#373: Ringbahn interrupted, Pools more expensive, Fireworks crooks investigated

And Germany's mid-sized cities are ... nice

‘You’re telling me nobody brought a suit?’ A Friedrichshain pool in 1973. Photo: German federal archive

Hey 20 Percent!

I’ve been spending a lot of time in mid-sized German cities. Places like Lübeck and Oldenburg in the north. Limburg and Fulda further south and even Halle, Weimar and Jena eastward.

And I’ve come to an uncomfortable realization — they’re very nice. Liveable, even. Sure, I’m a middle-aged white guy who speaks fluent German so I don’t stick out like other immigrants might but I can’t help but wonder if we’re not making our lives unecessarily complex by living in the Hauptstadt.

Of course, there’s drawbacks. Last night we wanted to have a beer after midnight here in Oldenburg and had to call ahead to ensure the bar personnel hadn’t gone home. And I don’t see very many hand-pulled noodle places.

But it’s nice, even if only for a day or two, to be in a place not covered by grafitti, canine feces and crumbling infrastructure — if only because there’s less infrastructure.

I’m not going to wish you a good weekend for once. I’m just going to assume it’ll be good.

Andrew

PS: I’m doing some comedy auf Deutsch next Thursday, April 3, at one of Berlin best comedy clubs — Downstairs Comedy Club. I’ll perform for 45 minutes and a comedy buddy, Philipp Schlüter, will also be doing 45. We’re funny. Tickets here.

And if you can’t make it to that… maybe chuck a few coins in the 20% Berlin hat? Meaning hit this button:

And now the Ringbahn too

Oh, crumbling infrastructure you say? The sole savior in the repetitive BVG strikes of buses, trams and subways has been the S-Bahn. But that changed Thursday when the holy Ringbahn (the S41 and S42) was interrupted indefinitely between Halensee and Westend because of the crumbling A100 Autobahn bridge overhead. The bridge has to be supported until it can be demolished, according to Tagesspiegel. And installing the supports necessitates interrupting train travel below — for at least several weeks, if not longer. The S46 is also affected and is no longer calling at Westkreuz and Messe/Nord. Thank you Chancellor Angela Merkel for preferring to save taxpayer money rather than give taxpayers nice things.

Getting wet is getting more expensive

Berliner Bäderbetriebe, the agency that runs our public swimming pools, introduced a new pricing system that will start May 30 and will do away with uniform pricing. Schwimmbecken with better amenities will cost more and some costs are being cut to ensure the pools don’t join the long line of crumbling infrastructure, according to taz. A 20-day ticket will now cost €80 rather than €60. A day in an outdoor pool will now cost as much as €7 rather than €5.50. Swimmers can now also enjoy a discount by booking 5 days in advance and get a guaranteed entry slot (vital for the over-filled outdoor pools). Oh, and all but 6 of the 18 outdoor pools will no longer be heated to save cash — they’re now just chlorinated lakes without fish. The six exceptions, including Prinzenbad, Sommerbad Pankow and Seestraße, have solar and can still turn up the heat to 22 degrees. Dive in!

1 big firework, 150 police officers

Are police infrastructure? For the running theme of this newsletter: sure. About 150 Berlin officers Thursday stormed several apartments in Neukölln and Schöneberg to gather evidence against eight men suspected of setting off a massive firework on New Years that damaged an apartment building in Schöneberg. No arrests were made but RBB24 said cops seized drugs, even more fireworks and phones, which will be searched for possible evidence in chats. Now to build a case. They’ve already arrested a 17-year-old who set off a similar firework in Tegel that injured six people — a 7-year-old required emergency surgery. (This is a gentle reminder that I’m in favor of some sort of fireworks ban.)

🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺

🚅 Deutsche Bahn with massive loss, needs lots of love and investment
🕵️‍♂️ Baader-Meinhof terrorist on trial after discovery in … Kreuzberg
🛺 Trump’s tariffs bad news for German carmakers
📋 New German parliament with far-right as No. 2 party

Factoid

Only five were made and they had a face value of 1 million Canadian. Photo: Royal Canadian Mint

And, did we say infrastructure? Thieves used an elevated S-Bahn line in Mitte to gain access via a window to the Bode Museum on March 27, 2017 and steal a 100-kg gold coin worth as much as €4.2 million. Yes, a coin worth €4.2 million — it was called the “Big Maple Leaf” and had a picture of the late Queen Elizabeth on it. Police never recovered the coin and assume it was melted down and sold. Two cousins were eventually sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for the crime and ordered to repay €3.3 million. A museum security guard, who was friends with the cat burglars and who all but opened the door for them, was charged to over three years and fined €100,000 — his share of the booty.

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🌸🌸🌸Frollicking in the spring sunshine is more fun but you should learn German one of these days. And you should do it with the best, SmarterGerman, a Berlin-based online language school founded by a veteran language teacher. Sign up today and get a free trial! 😊😊😊

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