#349: Was this year's New Years the worst-ever?

Berlin's water supply is relatively young

What a hangover looks like. Photo: Me

Hey 20 Percent!

This time of year I always make the same mistake — I tell everyone how much I’m enjoying the cold. I even welcomed the news this morning that it’s supposed to snow today and Sunday — I really miss significant snowfall since I grew up at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

Maybe that should be my new year’s resolution — more snow. I’m as likely to make good on that as all the others I’ve made over the years.

But come February I learn to hate January me as I bundle up just to go get Brötchen in the morning. When is the sun going to return, I often wonder behind my seasonal depression? May, and then only for a week, is usually the answer.

Hope your year is off to a good start!

Andrew

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A pretty normally crazy New Years

Berlin wasn’t any more or less like a war zone on New Year’s than last year even though 39 renters in Schöneberg faced the loss of their homes thanks to an illegal firework, according to RBB24. Residents at the intersection of Hauptstraße, Belziger Straße and Vorbergstraße heard a loud explosion about 2am on Jan. 1, which broke most windows in their building and blew the main entrance door out of its frame. Officials feared the explosion damaged the structure internally but it was deemed safe to occupy later Jan. 1. An estimated 40 windows must be replaced and a suspect was arrested in connection with the explosion. A police officer in Prenzlauer Berg was also so severely wounded — also by an illegal firework — that a turniquet had to be used to keep him from bleeding to death. Police otherwise said they made 400 arrests and issued 670 tickets for various infractions, about the same as last year. Just 37 police officers and firefighters were injured this New Years, down from 54 last year.t

Wedding water everywhere

A 97-year-old water main beneath Seestraße in Wedding burst Dec. 31, flooding the surrounding area and leaving several districts without water for several hours, according to Tagesspiegel. Berliner Wasser Betriebe, Berlin’s public water provider, said it will now need several months to replace 270 meters of piping that moves fresh water from its Tegel water plant to central Berlin. The flood also damaged key tram infrastructure, knocking out service between Osloer Straße and Virchow-Klinikum until it can be replaced.

Knife attack in Charlottenburg

A 30-year-old Syrian attacked two men in Charlottenburg Tuesday with a knife, hospitalizing one while leaving the other with only minor wounds, according to the Morgenpost. The suspect, who lives in Sweden, remains in custody and police said the man may have psycological issues. Witnesses were able to subdue the suspect. Police say the attack was not terror-related and are investigating whether it was the result of a possible spat at a nearby hotel housing refugees.

🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺

🧨 Five die in celebrations for new year

☀️ The battle for environmentally friendly heating

🚁 Volocopter air taxi startup files for insolvency

👴 Will Germany get the reforms it needs? Probably not.

Factoid

Probably one of the reasons you can’t swim in the Spree. Photo: Gerd Eichmann

Berlin has 16,000 kilometers of water mains that are an average of 58 years old, according to RBB. The pipes are expected to last a century, bringing us water for drinking, bathing and, well, you know. The Berliner Wasser Betriebe deal with about 500 burst pipes per year, a record low. The company had to deal with three times as many per year shortly after reunification in 1989

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