BERLIN, GERMANY
Liz and Lee Heidhues 11.19.2023
Hanging out in Berlin during the rainy season tests one’s stamina and ingenuity.
Elbowing your way through the muddy cobble-stoned streets of Berlin, jostling with the crowds in this historic city of 4 million, soon becomes an endurance contest.
At the end of the day, your clothes will have had it and so will you. You’re ready for a hot shower but you have no more clean clothes to don.
This could be an existential crisis.
It’s time to hoist the laundry bag and hustle off through Turkish Moabit to Gotzkowsky Street and do your dirty wash at Freddy Lecks Waschsalon.
Freddy Leck himself is right at the door, hyper as always, to greet the diverse clientele and sing the praises of his Miele washing machines.
Miele, Freddy tells you, makes the best washing machines in the world.
Want a bigger washing machine? Freddy tells you the size of washing machine he picked for you is just fine. Want to dry your clothes longer? Freddy tells you the time he picked for your dryer is just perfect.
Don’t get in a dispute with Freddy about his machines. He knows his business. Freddy will prevail.
We have been doing the wash at Freddy’s since our first trip to Berlin in 2017.
The health-conscious Berliners expect people to be neat and clean.
Freddy Lecks Waschsalon in Moabit is the place that meets the expectation.
Top photo: A vast array of soaps and softeners awaits the customer at Freddy Lecks
Lee's Perspective 