#413: Bar can stay open late, Future of Kaufhof at Alex, Yes, the S-Bahn sucks
Couple gets letter from 2013
Hey 20 Percent,
You guys! I finally realized why I’m against building on Tempelhofer Feld. My rational reason for years is that I don’t trust Berlin politicians. But emotionally I knew that wasn’t the real reason.
This week my wife and I were talking about beaches. She said they’re great because the view can’t really change. It will always remain unaffected, which somehow sparks a sense of optimism — the view across a vast ocean could be nothing but it could also be everything.
And that’s how I feel standing at the edges of the park-that-was-an-airport. The transition from park to Berlin feels unfinished, unwritten and ragged. A rare feeling in a city with strict height requirements, cement and an odd love for automobiles. You can’t go anywhere in Berlin these days without there being something.
Except at the Tempelhof. It feels like nowhere, which is a rare commodity. And one worth protecting.
Or maybe I’m just in a good mood because both of my kids are home(-ish) from university for a few days.
Have a good weekend y’all!
Andrew
Sleep and alcohol don’t mix
At least one resident is battling with bar owners in Kastanienallee in Prenzlauer Berg over noise, and so far courts are on the bars’ side (for once). An administrative court last week said Schwarzsauer in Kastanienallee doesn’t have to close its patio at 10pm just because a couple frumpy neighbors think it’s a bit loud, according to RBB24. Kastanienallee is a mixed-use neighborhood with nightlife and noise should be weighed differently, a judge said in a preliminary ruling after local bureaucrats tried to shutter the Aussenbereich (patio) at 10pm every day. The case is still ongoing and likely won’t set a precedent if the bars win. I admit I’m partial — the bar has been one of my faves during my entire Berlin tenure. An interview with the complaining neighbor (paywall), who has lived there since 1990, is interesting — his point is that it’s about all the bars in the area, not just Schwarzsauer, and that THERE ARE (NOISE) RULES AND RULES ARE TO BE FOLLOWED. Side note: Schwarzsauer is a vinegary blood soup popular in areas east and north of here.
Is replacing Kaufhof with a park an option?
The future of the Galeria Kaufhof department store on Alexanderplatz is equally as up in the air as the future of Schwarzsauer’s patio: Owners Commerz Real said it would only continue to operate a Kaufhof there if Berlin would consolidate its state library (Zentral- und Landesbibliothek (ZLB)) into the former Konsumpalast, leaving only a third of the building for the department store. Otherwise Commerz will turn the site into yet another mall, according to taz. Berlin wants to consolidate the ZLB but currently lacks to funds to move it from its two current sites in Kreuzberg and Mitte — but also wants to save the 350 jobs at the store. Galeria Kaufhof’s lease runs out next year and Berlin and Commerz Real will likely be haggling over the site (and jobs) for months. Side note: The commercial high-rise being built alongside will be done next year.
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Traffic lights for traffic lights (really!)
Why do we get technological solutions like this rather than just better biking infrastructure? I don’t see the point but here it goes: Berlin will install pre-traffic lights for bikes that will tell cyclists if the approaching traffic light is about to turn red, according to the Morgenpost (paywall but here it is de-paywalled). The lights should encourage cyclists to slow and stop rather than sprinting through the intersection the moment the light turns red (putting themselves at risk). Just what cyclists need in the big city: Yet another distraction. 🤦🏻♂️ What do cyclists really need? Bike streets that are car-free bike streets and bigger/more bike lanes. Side note: Two cyclists have died on Berlin streets so far this year, compared with 11 in all of 2024, according to VCD.
Where the new traffic-light lights will be:
Invalidenstraße
Stargarder Straße between Schönhauser Allee and Prenzlauer Allee
Handjerystraße to Prinzregentenstraße
Langenscheidtstraße to Kreuzbergstraße.
The stamp was 58 cents
Cute story of the week: Accountant Hai Nguyen was shocked last week when two letters arrived in the office for his wife, according to taz. First, because she hasn’t worked in his office for a couple of years and, second, because he discovered the letters had been sent and cancelled in October 2013. Deutsche Post doesn’t have an explanation about how they now just completed their journey but apologized. Side note: One was a letter from their health insurer informing them about data privacy regulations, which is just a metaphor of how DATENSCHUTZ unnecessarily slows life in Germany.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🏎️ Porsche doing 320km/h on the Autobahn
✈️ Was a Yazidi family illegally deported?
🤡 (Even more) right-wingers arrested
Factoid
About 10% more S-Bahns trips were cancelled in the first six months of 2025 than in 2024 (19,000 vs. 17,000) — and 2024 includes figures for striking train drivers, according to Tagesspiegel (paywall). Lack of personnel, aging infrastructure and external factors such as vandalism, storms and people traipsing across tracks are the most common reasons for cancelled trips. Side note: One in seven S-Bahns is late, an increase of 23% over the same period a year earlier.
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Totally disagree about Tempelhof. There's no right to nothingness in Germany's biggest city. Pave it over with housing, cheap, expensive, whatever.
If someone would have told me just a couple of years ago that in 2025 I would rather take a bus than a train, I would have laughed in their face. But now I love the reliable U6 Ersatzverkehr and actually like the fact that the rebuilding of the north end of U6 is taking years longer than planned!