To stave off effects of economic crisis, one bordello gives bikers a discount
BERLIN – Part of Berlin's red-light scene is going green.
One bordello, hoping to stave off falling demand in the economic crisis, has begun offering discounts to customers who pedal bicycles to the door.
"It's very difficult to find parking around here, and this option is better for our environment," said Thomas Goetz, who owns the brothel Maison d'Envie, or House of Desire.
Local residents in Prenzlauer Berg — a part of former East Berlin now home to scores of trendy boutiques, restaurants and clubs — had staunchly supported the Green party in recent elections and have welcomed the bordello's offer to emphasize the environment
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Brothels suffering
The bordellos in the capital of Germany, where prostitution is legal, have seen business suffer with the global financial crisis. Patrons have become more frugal, and there are fewer potential customers coming to the city for business trips and conferences.
But Maison d'Envie has seen its business begin to return since it began offering the 5-euro ($7.50) discount in July, Goetz said.
To qualify, customers must show the receptionist either a bicycle padlock key or proof they used public transit to get to the neighborhood. That knocks the price for 45 minutes in a room, for example, to 65 euros from 70 euros.
Those who arrive on foot, however, are out of luck.
"We haven't found a way for people to prove they have walked here," Goetz explained.
I have to say it is getting harder to adjust each time I go back and forth from NYC to Berlin. Takes longer each time. The differences are amazing. It's cleaner here in Berlin and more organized but the people just do not smile on the street and if you make eye contact with them and grin, they look at you like you must be drunk and/or crazy. Note to self: stop smiling. 
