Valentine's Day

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...264353871.html

U-Bahn is just the place to lure a date for inhibited Berliners who trust no one
DEREK SCALLY in Berlin

PASSENGERS ON Berlin’s U-Bahn might look like a reserved lot, but beneath the surface the hormones are raging.

From the stolen glance of a teenage girl to an ageing punk’s lecherous stare, the rapid transit railway’s carriages are mobile laboratories with unique collections of subjects.

To outsiders, the experiment being conducted under the streets of the German capital is to examine what happens when two German national characteristics collide: crippling social inhibition and overwhelming inner romanticism.

So what happens? Nothing. That’s why Berlin’s U-Bahn operator BVG has launched the website “Augenblicke” – which translates as “moments” or “eye contact” – to help Berliners overcome their inability to seize the moment with a new-found love.

The service has been a huge hit so far, with over 7,000 messages at last count and dozens going up each day with headlines like “You found my buttons interesting, I want to see you again” or “Make me smile again.”

A typical example: “I got on at Friedrich Wilhelm Platz and sat opposite you. Me: blond curls. You: blonde, handsome man. We had eye contact, you got off at the zoo, then we gazed at each other for a while. Would be nice to see you again.”

And on it goes, screen after screen of romantic, missed moments.

Some 2.6 million people use public transport daily in Berlin – 1.5 million on the U-Bahn alone – meaning that three quarters of Berliners cross each others’ paths on the train, tram or bus. It’s a great way to people-watch, but the social interaction is curtailed by strict conventions of not talking to strangers.

“For many people, it might be just a moment when they don’t have the nerve to say something, and then the moment has passed,” says Petra Reetz, spokesperson for BVG.

“The website gives people a second chance.”

With over 100,000 clicks a month, “Augenblicke” is hugely popular. But does it work? One man, Reinhold, submitted an ad last month, in English, headlined “African Queen meets Blonde Prince”.

“You are truly the most beautiful girl yet been seen . Your unique radiance still echoes inside,” he wrote of his encounter on the number 2 line on January 26th.

“I want you a steady part in my life. You Luv are slender, you do have wonderful shimmering dark bronze skin, I can’t forget that magic moment when our eyes met for a little eternity. Please free my longing soul and give salvation to me silly donkey.”

So what was the story behind his heartfelt message?

“I saw her and we stared at each other, then I kept going the other way when I should have stopped and said hello,” said Reinhold, who is still waiting for a reply.

The Dortmund native has had relationships with women from California to New Zealand, but says he is frustrated by what passes for social interaction in Germany.

“There’s this typical German mistrust of people that I really don’t like,” he says.

“People are totally insecure here, something that can come out in cheek, or putting other people down.”

Reetz laughs at the idea of the website compensating for Berliners’ social inhibitions.

“I don’t think you have this problem in Munich,” she says. “We Prussians here in northern Germany appear chilly and unfriendly. Once you get over that initial stage, though, we’re very friendly.”

Reetz says she has no way of measuring how many Berliners are united by the “Augenblicke” site. But her team are optimistic they will one day receive their first wedding invitation arising from Berlin’s online experiment in loving.