked off. Everyone waited patiently. I joked to my friend, “If this were in Türkiye, people would be grumbling and shouting by now. Germans are calm.”
The staff member came back. She said that car 6 had been cancelled. They started reassigning us to other cars, which of course took more time. Another 20-minute delay.
Still, we were thankful just to be on our way to Frankfurt. I later learned that sometimes trains get cancelled altogether at the very last minute. When we finally departed, we also learned that Deutsche Bahn had even changed the route to Frankfurt skipping some intermediate stops entirely. Passengers heading to those stations couldn’t even leave Berlin.
We turned on the TV in Frankfurt just as the referee blew the opening whistle for the match.
A torched restaurant in the city of the European Central Bank
The next day, after the Frankfurt conference, we went out to find a place to sit downtown. An old friend who had long lived in Germany started telling us about Frankfurt’s history.
Then we passed a restaurant that was completely gutted inside. He told us that it had been torched not long ago. The mafia had tried to swallow it up, but when the owner refused, they first smashed the slot machines inside, and when that didn’t work, they set it on fire. We are talking about any rundown neighborhood, here is the very center of Frankfurt, the financial capital not just of Germany, but of all Europe.
The heaters are off
The next day, we were heading to Cologne. Before hitting the road, we decided to grab a döner. Döner in Germany is a bit different from in Türkiye. It counts as a kind of “local specialty” here. You have to try if you are here. We walked into a döner shop; it was cold inside. I asked, “Aren’t the heaters on?” The owner replied, “We’re not turning them on yet.” Not to get sick of “energy saving,” we loaded our döners with extra chili.
Drug and teacher shortages
Actually, we’re used to the cold in Moscow, but right before coming to Germany, I’d caught one of those seasonal bugs. So, I thought I’d better stop by a pharmacy. My friend reacted: “I hope you don’t need antibiotics.” When I asked why, he explained that Germany had recently been facing a medicine shortage especially antibiotics. I said, “Come on, really? This is the land of Bayer! Germany used to be called the ‘pharmacy of the world.’”
But he was right. And it’s not just medicine. Germany is also facing a serious shortage of teachers. To fill the gap, the country has started recruiting educators from abroad. Germany can no longer train enough people at home to educate its children.
In the hands of the German autobahns
Next stop: Cologne. I was scheduled to appear on Kanal Avrupa, one of the long-established Turkish TV channels in Germany. But after our experiences with flights and trains, we were afraid of being late. So we decided to put our faith in the famous German autobahns.
We took a bus to Cologne. We departed from the terminal where most buses head toward Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine. We waited about 20 minutes in line to board, but at least we arrived on time.
After the program on Kanal Avrupa, we weren’t in a rush to get back to Berlin, so we took the risk and traveled by train again. This time, we made it to Germany’s capital with only a 30-minute delay.
It’s not a coincidence for the Brandenburg Airport
Nowtime to head back. This time, the passport control was done. I boarded on time. The doors closed. But we didn’t move. Fifteen minutes later, the captain explained that the delay wasn’t on their end. They were still waiting for the luggage to be loaded. We ended up waiting in the plane for over an hour before takeoff. Delays and long waits aren’t exceptions at all for the Brandenburg Airport.
“Even during the Yeltsin years, trains ran on time”
Yes, daily life in Germany no longer runs like clockwork. Trains in a country once renowned for its punctuality now routinely run late.
When I told a friend in Moscow about Germany’s railways, he said, “Even during the Yeltsin years, when the country was falling apart, trains still ran on time.”
Nothing in this paper is exaggerated or fabricated. My point isn’t to disparage Germany, but to show what has become of Europe, especially afterwards since the war in Ukraine. I’ve written about this before. Witnessing it firsthand this time, I wanted to share my observations.
And what’s happened in the last month reinforces my observations and previous writings. Here are a few examples:
A new phase of militarization
The European Union revealed its “Preserving Peace – Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030”,. The Roadmap marks a new phase in the continent’s militarization.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged the US government to strengthen its support for Ukraine, citing the “successes” of the Trump administration in West Asia. Meanwhile, AfD Co-Chair Tino Chrupalla dismissed Merz’s accusations that Russia was supplying drones to European countries as baseless hysteria.
Despite all the armament efforts, The Telegraph reported that Merz’s plan to build “Europe’s strongest army”, a pledge he made when taking office in May, has already collapsed.
Economic collapse at a dramatic level
German auto giants Porsche announced losses approaching 1 billion euros due to declining sales, Volkswagen faced a new production crisis.
The German Institute for Economic Research (IFO) declared that Germany’s economic downturn has now reached a dramatic stage. According to its latest report, the country’s economic output has stagnated since 2018, public spending is surging, and real production capacity is shrinking. The report warns that it could last a quarter of a century.
Germany’s weak international standing
According to Die Welt, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had to cancel his visit to China because no one was willing to meet with him. Although he’s been in power for six months, Merz has yet to visit China. A date for his visit had been set, but Xi Jinping couldn’t “find the time” to meet him.. In addition, Merz’s isolation at the Gaza summit in Egypt has become a subject of ridicule in Germany.
New political crises on the horizon
A INSA Institute poll shows public discontent with the Merz government has reached record highs. 66% of Germans say they aren’t satisfied with the government’s performance. This is a three-point increase since October 10. Nearly half of respondents also believe that the “black-red coalition” (the CDU/CSU bloc and SPD) will collapse before the current parliamentary term ends in 2029.
Meanwhile, the anti-war AfD maintains its position as the leading party with 27% support in the latest polls.
As seen, the more armament leads to sinking into a deeper economic and political turmoil. What used to seem unusual in Germany is now becoming the usual.
Portuguese speaking Turkish in museum ticket desk
Of course, there are things in Germany that haven’t changed. First among them Turks. They are everywhere as ever, even more: workers, tradesmen, entrepreneurs, white-collared workers. Even the Portuguese working at the ticket desk of the DDR Museum talked to us in Turkish.
Turks have become an inseparable and permanent part of German life. It’s now impossible to imagine Germany without them and solve a problem without them.
BSW and AfD rising among Turks
Naturally, Germany’s fate is the fate of the Turkish population there. From what I observed, anti-war sentiment among Turks is quite high. They see quite clearly how the war impacts their lives. That’s why, according to a poll ordered by the CDU, after the SPD, the two most popular parties among Turks are BSW and AfD, although they are the newly established. Both parties openly oppose Europe’s policy on Ukraine.
The arming Europe will confront us in Cyprus
Europe’s armament doesn’t only affect Turks in Germany. Because this Europe won’t just be a problem for Russia.
Given the developments in Cyprus, Türkiye may find itself facing a war-drumming Europe in the Eastern Mediterranean as well. Along with Israel’s military buildup in Southern Cyprus and the US’ focus on the Eastern Mediterranean, there is now a Europe that would oppose the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
So, the Turks in Germany will take another hit from Europe’s rearmament.
Time for Turks to take action!
All these developments are pushing Turks in Germany to have more say in German politics. From issues in their own lives to the problems Türkiye is facing, which they could never detach from, many factors are pushing Turks to take a stand against the warmongering in Europe. In this regard, AfD and BSW are emerging as realistic political options for them.
The time for Turks to take action is coming!