pattycakes_
Can turn naughty
But there are nice bars in Berlin aren't there? I remember one with a table-tennis table - I'm not saying that that was a good thing but it was there to entice people to stay.
And do they have bookies in Berlin? As far as I know they don't have them in Lisbon. If they do they are hidden and specialised - I think UK is quite unusual in having loads of bookie shops in every town square.
They have bookies here as yyaldrin says. They kind of resemble TV newsrooms. Nice and brightly lit. Colors easy on the eye. The cashiers beind a nice big fancy desk and multiple tvs showing the sports on the walls, each with several tickers all going at once which seems totally disorientating and maybe the only jarring aspect. Everything else is luxo modern. But, the people who go there are exactly the same as the ones who go to the bookies described in your post. I've never been inside, but always look through the window when I walk past. A few years ago I lived right opposite one. Factoid: most of Germany shuts down on a Sunday. Forget doing any shopping or even popping out for a loaf.. unless you live near a petrol station or a main train station in a major city, where they have supermarkets which have a special exemption. The only businesses allowed to open are bakeries and bookies. Restaurants and bars exempt ofc. Always struck me as strange that that's the one activity they encourage on the Lord's day of rest.
As for the bars, maybe it's Berlin, or an East German thing. Or maybe it's an ex Soviet thing? Idk. Actually, yeah it's probably East Eu/Ex Soviet because you can find similar shit in other Eastern Euro countries, especially outside of the tourist areas. Maybe that's what makes Berlin a bit different. Even in the tourist areas this style is still everywhere. I haven't been around the country much tbh, but they seem to specialise in a type of bar and social hang out spot (which can also be a kebab shop or sometimes even an off license,) where its like a weird spell was cast in 1987 that forbade the decor to ever be updated. Kitsch doesn't begin to describe. Hard to explain exactly what it is. Think of those airbrushed paintings you get on the rides at the funfair. You know, the ones of celebrities, badly rendered but still recognisable. With dreamy stars, sparkles and zig zags coming out from behind them. Combine that with the sleaze of 90s Soho back alleys, or 80s Times Square peep shows. Put grey dirt in every corner. Have a tatty old calendar with a bikini clad, vamp haired, headband wearing, work out video babe on a beach, draped in a see-thru turquoise shawl. Wind machine blowing from just out of shot. Next to that a glossy poster of a candy apple red ferrari on a black background and or a stratocaster in flames with that same girl wrapped around it except this time it's ripped denim shorts and the hair's all messy. Little trails of sweat with beads at the ends perfectly lining her oiled contours. A large print of a palm tree or maybe a real fake palm tree with fairy lights draped on it. Lots of big words in different comic style fonts on the wall like cocktail and margarita, giant bulbous letters. The bar stocked with a wide range of unrecognisable spirits and then a 1l smirnoff taking pride of place on a special display stand. The clientele are all regulars and resemble the corners of the cushions on an old leather couch. They talk about gott knows what and hack and splutter when someone cracks a joke. There's warmth underneath. The ladies Have bleached their hair into scrub wire and have a little lap dog tucked between their feet and the scrawny wooden, pew-like bench which lines the wall. The lighting is low, and a queasy mix of cigarete stained bulb yellow and various neons that faintly shine as if past their sell by date. The most modern thing in there is the fruit machine. Some kebab places have a fruit machine room where smoking is allowed. The lighting in there even darker, and the windows looking in from the main room are tinted, giving a sinister effect as you catch the whites of the eyes of the gambler who shoots you a glance when he's reaching for another cigarette. One day I'll go and take some photos so you can see what I mean. This is just one type of place you can find all over the city. There are other styles too, but somehow this one fits best.