#355: BVG STRIKE!!!, AirBnB law useless, Tesla
Cars still being set on fire
Hey 20 Percent!
I didn’t mean to get old in Berlin. I never planned it. But stay here long enough and it happens.
One weird side effect is that since I got gray hair, ticket checkers hardly ever ask to see my ticket on a tram or subway. It’s like the gray hair signals to them that I not only have a ticket, I also have my life together (spoiler alert: I don’t).
They even once popped a guy sitting next to me and none of the five Kontrolleure who then gathered around bothered to ask if I had a ticket.
I talked about this phenomenon recently at a comedy gig where my wife was in the audience. She came backstage after the show.
“They’re not asking for a ticket because they think you’re old,” she told me. “They’re not asking because they think you’re homeless.”
I love you too, Schatz!
Have a good weekend y’all!
Andrew
PS: Episode 4 of our podcast is out! We talk about Berlin’s own #metoo scandal, cellphones in schools and the lack of mountains in the UK. Leave a review if you like it.
BVG strike Monday
Need another reason to be frustrated at Berlin’s public transport? Me neither. But union Verdi is giving us one Monday when BVG (who runs Berlin’s subways, buses and trams) will strike from 4am to 4am Tuesday, according to Morgenpost. The public transport provider and the union started their latest wage talks earlier this month and remain far apart — the union wants €750 more per month as well as a holiday bonus, which in Germany is known as 13th month’s pay. S-Bahns will be running and they’re pledging to add extra rolling stock — they’re operated by Deutsche Bahn, not BVG.
A Nazi salute at the Tesla factory
Brandenburg police are investigating the Center for Political Beauty, a group of activist artists, for use of anti-constitutional symbols after projecting a picture of Tesla CEO Elon Musk giving the Nazi salute onto the Tesla factory in Grünheide, according to Tagesspiegel. The artists, who worked together with UK peers Led by Donkeys, also projected the word “Heil” onto the plant in the Tesla font (see our cover photo today). The investigation proves that German police, unlike so many Musk fanboys, felt Musk intended the gesture as the Nazi salute following US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Tesla security guards initially told police the action was a digital fake because they hadn’t noticed anything but maybe they’re just not very good at their jobs.
Sponsored
Start the new year in your dream flat!
Get The Flat searches for apartments matching your criteria and requests viewings for you immediately. They also craft tailored application messages to boost your success rate. The service costs €79 / month and offers a 7-day money-back guarantee. When life is busy, these guys really take a load off your shoulders.
Sign up now >>
Ineffective AirBnB law
A law intended to outlaw vacation apartments in residential buildings in Berlin (ergo: AirBnB) is ineffective because local governments lack — no surprise to anyone — the proper digital tools, according to taz. The city has 38,000 such apartments even though only 600 have been approved under the 2016. Nearly 5,000 applications have been submitted. The law included language that rental platforms were to provide access so that potentially illegal flats could be easily found — but that has yet to happen. Your German lesson for the day: The law is the
Zweckentfremdungsverbotsgesetz or Misappropriation Prohibition Law.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🔪 Blame game following latest knife attack
💵 Where do German political parties get their cash?
🛋️ How furnished apartments are raising your rent
Factoid
Cars set alight for fun or political statement were as much a part of 00s Berlin as illegal raves, cheap rent and bemoaning recent transplants — one of the first viral websites was a map of the most recent automotive arson. The public may no longer be so interested but arsonists are — last year 750 cars were burned here intentionally, up from 570 in 2023, according to newswire dpa. Just 58 cars were set on fire to prove a political point. The rest were either vandalism, insurance fraud, personal reasons or because the cars were near another car that was set on fire. Cops arrested 60 suspects, just two of which were related to political arson.
I didn’t mean to get old in Berlin. I never planned it. But stay here long enough and it happens.
For me it means the kids “usually” give me a seat on the bus - there are some small advantages to getting old 😛