#325: Zelensky, Northern Lights, Comets

The artificial turf is just going to be thrown away

The artificial turf? Just throw it in the yellow trash can. Visualization: Tonio Freitag/Kulturprojekte Berlin

Dear 20 Percent,

Am I the only one who didn’t understand the difference? As I embark on my citizenship journey (test on Monday way out in Neubrandenburg), I just discovered there’s a difference between Freiberufler (freelancers) and Selbstständig (self-employed).

I’ve been a freelancer for over 20 years and just assumed that that meant I was also self-employed. But alas, according to German bureaucrats, the two are not equal — and thank heavens. Were I self-employed I’d have to submit a lengthy audit of my financial situation, performed by an accountant.

But since I’m a freelancer, I just need invoices, bank statements and the profit and loss statement my accountant does every year anyway. I’ve got that stuff just laying around! The difference is essentially whether you peddle services to clients or sell products in a shop.

But apparently I still have to take a language test — I just registered for B1 because though I’m fluent, I just want to get it behind me (I’m also curious what B1 is).

I’ll let you know how the citizenship test goes.

Andrew

Zelensky is ruining your commute

Maybe just don’t go anywhere until tonight. Much of the government district in Mitte has been closed to vehicle traffic and the S-Bahn has severely reduced service to accomodate a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Friday, according to Tagesspiegel. You probably already suffered during the morning’s commute and it won’t get better as he meets with both Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) Friday afternoon. His visit was to have coincided with a visit from still-US President Joe Biden (he’s a Democrat, yo!) but Biden called off the visit because of Hurricane Milton. The S-Bahn reduced service to lower the chance that an impromptu closure could lead to an S-Bahn having to stop between stations — riders often then just get out and walk, forcing the total closure of that stretch of track.

Northern Lights tonight if there are no clouds

klauswisskirchen

A post shared by @klauswisskirchen

Did the sky look weird to you? The Northern Lights were visible in Berlin last night — and can likely be seen again Friday night — as the sun nears the 2025 peak of its 11-year cycle (I had no idea the sun had a cycle), according to Morgenpost. The lights are energized particles from the sun slamming into the earth’s atmosphere. The fall and spring are supposedly the best time to see the lights so maybe just generally keep your eyes peeled. You may also be able to see comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Friday as it moves away from earth — it was only recently discovered and won’t be visible to us earthlings again for … 80,000 years.

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No school trip for you!

How broke is Berlin? The city-state said it will no longer pay for teachers to accompany students on class trips — customary in the final year at public schools, according to RBB24. The move doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the trips since teachers (and probably parents) said they’d be happy to foot the bill. But it’s just an example of how Berlin is reacting to its once-again precarious financial situation. The current government is working to cut €3 billion from the 2025 budget after a census cut the amount of federal funding transferred to Germany’s capital.

Germany-wide news

🏥 So Germany: Sex opera audience members need medical treatment

🛩️ Ryanair cutting German flights

🥺 Holocaust stumbling stones (Stolpersteine) stolen

§ You can use the possessive apostrophe in German now!

Factoid

Only half of the artificial turf laid in Tiergarten during the Euros this summer will be reused despite promises that at least 95% would find new, permanent homes, according to RBB24. A number of schools and institutions (like the jail in Tegel) offered to take some of the plastic greenery but now only 11 have the practical and financial means to lay the outdoor carpet. The problem? Much of the turf has gum sticking to it or cigarette burns.