Retail

Stores

• Clothing and makeup stores
  One can find a myriad of clothing stores in Berlin, ranging from larger chains to boutiques. They shop at a multitude of stores including H&M, T.K.Maxx (Germany’s TJ Maxx), Intersport, Topshop and Gina Tricot. For makeup, women often go to Sephora and teenagers go to Dm, a drugstore chain.
• Variety stores
  There are two modern European variety stores with everything you need and don’t need, but want to buy. They are Tiger, a Danish chain, and Hema, a Dutch chain. Specialty shops are abundant in Berlin and other German cities for items ranging from paper supplies to socks and everything in between.

Banks

The most efficient way to bank is with an ATM card, or on-line. Germans find going to the bank a time-consuming process.

Post Office

The German post office or Deutsche Post, has gone through some changes over the past several decades, resulting in efficient, well-located, post offices throughout Germany. Mail sent from Germany to my home in the U.S. arrived in only five days. I don’t know if it is consistently this fast, but I was impressed and found them to be well-organized.