Some people buy shoes or sweets when they feel bad – I go to Dussmann. They call themselves a “culture department store”, which is a pretty accurate description. Their selection is gigantic: CDs, DVDs, music sheets, board games, stationery, and of course books.

In the age of Amazon, many German book shops mostly offer bestsellers and notebooks. If I want something more special, they often have to order it which, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of a book shop.

But at Dussmann that’s rarely the case! From political science books to gardening manuals to poetry to travel guides – they seem to have everything you’d ever need or want. In contrast to the little lonely shelves in other German bookshops, English books have their own two-story section here.

I just love to wander through the shop, look at book covers, browse through their pages. As Dussmann is open until midnight on most days, there is also a lot of time for that. And even on those days when I swear to myself that I am not going to buy anything, I often end up with a new book or two. Or three.