#343: Retail weed, New rail connections, Nazi property wrong righted
The S-Bahn is 'unsatisfactory'
Hey 20 Percent!
Welcome to Friday the 13th!
Sunday is the third Advent Sunday and, like Easter, I always have to google to be reminded why we’re even celebrating it — otherwise I just assume Sunday is the day Mary and Joseph had a gender reveal party for baby Jesus.
That’s actually my wife’s joke. I had something about God visiting to help pick out and finance a stroller for Sunday walks in Prenzlauer Berg. Or would the Jesus family live in Kreuzberg? Zehlendorf? Probably Steglitz because it’s unassuming and … boring.
“Sorry,” the stroller store would have said to God as he whipped out his Visa, “our machine’s broken. We only take cash.”
Who am I kidding? Jesus would have lived in Bavaria.
Have a good weekend and don’t drink too much Glühwein,
Andrew
P.S. Be sure to check out today’s sponsor, Linierie. More from them below.
Weed stores? Sort of
As many as six stores will begin selling marijuana in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Neukölln in 2025 as part of what is billed as a scientific study but sounds more like market research, according to taz. The study is to look into how stoners enjoy their weed as well as provide them with better weed than is available from illicit sources — a marijuana company is an integral part of the study. The program needs at least 2,000 participants (but can handle significantly more) who will be allowed to buy up to 50 grams a month for between €8 and €12 per gram. In exchange, they’ll have to regularly answer surveys about their habit for at least two years. The study was approved by agriculture minister Cem Özdemir (Die Grüne) and is seen as the second step in the lumbering legalization — and may include edibles.
Restitution for Nazi crime
A family in Wandlitz (north of Berlin in Brandenburg) must hand their house to the Jewish Claims Conference after Nazis forced its sale in the ‘30s because its owners were Jewish, according to RBB24. The current owners, the Lieske family, bought the house in 1939 and had sued to halt the action but Germany’s top administrative court Wednesday upheld the transfer of ownership. While restitution for properties taken by the Nazis was largely clarified in West Germany in the ‘50s, the problem was mostly ignored in East Germany and had to be rectified after unification. The house in Wandlitz, a popular recreation site for Berliners because of its namesake lake, is one of the few remaining cases. The current 85-year-old resident will be allowed to stay in the house. No remaining relatives of Alice Donat and Helene Lindenbaum, the original Jewish owners, can be found — they were murdered in Auschwitz.
Travel newses
Deutsche Bahn is introducing a new schedule Dec. 15 that will better connect Berlin with other cities as well as neighboring countries. One train a day will commute between Berlin and Paris, covering the 878km in 8 hours. Eastward travelers will also have three trains per day to Breslau and Krakow to choose from and a night train to Switzerland is also being added. Three more sprinters (non-stop) will commute between Berlin and Frankfurt, for the financially employed, and two new ICEs will also cover the route with the addition of Saarbrücken as the final stop — I was in Saarbrücken earlier this year and was mortified by its poor train connections. In other travel news, Berlin mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) said he and nine of the 15 other state head honchos would push for more intercontinental flights from BER — the airport has less than 10 at the moment. The problem: Lufthansa as well as the federal government decided long ago that Frankfurt and Munich are Germany’s main international hubs.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
👴 How the current German government will implode
🇸🇾 Should I stay or should I go? Syrians in Germany
🚗 VW, unions talking but far from solution
💔 You’re not the only one feeling lonely in Germany
Factoid
Four percent more S-Bahns were late in the first three months of the year than in the same time period a year earlier, according to Tagesspiegel, or a total 107,470. However, 3 percent fewer were cancelled (25,287). The S-Bahn, which is run by Deutsche Bahn, has also missed the punctuality target set in its contract with the local public transport administration — the S-Bahn is only on time 93.9 percent of the time but is supposed to be on-time 96 percent of the time. Theoretically DB could face financial penalties for the shortfall. DB says overall the S-Bahn service was “unsatisfactory”. No kidding.
🩲 🩲 🩲 Visit our sponsor! 🩲 🩲 🩲
Independent stores need you this Christmas!
Some good news: Independent stores like Linierie still exist – thanks to you! At our boutique in Berlin Mitte, you'll find thoughtful gifts for the women in your life (or yourself): sexy lingerie, warm winter essentials, and cozy nightwear that make the season even more special. Need help? We speak English and are here to guide you. Check our website for Christmas opening hours. Let's make this holiday season a celebration of small, local businesses.
Looking forward to welcoming you – and thank you for your support!
I also got 3 of the chairs! Maybe a good tip for everyone who picked some, is that the color damage on the green and red ones is super easy to repair using a gas torch. A quick lick with the fire burns the uv damaged outer layer and the original color pops up! ((: