Conductor

In Germany it is a criminal offence to travel without a ticket. Really, it is fully illegal here and you can be charged hefty fines if you’re caught. I’m lucky enough to have a monthly pass.
Here in Berlin, conductors dress like normal pedestrians. Completely unassuming. Until you’re sitting next to someone so suddenly whips out a badge and demands to see everyone’s tickets. They’re ruthless, brutal, and scary as hell. I’ve heard a lot of stories of people being forcefully removed from trams and getting charged €80+. They don’t discriminate either, clueless tourists face just as harsh repercussions. I saw two American girls get caught and removed from a tram a few weeks ago. One was angry (claimed they didn’t know they had an expired ticket) the other was crying (accepting her demise, I assume). The conductor was barking at them.

This was a conductor who was on my tram yesterday. She looked totally inconspicuous. Make up on, handbag around her arm, looking like she was ready to meet some friends for a coffee. It’s quite scary how unofficial they can make themselves look.

(Also today I did nothing at all, hence the lack of a diary-esque entry)