#339: Digitalization stalled, ton of marijuana, Hauptbahnhof closed (sort of)
Berlin isn't as densely populated as Paris
Hey 20 Percent!
Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans among us!
However, I always find it somewhat weird when my German acquaintances post pictures of their “Friendsgiving” on their Instas. Like, what? Why are you celebrating a (questionable) American holiday without the participation of at least one American friend?
And don’t get me started on Black Friday or Black Week — of all the traditions you’re going to import it’s that one? I guess the US did that to itself.
But it’s one of the things I dislike about a connected world — regional differences seem to be slowly slipping away. German kids speak better Denglisch than most ex-pat/immigrants and fashion is nearly uniform the world over. Soon everywhere will just look like Cleveland.
Or maybe this is just seasonal depression talking 😂😂. My kids came home from college to celebrate the holiday Saturday — we’re not cooking a turkey, or any animal for that matter.
Just good food, wine and company … like a good Friendsgiving.
Have a good weekend!
Andrew
PS: Please take a look at this issue’s three (!) sponsors: SmarterGerman, GetTheFlat, and Agavera! That’s some kind of record and allows us to keep this newsletter free.
More on the budget cuts
The Berlin cabinet (known as the Senat) passed a revised 2025 budget Tuesday, slashing €3 billion. It will likely pass the city-state’s parliament, the Abgeordnetenhaus, early next month. The good news? Class trips are once again being subsidized but each trip will be limited to a specific budget and only a certain amount of subsidies will be available for each district. Teachers, the government said, could forego the tradition of having their costs covered to reduce the overall expense, according to RBB24. One of the bad newses: Berlin’s terrifyingly delayed digitalization is now on ice as the budget for various IT services — from moving services online to cybersecurity — have been cut buy at least a quarter, says Netzpolitik. IT staff will be so busy trying to maintain the status quo that they’ll have no time for new bells and whistles (even though it would help save money).
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In police news
Prosecutors say a hospice doctor arrested in August is now accused of eight murders after originally being accused of manslaughter in the deaths of four patients under his care. He gave the patients a lethal drug cocktail while working for a home hospice service and then set their apartments ablaze to cover his tracks. Prosecutors say four more suspicious deaths have come to light (they even exhumed some of the bodies) and they upped the charges to murder because he had no reason to do what he did except for the thrill.
And
Berlin and Brandenburg cops Wednesday arrested eight men between 25- and 43-years-old for smuggling weed into the country, according to the cops themselves. Officials found a literal ton of marijuana in a container otherwise full of lumber in Hamburg and then tailed the contraband through the country. When it was unloaded in a local warehouse the cops jumped into action. In addition to the 1,100 kilos of grass, they also seized €380,000. Marijuana — Germany’s most illegal legal drug.
More Deutsche Bahn delays (probably)
The Hauptbahnhof’s basement tracks (Tiefbahnhof), which host north-south routes, will be partially closed between February 17 and April 22. Deutsche Bahn wants to install switches that were supposed to be in place in 2006 when the thing opened, according to RBB24. The station was completed in a rush ahead of the 2006 Soccer World Cup and corners were cut. The missing switches have led to over-capacity on the north-south lines leading into the station, a problem that will now be resolved. DB is still trying to figure out what it will mean for passenger traffic. It won’t affect local public transport.
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🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🪖 German spy chief says Russia will test NATO’s resolve
🛩️ Was DHL plane crash a hybrid attack?
🗡️ Don’t bring your everyday knife to the Christmas market
🎖️ Germany and Nordic countries preparing for war (!)
Factoid
Berlin feels very full to me but I’m apparently very wrong: Paris has a population density of 20,000 snooty people per square kilometer while we’ve got just 4,213 uptight people per square kilometer here. But then just 2.1 million people live in Paris’ 105.4 square kilometers while 3.4 million live in Berlin’s 891.8 square kms. But Paris does have better pedestrian and bike infrastructure.
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20,000 people per square meter in Paris? Damn! ;)
Seriously, black week is like what?