Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

First order of business. Find good WiFi spots, since that is my only means of keeping in touch while there. I don't care if they also happen to be good eateries as well ;-)

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

In Germany according to latest court decision it is even prohibited to connect to OPEN private WLAN networks without affirmation of the owner. Fortunately there are more and more open, free public WLANs in small coffee bars and restaurants.

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

This is one of the most monumentally stupid ideas out of german polititcs in the last years (besides the Bundestrojaner) as far as my understanding of this law goes even owning the binary or source code to netcat and tracert could be considered illegal.
If they want to, they could probably at least harass anyone who has some linux distribution on his computer.

Oh and don't let anyone tell you that Beck's is bad, just try it. And if you want a fun beer try to get Flensburgers in the bottle, opening it is almost as much fun as drinking it.
I would really recommend trying to sample different beers, there is actually quite a varity in the type (Pils, Bock, Weizen, Alt) as well as in the way it is served (Kölsch, Pils, Weizen).
When i was in Berlin the Kulturbrauerei was an interessting place to spend the evening - to they still serve roasted grasshopers there?

As far as typical german food goes:
You probably won't find much on the street, besides "Döner", the famous Berlin "Currywurst" (hotdog sausages cut into pieces with spicy ketchup and bread) and various kind of meat in a bun.
But the german cuisine is actually very diverse, i think potatos are pretty much universal, but you have everything ranging from fish and Suckling pig to Maultasche, Leberkäse and Dibbelabbes.
However there aren't that many famous vegetarian dishes.

As far as money goes, some of the smaller shops, especially food or newspaper stalls might not accept plastic, so it can be usefull to have some coins around. (And you can also enjoy our colorfull and diverese european currency - not every single note has to be green!)
For toilets i usually just look for the nearest McDonalds, you have at least one in every reasonably sized city in every country, and they are usually pretty clean and for free.

Have fun in Berlin and just make sure to post as soon as the N900 (or whatever it is that will change the following talks) is announced.

Bye,
NsN

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

Look into getting Boingo Mobile to address your Wifi needs, for only $8 a month unlimited use world wide. In Europe you will find most hotels charge for wifi by the minute. Boingo Mobile have contracts with many of the wifi providers for a low flat rate of $8 a month. If you don't like it you get your money back!

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

Can I buy it today for a month? no long term contract?

bun

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

Apparently there's 30 day free trial...? :) Maybe there's a catch though.

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

No catch, been using it for sometime now. :)
Believe it or not there are some companies that are honest, I know that sounds strange but it is true.

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

Yes month by month, until you cancel it.

Re: berlin trip for the americans
 

It's not allowed to smoke in bars anymore but you can still find some where it's allowed if you sign something so that they can cover their ***, or in private clubs.
Last time I was in berlin, I was smoking in the bar, but okay it wasn't only tobacco ;)
Also in this bar, the cocktails were at 3.5 euros during happy hour (I can't remember the name of the bar, strangely)
If you want to get the taste of Munich beer, order this, after 5 of these glasses, you'll speak fluently german :) You could try weissbier (white beer, I hate it) and schwarzbier (black beer, my prefered). They also make strange mixes, like beer+cocacola, schpessi (orange juice+coca), colaweiss (white wine+ cola, awfull). I do not like Becks, it's really low on alcohol, and the most commercial bier. Germany have so many traditionnal beers, it would be a pity to only drink becks, IMO.
For wireless, hum.. I sometimes connect to open AP, have a lot of "pen testing" tools installed. Unless you do something really bad on an open AP and stay long enough next to the AP, you are really safe. Stop the paranoia! But anyway, there are very few nowadays. Professional pentesters have an official authorization from the government.
I'm living in Germany for 4 years now and still do not speak really good german (a shame) but nevertheless have made a lot of german friends. And I think in Berlin, the people are more easy to get in touch with than where I live in Munich.
I use this online dictionnary: http://dict.leo.org
As for security and this moneybelt, well, it's Berlin, not Johanesburg :) Just keep your bag closed, keep your wallet in your front pocket or put it in the bag but not in the front pocket. Common sense in fact.. I find germany really safe.
The night life is huge.
If some of the people I know plan to go to the Oktoberfest, make a sign, I'll pay you a beer. Unfortunatly I can't go to berlin..