Coronapocalypse Now!

Here in Berlin, it was a mixed start to the #coronapocalypse, as it is affectionately known on Twitter.

It was a sunny and warm-ish Saturday for the first time in ages, so everybody was out taking walks, jogging, smiling, laughing, making daisy chains, preparing altars for Summer Solstice, etc. Typical spring stuff. 

But as we all learned yesterday, everything that is unnecessary for the city's running will close down next Tuesday: bars, restaurants, nightclubs (yes even Mensch Meier). Schools and daycare facilities will close, too. So a lot of parents are panic buying at the moment. The rest of us are collecting bottles and going on a diet until we hear more about government compensation plans.

I did all my shopping the other day but today, I had to go to the shops twice to pick up a few things I forgot: once in the morning at 11 am and once at 6 pm. In the morning, everyone was happy and relatively calm, like Sainsbury's before a long bank holiday weekend. People were ambling around, buying some extra stuff but the shelves were well-stocked.

In the evening, on the other hand, it was like walking into a scene from Cold War Yugoslavia* with all the shelves empty, mums in dark clothes looking hysterical, kids riding bikes through the empty aisles and some people blatantly just hanging out and drinking beer because, you know, no one can actually BUY anything there, anymore (nothing important anyway). It was like a gymnasium / social centre from behind ze Iron Curtain, as imagined by Hollywood.

I got lucky - they still had the decaf coffee I wanted. Then I got the hell out of there. The only question is: will I use up all my 'just in case I get sick' stockpile just to avoid going back in there, again?

How was it for you? Leave a comment in the box below!

Follow me on Twitter



* if Bill Bryson's to be believed, anyway.