#371: New BVG strike?, Berlin hates X-berg, and a fuxxored Autobahn bridge
Some suggestions for getting a garden alottment
Hey 20 Percent!
I’m a bit distracted from my bid to become German by the good weather, which further proves I’m suitable to be German. As the saying goes: You put up with Berlin winters to get rewarded by its summers. And we’re being rewarded right now.
The black Berlin uniform is also beneficial since it heats up in the spring sun, offsetting the underlying spring chill.
Get out and enjoy the sun this weekend — Berlin weather is even less reliable than the people you date in Berlin. Rain and cold can’t be far away.
Andrew
PS: Thanks to the handful of people who have upgraded to a paid membership recently. We like our paid members and contributors more than others. I mean we like everyone, but them just a bit more.
After the BVG strike is before the BVG strike
While the weather may be getting nice, public transport may be getting ugly. Uglier, that is. Public transport company BVG and union Verdi are meeting for a sixth time Friday to negotiate a new contract and it’s unlikely they’ll reach an agreement, says Der Spiegel. Verdi is instead expected to ask members to vote on an open-ended, unlimited strike. The vote could take several weeks so we’ll have trams, buses and subways for at least the rest of March. The sticking point is Verdi’s demand for €750 more per month for workers — BVG has only offered a gradual increase to €375. Verdi says workers got their last raise prior to the Ukraine invasion and subsequent inflation. BVG says they got an effective raise in 2021 when the workday was cut to 37.5 hours from 39. We’ll let you know how the talks go and when (rather than if) to expect the next strike.
Sponsored
No time to deal with flat hunting? This service can help!
Get The Flat searches for flats matching your criteria and requests viewings for you immediately. They also take care of crafting the perfect message to increase your success rate. It costs 79€ / month and offers a 7 days money back guarantee. If you’re too busy to deal with the search but need a new place, sign up for their March slots. Only a few left!
No money for you!
The borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (but mostly Kreuzberg) would like to make Görlitzer Park and the surrounding area nicer for the warming weather with the help of cash from a Berlin fund for “sustainable redevelopment”. But Berlin rebuffed F-Hain/X-berg because … it doesn’t like the borough, according to taz. More specifically, the office of urban development said that since Kreuzberg is resisting plans to fence in Görlizer Park, the borough is obviously at odds with state plans and unworthy of money to renovate park buildings, add a cafe and even revitalize the sometimes-troubled Wrangel neighborhood nearby. That seems a bit … childish. And a reminder that Berlin is often more provincial village than innovative European capital.
The A100 bridge is broke
The warming weather is also good news for Berlin car owners since they’ll now get to spend more time in the comfort of their chariot’s air conditioning. A bridge that carries the A100 autobahn from Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf near the convention center and then over the Ringbahn and onto the A115 to Potsdam is crumbling and has to be closed for at least two years until it can be repaired/replaced, according to RBB. Lanes in the opposite direction will now be used for both directions, resulting in traffic jams and even more unhappy Berliners. Berlin’s transport minister recommends you just take a train instead. The crumbling bridge is just one of thousands nationwide that are now slated for renewal thanks to the massive investment package recently approved by the federal government.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🛂 Germany updates travel advice after US detains Germans
🏗️ 320k new apartments needed per annum to meet demand
🌭 VW also makes sausage
🖥️ Siemens laying off bunches too
Factoid
Does the spring weather have you longing for one of those garden alottments in what look like shanty towns near Berlin’s autobahns and railways? You’ll have to wait up to 10 years to get one, writes Tagesspiegel (paywall), because 15,000 people are ahead of you on waiting lists. The paper has some tips, though:
Share one the same way you share your apartment — datschlandia.de is the WG-Gesucht of Kleingartenanlagen.
Tour your favorite garden development and try to find run-down alottments or ones in less popular areas (next to the highway, for example). You may get it quickly and cheaply if you agree to renovate or put up with NOISE.
Pay up. Many renters are willing to give you their lease if you have deep pockets (sound familiar?). Laupi.de has weekend properties for you and your money (but no English site).
What is "weekend property"? Just a small house you are expected only to want to spend one or two nights a week in, or are you actually banned from being their during the week?
Do you prefer your substack subscribers to your patreon ones? I prefer patreon since it's all in one place, but I don't always see notices there when things fail so.