#347: Firework mayhem, Bürgeramts closed, remember corona?
Welcome to the best season: Zwischen den Jahren
Hey 20 Percent!
The exception defines the rule.
For all their literalness and adhering-to-the-rulesness, it’s nice when Germans suddenly veer off the set course and come up with something like ‘Zwischen den Jahren (between the years)’. It’s the time between Christmas and the new year when nothing really seems to happen.
It’s like several days of an average German Sunday when nothing’s open so instead of consuming you have to wander through a nearby forest, hunt for an overcrowded cafe or just spend too much time in your pyjamas.
Or like today when I totally forgot it was Friday. Now I’m two hours behind on everything I have to get done to truly enjoy the time between the years.
And now for my still-favorite joke from grade school — see you next year!
Andrew
Bureaucracy on hold for election bureaucracy
Five Bürgerämter (citizens’ services offices) will be closed as officials prepare for February’s national elections after Berlin was unable to hire enough workers for a newly created election administration, according to Tagesspiegel. The closures mean thousands of appointments to register an address, sign up for a driver’s license or get a new ID will disappear until after the election. But maybe it will allow Berlin to get the election right the first time — for those just tuning in, Berlin made so many mistakes in the 2021 federal election that it had to be repeated in February 2024, in part because the marathon was held on the same day. The following offices (there are 43 total) will be closed to the public: Frankfurter Allee (Friedrichshain), Halemweg (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf), Helle Mitte (Marzahn-Hellersdorf), Reinickendorf-Ost and Wasserstadt (Spandau).
Ugh, fireworks
The sale — and therefore the setting off of — fireworks begins officially Saturday and Germans buy €180 million worth of explosions and sparks each year, according to RBB24. Fireworks may only be legally used from 6pm Dec. 31 until 7am Jan. 1 but we all know laws in Berlin are just suggestions. The Berlin fire department triples the number of firefighters on duty on Dec. 31 to deal with related fires and injuries and the St. Hedwig hospital in Mitte boosts the number of employees by 50 percent, according to Tagesspiegel, though most emergency departments told the paper New Years Eve isn’t any more rowdy than any other Berlin night. Fireworks are verboten on parts of Sonnenallee, Alexanderplatz, the Steinmetz neighborhood in Schöneberg and at Brandenburg Gate.
BVG strikes again already?
Get ready for public transport strikes in January — BVG employees will begin negotiations for a new contract and unions want an average 30% pay bump, including an extra month’s bonus pay (known as 13th month’s pay in Germany), according to taz. The problem? Berlin’s €3 billion budget shortfall means BVG will have €100 million less from the government in 2025 to meet the labor demands. A union official says he expects a battle with management similar to 2008 when BVG struck for a total of six weeks. Better make sure your bike is in shape!
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Factoid
Weird that it’s now history — the largest vaccination campaign in German history started on this day four years ago, when at-risk populations began to receive newly developed vaccines for the corona virus. Oh how the world changed.
The world hasn't changed THAT much since early COVID – we still seem to be too low importance / risk to have gotten any news about recent COVID / Flu boosters. Happy new year you guys!