#92: Topless now allowed, historic renovations, corona news
and why Berlin is lagging in progressive transport
Hey 20 Percent!
I’ll leave the editorializing to the news items — but if you need help staying cool (and can’t carefully leap in a nearby lake) then head over to the cool map, which is a collection of places with that rare commodity in Germany: air conditioning.
Hope you’re having a good and not-too-hot week,
Andrew
PS: Carrying all that money around can be hot. So why not give us some on our Patreon? We offer free ticket giveaways and our eternal gratitude (as well as this newsletter) in return.
The Berlin corona stats for Tuesday, July 19
Received booster: 62.8% (62.7% Friday)
New cases in one day: 4,530 (3,897 Friday)
Total deaths: 4,679 (+3 over Friday)
🔴 7-day Covid-19 incidence (cases per 100,000): 493.8 (506.4 Friday)
🔴7-day hospitalization incidence (also per 100,000): 14.5 (10 Friday)
🟡 Covid-19 ICU patient occupancy: 5.9% (5.1% Friday)
Source: Berlin’s corona page
Some corona news
Federal politicians are hoping to implement the 1G rule for public events — everyone will have to present a same-day negative test to attend, according to T-Online. The proposal is part of early-stage discussions over the extension of current corona regulations, which expire September 23. Germany’s 16 states reportedly want to get a head start on what many feel will be a dramatic increase in cases this fall amid the current summer wave. Meanwhile, Berlin is today voting on a proposal to allow self-tests as proof of a corona infection (like, to get out of work or a school quiz) because the federal government has made it more difficult to get free tests at test centers, according to Tagesspiegel.
Giffey slowing climate-friendly transport
Ever wonder why Berlin is so slow to expand environmentally friendly transport infrastructure (I have)? Look no further than the top of our fine city-state: After visiting Paris earlier this month, mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) said she is right to be cautious in such things: Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, a socialist, has pushed environmentally friendly transport since her election in 2014 and has achieved little, Giffey, according to Tagesspiegel, said, because the car remains king in the City of Lights. Giffey apparently has little understanding of how progress works — small steps now lead to big changes later.
The nipple is now free at the Plansche
All parents will be allowed to sunbathe topless when the kids pool in the Plänterwald southeast of Treptower Park re-opens July 29. Security guards and police sparked both outrage and protest after they demanded a mother cover her breasts while visiting the pool — known as the Plansche (splash) — last summer. Berlin has since amended the rules to say only “primary sexual organs” must be covered, regardless of gender. But fans of nude sunbathing shouldn’t fret — this is Berlin so you’re always near some gross old dude hanging out in his birthday suit with an impressive tan.
That building you wondered about is being renovated
Renovation has begun at a historic roundhouse in northern Berlin after years of tiffs over its demolition, according to Morgenpost. The building, which was built in 1893 and can house up to 24 locomotives, was to be demolished by previous owner Deutsche Bahn and is part of a three-building ensemble at the former Pankow freight railyard — if you drive north out of Pankow or stop at S-Bahn Heinersdorf you’ve wondered what it is (see photo above). But local officials went to court to save the buildings and its new owner — property developer Krieger SE — is working to secure it as part of a new area that will include 2,100 apartments, two schools, a park and a furniture store. The battle now is what to do with the site’s endangered natterjack toads.
Factoid
The highest temperature ever recorded in the city-state of Berlin was 38.9 degrees celsius on August 7, 2015 at the Kaniswall outdoor laboratory in southern, southern Berlin (that’s 102 degrees for those using the more dramatic Fahrenheit). High expected Wednesday: 37 (98.6 Fahrenheit).