[In German a big gyp, or a fraud type scandal is called a <<Schweinerei>>.]
In Berlin a system of you <<pay what you think this is worth>> system has been in operation for over a decade at the Berlin Weinerei.
It may sound like a completely backward way of running a business, but in fact you go and eat, [and drink after 2000hrs!] and then you pay what you think it was all worth. They do emphasize that you should be respectful with your payment, which means you should average at least 2 Euros a glass but for the quality of the wine this is often a great deal One cannot argue with success however because the Weinerei has been around over 10 years and is doing fine thank you very much.
The history of the pricing-option came about by the owners trying to bring out the sommalier in us all. They started with a wine shop on Veeteranen Str and as their customer base grew they decided to turn the often all too elite world of wine on its head by offering everyone the chance to sample and experience different wines for cost. So in keeping with their small-business mentality and basic trust in their customers left the pricing as an option at the end of the meal – <<please leave your money in the box at the front door>>.
People in the neighborhood loved the place and it has become so successful that there are now 3 separate Weinerei all in the area of Zionskirchplatz in Berlin Mitte.
After one of your meals you may want to visit the nearby Zionskirch [Zions church] which has recently been the focus of a renovation campaign on on the outside, but is still completely barren inside.
This is where the German Luthern theologian and heroic resistor to the Third Reich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor.This great and heroic figure stands out in recent German history as a moral giant – especially when compared to his opponents, the moral pygmies, the rat-like nazis.
