#420: A100 jam, Berlin v Ye, smoking killing Berliners
Not paying BVG fines can land you in jail.
Dear 20 Percent,
I’m enjoying the last gasp of summer — but the cold half of the year is coming! Soon it will be time to toggle to indoor mode. For me that means the city’s many independent cinemas, most of which offer movies in their original language.
It’s been hard to find good original version film listings though. So it was a pleasant surprise to receive an email from a 20% Berlin reader about his non-commercial project OV Berlin — a comprensive cinema search engine which even includes German movies with English subtitles, nice for those among you who might still be struggling a little with the language.
Listings come with an English summary, theatre info, ratings, etc. Pretty awesome. Please do check it out, let me know what you think.
Mostly unsurprising news below.
Maurice
Thanks to today’s sponsor, ESMT Berlin, which is doing an open house later this month.
A100 congested from day one
Opponents of the new autobahn are feeling vindicated: Drivers on the northbound side of new stretch of the A100 autobahn ending at Treptower Park have been struggling with bad traffic jams since the thing opened last week. Everyone knew this would happen because the offramp funnels cars into a traffic light followed by the crumbling Elsenbrücke across the Spree where only one lane is open, thanks to rennovation of the bridge. The 3km drive from Neukölln to Treptow was taking 20m, Tagesspiegel reports. Thanks to traffic in the neighbourhood, BVG buses are delayed up to 30 minutes. Traffic expert Andreas Knie said the autobahn segment should be shut down until the bridge has been fully rebuilt. He said the autobahn created “problems that hadn’t existed previously”. 🎯
Smoking killing Berliners
Nothing surprising about this news, either. New data from the German Cancer Research Center reveals that smoking is to blame for 18% of deaths among Berlin men. Only in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is that stat higher (19%). For Berlin women, smoking is linked to 13% of deaths. Maybe it’s time to tighten up the rules a little more: no more smoker-bars, perhaps? In Germany, a quarter of adults smoke.
Freedom for jailed Schwarzfahrer
This story might come as a surprise for those of you new to Germany: Riding public transport without a ticket too many times and then not paying the fine can land you in jail. Ninety years ago, in 1935, the Nazis made it a felony and the law is still on the books. And so, still today, thousands of people are sentenced to jail time for this minor crime. Thankfully, the Freiheitsfonds (info in English) is there to help. The non-profit association is campaigning to decriminalise Schwarzfahren. Meanwhile, it buys jailed people their freedom by paying off their fines. This Monday, the organisation said it had done just that so for another 101 people across Germany, 16 of whom were jailed in Berlin.
Berlin v Ye
The district council of Steglitz-Zehlendorf is filing an application to have two songs by American musician Ye’s placed on Germany’s “Index of media harmful to minors”. Local politicians behind the move accuse Ye of glorifying Nazism — in particular with his songs “Heil Hitler” and “WW3”. Being added to the index does not obligate streaming services to remove the songs. While on Spotify “Heil Hitler” has been renamed “Hallelujah”, Green politician Daniel Eliasson says the Nazi slogan is still identifiable in the chorus. No surprises here.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🪖 Defense minister criticises Ukraine troop plan
🤜 Irish citizen punched by police at demo
🍺 Young Germans drinking more alcohol-free beer
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin
🎹 Significant Others: First Body & Slow Moon
Thursday, 04.09, 7:30 – 11 pm. Start.Bahn – Genezarethkirche, Herrfurthplatz 14, 12049 Berlin. Tickets: €15.
Live ambient night in church: First Body mixes acoustic instruments with electronics, while Slow Moon builds soundscapes from everyday noises, instruments and synths. Expect a calm, beautiful and immersive listen.
🎸 BERLIN BEAT INVASION No. 7
Thu-Sun, 04–07.09. Venues: Wiener Blut, Quasimodo, Wowsville, Ankerklause. Tickets: €33/63.
Four days of garage punk, beat, psych and soul. Highlights include Las Ratas Sicodélicas (AR), The Mudd Club (UK), Wild Evel & the Trashbones (AT), The Royal Flares (DE), The Crimson Shadows (SE), The Crystal Teardrop (UK) and The Giant Robots (CH). It’s a deep dive into Berlin’s raw and retro-tinged garage scene - full of fuzz, sweat and 60s spirit.
🍷 Frizzante: The Most Italian – Food & Wine Festival
Fri-Sun, 05.09, 6 - 9 pm; 06.09, 12 - 9 pm; 07.09, 12 - 7 pm. St. Elisabeth Kirche, Invalidenstr. 3, 10115 Berlin. Tickets: €20-€30 (weekend pass).
Over 50 Italian producers and winemakers with tastings, workshops and talks. In the garden: slices, glasses, stories, and a last taste of summer, the Italian way.
🖼️ Hallen 06 – Kunstfestival
Sat–Sun, 06–14.09. Wilhelm Hallen, Kopenhagener Str. 60–72, 13407 Berlin. Tickets: €3.
Nine days of exhibitions, performances, concerts and talks across Wilhelm Hallen. This year adds “Crafting Community,” focused on collectible design. With Berlin galleries, private collections, non-profits, and special performances from DSO and others.
🪩 Animalia
Saturday, 06.09, 11:59 pm – 7 am. OHM, Köpenicker Str. 70, 10179 Berlin. Tickets: €15
The Melbourne label returns to OHM with Cousin (live), DJ Fart in the Club, Kia and Sansibar. Expect hypnotic grooves that melt deep, minimal and psy-infused techno into one long, intimate trip.
Factoid
Berliners have on average 38.3m² of residential space per person, according to data from 2024. Local Die Linke politician asked the Berlin government, “What is the current average living space per household in Berlin?” and received some more interesting info: Lichtenbergers have the least amount of space each (34.6m²) while the people of Steglitz-Zehlendorf enjoy a whopping 44.6m² per head. Also interesting: Apartments owned by their residents are on average much larger (109.7m²) than rental flats (68.2m²).
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20 mins to drive 3km. Amazing progress. Costing nearly a billion euros.
I lived in Vienna (buying monthly travel cards) almost a year before I finally got controlled. (That's partly a function of where I travelled – tourists had a more likely time of being checked, as here.) But I was like "if it's a €30/month and the fine is €50 then why pay? You could get fined every other month and come out ahead." I mean, I would pay anyway, and pay taxes willingly, I love good services, but I remember in Chicago when the parking lot costs rose above the traffic warden prices everyone just parked on the street. Anyway, I was told the fine is just for the first time. "The second time, you pay €1000, and you also go to jail for a year." In Vienna, when they control a car on a subway, they come in all its doors at once so people can't run, but I saw a person try to anyway.