#351: Dark autobahns, corrupt (racist?) cops, Sunday holidays
Snow facts ❄️!
Dear 20 Percent,
Germans often ask me what I miss the most from the US and the real answer has nothing to do with culture, language or even family. The thing I miss the most: snow.
I saw plenty of the stuff growing up at an altitude of one mile (1.6km) at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and going to sleep during a snow storm brought hopes of a morning school closure. But Berlin’s nearly snow-free winters leave me longing for the muffling effect snow has, both literally and effectively. It absorbs sound but also forces everyone to slow down, much like Sunday business closures in Germany.
You know how your German co-workers rush out of the office any time the sun breaks through, hoping to find that half a square meter of sunshine to stand in until the gloomy clouds return? That was me last night but replace sun with snow and I was walking and sliding my way around the neighborhood like a German in February sunshine.
I get to ride a train to Hamburg later this afternoon and I will spend the entire time looking out at the winter wonderland (if it doesn’t get cancelled).
Enjoy the snow. We don’t get much of it.
Andrew
P.S. Episode 3 of our podcast is out. Give it a listen.
No speed limit, no light
The agency that runs Germany’s autobahns said it would switch off the lights on Berlin’s highways to save money and CO2, according to RBB24. Studies show lighting has no effect on safety. Drivers first noticed the change Thursday when Autobahn GmbH, the agency, shut off lights on part of the A100 in Wedding. The change will gradually take place until April when the A100, A114, A103 and A111 will go permanently dark. Tunnels will continue to be lit.
The dumb first name debate
Let’s call it the legacy of our mayor Kai Wegner (CDU): Berlin cops are investigating the leak of the first names of 256 Germans cited on New Years for various infractions to right-wing news site Nius (sounds like “news” to the German ear, apparently), according to Tagesspiegel. The list supposedly showed that most of the names had non-European roots, fanning anti-immigrant sentiments. Wegner and his conservative CDU two years ago called for the release of a similar list following yet another raucous New Years. Wegner this year re-upped his racist stance on New Years violence by saying most of the New Years-related crimes were committed by the children of immigrants.
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Sunday holidays?
Your boss is (probably) not your friend: The Berlin-Brandenburg business association says Berlin should move its few bank holidays to Sundays to boost the region’s disappointing economy, according to T-Online. Every day off costs the Berlin economy €230 million, the head of the Unternehmerverband Berlin-Brandenburg said. International Women’s Day on March 8, for example, could be celebrated on Sunday March 9, instead. Berlin has comparatively few holidays — Bavaria will have 13 this year, Berlin just 10. The only problem: Berlin is doing comparatively better than most German states — the Hauptstadt’s GDP likely rose 1.3% last year while Germany as a whole probably contracted slightly.
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Factoid
The most snow ever-recorded in Berlin was on March 6, 1829: 80cm of the stuff, according to BZ. The article has other interesting facts like how there used to be a ski-jumping contest on the Postfenn hill in Grunewald or that the earliest recorded snowfall was on October 3, 1998.
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I'm right with you about the snow. I love it, crunching under your feet, making snow angels, and throwing snowballs. My dog loves playing in snow as well. ☃️
Growing up in Berlin between 1980-83 I have big memories of snow in Berlin - especially the rodelbahn on the Teufelsberg (& Onkel Tom's Hütte) - sounds like Berlin getting warmer like everywhere else!
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